Veneers

All-ceramic dental crowns generally consist of an aesthetic but weak porcelain veneer layer fused at elevated temperature to a functional and strong core ceramic, with the porcelain applied layer by layer by a dental technician.

The process of joining is time- and labor-intensive, and is subject to potentially deleterious residual stresses from mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE).

An attractive alternative is to fabricate veneer and core individually by an alternative manufacturing route, and then to bond the layers together chemically at low temperatures by means of a polymeric resin-based adhesive. This route avoids CTE stresses (although perhaps not shrinkage stresses), and establishes a soft interfacial barrier for arresting cracks formed in any one layer. Onlays and inlays are joined onto prepared dentition by an analogous cementation procedure.