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Before and After 2025: First Impressions of e.max Ceram Art Structure on a 3-Unit Zirconia Bridge

Introduction: This blog post continues the annual Before and After series, in which I present one clinical case each year (since 2008) on my website that I feel offers a meaningful challenge, insight, or point of reflection within contemporary aesthetic dentistry. Each case is selected for its own unique demands—whether technical, material-related, or aesthetic in nature. In the previous post (Before and After 2024), the focus was on e.max ZirCAD Prime, exploring the aesthetic potential of high-strength translucent zirconia at a time when monolithic restorations were becoming increasingly dominant in everyday practice—while still highlighting the importance of controlled micro-layering techniques to meet individual expectations. In this instalment, the discussion moves one step further with the introduction of e.max Ceram Art (released in Australia...

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Before and After 2024: The Zirconia Renaissance – Unlocking the Aesthetic Potential with Strength

In the ever-evolving world of metal-free aesthetic dentistry, material selection remains one of the most powerful—yet often under-examined—decisions we make as clinicians and ceramists. Since the inception of my inaugural business in 2008, Smile by Yugo, I’ve witnessed—and contributed to—a profound transformation in the materials we rely on to craft beauty and function alike. Over the years, we’ve transitioned from traditional feldspathic and refractory layering veneer techniques to pressed glass ceramics (e.g., Empress, Ivoclar Vivadent), exploring the potential of staining techniques in monolithic structures, then upgraded to lithium disilicate (e.g., e.max, Ivoclar Vivadent), and now, increasingly, toward the modern versatility of zirconia. That said, without ongoing engagement in continuing education, hands-on experimentation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, it’s easy to default to familiar...

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