Matt Roberts, CMR Dental Lab, Idaho Falls, ID, and Dr. Frankie Shull, Lexington, SC
A 40-year-old female patient was unhappy with the tooth size, wear and esthetics of her smile. She agreed to the suggested orthodontic treatment to create diastemas that would allow more ideal length and width of the restored teeth, as well as intrusion of the central incisors to create a more esthetic gingival architecture.
Dr. Shull and Matt Roberts decided to restore teeth #6 through #11 with thin veneers, and communicated closely to ensure the most esthetic results. One of the most critical points of communication was the relationship between the thinness of the veneers (.2mm midfacial on the centrals) and the color of the underlying preparations. If the preps were too chromatic or too opaque, they would result in a large chromatic "spot" in the mid-facial area.
Communicating via iChat, Roberts and Dr. Shull considered further reduction but concluded that the enamel depth, translucency and color in the prepared tooth would blend well with the final shade and not be problematic.
"This level of communication is invaluable when working on thin veneer cases," says Roberts. "This is just one example of the many aspects of communication between ceramist and clinician that happen on a daily basis and help ensure predictable results for our patients."
