Empress esthetic, Product information, Ip s – Ivoclar Vivadent IPS Empress Esthetic User Manual
Page 4: Material

4
Empress Esthetic –
Product Information
IP
S
Material
IPS Empress Esthetic is used for the fabrication of highly aesthetic
single-tooth restorations by means of the PRESS technique.
IPS Empress Esthetic ingots are made of a leucite-reinforced glass-
ceramic which consists of a glass and a crystal phase. Leucite crystals
of a few microns evenly grow in a multi-stage process directly from
the amorphous glass phase. During the fabrication of the ingots, the
semi-finished product in powder form is pressed to ingots in a fully
automated process, which enables a maximum of homogeneity.
Given the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE)
between the glass phase and the crystal phase (leucite), cooling after
sintering produces compressive stress in the glass phase. This
mechanism results in an increase in strength and enables IPS Empress
Esthetic to achieve a flexural strength of 160 MPa.
This type of material has been successful as well as proven for almost
20 years. The pressed restorations feature excellent accuracy of fit
and a homogeneous surface. Subsequently, the restorations may be
stained using IPS Empress Universal Stains and/or individually
veneered using IPS Empress Esthetic Veneer.
CTE (100–400°C) [10
-6
/K]
16.6
CTE (100–500°C) [10
-6
/K]
17.5
Flexural strength (biaxial) [MPa]*
160
Fracture toughness [MPa m
0.5
]
1.3
Vickers hardness [MPa]
6200
Chemical solubility [µg/cm
2
]*
25
*according to ISO 6872