Beautiful materials for aesthetic restorations - eye-catchers at IDS 2015

Our teeth play a significant part in our appearance and our radiant smile. They affect our self-esteem and influence our social contacts. In dentistry, therefore, – in addition to restoring the masticatory function – the aesthetic restoration result is also an important criterion for the success of treatment. And some patients even look for a dental practice office specifically because they are unhappy with the aesthetics of their teeth. Materials for aesthetic dentistry and dental prosthetics will be presented at IDS 2015, with many restoration examples – they are real eye-catchers at the world's largest leading dental trade fair.

"Cosmetic dentistry and dental aesthetics are of great importance to many people. Because after all, clean and healthy teeth are a crucial part of an attractive appearance. IDS will demonstrate the kind of aesthetic results that can be achieved with plastics and ceramics for the restorative and prosthetic dentistry", says Dr. Martin Rickert, Chairman of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers.

Minor corrections of dental aesthetics can be done chairside by the dentist with filling composites. To do this, the material is applied to the tooth surface in thin layers and polymerised with light. Its ability to transmit light means it is also able to match the colours of adjacent teeth, thereby achieving a high aesthetic effect. And using either a glass, ceramic or quartz particle embedded in a plastic matrix, a high abrasion resistance is ensured. In addition, further possibilities are now available for chairside CAD/CAM production, which include fully anatomical single tooth restorations as well as bridges and abutments.

Laboratory based – labside – aesthetic rehabilitation of misaligned teeth or tooth defects can be done, for example, with labial or tabletop veneers. They are attached in front of the teeth (on the labial surfaces) or on the occlusal surfaces. For this the dentist only needs to prepare the teeth minimally or non-invasively and can record their shape with an intraoral scanner or impression material. On the basis of these working documents, in the dental laboratory, the veneers are layered with ceramic materials to a thickness of up to one millimetre. Even CAD/CAM-supported production is possible: virtually designed and cut from a ceramic block. The tooth-shaded colouring is done with ceramic staining.

For more extensive restorations that can only be accomplished by crowns and short-spanned bridges, the ceramic materials lithium disilicate (LS2) and zirkon-stabilised lithium silicate (ZLS) have recently become more established in the production of aesthetic restorations. And what is more, these restorations are produced using a CAD/CAM system – the materials are processed by grinding machines.

For crowns, long-spanned bridge restorations or custom implant abutments, the high strength opaque zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) – processed in digitally-controlled milling machines – has proven itself as a ceramic scaffold material for over ten years. Currently, the translucent ZrO2 modifications are dominating the market. These allow the tooth colour to be reproduced from the scaffold depth. And even the multi-layer moulds, in which the various levels of translucency merge into one another, represent a good option for this reason.

The ceramic materials LS2, ZLS and ZrO2 are mainly used for scaffolds, where the tooth shading of the partially-anatomical areas are veneered in further working steps: ceramic layering or the overpress technique. In addition to the classic veneers used for this, bleach masses are now increasingly in demand: thanks to their very bright tooth colour it is possible to obtain a very youthful radiance. And even gum masses for representing the red-white aesthetics are an important part of the veneering ceramic range: with these any receding gingiva is increased and reproduced in its correct shade. And dark stumps, implant interfaces or transitions can also be masked with them.

In addition to the partially partially-anatomical veneering scaffold, the indication form of monolithic restorations has been established. For this, crowns or bridges are fully anatomically designed with a CAD system and ground or milled with a CAM system. The reproduction of the tooth colour is done with staining colouring. This restoration version is being increasingly used, especially in the posterior region, where a deeper colour brilliance is less important. This technique is both time-saving and economical as crowns or scaffolds are produced in just one working process. And the application of the staining colour is faster than when layering the veneer ceramic. In addition, dental technicians save themselves some trouble.

The aesthetic materials also include veneering materials. They have recovered their position in the market by being able to offer a quality which is just as good as that of ceramics. For example, using ceramic fillers that are embedded in a polymer matrix allows for a high level of homogeneity and abrasion resistance. As a result of this, it is not even possible to differentiate between some plastic veneering and ceramic veneering in terms of brilliance and their similarly high durability.

"Taking place in Cologne from 10 to 14 March 2015, the International Dental Show, the world's biggest trade fair for dentistry and dental technology, will offer trade visitors an excellent chance to engage in discussions with specialists from exhibiting companies, experts and experienced users and learn about the entire range of aesthetic dentistry and especially the modern CAD/CAM processes for the production of perfect ceramic veneers and scaffolds", Dr. Markus Heibach, Chairman of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers, firmly believes.

The IDS (International Dental Show) takes place in Cologne every two years and is organised by the GFDI Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Dental-Industrie mbH, the commercial enterprise of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers (VDDI). It is staged by the Koelnmesse GmbH, Cologne.