Research progress and prospective on processing techniques of all-ceramic restorations based on additive manufacturing

Compared with metal or metal-ceramic restorations, all-ceramic restorations embody eminent advantages, which have been widely applied in clinic. Characterized by equivalent manufacturing (EM) and subtractive manufacturing (SM) , traditional processing techniques of all-ceramic fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) have been well developed, but still remain defective. Rapid evolution of science and technology witnessed the changing of traditional manufacturing pattern of prosthetic dentistry (PD) with the emergency of additive manufacturing (AM) , which has been utilized by many scholars to fabricate all-ceramic FDPs. This review briefly stated the current condition of processing techniques of all-ceramic restorations and the theory and advantages of AM, meanwhile, emphasized the categories and research progress of AM based on ceramic materials for PD. Key words: Additive manufacturing; Ceramics; Fixed dental prostheses