Method for producing a ceramic fixed partial denture

A method for forming a fixed partial denture, comprising:

• milling a porous ceramic block into a shape of a series of teeth thereby forming a pre-sintered framework structure comprising:
• a plurality of retainers;
• and
• a pontic located between and connected to adjacent retainers via a connector;
• sintering the pre-sintered framework structure thereby forming an initial sintered framework structure;
• separating the initial sintered framework structure at the connector thereby providing a plurality of sintered retainers and a sintered pontic;
• seating each sintered retainer and aligning the sintered pontic on a respective tooth abutment within a patient's mouth or on a dental model so as to provide an accurate fit;
• and
• rejoining each sintered retainer to the sintered pontic thereby forming a final framework structure and sintering to form the fixed partial denture,
• wherein the fixed partial denture comprises:
• at least 90% ZrO2 by weight;
• at least 3% Y2O3 by weight;
• at least 1% HfO2 by weight;
• no more than 0.1% Al2O3 by weight;
• no more than 0.1% SiO2 by weight;
• and
• no more than 0.1% Na2O by weight of the fixed partial denture.