Fixed restorations produced by commercial dental laboratories in Vancouver and Geneva

A survey of commercial dental laboratories in Geneva and Vancouver has been carried out using both questionnaires and telephone enquiries. It was concerned with the types of fixed prostheses constructed and the impact of recent technical developments. The results of the study revealed that cosmetic factors played a major role in deciding the use of new techniques. Porcelain was used on the occlusal surface of most restorations and metal margins were preferred on PFM crowns. Precious and base alloys were used frequently to cast PFM protheses in Vancouver, whereas semi-precious alloys were favoured in Geneva. Most of the laboratories used precious alloys for all-metal restorations.