Going Full 'Speed' Ahead

First launched in shades A2 and A3, KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED now offers the full range of 14 shades, which means practices can sinter full zirconia restorations in 9 minutes.

When asked what the expanded 14-shade range of KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED allows her to do that she couldn't before, Dr. Penelope Chang didn't hesitate to say, "Oh my gosh, so much more."

"My patient population includes a lot of D2 and C1," she continued. "Before, I'd either reach for a different material and give up the 9-minute sintering, or take an A2 or A3 and stain it to the target shade, which added time. Now, I can go straight to the correct shade and keep the quick firing cycle."

KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED makes it possible to mill a crown in under 5 minutes using the Super-Fast Milling Mode on Dentsply Sirona's CEREC Primemill, with sintering taking just 9 minutes in the CEREC SpeedFire furnace.

Thanks to its 1,023-MPa flexural strength, natural translucency, and smooth shade gradation, the material delivers lifelike results in both the anterior and posterior.

A Crowning Achievement

An early adopter of CAD/CAM who now teaches the technology to other dentists, Dr. Chang has watched the sintering window shrink from 18 minutes with the original KATANA Zirconia ONE to 9 minutes with KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED. The gain comes from a proprietary zirconia powder that reaches its activated state with far less energy.

"It's funny how 9 minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but if you pair the 5-minute mill time with 9 minutes of sintering—plus 6 more for prepolishing and cool down—it comes to roughly 20 minutes of manufacturing time," Dr. Chang explained.

Add a 20-minute prep, 5-minute design, and 10 minutes for seating, and the whole appointment takes about an hour.

"It absolutely shifts how you schedule a single-unit crown or take care of an emergency," she continued. "The patient can wait in the chair, and realistically, you can do more same-visit restorations or multiple crowns on the same patient in less time."

KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED has the same 4 layers of gradated shades and translucency as the original KATANA Zirconia ONE block, which supports natural-looking restorations.

"The gradient and color are beautiful when polished, so in the right case, they absolutely can be gorgeous in the anterior," Dr. Chang said.

It's Time to 'Bite the Bullet'

What would Dr. Chang tell a dentist who is still routing these cases to a lab out of habit or hesitation?

"You can deliver an in-house zirconia case faster than an in-house lithium disilicate restoration, and with amazing margins, anatomy, and fit on top of that," she advised. "Bite the bullet because in-house zirconia is not too slow or a compromise anymore with KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED!"