COMPANION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES (CEMP) TO OPTIMIZE MULTI-LAYERED ZIRCONIA CROWNS

1 . A dental restoration comprising:

an integrally formed structure body having an open distal end, a closed proximal-occlusal end and a side wall extending between said distal and proximal-occlusal ends, said structure body including a support structure protruding from an outer surface of a wall of said structure body, wherein said structure body forms a hollow framework for coping over a dental preparation;

a veneer formed over and contacting said outer surface of said wall and said support structure; and

said support structure located generally proximate to a location of stress and/or strain and protruding a distance from said surface of said wall, purposefully providing support for said veneer and purposefully reducing and/or distributing sheer stress that is borne by said structure body, said veneer and/or the dental restoration.

2 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein a shape of said structure body is determined through use of a software application.

3 . The restoration as claimed in claim 2 wherein the software application is a CAD-CAM application.

4 . The restoration as claimed in claim 2 wherein the software application determines a shape of said support structure by identifying an outer contour shape for said structure body, and conforming generally at least a portion of said support structure shape to said outer contour shape of said structure body and said dental restoration.

5 . The restoration as claimed in claim 4 wherein said identifying and conforming are accomplished generally automatically by a software application.

6 . The restoration as claimed in claim 2 wherein the software application determines a shape of said support structure generally simultaneously with determining a structure body outer contour shape.

7 . The restoration as claimed in claim 2 wherein the software application determines a shape of said structure body by subtracting from a final desired shape for said dental restoration.

8 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material take-away manufacturing methodology.

9 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material take-away manufacturing methodology.

10 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material build-up manufacturing methodology.

11 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said restoration is designed to be made of successive layers of veneering material.

12 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said restoration is designed to be formed as one of successive components.

13 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said veneer comprises a coating.

14 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support structure includes an annular support structure protruding from said outer surface of said side wall at a location spaced from, but generally near, said proximal-occlusal end of said structure body.

15 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support structure has a smooth unifying shape and generally encircles an entire periphery of said structure body.

16 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said closed proximal-occlusal end includes a generally circular support protrusion that generally resides below said proximal-occlusal ends and marginal ridges of said structure body.

17 . A dental restoration comprising:

an integrally formed structure body having an open distal end, a closed proximal-occlusal end and a side wall extending between said distal and proximal-occlusal ends, said structure body including an annular support structure protruding from said outer surface of said side wall at a location spaced from, but generally near, said proximal-occlusal end of said structure body, said support structure having a unifying shape and generally encircling an entire periphery of said structure body, wherein said structure body forms a hollow framework for a coping over a dental preparation, said closed proximal-occlusal end including a generally circular support protrusion that generally resides below said proximal-occlusal ends and marginal ridges of said structure body;

a veneer over and contacting said outer surface of said side wall, said support structure and said proximal-occlusal ends of said structure body; and

said support structure and said support protrusion located generally proximate to a location of stress and/or strain and protruding a distance from said surface of said side wall and occlusal wall surfaces and purposefully providing support for said veneer that purposefully reduces and/or distributes sheer stress that is borne by said structure body, said veneer and/or the dental restoration.

18 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein a shape of said structure body is determined through the use of a software application.

19 . The restoration as claimed in claim 18 wherein the software application is a CAD-CAM application.

20 . The restoration as claimed in claim 18 wherein the software application determines a shape of said protruding support structure and/or said support protrusion by identifying an outer contour shape for said structure body, and conforming generally at least a portion of said protrusion shape to an outer contour shape of said structure body and said dental restoration.

21 . The restoration as claimed in claim 20 wherein said identifying and conforming are accomplished generally automatically by the software application.

22 . The restoration as claimed in claim 18 wherein the software application determines a shape of said protruding support structure and/or said support protrusion generally simultaneously with determining a structure body outer contour shape.

23 . The restoration as claimed in claim 18 wherein the software application determines said shape of said structure body by subtracting from a final desired shape for said dental restoration.

24 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material take-away manufacturing methodology.

25 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material take-away manufacturing methodology.

26 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said restoration is designed to be manufactured through a material build-up manufacturing methodology.

27 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said restoration is designed to be made in successive layers of veneering material.

28 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said restoration is designed to be formed as one of successive components.

29 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said veneer comprises a coating.

30 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said unifying shape of said support structure is smooth.

31 . A method of manufacturing a dental restoration comprising the steps of:

providing a structure body for the restoration that includes a support structure protruding from an outer surface of a side wall of the structure body at a location spaced from, but generally near, a proximal-occlusal end of the structure body;

veneering the structure body with an additional material having an ideal thermal expansion coefficient that is generally ≦1.0×10 −6 /° C. of the structure material to form a first modifier layer;

veneering the structure body with one or more successive layers of additional material;

treating the veneering layers at a temperature that is preferably slightly less than the recommended high firing temperature; and

withdrawing the structure from the treating step through a rapid cool-down protocol.

32 . The method as claimed in claim 31 wherein the modifier layer is a special effect-shading that enhances an aesthetic appearance of the veneer.

33 . The restoration as claimed in claim 1 wherein said structure body comprises a Zirconia material.

34 . The restoration as claimed in claim 17 wherein said structure body comprises a Zirconia material.

35 . The method as claimed in claim 31 wherein the structure body comprises a Zirconia material.