Zirconia is widely used for load-bearing functional structures in medicine and dentistry. The quality of engineered zirconia surfaces determines not only the fracture and fatigue behaviour but also the low temperature degradation (ageing sensitivity), bacterial colonization and bonding strength of zirconia devices. This paper reviews the current manufacturing techniques for fabrication of zirconia surfaces in biomedical applications, particularly, in tooth and joint replacements, and influences of the zirconia surface quality on their functional behaviours. It discusses emerging manufacturing techniques and challenges for fabrication of zirconia surfaces in biomedical applications.

This paper studied surface fracture, roughness and morphology, phase transformations, and material removal mechanisms of lithium metasilicate/disilicate glass ceramics (LMGC/LDGC) in CAD/CAM-milling and subsequent surface treatments. LMGC (IPS e.max CAD) blocks were milled using a chairside dental CAD/CAM milling unit and then treated in sintering, polishing and glazing processes. X-ray diffraction was performed on all processed surfaces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to analyse surface fracture and morphology. Surface roughness was quantitatively characterized by the arithmetic average surface roughness Ra and the maximum roughness Rz using desktop SEM-assisted morphology analytical software. The CAD/CAM milling induced extensive brittle cracks and crystal pulverization on LMGC surfaces, which indicate that the dominant removal mechanism was the fracture mode. Polishing and sintering of the milled LMGC lowered the surface roughness (ANOVA, p < 0.05), respectively, while sintering also fully transformed the weak LMGC to the strong LDGC. However, polishing and glazing of LDGC did not significantly improve the roughness (ANOVA, p > 0.05). In comparison of all applied fabrication process routes, it is found that CAD/CAM milling followed by polishing and sintering produced the smoothest surface with Ra = 0.12 ± 0.08 μm and Rz = 0.89 ± 0.26 μm. Thus, it is proposed as the optimized process route for LMGC/LDGC in dental restorations. This route enables to manufacture LMGC/LDGC restorations with cost effectiveness, time efficiency, and improved surface quality for better occlusal functions and reduced bacterial plaque accumulation.

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