IPS E.Max

While zirconia is certainly the strongest all ceramic material available today, its major drawback is aesthetics - as it is an opaque material. Alternatively, Ivoclar's IPS E.Max is made from a lithium disillicate - a glass ceramic material. In the pressed form, e.Max can offer a flexural strength of 400 MPa, while the CAD/CAM e.Max has strength of 360MPa. Although this is significantly lower than the zirconia flexural strength, it is sufficient strength for posterior molars and 3 unit bridges.

But the real advantage to this material is the natural translucency. In the right technician's hands, this material is arguably the best material to mimic the natural tooth. It allows light to transmit in many of the same ways that natural teeth do, and as such is an ideal material for single centrals when shade matching is critical.