Publications by authors named "Nicole Rafai"

Objective: In recent decades, CAD/CAM-fabricated lithium disilicate restorations have become popular and have been approved for fixed dental protheses (FDPs) up to the second premolar since 2013. This multicenter follow-up study collected long-term clinical data on three-unit anterior and premolar FDPs made of lithium disilicate to evaluate the material's suitability over >10 years.

Methods: Thirty-two patients received a total of 32 three-unit anterior or premolar monolithic lithium disilicate FDPs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Local anaesthesia plays a key role in many aspects of a dentist's work. The required skills to perform anaesthesia successfully are acquired at university. To take advantage of the possibilities for new teaching formats, a blended learning concept for the local anaesthesia course was developed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Establishing a strong link early on between preclinical coursework and the clinical context is necessary for students to be able to recognize the practical relevance of the curriculum during their preclinical anatomical courses and to transfer knowledge more easily. Our objective was to enhance the clinical relevance of a preclinical anatomy course for second-year medical students of dentistry by implementing an interdisciplinary skills training course on "Palpation of the Head and Neck Muscles" and to measure the learning outcomes.

Methods: For the curricular development of the expanded course module, Kern's 6-step approach was applied including subjective evaluation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Lithium disilicate can easily be machined by CAM techniques in its metasilicate status. Due to slightly inferior material properties, the material is not yet recommended for three-unit fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) as it is the case for the press material up to the second bicuspid. Therefore, the aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the performance of CAD/CAM-fabricated lithium disilicate FDPs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of anterior and posterior crowns made of a lithium-disilicate glass-ceramic framework material (IPS e.max Press, Ivoclar Vivadent).

Materials And Methods: A total of 104 single crowns were placed in 41 patients (mean age, 34 ± 9.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF