YORBA LINDA, Calif. - With price pressure in the marketplace heating up, ceramists are being forced to find new and innovative ways to create restorations with larger profit margins. To address that concern, VITA North America recently offered a Premium Porcelain course, led by renowned instructor Bobby Williams, CDT, to teach participants how to use the industry’s most aesthetic porcelain to create profitable restorations.

“The job of a ceramist is getting more challenging because they have to contend with greater price pressure in the marketplace,” Williams says. “In this course we showed them how they could leverage VITA VM13 and 3D shade-matching techniques to deliver a much more accurate shade-matching porcelain with a higher profit margin.”

The two-day, hands-on workshop walked students through the details of an accurate and repeatable model process, followed by a step-by-step advanced layering technique of VM13 ceramics.Under Williams’ direction, attendees focused on creating ideal working refractory models and dies, preparing refractory dies for porcelain application and manipulating layering techniques to mimic natural dentition. Students also learned the importance of internal staining with fluorescence, contour, texture, and final polishing techniques. In the hands-on portion, participants applied their newfound knowledge and artistic abilities to produce their own esthetic and profitable restoration, all in VITA North America’s state-of-the art Training Center.

“The brand-new educational facility at VITA North America is top-notch and ideal for teaching, with every amenity a student could need,” Williams says.