Aesthetic dentistry : chromatic appreciation in the clinic and the laboratory

Aesthetic requirement in dentistry is getting more and more important every day. One of its basic principles is the correct selection of colour for the restorations. Colour is a quality which is modulated by a series of factors, environmental and individual, that the clinic must know. Colour measurement by the human eye can induce to an appreciation mistake if it doesn?t follow a correct protocol of light conditions and observation technique, checked by the authors, simplifying it with a practical focusing. Colour measurement instruments have appeared recently, trying to correct the problems of conventional technique

Relationship between resolution and accuracy of four intraoral scanners in complete-arch impressions

The scanner does not measure the dental surface continually. Instead, it generates a point cloud, and these points are then joined to form the scanned object. This approximation will depend on the number of points generated (resolution), which can lead to low accuracy (trueness and precision) when fewer points are obtained. The purpose of this study is to determine the resolution of four intraoral digital imaging systems and to demonstrate the relationship between accuracy and resolution of the intraoral scanner in impressions of a complete dental arch. A master cast of the complete maxillary arch was prepared with different dental preparations. Using four digital impression systems, the cast was scanned inside of a black methacrylate box, obtaining a total of 40 digital impressions from each scanner. The resolution was obtained by dividing the number of points of each digital impression by the total surface area of the cast. Accuracy was evaluated using a three-dimensional measurement software, using the ?best alignment? method of the casts with a highly faithful reference model obtained from an industrial scanner. Pearson correlation was used for statistical analysis of the data. Of the intraoral scanners, Omnicam is the system with the best resolution, with 79.82 points per mm2, followed by True Definition with 54.68 points per mm2, Trios with 41.21 points per mm2, and iTero with 34.20 points per mm2. However, the study found no relationship between resolution and accuracy of the study digital impression systems (P >0.05), except for Omnicam and its precision. The resolution of the digital impression systems has no relationship with the accuracy they achieve in the impression of a complete dental arch. The study found that the Omnicam scanner is the system that obtains the best resolution, and that as the resolution increases, its precision increases

Comparative characterization of a novel cad-cam polymer-infiltrated-ceramic-network.

Background: The field of dental ceramics for CAD-CAM is enriched with a new innovative material composition having a porous three-dimensional structure of feldspathic ceramic infiltrated with acrylic resins.The aim of this study is to determine the mechanical properties of Polymer-Infiltrated-Ceramic-Network (PICN) and compare its performance with other ceramics and a nano-ceramic resin available for CAD-CAM systems. Material and Methods: In this study a total of five different materials for CAD-CAM were investigated. A polymer- infiltrated ceramic (Vita Enamic), a nano-ceramic resin (Lava Ultimate), a feldspathic ceramic (Mark II), a lithium disilicate ceramic (IPS-e max CAD) and finally a Leucite based ceramic (Empress - CAD). From CAD-CAM blocks, 120 bars (30 for each material cited above) were cut to measure the flexural strength with a three-point- bending test. Strain at failure, fracture stress and Weibull modulus was calculated. Vickers hardness of each material was also measured. Results: IPS-EMAX presents mechanical properties significantly better from the other materials studied. Its strain at failure, flexural strength and hardness exhibited significantly higher values in comparison with the others. VITA ENAMIC and LAVA ULTIMATE stand out as the next most resistant materials. Conclusions: The flexural strength, elastic modulus similar to a tooth as well as having less hardness than ceramics make PICN materials an option to consider as a restorative materia

Effect of retention design of artificial teeth and implant-supported titanium CAD-CAM structures on fracture resistance

Background: For implant-supported hybrid prostheses, high mastication forces and reduced acrylic resin thickness over a metal substructure often cause failures arising from tooth or resin fractures. To assay fracture resistance of artificial teeth and resin in implant-supported hybrid prostheses in relation to the titanium structure and retention design supporting teeth. Material and Methods: 40 specimens bearing incisors were divided into four groups according to the titanium structure supporting the teeth and the type of load force applied: Group I (Control; n=10): Application of static loading to ten incisors set over a metal structure with internal retention. Group II (Control; n=10): Application of static loading to ten incisors set over a metal structure with external retention. The remaining study specimens (n=20) were subjected to 120,000 masticatory and thermal cycles in a chewing simulator. Afterwards, static loading was applied until the point of fracture using an Instron machine. Group III (Study; n=10): Application of dynamic and static loading to ten incisors set over a metal structure with internal retention. Group IV (Study; n=10): Application of dynamic and static loading to ten incisors set over a metal structure with external retention. Data obtained for the four groups was analyzed and compared, determining the type of fracture (cohesive or adhesive) using a reflected light microscope. Results: Statistical analysis confirmed that there were significant differences in fracture resistance between the four groups. External retention was found to have more fracture resistance than the internal retention. Conclusions: Hybrid prostheses with titanium substructures and external retention obtained significantly better results than samples with internal retention

In vivo evaluation of three-dimensional of volumetric changes using a CAD/CAM chair-side system : technical procedure

An intraoral digital scanner in combination with specialized three-dimensional surface analysis software monitors volumetric changes to soft tissues or dental restorations. This technology can evaluate the success of a specific technique or medium- or long-term clinical outcomes in both clinical and research situations. This article describes how this technology was used to provide immediate chair-side data analysis without the help of specialized laboratory support

In vivo study of different methods for diagnosing pit and fissure caries

Background: In recent years the early detection of such caries has gained importance, since it may avoid unnecessary dental tissue damage and allow minimally invasive dental treatment. A study is made of 5 systems for diagnosing caries: traditional visual and tactile methods, DIAGNOdent, VistaProof and CarieScan. Material and Methods: A prospective study was made in the Department of Stomatology, Dental Pathology and Therapeutics Teaching unit of the University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain), involving the analysis of 32 teeth (molars or premolars of both arches scheduled for filling or for use as posts in dental bridges) in 28 patients. The following caries diagnostic methods were applied: visual, tactile, DIAGNOdent (KAvo, Biberach, Germany), VistaProof (Dürr Dental AG, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany) and CarieScan (IDMoS Dental Systems, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom). Fissurotomy was subsequently performed for histological validation. Results: Visual inspection showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.75, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.75. Tactile diagnosis in turn showed AUC = 0.714, with maximum sensitivity (100%) and a specificity of 42.9%. DIAGNOdent (cutoff point 22.5) and VistaProof (cutoff point 1.1) showed AUC = 0.969, while CarieScan (cutoff point 21.5) presented AUC = 0.973. These latter three methods all had a sensitivity of over 92%. The specificity of DIAGNOdent was maximum, while that of CarieScan and VistaProof was 75%. Conclusions: The emergent methods in the diagnosis of caries (DIAGNOdent, VistaProof and CarieScan) yielded similar results, and in all cases proved superior to the traditional visual and tactile methods. DIAGNOdent was seen to be the most effective technique, followed by CarieScan and VistaProof

Effect of ozone therapy upon clinical and bacteriological parameters of the oral cavity: an update

Objective: To review the literature on ozone therapy in oral health, as assessed by different clinical and bacteriological parameters. Material and methods: A PubMed literature search was made using the key words “ozone dental”, and establishing as limits “randomized controlled trial” and “dental journal”. Thirteen articles were identified, with access to only 6 of them. Results: Four studies used ozone for the treatment of caries. One study examined its effect upon dental hypersensitivity, while another evaluated the efficacy of ozone as a tooth whitening technique. Five studies explored the bacteriological actions of ozone therapy in reference to different types of bacteria. Conclusion: The reviewed literature yields a number of studies describing a high antimicrobial potential of ozone therapy in different dental areas, though very few in vivo studies have evidenced the success of such treatment. Further studies are therefore needed in this field

Volumetric variation of peri-implant soft tissues in convergent collar implants and crowns using the biologically oriented preparation technique (BOPT)

To evaluate the changes in the peri-implant soft tissues of convergent collar implants with biologically oriented preparation technique (BOPT) crowns, 10 months after loading. A pilot study was carried out from January 2016 to October 2017 involving 14 patients with one or two implants in the posterior mandibular sector. A total of 32 convergent collar implants were placed using a non-submerged protocol. Three months later the provisional cemented crowns were fitted using the BOPT approach with the finish line 1-1.5 mm below the gingival margin, simulating coronal emergence of a natural tooth. The soft tissue changes were measured with an intraoral scanner at two different timepoints: a) on the day of provisionalization, before prosthetic loading; and b) 10 months later without the provisional prosthesis. The STL files were superimposed and the soft tissue changes were recorded using a color scale with measurement of the volumetric changes in mm3. A mean increase in peri-implant mucosal volume of 64.7 mm3 was observed in 29 implants. The zones with the greatest increase in soft tissue volume were the papillae of implants with adjacent teeth and the peri-implant buccal margin. Three implants showed a mean decrease in soft tissue volume of -25.1 mm3. The fitting and design of crowns using the biologically oriented preparation technique (BOPT) over convergent collar implants affords a significant increase in peri-implant soft tissue volume both at the level of the papillae and in the buccal margin

Accuracy of four digital scanners according to scanning strategy in complete-arch impressions.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:Although there are specific and general digital scanning guidelines depending on the system used, it is important to have the necessary flexibility in the acquisition of three-dimensional (3D) images to adapt to any clinical situation without affecting accuracy. PURPOSE:The purpose of this in vitro study was to identify and compare the scanning strategy with the greatest accuracy, in terms of trueness and precision, of four intraoral scanners in the impression of a complete dental arch. MATERIAL AND METHODS:Four digital scanners were evaluated with a 3D measuring software, using a highly accurate reference model obtained from an industrial scanner as a comparator. Four scanning strategies were applied 10 times on a complete maxillary arch cast inside a black methacrylate box. The data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc comparisons with Tamhane T2 test. RESULTS:The trueness of the Trios and iTero system showed better results with strategy "D," Omnicam with strategy "B," and True Definition with strategy "C". In terms of precision, both iTero and True Definition showed better results with strategy "D", while Trios showed best results with strategy "A" and Omnicam with strategy "B". There were significant differences between the scanning strategies (p0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The digital impression systems used in the experiment provided sufficient flexibility for the acquisition of 3D images without this affecting the accuracy of the scanner