Old Bonding, New Crowns!

After this patient had many rounds of bonding, he was ready for something more permanent! He asked if we could improve on his natural smile and enhance it. No problem!

The old bonding on the two front teeth didn’t match well, so we started this case like we start most “cosmetic enhancement” cases: whitening. Two weeks of take-home whitening overnight brightened his natural teeth. We prepped 8 and 9 for crowns, and 7 and 10 for veneers. By starting with the end in mind from our digital waxup, we were able to do ideal digital dentistry. We only removed a minimal amount of his natural tooth structure and old restorative material to make room for our new restorations. Photos were key to match the shade to what we wanted to achieve, and the master ceramist at Midwest Dental Arts went to work! These final restorations are pressed layered eMax.

eMax, a type of lithium disilicate, is one of our favorite material choices for cosmetic cases like this. Lithium disilicate is a beautiful ceramic, favorited for its strength and ability to bond to porcelain and tooth structure. At its crystallization temperature, it actually fuses with the porcelain layering making the restoration unlikely to sheer off like porcelain fused to metal restorations of the past. In addition to that, it’s able to be pressed or milled. When we (or our lab partners) press it from its molten form, we are able to use minimal preparation designs to be more conservative to the underlying tooth structure.