Monolithic zirconia.
Milled in full contour from a single blank and finished by staining, characterizing and polishing. Nothing is fired on top, so there is no weaker outer layer to chip.
The failure mode it removes
Veneer chipping is the characteristic failure of layered zirconia, and it is usually cohesive — the fracture runs within the porcelain rather than at the bond to the core. Monolithic removes that mode entirely.
The material's strength is available at the occlusal surface, where it is needed, rather than beneath a weaker ceramic taking the direct contact.
For posterior units, patients with evident parafunction, long spans and situations with limited clearance, that is decisive.
What it costs optically
Early monolithic zirconia was opaque and flat. Higher-translucency formulations have narrowed the gap considerably, and multilayered blanks with graded shade and translucency from cervical to incisal have improved it again.
Monolithic is aesthetically acceptable in most posterior situations and increasingly credible at the premolar. Beside an intact natural central incisor with visible internal character, it still asks more of staining than staining can always deliver.
Where a case sits on that boundary, buccal cutback — full-contour occlusally and lingually with a layered facial window — puts aesthetics where they are seen and strength where the load is.
Clearance
Monolithic zirconia performs in less occlusal thickness than any layered alternative, which is frequently the reason it is chosen. That tolerance is not unlimited, and lower-yttria formulations tolerate less than higher-translucency ones.
Verify clearance with an index or bite registration material rather than by eye, and check in excursion as well as in intercuspation. A restoration with adequate space at maximum intercuspation can still be struck on a cusp incline in lateral movement.
The methods are quick and are set out in restorative space.
Finish is a clinical decision
A polished monolithic surface is kinder to opposing enamel than a glazed one, because glaze wears through in function and exposes whatever surface lies beneath it.
If you adjust the occlusal surface at delivery, repolish through a full diamond-impregnated sequence. Glaze does not survive grinding, and the opposing dentition pays for the omission over years.
Shade is intrinsic, not painted on
A monolithic restoration takes much of its colour from the blank it was milled from, with staining and characterization applied over that. Multilayered blanks carry graded shade and translucency from cervical to incisal, which means the restoration has to be nested correctly within the blank for the gradient to land where it should.
The practical consequence is that surface characterization is a refinement rather than the whole answer. Where a restoration relies heavily on applied stain, that stain diminishes as the surface wears and the restoration trends toward the underlying blank shade.
Give the shade with the guide named, and photographs for anything in a visible position. Shade matching covers what to send.
Opposing dentition
Where a monolithic restoration will occlude against intact natural enamel, note that on the prescription. It changes how the occlusal surface is finished, and finish is what determines whether the antagonist is worn.
Broad, axially directed contacts distribute load; point contacts on inclines concentrate it. Keeping the restoration free of excursive guidance where natural teeth can provide it removes the sliding contacts that cause most wear.
The Rx offers interproximal contact as normal, broad or point, with tightness normal or tight. Those are genuine design instructions rather than defaults.
What to put on the prescription
Tick Zirconia under Type of Crown and note monolithic in the special instructions, or state monolithic against the tooth on the design chart.
Give the shade with the guide used, the antagonist, and any evidence of parafunction. Specify the interproximal contact form and tightness you want.
If the case is at the aesthetic limit for monolithic — a premolar in a visible smile line, or an anterior unit — say so, and we will discuss whether a cutback or a layered approach serves the case better before anything is made.
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Digital scans and conventional impressions are both accepted. Cases move by UPS and Purolator, and Fairmont works with practices throughout British Columbia and across Canada.