Fixed dental appliances are custom-made restorations designed to replace or restore missing or damaged teeth permanently. They can include: crowns, bridges, and implant-supported prosthetics. Unlike removable devices, these restorations are securely cemented or attached to natural teeth or dental implants, offering long-lasting stability, function, and aesthetics. At Pan-Am Dental Lab, we use advanced materials and precision fabrication techniques to ensure each fixed appliance fits comfortably, blends seamlessly with the patient’s natural dentition, and withstands daily chewing forces. By combining craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, we help dental professionals provide patients with durable, natural-looking smiles they can trust for years to come.
Pan-Am Dental Lab offers the following dental materials for fixed dental appliances:
| Material | Strength | Aesthetics | Advantages | Ideal Cases |
| IPS e.max® Press | ~500 MPa | Excellent translucency, lifelike appearance | Superior aesthetics, high strength, versatile, biocompatible, precise press technique | Anterior/posterior crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, short-span bridges, cosmetic smile makeovers |
| IPS e.max® CAD | ~530 MPa | Excellent, wide range of shades | Digital workflow efficiency, same-day dentistry, minimally invasive, strong and aesthetic | Single crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, implant crowns, chairside CAD/CAM restorations |
| Full Zirconia | Very high (>1000 MPa) | Good (newer translucent zirconia improves appearance) | Exceptional durability, fracture resistance, long-lasting, biocompatible | Posterior crowns/bridges, bruxism patients, implant-supported crowns/bridges, large-span bridges |
| Porcelain Fused to Zirconia (PFZ) | High (zirconia substructure) | Excellent (porcelain layering provides translucency) | Combines zirconia strength with porcelain aesthetics, stable and natural looking | Anterior crowns/bridges, posterior crowns needing aesthetics, implant-supported restorations, full-mouth makeovers |
| Full Cast (Gold or Alloy) | Extremely high | Low (metallic appearance) | Decades of proven success, conservative prep, biocompatible, highly durable | Posterior crowns/bridges, bruxism patients, limited space cases, long-span bridges, function over aesthetics |
| Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM) | High (metal substructure) | Good (porcelain provides aesthetics but less lifelike than all-ceramic) | Reliable strength, cost-effective, long clinical track record | Posterior crowns/bridges, long-span bridges, anterior crowns, implant restorations, patients seeking balance of cost, strength, and aesthetics |
IPS e.max® Press is a high-strength lithium disilicate glass-ceramic, trusted by dentists worldwide for creating lifelike, durable restorations. Known for its exceptional aesthetics and impressive flexural strength of approximately 500 MPa, it is ideal for crowns, veneers, inlays, onlays, and short-span bridges. This material offers a unique combination of translucency and strength, allowing restorations to mimic the natural enamel while delivering long-term reliability.
IPS e.max® Press is an excellent choice for patients seeking both durability and natural aesthetics in their restorations. It is ideal for:
With its versatility, IPS e.max® Press is well-suited for cases where beauty cannot be compromised, but long-term performance is equally essential.
IPS e.max® CAD is a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic specifically designed for CAD/CAM fabrication, offering a perfect balance of beauty, strength, and efficiency. With a flexural strength of approximately 530 MPa, it provides exceptional durability while maintaining the translucency needed for highly aesthetic results. The pre-crystallized “blue state” allows for fast, accurate milling, and after crystallization in a ceramic furnace, the restoration achieves its final shade, translucency, and strength.
IPS e.max® CAD is the go-to solution for dentists who want the precision and speed of digital dentistry combined with the unmatched beauty and reliability of lithium disilicate.
Full zirconia restorations are crafted from monolithic zirconia, a material known for its exceptional durability and fracture resistance. Unlike layered ceramics, full zirconia crowns and bridges are milled from a single block, making them nearly unbreakable under normal chewing forces. Modern full zirconia also offers enhanced translucency, which allows for improved aesthetics while still delivering unmatched strength.
Full zirconia restorations are an excellent option for dentists who want a virtually indestructible material that still delivers reliable function and a natural-looking result.
Porcelain fused to zirconia (PFZ) restorations combine the unmatched strength of zirconia with the lifelike beauty of porcelain. A durable zirconia substructure provides the core framework, while layers of porcelain are applied to create natural translucency and aesthetics. This makes PFZ a reliable option for cases that require both high durability and an enhanced cosmetic result.
Porcelain fused to zirconia restorations are an excellent choice for dentists who want to deliver restorations that are strong enough to withstand function yet beautiful enough to restore confidence in their patients’ smiles.
Full cast restorations, often fabricated from noble or high-noble alloys, have long been considered the gold standard in dentistry for their unmatched durability and biocompatibility. Because they are made entirely of metal, full cast crowns and bridges are extremely resistant to wear, fracture, and corrosion, making them an excellent choice for cases where longevity and function are top priorities.
Full cast restorations remain a dependable solution for dentists seeking restorations that deliver maximum strength, conservative preparation, and decades of clinical reliability.
Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) restorations have been a trusted standard in dentistry for decades, offering the strength of a metal substructure with the natural appearance of porcelain. The metal framework provides stability and durability, while the porcelain overlay creates a tooth-colored, aaesthetic finish that blends seamlessly with the surrounding dentition. This combination makes PFMs a versatile and reliable choice for many clinical situations.
Porcelain fused to metal restorations remain a dependable option for dentists who want a balance of strength, aesthetics, and affordability, making them a time-tested solution for restoring both function and beauty.
IPS e.max is a lithium disilicate glass ceramic that has optimized translucency, durability and strength for full anatomical restorations. IPS e.max lithium disilicate restorations exhibit superior durability featuring 360-400 MPa of flexural strength. The opalescence, translucency and light diffusion properties of IPS e.max lithium disilicate were all designed to replicate natural tooth structure for beauty and undetectable restorations.
IPS e.max CAD is the world’s best-selling glass-ceramic1. It is suitable for the efficient fabrication of full-contour restorations and it is known for its versatile application options, comprehensive range of indications and for its high strength of 530 MPa2. Both its esthetic properties and durability have been confirmed in everyday clinical practice. As a result, the material can be used to fashion full-contour crowns of only 1-mm thickness, which are subsequently seated with the adhesive technique.
Our Full-Contour Zirconia is milled from the most esthetic full zirconia available. Using isostatically pressed blocks, combines beauty and strength to provide reliably consistent, high-quality restorations. After milling we perform a multi-color shading process to create an esthetically enhanced product designed to last a lifetime. Bella Forte Full-Contour zirconia boasts a 1,100 MPa flexural strength, is available in any shade, and comes with a lifetime guarantee against breakage.
Layered Zirconia combines the time-proven strength of a zirconia core with the natural, lifelike beauty of premium layered porcelain. Layered Zirconia is indicated for single units and small bridges and consistently delivers top-tier esthetic results for even the most demanding of patients.
Pan-Am Dental Ceramics is proud to offer high-quality full cast crown and bridge solutions. These metal restorations are an industry standard due to their longevity and high rates of clinical success. Crafted out of biocompatible metal alloys,
they withstand the test of time when paired with responsible dental hygiene and maintenance. Our full cast crowns and bridges offer lifelike contours and are gentle on opposing teeth.
Porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations offer the longevity of full cast with the added esthetics of porcelain. Our team crafts these crowns and bridges by fusing a layer of porcelain onto an underlying layer of high-quality metal alloy. We carefully bond the porcelain to reduce discoloration and heighten lifelike esthetics. Our PFM restorations are stable, strong, and offer an extremely precise fit.
White Noble – $86.02/g
White High Noble – $109.78/g
Yellow Noble – $103.37/g
Yellow High Noble – $149.84/g
Yellow Gold 88% – $181.09/g
We understand the importance of having quality materials for patients. At Pan-Am Dental Lab, we have a wide selection of high-quality dental materials that can be used for making crowns and bridges. We have a team of trained technicians who use the latest equipment to ensure that your cases are created using state-of-the-art technology.
Our equipment is designed to produce flawless results, while also being safe and easy to use. Our dental lab is also equipped with the latest technology that makes the process of crowns and bridges more efficient. Additionally, we use high-quality software that helps us to design the right crown or bridge for every patient.
To create a new crown or bridge, our dental lab technician will first take an impression of the tooth. This impression will be used to create a custom mold, and the dentist will use the mold to create a temporary crown or bridge. After the crown or bridge has been created, it is sent to the dentist, who will attach it to the tooth using a special adhesive. When the adhesive has dried, it becomes strong and secure and will remain on the tooth for the rest of the patient’s life.
A bridge is created when a dental lab technician removes a small amount of the tooth’s surrounding tissue, to make space for the new tooth. The technician will then prepare the tooth for the bridge and will send it to the dentist, who will then place the bridge on the prepared tooth.
At Pan-Am Dental Lab, we understand the importance of collaboration between our lab technicians and dentists, to provide patients with the best crowns and bridges.
We work closely with your team to provide a customized and easy-to-use online platform, which makes communication between the two groups easy and accessible.
We value feedback from our dentists and welcome discussions about different cases and challenges that may arise.
Our lab technicians are always up to date with changes and new developments in the dental industry. This allows us to provide you with the latest and most advanced equipment and technologies.
We have many years of experience in creating high-quality crowns and bridges. Our commitment to excellence and attention to detail, combined with our wide selection of materials and latest equipment, make us an ideal choice for your crown and bridge cases. Whether you need a full-coverage crown, a partial-coverage crown, or a bridge implant, we are here to provide you with the best service.
Our lab technicians are highly skilled and knowledgeable and are always up to date with the latest changes and developments in the dental industry. We understand the importance of collaboration between our lab technicians and dentists, which makes the process of creating crowns and bridges easier and more efficient.
