Start from the provisional's job
A PMMA disc choice that starts from a product name usually ends in a compromise, because the product was chosen before the provisional's job was understood. A choice that starts from the job, how long the provisional will serve, how visible it will be, and whether it needs a layered shade, usually ends in a disc that fits, because the disc was chosen for the work it has to do. A short try-in points one way, a longer anterior provisional points another, and a gingiva-coloured provisional points a third way entirely.
The PMMA range on this site maps onto those jobs in a simple way. Monolayer discs suit a short provisional where a uniform shade is acceptable, multilayer discs suit a longer or more visible provisional where a gradient helps, a super hard block suits work where a harder provisional material is wanted, and a pink disc suits gingiva-coloured work. Those are directions, not prescriptions, and the rest of this guide develops each one with the caveats that belong to it.
Monolayer discs for short provisionals
Monolayer discs carry a single shade through the whole disc, which suits a provisional that will be replaced soon and does not need a layered appearance. Their advantage is simplicity: no gradient to nest, no shade zone to place, and a milling and finishing routine that a laboratory already knows. Their limit is appearance: a flat single shade looks unnatural for a longer or more visible provisional, and a laboratory that uses monolayer discs for anterior provisionals may find patients noticing the flatness.
The Amann Girrbach monolayer disc listing appears in the source catalogue as a third-party system reference, and this site keeps it in that role only. A buyer choosing a monolayer disc should note the disc size and the shade it needs, and confirm both in an inquiry, because stocked shades change more often than catalogue categories. The PMMA category page lists the monolayer line alongside the other PMMA products for comparison.
Multilayer discs for visible provisionals
Multilayer discs carry a shade gradient inside the disc, like their zirconia counterparts, so a provisional can already show a layered appearance before any staining. That gradient suits a provisional that will be worn for longer, or shown in the anterior region, where a flat single shade would look unnatural even for a temporary. The cost is a nesting step, because the shade of the finished piece depends on where the design sits inside the disc, and a laboratory new to gradient PMMA should discuss nesting in its first inquiry.
A laboratory considering multilayer PMMA should test a single disc before committing to a quantity, and should name the software it uses when asking about nesting guidance. The multilayer zirconia pages discuss nesting in more detail, and the same principles apply to PMMA, even though the materials differ. A buyer who needs a shade-range figure for multilayer PMMA should ask for it by name in an inquiry.
Super hard block and pink disc
The super hard PMMA block suits work where a harder provisional material is wanted, and the 3ST pink PMMA disc, listed with veins, suits gingiva-coloured work where the provisional shows gum tissue. Both are described in general terms only. A buyer who needs a hardness, shade or size figure for either product should ask for it by name in an inquiry. Those two products show the PMMA range's breadth beyond simple discs, and they deserve a place in a selection guide even without a table.
The pink disc deserves a note on its own, because its colour is functional rather than decorative: it mimics gingiva for provisionals that show gum tissue, and the veins in its description suggest a natural tissue appearance. That is a planning hint, not a clinical claim, and a laboratory should confirm the shade and the disc size against the case before ordering. A provisional that shows gum tissue is judged on its tissue appearance as much as on its tooth shade, and the pink disc addresses that judgement directly.
PMMA beside milling and finishing
A PMMA disc choice is also a milling and finishing choice, because the disc must be milled with a PMMA bur and finished to the provisional's required surface. The burs pages list PMMA burs as a category, and the vacuum cleaner page describes a dust extraction system listed for zirconia milling equipment, which a laboratory should ask about alongside a PMMA order if it mills PMMA on the same machine. That combined question lets the company answer the setup rather than the disc alone, and it avoids a disc that fits but a bur that does not.
PMMA milling produces chips rather than fine dust, and the extraction question therefore differs from zirconia dust, though it still needs clearing. A laboratory milling PMMA as its main work should ask in an inquiry whether the listed extraction system matches that material and machine combination, naming both in the message. That question is worth asking even for a laboratory that already owns an extraction unit, because a new milling machine may need a different connection.
Confirming a PMMA order
Once a PMMA disc is chosen, the order still needs four confirmations: the minimum order quantity, the lead time, the shipping method and the payment terms, written on this site as buyer instructions rather than as company promises. Those four points vary by order and destination, and confirming them before payment avoids the most common cross-border friction. A buyer who confirms them in the first inquiry will usually need one fewer round of messages than one who leaves them open.
A first order of a small quantity for testing is sensible for a PMMA disc the laboratory has not used before, because fit and finish can be checked on a provisional before the disc becomes a regular stock item. The inquiry form has room to describe that test plan, and a company that knows it is a test order can advise on the disc choice that will make the test most informative. The form asks only for a name, an email address and the message.