by Michael DiTolla, DDS, FAGD
For more on this topic, go to www.dentaleconomics.com and search using the following key words: crown and bridge, cordless, cementation, articulating paper, Dr. Michael DiTolla.
ContacEZ® serrated dental strips
Whether using self-etching resin cements or total-etch resin cements, I find it impossible to perform proper adhesive dentistry and leave no residual resin cement behind without a good set of serrated dental strips. ContacEZ® has two thicknesses of serrated dental strips from which to choose: 0.035 mm ContacEZ® Serrated Strip I and 0.065 mm ContacEZ® Serrated Dental Strip II. The ultra-thin ContacEZ® Serrated Strip I can be inserted into the interproximal spaces of veneers prior to light curing, while the heavy duty ContacEZ® Serrated Strip II is useful for cutting and cleaning out hardened excess resin cement from interproximal spaces after final cementation. I suggest you get both to be prepared for everything from super-tight contacts to bonded-shut contacts. I would not consider bonding a veneer case without a set or two of these strips.
Thornton Bridge & Implant Interdental Cleaners
What took me so long to find these special-use, interproximal dental cleaners? I have been using Thornton 3-in-1 Floss for a long time to clean up excess cement because I love the spongy filament brush. But I have always complained that the plastic threader was not stiff enough to get through tight embrasures. Thornton Bridge & Implant Interdental Cleaners provide a stiffer version that can pretty much get in anywhere and feature a slightly larger, spongy filament brush. But they do not have a floss section, so I always use Glide® floss (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio) separately during cement cleanup.
Triotray Pro™
The Triotray Pro™ is a rigid, high-walled, reusable dual-arch impression tray. It comes in two sizes and has single-use mesh inserts. When the lab sends the tray back to you, simply pull out the old impression material, autoclave the tray, and place a new mesh insert. The Triotray Pro can be used to take a preop impression for a temporary crown. When you finish the temporary, you can remove the preop impression and save it in case you need to make a new temporary crown. If this becomes necessary, the impression can be used without the tray. The stainless steel tray is rigid enough to be used with any impression material and requires no adhesive due to its self-locking design.
RapidCore® and Encore® D/C MiniMix®
If you were to spend an hour walking around the lab with me, you would see how underused core buildups are. There are many compelling reasons to do core buildups. But if they are not easy to execute, they may not get done. Centrix Dental introduced MiniMix technology to its RapidCore® and Encore® D/C MiniMix® core buildup materials, reducing waste and allowing for easy setup and no cleanup. I love how hard both of these materials set, and that there is minimal waste. RapidCore® MiniMix® is a fully self-cure composite resin that provides complete depth of cure in only two minutes without light activation, while Encore® D/C MiniMix® is dual-cure for fast light activation in case you want to start prepping immediately.
Dr. Michael DiTolla is the Director of Clinical Research and Education at Glidewell Laboratories in Newport Beach, Calif. He lectures nationwide on both restorative and cosmetic dentistry. Dr. DiTolla has several free clinical programs available online or on DVD at www.glidewelldental.com.
