Composite Restorations
Dental materials – what goes where? the current status of glass ionomer as a material for loadbearing restorations in posterior teeth
The demand for tooth-coloured restorations in posterior teeth is increasing worldwide,1 with the principal alternative to amalgam being considered to...
Incisal tips
A 28-year-old male presented with generalized moderate toothwear of erosive and attritive origin (Figures 1 and 2). Having identified the aetiology...
Are dentine pins obsolete?
As traditional dental materials, in particular dental amalgam, have no inherent ability to bond to tooth tissue, they have to be retained in an...
Dental materials – what goes where? class I and II cavities
Glass ionomer cements (GICs) were developed in the early 1970s, being a combination of a fluoro-alumino-silicate (FAS) glass, mixed with a polyacrylic...
Direct anterior composites: a practical guide
A complex range of interrelated factors combine to determine the overall aesthetic properties of each individual patient's smile. Principles of ‘smile...
Twenty years of handling evaluations and practice-based research by the PREP panel
Readers will remember materials which they have purchased, used once and confined to the back of the practice storage cupboard. Reasons for discarding...
Contemporary management of generalized erosive tooth surface loss
Management of tooth surface loss can be challenging, especially if extensive tooth tissue has been lost. An accurate diagnosis of the aetiology is...
The potential for resin infiltration technique in dental practice
The aim of caries infiltration is to occlude the pores within the lesion body within enamel of non-cavitated caries lesions with special low-viscosity...
Layering composites for ultimate aesthetics in direct restorations
Composite can potentially be used for a variety of restorations, in anterior and posterior teeth. Wear and strength properties of the material are now...
Follow the leader: part 4 – leadership pillar 3 – delivering the key outcomes
This final leadership pillar is about the practice moving towards success because the whole team is delivering on the fundamental components of the...
Ethical marketing in ‘aesthetic’ (‘esthetic’) or ‘cosmetic dentistry’ part 3
There is a very real danger, when seeking to promote one's products or services in aesthetic (‘esthetic’) dentistry, to use language or images that...
Ethical marketing in ‘aesthetic’ (‘esthetic’) or ‘cosmetic dentistry’ part 1
The ethical marketing of aesthetic or cosmetic dentistry is a complex, difficult and potentially dangerous subject. It is complex because of the range...
Posterior composites: a practical guide revisited
A Class I carious lesion (ICDAS 3)1 was detected in the mesial pit of an upper second molar (Figure 1). The lesion was diagnosed as active with...
Tooth surface loss: tools and tips for management
In many, if not most, patients with TSL the rate of deterioration is slow and a conservative approach with minimal, if any, restorative intervention...
A composite approach to the management of worn maxillary first molar teeth
A 29-year-old lady with toothwear was referred to the restorative department at Bristol Dental Hospital by her GDP for restoration of her maxillary...