Kuraray Announces Full 14-Shade Availability for KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED

Expanded shade range supports fast, esthetic chairside zirconia restorations with 9-minute sintering when used with CEREC^® SpeedFire.

Kuraray America, Inc. announces that all 14 shades of KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED are now available, including A2 and A3. With the complete shade range now offered, clinicians have more flexibility to support everyday posterior crown cases with the speed, strength, and esthetics expected from the KATANA™ Zirconia portfolio.

KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED is designed to help clinicians deliver efficient chairside zirconia restorations without compromising material performance or esthetic outcomes. The material features 1,023 MPa flexural strength and excellent translucency, while inheriting the proven characteristics of conventional KATANA™ Zirconia ONE. When used with Dentsply Sirona’s CEREC^® SpeedFire, KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED enables a 9-minute sintering workflow, helping support same-visit dentistry for posterior crown restorations.

“Clinicians want restorative materials that fit the pace of today’s practice while still delivering the strength and esthetics patients expect,” said Maurice Munoz, Director of North America, Dental Division, Kuraray America, Inc. “With the full 14-shade availability of KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED, clinicians now have greater flexibility to select the shade they need while taking advantage of a fast, reliable chairside zirconia workflow.”

The 9-minute sintering time is made possible by Kuraray Noritake Dental’s proprietary zirconia powder technology, which allows the material to reach a highly activated state with less energy and accelerates the sintering process. The multilayered KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED Block consists of four gradated zirconia layers—enamel, transition layer 1, transition layer 2, and body/dentin—which help clinicians fabricate natural tooth-colored restorations chairside without additional sintering time. The CEREC^® Move Tool also helps position the restoration within the layers for optimal esthetic results.

The 14 available shades for KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED include NW from the NORITAKE SHADE GUIDE and 13 shades from the VITA classical A1-D4^® system: A1, A2, A3, A3.5, A4, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, D2, and D3.

To support optimal use of the complete KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED shade range, users should update their CEREC^® or inLab software to ensure compatibility with the new shades. Compatible versions include CEREC^® software 5.2.14 or newer, CEREC^® software 5.3.5 or newer, and inLab CAM 22.8. When working on a KATANA^TM Zirconia ONE SPEED block, it’s important to note that the sizing of the block may have slight individual differences, but it will be adjusted automatically by the software.