Description

Learning Objective:

• How to link the correct material to the right patient
• Advantages and disadvantages of white material in anterior
• Long-term results and age of patient: The dilemma in aesthetic dentistry  

Synopsis:

The guidelines of modern restorative dentistry are adhesion and minimum invasiveness.

Composite materials are now the market-leading permanent and universal restoration solution: There is no treatment planning which does not include the use of composite materials as for sealing, anterior or posterior restoration or prosthetic crown support.

The perfect knowledge of the advantages and limits of these materials is fundamental for all dentists: A superficial approach to the use of composites may lead to failure and very long chair-work times.

To know composite materials, now more than ever, means to understand their practical application, choose the ideal material on the market under the mechanical and aesthetic point of view, understand when to choose indirect rather than direct technique, evaluate the use of composites not only in the conservative field, but also in the prosthetic one, both for provisional and permanent solutions.

All in all, it means to properly plan the patient’s treatment, focusing on the quality of its final result and the working time to reach it. With these clear indications in mind, the dilemma of whether to use composites or ceramics is no longer an antagonistic choice but rather the two materials represent integrable solutions, for use even in the same mouth. Today’s clinicians have the possibility of optimising the advantages that these materials bring to the profession

Dr. Walter Devoto