[Fifty years of all-ceramic restorations in dentistry 1].

An overview of all-ceramic dental restorations during the past 50 years poses a challenge. This is mainly due to the great variety of manufacturing processes, which were just as essential to the quality and functioning of the restorations as the composition of the different ceramics. Developments and innovations in the field of all-ceramic restorations have greatly contributed to much better biocompatibility and aesthetics. Without CAD/CAM software and (intraoral) scanners, developments from the first all-ceramic restorations with feldspar porcelain in 1973 to today's milled lithium silicate or zirconium dioxide restorations would not have been possible. In this first of a two-part article, developments up to the advent of zirconium dioxide are presented.