Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Increased public access to fluoride has decreased the prevalence of caries and increased the prevalence of fluorosis staining. This article provides a case report involving a conservative method of removing fluorosis stain, as well as describes an in vitro test of the method. CASE DESCRIPTION: A healthy man sought treatment at New York University College of Dentistry for removal of severe, dark brown fluorosis staining on his anterior teeth. To remove the stain, the treating clinician used a microabrasive material, which leaves enamel intact, instead of a tooth-whitening agent, which requires removal of all affected enamel. METHODS: To demonstrate that enamel structure is not disturbed by the microabrasive material, the authors performed a study using scanning electron microscopy, or SEM. They viewed enamel structure under SEM at x1,000 magnification. They viewed untreated microabraded enamel and compared it with enamel that had been treated for 20 seconds with 37 percent phosphoric acid. RESULTS: An etch pattern was not discernible on the tooth treated with the microabrasive material. The enamel prisms remained intact and the cores were not exposed. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Microabrasion removes intrinsic fluorosis stain effectively while protecting enamel. In this case, an enamel shade of brown not in the range of any tooth color shade guide was reduced

Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) technology has made steady inroads into the practice of dentistry. The CEREC CAD/CAM system can be used chairside to fabricate porcelain and composite inlays, onlays, and crowns and porcelain veneers. The latest incarnation of the CEREC system is the CEREC 3D, which provides a versatile, relatively simple, user-friendly method for fabricating esthetic restorations chairside without involving a dental laboratory. CEREC 3D may be the system that allows the average general dentist to provide chairside porcelain restorations during single-visit appointments, eliminating the need for an elastomeric impression or an interim restoration as well as the expense of a laboratory fee

Research indicates that microleakage is the major cause of composite restoration failure. Because the different physical properties of composite resin and tooth structure cause microleakage in composite tooth restorations, it is possible to eliminate microleakage by making composite's physical properties more similar to those of tooth structure. This article reviews the physical properties of composite resin systems last as they relate to tooth structure and microleakage

In response to an increased public demand for esthetic restorations, dentists are using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) technology to fabricate inlay/onlay, crown, and laminate veneers. This study evaluated the fit at the gingival margin of surface inlay restorations milled by the CEREC II as well as the more recently developed CEREC III. The marginal fit of inlays milled by the CEREC III was more accurate than the fit of those milled by the CEREC II, although both were within the ADA specifications of 50 micro