Faculty Bibliography

Previously dentists focused on repair and maintenance of function. However, the emphasis of many patients and dentists is now on esthetics. Often there is a need for the disciplines of orthodontics, periodontics, restorative dentistry, and maxillofacial surgery to work together in order to achieve optimum results. Currently the sequencing planning process begins with esthetics and then function, structure, and ultimately biology.

Dentinal hypersensitivity is exemplified by brief, sharp, well-localized pain in response to thermal, evaporative, tactile, osmotic, or chemical stimuli that cannot be ascribed to any other form of dental defect or pathology. Pulpal pain is usually more prolonged, dull, aching, and poorly localized and lasts longer than the applied stimulus. Up to 30% of adults have dentinal hypersensitivity at some time. Current techniques for treatment may be only transient in nature and results are not always predictable. Two methods of treatment of dentin hypersensitivity are tubular occlusion and blockage of nerve activity. A differential diagnosis needs to be accomplished before any treatment

The presence of a diastema or diastemata between teeth is a common feature found in the anterior dentition. Many forms of therapy can be used for diastema closure. A carefully developed diagnosis and advanced planning allows the most appropriate treatment to be determined for each individual case to address the patient's needs. Clinical considerations, advantages, disadvantages, and alternative treatment modalities for diastema closure are discussed in this article and a clinical case is presented to illustrate the application of these techniques

Crowded dentition is commonly found in the esthetic zone. Many forms of therapy can be used to treat the overlap of teeth caused by insufficient space within the dental arch. A careful analysis of patients with dental crowding is necessary to determine the most appropriate treatment of each individual case. Clinical considerations, advantages, disadvantages, and alternative treatment modalities for crowding dentition are discussed in this article and a clinical case is presented to illustrate the application of these techniques