Dental olympians, 2012

Four years ago, my Comment, at the time of the Olympic Games in Bejing, proposed the dental Olympians of the preceding four years. I mentioned the move away from traditional, destructive, cavity designs, the increasing discussion about water fluoridation in the UK (which sadly came to nought) and the introduction of zirconia-based restorations to the profession. It could also be argued that nothing changes too quickly in dentistry, but it is perhaps reasonable to suggest that there have been subtle changes in emphasis since the time of those Olympics as we approach the games which are being held on home soil for the first time for a majority of readers of Dental Update.

Ceramics have been an integral part of dentistry since the early work carried out principally by the late John McLean, but the one thing that has eluded researchers, developers and clinicians, until recently, has been a ceramic framework for bridgework which was fracture resistant and biocompatible. In the past four years, zirconia-based bridges have undergone an exponential increase in popularity, with these (described in this issue on page 342 by Millen et al) now being used by 27% of dental practitioners in the UK.2 This may be for a number of reasons, but could principally be related to patients' increasing desire for non-metal restorations and the potentially improved aesthetics that accrue. Additionally, the rising cost of the metals in alloys utilized in metal-ceramic restorations has helped to make zirconia-based restorations more cost neutral and, with the increasing numbers of milling centres, also making prices more competitive. Results of early clinical evaluations are positive.3