The aim of this short communication is to present a technique to rehabilitate severely discolored teeth with computer-aided designed and computer-aided manufactured (CAD-CAM) zirconia crowns. After confirming the absence of periapical lesions and sufficient crown structure, any caries or fractured restorations can be removed and replaced by an interim composite restoration. A shoulder subgingival preparation is performed and scanned with an intraoral scanner to design a CAD-CAM zirconia crown using a monolithic zirconia material. This crown is highly polished using a specific polishing kit, but not glazed. This technique is suggested to be useful in cases of dark discolored teeth due to staining endodontic materials such as resorcinol-formaldehyde resin.
Keywords: computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, tooth discoloration