Customized Results - Shofu's expressive Lite Art™ paste stains enable the technician to create restorations with all the nuances of natural teeth

The Lite Art paste stains are immediately usable, can be applied almost as thinly as porcelain stains, and emulate the shade effects found in nature (Figure 1). They adjust perfectly to realize internal shade modifications on resins, composites, acrylic teeth, or PMMA structures (Figure 2). Thus, they have a broad range of applications, including:

• the characterization of veneered restorations as well as conventional crowns, bridges, veneers, inlays, or onlays;
• shade adjustments to artificial teeth, such as composite teeth and acrylic teeth;
• the individualization of denture bases, such as partial dentures, the gingival fibroblast parts of telescopic and implantation work, and full dentures;
• the equalization of provisional frameworks and tooth-shaded resins, such as PMMA structures and long-term provisionals.

All 15 Lite Art stains (Figure 3 ) can be applied alone or blended together to achieve different effects. There are 12 pre-mixed shades available for color characterization, and three primary shades that emulate the shade effects of natural teeth and the pigmentation of the gums.

Before customization, the acrylic tooth needs to be roughened by blasting with aluminium oxide that has a granulation of 50-110 μm, at a pressure of around 2 to 3 bar. If the individualized features need to be reproduced to a greater extent, it is recommended to grind the tooth in advance using rotating instruments. After blasting, the tooth may only be cleaned with oil-free compressed air or by a clean brush. Contact with water should always be avoided.

Using the Shofu Cera-Resin Bond (CRB) System, a secure bonding effect with the subsequent shading and coating is obtained. This system can bond composite materials to ceramics, or different types of resin materials to each other on a long-term basis. The application of the CRB 1 component activates a dry surface area. The bonding component CRB 2 can then be applied 10 seconds later (Figure 4 ). Subsequent polymerization of this coating for 3 minutes in the light-curing appliance ensures bonding to the subsequent layerings.

The Lite Art stains possess a micro-fine particle structure, which give them excellent application properties and coverage. The cervical area is initially emphasized with the orange shade. After approximately 10 seconds of intermediate curing with the Sublite V, this basic shade is interproximally intensified with the A shade. Then the pure white shade can be applied to bring out the vestibular and lighter horizontal bands or demineralised zones; or else it can be mixed with a little yellow to obtain a creamy vanilla shade.

The use of the highly transparent Clear Liquid will produce a greater level of intensity and viscosity in all shades. To obtain the effect of spatial depth in the incisal area, it has proved effective to add diluted blue-grey to the Clear Liquid, and thus achieve a chromatic backup for the transparent zones (Figure 5 and Figure 6 ).

An additional build-up in the incisal area can be applied at the center with CERAMAGE Opal 59 or Opal-T. To emphasize the interproximal area of the marginal ridge, the application of Opal Occlusal is recommended (Figure 7). In the cervical area on the other hand, T-Glass or Cervical-Transpa can be used depending on the required chroma intensity. The anatomic, pre-formative shaping of the individualized surfaces can be realized with a flat brush (Figure 8). The final polymerization curing is for 3 minutes in the Solidilite V light-curing appliance (Figure 10).

A pointed Dura-Green stone is used for initial treatment of the surface details. After having determined the external contours, the surface is shaped vertically upwards, and then the texture and the fine surfacing are worked in horizontally (the perikymata rings or imbrication furrows) (Figure 10).

The Soft Cut PB silicone polisher is used to obtain a definite smoothness to the composite surface, without losing any of the details previously created. Any required fine-hair cracks can be added three-dimensionally with a fissure bur. This instrument was developed for the subsequent processing of fissures and interproximal spaces in ceramics techniques so in the case of composite material, care must be taken not to exceed 5,000 rpm.

Pre-polishing can be done with a Robinson Brush and Dura Polish polishing paste. The surface becomes pre-compacted and all the created anatomical details are retained. After preparation, high-gloss polishing only takes 20 to 30 seconds with the Dura Polish Dia, which has more than 67% diamond content (Figure 11).

The Lite Art stains meet all the demands of esthetic composite restorations, in the areas of both soft tissue and composite teeth, regardless of whether they are done in sequence or layered. The customized characterization produces a high degree of naturalness (Figure 12), and even customized denture teeth can be crafted rapidly and easily (Figure 13 and Figure 14). With the simplicity of this system, the technician can create a tailor-made product from acrylic teeth with little expenditure of time and effort.

German Bär, MDT, is managing director of Dental Studio Sankt Augustin GmbH, located near Bonn, Germany.

The preceding material was provided by the manufacturer. The statements and opinions contained therein are solely those of the manufacturer and not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dental Technology.

For more information, contact:
Shofu Dental Corporation
Phone 800-827-4638
Web www.shofu.com
E-mail customer-service@shofu.com