Welcome to the official Artistic Dental Ceramics, lnc. home page.

This site has been created to give dentists and their patients an inside look at our laboratory and a general overview of the incredible technology that allows us to supply you with wonderful looking smiles.

We will walk you, step by step, through the process of a crown being fabricated, (links to section below) from the impression your dentist takes of your teeth, to the final polishing phase of your beautiful new crown.

Before we take you through this, let us first tell you a little about ourselves. Artistic is located in Columbus, Ohio and we will serve dentistry all over the country, although we mainly serve Central Ohio. If your dentist doesn't use Artistic, don't worry, this process is primarily the same world wide, so you can learn about dental laboratory technology anyway.

Artistic is owned and operated by two people. That is small as far as labs go, but we are dedicated to an individual style workplace, not a large mill type operation. We're not knocking that either, however.

Alphabetically, owner #1 is Donna Ellis. She has a B.F.A. (Bachelor in Fine Arts) and has been in this field for over seventeen years. Which is good because she is the ceramist. She creates the wonderful looking porcelain that matches so perfectly in your mouth.

Owner #2 is Martin Granneman CDT. That last part stands for Certified Dental Technician, which means Martin went through a series of tests, two written and one hands on, to prove his abilities in this field. He also attended Columbus State Community College, for Dental Technology. This is good because he does model work, waxing, and metal finishing.

Fabrication Process
All right, I'm sure you're ready to get to the interesting part now. First of all, let's start with the impression your good doctor has taken of your ground on tooth. This is sent to the laboratory and if OSHA regulations are followed like they are at Artistic, your impression is disinfected and then sent to the model room to be poured up in die stone. Die stone is a plaster type material (gypsum) that is used to make a model or cast of the exact dimensions of your mouth. This model has pins placed in it so we can remove the individual die or prep the dentist has created. This is a vital step, as we create the crown on this die. The models of both the upper arch and the lower arch are mounted on a device (articulator) that acts like your jaw. We now know what your bite looks like. This model work is then sent to the waxer's station.

At the waxing station, the technician carefully reads the dentists prescription and proceeds to make the crown. Since we're using a porcelain to metal crown as our example, the next thing the waxer would do is make a "coping." A coping is the metal shell of the crown that fits exactly to the dentist's prep. First, the technician takes the removable die from the model and paints it with a spacer that compensates for the cement the dentist will use when he/she seats the crown (otherwise the crown might be too tight.) The waxer also marks the margin of the crown with a red pencil. The margin is the junction between the unprepped area of the tooth and the prepped area. This is also called a "shoulder".

The waxer then starts waxing. Wax, similar to candle wax, but made especially for the dental lab, is melted and formed around our die. Care is used to make sure that the wax fits the die very well. If this were going to be a solid gold crown, the wax would be built up and carved to look exactly like the tooth itself. However, since we're making a porcelain crown, the wax-up looks more like a thimble. This is the coping. This leaves plenty of room left over in-between the models. When this is finished it is then "invested".

Investing means that the coping is put on a sprue former and surrounded by a casting ring. The ring is then filled with a different type plaster material called simply, investment. When this hardens, it is placed in a small furnace. The furnace is fired up to 1500 degrees! This burns out the wax pattern on the inside of the ring leaving a void. The ring is than placed in a centrifical caster. Alloy is melted on the caster and placed next to the investment ring. When the centrifical caster is let go, it spins around in circles, very fast. So fast that it shoots the molten metal into the void in the investment ring, so that now, what was originally wax is metal. All sorts of things can be made this way. Jewelers use this technique to make rings and pendants too!

At this point in the process it is time to finish the metal, so that porcelain can be added to it. The plaster in the investment ring is sandblasted away. The coping is cut off the sprue and finished. It is ground with grinding wheels and discs until it has a uniform thickness and a nice grainy surface texture. At Artistic, we make sure that proper vacuum and respirators are used to protect our health from the dust that floats around. You wouldn't want that in your lungs. It is then sent to the master ceramist.

At the ceramist's station, the porcelain is applied to the metal coping in a number of layers. A color shade, that has been selected by your dentist, is used to build up the crown. Porcelain comes in a powder and is mixed with a build up liquid to make it workable. The first layer of porcelain to be placed on the coping is called the opaque layer. This layer blocks out the darkness of the metal coping. Additionally, it works as a bonding agent, along with oxides from the metal, to ensure that the porcelain adheres well to the metal.

Next, the body of the crown is built up. A dentine porcelain (porcelain stronger in color) is placed first. This allows the inner part of the crown to have more color and depth. Then the body of the crown is built. This is the basic color of your teeth. After the crown is built, the insical layer, a semi-transparent layer that mimics the outer layer of your teeth, is applied. All these layers put together make for a very natural looking restoration. Stains can be added at different stages of build up for a custom look, if needed.

After the porcelain is built up, the crown is fired in a special porcelain furnace. This furnace fires at a very high temperature to cure the ceramics. Once fired and cooled, the ceramist can adjust the crown by grinding on it. This is sometimes needed because porcelain shrinks and moves some when fired. Adjustments may need to be made to fit your exact bite.

The final stain and glaze is then put on and fired. Then the crown is pretty much ready to be sent back to the dentist so that you can finally chew gum again!