title: Ceramic dental biomaterials and CAD/CAM technology: state of the art.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ceramics are widely used as indirect restorative materials in dentistry because of their high biocompatibility and pleasing aesthetics. The objective is to review the state of the arts of CAD/CAM all-ceramic biomaterials.
  
  
  METHODS
  CAD/CAM all-ceramic biomaterials are highlighted and a subsequent literature search was conducted for the relevant subjects using PubMed followed by manual search.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Developments in CAD/CAM technology have catalyzed researches in all-ceramic biomaterials and their applications. Feldspathic glass ceramic and glass infiltrated ceramic can be fabricated by traditional laboratory methods or CAD/CAM. The advent of polycrystalline ceramics is a direct result of CAD/CAM technology without which the fabrication would not have been possible.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical uses of these ceramics have met with variable clinical success. Multiple options are now available to the clinicians for the fabrication of aesthetic all ceramic restorations.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: drrayli@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Raymond Wai Kim
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Tak Wah
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Jukka Pekka
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Matinlinna
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry; D002563:Cerium; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003460:Crystallization; D003761:Dental Impression Technique; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D003776:Dental Porcelain; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design / Q000379:methods*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000379:methods*; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005898:Glass; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium; D015040:Zirconium
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; C475766:Ce-TZP-Al2O3; D003764:Dental Materials; C493120:lithia disilicate; D003776:Dental Porcelain; C078519:leucite; D002563:Cerium; D015040:Zirconium; D008274:Magnesium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; C028541:zirconium oxide; C011934:mica
keywords: CAD/CAM; Dental ceramics; Survival rate