A New Era for Indirect Restorations With CAD/CAM and 3D Printing Technologies.

Designing and fabricating dental restorations via the indirect method emerged as a strategic response to the loss of tooth coronal structure that prompted the need for different treatment options depending on the extent of the damage (eg, partial-coverage restorations such as inlays/onlays and laminate veneers, or full-coverage restorations such as crowns). The complexities of the oral environment and patient management in the dental chair also factored into the development of indirect restorations. Indirect restorations involve manufacturing them away from the oral cavity, avoiding some of the difficulties of direct techniques, such as polymerization contraction and marginal adaptation, as polymerization shrinkage stresses only affect the cement layer, reducing the impact on the cavity walls.

Leveraging Digital Smile Design Technology in Esthetic Restorative Dentistry.

Digital smile design has transformed the approach to planning and executing esthetic dental treatments, allowing clinicians to digitally visualize and customize a patient's smile before taking any clinical interventions. By leveraging modern digital technologies, clinicians can streamline diagnostics and treatment planning while also improving accuracy in predicting the final results. This article explores the advantages of digital smile design in esthetic treatment planning along with the key principles of smile design and facial harmony that must be considered for a successful smile transformation.

The Evolution of Adhesives Leads to Current Innovations.

Adhesive dentistry represents a crucial aspect of daily clinical practice. Occasionally, the introduction of a new material or technique triggers a significant shift in this field. Over the decades, from the largely ineffective systems of the late 1970s and early 1980s to the relatively successful total-etch and self-etch systems of today, the evolution of adhesive systems has been driven by a quest for simplicity, efficiency, and reliability in clinical practice procedures to achieve durable direct and indirect restorations.

A Survey of Preferences for Ceramic Materials on Tooth-Supported Crowns Among Dental Practitioners in Chile.

Purpose: To evaluate the preferences of dental practitioners for tooth-supported crowns dental ceramics by means of an online survey and to assess the influence of age, gender, years of experience, and dental specialty on those preferences. Materials and Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was delivered online through Google Surveys, targeting 796 dentists. It contained 17 dichotomous, closed questions with two sections.

Precision Matters: The Evolution of Impression Systems and Materials.

The clinical success of indirect restorations is directly correlated with their specific anatomic shape and design as well as marginal accuracy and overall precision of fit. These factors require a precise impression of the preparation and, to the extent necessary and possible, other teeth and supporting hard and soft tissues.