Procedure for a simplified collarless metal-ceramic restoration using gold powder.

This technique describes a simple and practical approach to the fabrication of collarless metal-ceramic restorations. Instead of making a duplicate die from the master die, this technique conserves time by blocking out the undercut using impression modeling compound on the master die. The use of gold powder does not require special equipment and produces a precise porcelain abutted margin on the shoulder. Excluding the labial gold collar from the shoulder enhances the esthetic appearance of the restoration. This approach is effective with gold-based and silver-palladium alloys as materials for the metal-ceramic framework. The marginal fit of 10 collarless meta-ceramic crowns cemented on silver plated dies were evaluated by measuring sectioned specimens with a scanning electron microscope. The average gap at the porcelain butt margin was observed to be 30 to 50 mu (Fig. 10).