Ceramic Fragments and Metal-free Full Crowns: A Conservative Esthetic Option for Closing Diastemas and Rehabilitating Smiles

Abstract

SUMMARY Dental ceramics make it possible to restore anterior teeth that have been esthetically compromised, presenting a high resistance to wear, biocompatibility, color stability, and low thermal conductivity. The development of different types of ceramic and techniques for adhesive cementation have made it possible to produce more conservative restorations without involving the healthy dental structure and with minimally invasive preparation, such as the bonding of ceramic fragments. The purpose of this article is to describe a clinical case in which diastemas were closed by using nanofluorapatite ceramic (e.max Ceram, Ivoclar-Vivadent) fragments on teeth 7 and 10 with minimal tooth preparation and metal-free ceramic crowns (e-max Ceram) reinforced with zirconia copings through a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing system (Lava, 3M-ESPE) on teeth 8 and 9.

Digital Smile Design for Computer-assisted Esthetic Rehabilitation: Two-year Follow-up

“…Despite the fact that facial analysis is not considered with this technique, this is the planning strategy performed in most of the cases reported in the literature. [6][7][8][9] Although it is a simple technique that does not require specific equipment or software for its achievement, 4 no case reports on the use of DSD were found.…”

“…These ceramics provide excellent esthetic value and demonstrate high translucency, just like natural dentition. 8 However, the final shade of the veneers depends not only on the shade, opacity, and thickness of the porcelain but also on the shade of the underlying tooth and the shade and thickness of the luting composite. 26,27 Therefore, in this case the color of the resin cement was established through the try-in pastes.…”

Does ceramic translucency affect the degree of conversion of luting agents?

“…Lithium-disilicate-based dental ceramic restorations are commonly used for cosmetic and oral rehabilitation treatments. Various clinical applications for crowns, conventional veneers, ultra-thin veneers, occlusal veneers, and other partial dental restorations are justified due to the range of available translucencies, higher mechanical strength compared with more traditional feldspathic glass and the ability to modify fit surfaces that allows reliable adhesion with resin-based luting materials [1][2][3][4].…”

Restaurações cerâmicas delgadas sobre dentes sem preparo em diferentes regiões dos arcos dentais. Relato de 2 casos clínicos

“…Dentro desse contexto, as cerâmicas possuem destaque cada vez maior na odontologia restauradora devido as suas excelentes características ópticas, biomiméticas, biocompatibilidade, longevidade e resistência mecânica mesmo em restaurações com espessuras muito delgadas 3,[7][8][9] . E, dentre os diferentes sistemas cerâmicos, o dissilicato de lítio pode ser hábil para satisfazer as diferentes propostas restauradoras e estéticas, em dentição anterior ou posterior, sejam elas coroas, facetas, laminados ou fragmentos cerâmicos 6,7,10,11 .…”