Dr Nate Lawson is the director of the division of biomaterials at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, and the program director of the biomaterials residency program. He graduated from UAB School of Dentistry in 2011 and obtained his PhD in biomedical engineering in 2012. He has served as an investigator on more than 50 clinical and laboratory research grants, and published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and research abstracts. His research interests are the mechanical, optical and biologic properties of dental materials and clinical evaluation of new dental materials. He was the 2016 recipient of the Stanford New Investigator Award and the 2017 3M Innovative Research Fellowship. He serves on the American Dental Association Council of Scientific Affairs and is on the editorial board of The Journal of Adhesive Dentistry and Compendium. He has lectured nationally and internationally on the subject of dental materials. He also works as a general dentist in the UAB Faculty Practice.
With new types of dental restorative materials coming on the market every year, it can be hard to keep up with the clinical benefits and proper protocols for different materials. This program will first demonstrate the different properties of current dental ceramics through an understanding of the compositional differences between glass ceramics and zirconia materials. Emphasis will be placed on how their strength and translucency affect their clinical uses. Finally, the materials used for bonding zirconia and lithium disilicate restorations will be demonstrated.
Upon completion of this session, attendees should be able to:
Understand the differences in strength and translucency of glass ceramic and zirconia materials
Identify the products used to bond lithium disilicate and zirconia