Aesthetic smile evaluation--a non-invasive solution

The Putty Index Technique for Anterior Tooth Fracture Restoration: A Case Report

Traumatic injuries of anterior teeth can seriously affect a person's smile, which contributes significantly to an individual's overall personality and sense of self. Hence, various efforts have been made over the years to develop techniques that enable clinicians to replicate the natural tooth anatomy while being practical enough to allow its use in clinical practice. The putty index technique helps to make significant progress in achieving such goals by forming a template against which composite material can be placed for restoration of various modalities - in this case, Ellis class I and II. The prepared index replicates the palatal anatomy of the wax build-up done on the patient's cast. This reduces the chair time while improving the predictability of the final restoration.

Nanofilled bis-acryl composite resin materials: Is it necessary to polish?

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Manufacturers of the recently introduced nanofilled bis-acryl composite resins no longer recommend polishing to produce interim restorations; however, whether this advice is appropriate is unclear.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of the type of interim resin material, polishing procedure, and artificial staining on surface roughness, gloss, and color.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Disk-shaped specimens were prepared from 1 unfilled acrylic resin (Duralay) and 3 bis-acryl composite resins (Structur 3-nanofilled, Systemp C&B-microhybrid, Proviplast-microhybrid). The specimens of each material were assigned to 2 subgroups (n=15): polished and unpolished. Surface roughness (Ra-μm), gloss (UB), and color (ΔE) were analyzed at baseline and after 14 days of artificial staining. Roughness and gloss data were separately analyzed by 3-way ANOVA and color by 2-way ANOVA, followed by the post hoc Tukey test (α=.05).

RESULTS

The baseline roughness of all materials was significantly reduced by the polishing procedure, whereas the baseline gloss was increased (P<.001). Only the unpolished Proviplast had a significant increase in Ra values after aging. Structur 3 had higher gloss than Systemp C&B and Proviplast. The acrylic resin had the lowest color change after staining.

CONCLUSIONS

The polishing procedure produced smother and glossier surfaces for all the materials tested. The nanofilled bis-acryl composite resin material had higher gloss than the microhybrid bis-acryls tested, but it was not different from the acrylic resin. The 14 days of artificial staining did not promote significant changes in Ra or gloss values, except for Ra in the unpolished Proviplast subgroup, indicating excellent performance of the materials. The acrylic resin had the highest color stability.