The Time is Right: Indirect Resin Restorations

Jeffrey Caso

15 years ago

Getting the most from our CEREC investment is important for many reasons. Of course financial return is at the top of the list in today's economy, but there is more to be gained by using your CEREC to its fullest potential. For me, I was looking for relief from the most challenging and labor intensive thing that I do. The multiple surface direct resin restoration. To do it correctly and get a result that pleases me personally, a great many things need to be done perfectly and in a very short period of time. Using your CEREC machine to fabricate these restorations helps you out in so many ways. It breaks down the process into multiple easier segments; prep, design, fabrication and placement. It shortens and takes the back breaking, intense part of the treatment out of the mouth and onto the computer screen. I am generally happier with my end result and consistently have tighter broader contacts, better emergence profiles, nicer anatomy and better overall contours. When doing multiple restorations in a quadrant it takes a stressful procedure and makes it fun and predictable. There is no better time to start using your CEREC for indirect resin restorations. The ability to rapidly design restorations with the addition of great biogeneric proposals and to virtually seat a quadrant because of the accuracy of the blue cam and software version 3.65 is here and proven. The Buccal Bite makes for very accurate occlusion and the milling times are very fast. In addition, there is no oven time to slow the process down, 3m's Paradigm Z-100 composite blocks are a perfect material for our restorative needs. Studies show that they wear at a rate very similar to natural enamel. http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?66666UuZjcFSLXTtOxM_5x46EVuQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666-- One could imagine a very tight fit and with proper bonding technique a perfect 360 degree seal. The material is dimensionally stable and will not shrink. Cementing a quadrant with a cement like Multilink Easy http://www.ivoclarvivadent.us/multilink/easy.php makes cleanup easier than ever before and products like grip tabs from Triodent make handling there small restorations simple. http://www.triodent.com/griptab/griptab-general.html?country_code=us The only downside is the cost of the blocks which are about $20 for the size 10 blocks and higher for the 14 blocks. No matter what you factor out of your total cost (matrix bands, composite etc) using your CEREC in these situations will cost you more. Sometimes however, doing a superior job in a more relaxed way that is better for your patient and easier on your back is just plain worth it. Add to that the ability to maybe do a little more dentistry per visit changes everything. So, my challenge for you is to start doing your multiple surface direct restorations with your CEREC. Train your staff to set up a little differently and challenge yourself to get faster and more efficient. At first schedule more time and soon you will realize that you will be finishing early. You may even find that you become faster when using your CEREC. Make sure that you take a moment to see how you feel at the end of the procedure. My bet is that you will be less fatigued and happier with your end result. Go for it!!