A 56-year-old female patient complained of a chipped upper right central incisor. Tooth #8 had a chip on the incisal edge and was very sharp (Fig. 1). The patient also didn’t like the looks of the chipped tooth. The patient was informed that when the front teeth wear down, the remaining enamel is thin, brittle, and unsupported. That way if the restoration chips again, the patient won’t be too surprised. This also helps to encourage the patient to not chew hard food, bite fingernails, or other deleterious habits that may cause the restoration to fail. The material selected for this procedure was OMNICHROMA Flow and complementary OMNICHROMA BLOCKER Flow (Tokuyama Dental). This material will take on the shade of the surrounding enamel and works extremely well for small restorations, such as this clinical case.
Fig. 1. Chipped incisal edge of tooth #8.
TREATMENT
There was no need to take a shade, as OMNICHROMA Flow matches the color of the tooth automatically. The anesthetic was not used for this procedure, since there was no decay and the restoration was mostly in enamel. The tooth was beveled with a diamond bur on all the margins to help blend the restoration and to have a greater bond to the enamel. The enamel margins and the restorative surface were both acid etched (35% phosphoric acid). The tooth was then thoroughly rinsed with water and air dried. Next, a bonding agent (Bond Force, Tokuyama Dental) was applied in two applications on the restorative surface and slightly beyond the margins. The tooth was then light cured.
To avoid show-thru of the restoration, OMNICHROMA BLOCKER Flow was placed on the lingual surface in a thin layer (0.5 mm). A putty matrix had been made on the lingual-incisal area to create a lingual shelf to accurately hold OMNICHROMA BLOCKER Flow in place until it could be light cured (Fig.2, 3).
