Tooth reduction guides allow clinicians to obtain the ideal space required for ceramic restorations. This case report describes a novel design (CAD) for an additive computer-aided manufactured (a-CAM) tooth reduction guide with channels that permitted access for the preparation and evaluation of the reduction with the same guide. The guide features innovative vertical and horizontal channels that permit comprehensive access for preparation and evaluation of the reduction with a periodontal probe, ensuring uniform tooth reduction and avoiding overpreparation. This approach was successfully applied to a female patient with non-carious lesions and white spot lesions, resulting in minimally invasive tooth preparations and hand-crafted laminate veneer restorations that met the patient’s aesthetic demands while preserving tooth structure. Compared to traditional silicone reduction guides, this novel design offers greater flexibility, enabling clinicians to evaluate tooth reduction in all directions and providing a more comprehensive assessment. Overall, this 3D printed tooth reduction guide represents a significant advancement in dental restoration technology, offering clinicians a useful tool for achieving optimal outcomes with minimal tooth reduction. Future work is warranted to compare tooth reductions and preparation time for this guide to other 3D printed guides.
15 April 2022 in The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry
Studies on the fracture performance of a recently introduced computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) lithium disilicate ceramic containing virgilite with different cements are lacking. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the fracture resistance of crowns made of a recently introduced chairside CAD-CAM lithium disilicate containing virgilite cemented with different types of adhesive luting cement. Sixty complete coverage crowns for a maxillary right central incisor were milled out of a lithium disilicate with virgilite (CEREC Tessera) (n=48) and a traditional lithium disilicate (e.max CAD) (n=12) using a chairside CAD-CAM system (Primescan). The central incisor tooth preparation included a 1.5-mm incisal reduction, a 1.0-mm axial reduction, and a 1.0-mm chamfer finish line. The restorations were bonded with different types of resin cement to 3D printed dies of the tooth preparation and were divided into 5 groups (n=12 per group): e.max CAD with Multilink Automix (E.Mu); Tessera with Multilink Automix (T.Mu); Tessera with Calibra (T.Ca); Tessera with Unicem (T.Un); and Tessera with Speedcem (T.Sp). The cemented restorations were stored in water for 30 days and then loaded until they were fractured in compression. The load at fracture was analyzed with a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the honestly significant difference (HSD) Tukey test (α=.05). The mean fracture resistance of traditional lithium disilicate and virgilite lithium disilicate anterior crowns significantly differed depending on the type of resin cement used (P<.05). Group E.Mu displayed the highest values (946.35 ±155 N), followed by group T.Un (819.59 ±232 N), group T.Sp (675.52 ±153 N), and group T.Mu (656.95 ±193 N). The lowest values were displayed by group T.Ca (567.94 ±184 N). The fracture resistance of lithium disilicate containing virgilite and traditional lithium disilicate crowns cemented with the same cement displayed statistically similar values. However, significant differences were observed when the virgilite lithium disilicate crowns were cemented with different types of adhesive luting cement. The crowns in the T.Ca group displayed the lowest fracture resistance.
Dental implants are a reliable alternative to treating edentulism. In clinical situations where the dentition has been severely affected by partial edentulism, advanced wear, or periodontal disease, establishing important occlusal elements such as the occlusal plane, incisal guidance, and esthetics can be hard to visualize at the diagnostic stage. Contemporary data-acquisition technologies such as 3D scanners and CAD/CAM systems permit the precise manufacture of highly complex devices applicable to any stage of restorative treatment. The present clinical report presents an alternative technique for evaluating the projected artificial tooth relationships, vertical dimension, and occlusal plane in patients with severely weakened dentition by using a 3D-printed overlay template.
Dental implants have become a well-established treatment modality for the management of complete and partial edentulism. Recent advancements in dental implant systems and CAD/CAM technologies have revolutionized prosthodontic practice by allowing for the predictable, efficient, and faster management of complex dental scenarios. This clinical report describes the interdisciplinary management of a patient with Sjogren’s syndrome and terminal dentition. The patient was rehabilitated using dental implants and zirconia-based prostheses in the maxillary and mandibular arches. These prostheses were fabricated using a combination of CAD/CAM and analog techniques. The successful outcomes for the patient demonstrate the importance of appropriate use of biomaterials and the implementation of interdisciplinary collaboration in treating complex dental cases.
Minimally invasive dentistry is a considered process that requires the clinician to be prepared with the ideal sequence and the tools needed. This report describes a well-planned ultraconservative approach using only two ceramic laminate veneers for the maxillary central incisors to significantly improve the patient’s overall smile. A 30-year-old female presented with the chief complaints of having diastemas between the central and lateral incisors as well as incisal wear. Diagnostic wax-up and mock-up were performed, and the patient approved the minimally invasive treatment with veneers only for central incisors. A reduction guide aided the conservative tooth preparations, and hand-crafted feldspathic veneers were bonded under total isolation with a rubber dam. The two final conservative veneers significantly improved the smile and fulfilled the patient’s expectations. Following proper planning and sequencing, predictable outcomes were obtained and fulfilled the patient’s esthetic demands. Minimally invasive restorative dentistry with only two single veneers can impact the entire smile frame. Overtreatment in the esthetic zone is unnecessary to meet a patient’s esthetic expectations.