Writes: Dr. Stefan Nikolovski
A beautiful smile is something that most people desire.
But when you have a problem such as cracked teeth, discolorations or pigmentations, uneven shape and misplacing, structural abnormalities, abraded teeth as a result of bad habits or else, it can cause you to avoid smiling. The thing is that these problems sometimes cannot be solved with treatments as simple as a regular professional cleaning or placing dental fillings. Then again, that doesn’t mean that you need to worry. When more serious measures are needed to be taken, artificial replacements of your teeth for instance, one should always consider prosthodontics as a solution to their problem. You can restore teeth that have been damaged, misshapen or missing. With prosthodontics, your smile can make a comeback more beautiful than ever. Whether you have cracked, broken, or damaged teeth, your dentist can make a treatment plan that is designed to work best for you. If you have missing teeth, implants, bridges and dentures can fill the gaps. And when there is need to cover teeth that are misshapen, damaged or too small, veneers and crowns would be the solution to your problem.
Nowadays, dentists and lab technicians are in constant search of materials that offer outstanding aesthetics, high strength and functionality. Therefore, there are a lot of dental materials that may be used to cover the damaged tooth and restore your smile and confidence. One of those materials which can be used in various situations of aesthetic and functional deficiency and is considered to be one of the best is E-max (lithium disilicate porcelain), which will be discussed further in the text.
E-max represents a metal free alternative based on lithium disilicate porcelain which is among the best known and most widely used types of glass ceramics. It is highly aesthetic, high strength material which is indicated mainly for single crowns, veneers, inlays, onlays and overlays especially in the visible regions - front teeth. E-max prosthodontic restorations which are made of this lithium disilicate porcelain are biocompatible and indifferent to the tooth and surrounding tissues and do not induce inflammation. Furthermore, the material possesses additional characteristics that make it step ahead of the others used in dental prosthodontics: confirmed high material stability and reliability, outstanding flexible strength, exceptional aesthetics - notably for the anterior region, comprehensive range of translucence and shade, opportunity for making minimally invasive restorations such as thin veneers (0.3mm) or adhesively cemented crown (1.0 mm), which allows maximal preservation of tooth structure during preparation of the tooth/teeth.
Indications for an E-max restorations are:
· Stained teeth
· Correction of tooth structural abnormalities
· Correction of tooth position
· Protection of root canal treated teeth that tend to become fragile
· Replacement of big and old fillings
· Tooth trauma
Getting an E-max restoration is an absolutely painless procedure that lasts 4-5 days. On your arrival in our dental office we will discuss about what are your expectations and wishes and what we, as dentists can do about it. We can talk about the changes you want to make, and also you can show us a picture of your dream smile! Together we can decide about the shape, size and color of your wanted teeth. One of the advantages of the E-max restorations, as we mentioned before, is that they require minimum preparation of the natural teeth, which allows us to keep the natural tooth structure. After preparation of the tooth/teeth is finished, certified E-max dental technician will study our expectations and requirements about the restoration.
Currently, there are clinical studies with up to 12 years of evaluated data which show that basic average survival rate of the E-max crown is nearly 97% with only 3% of failed restorations. Although today, the most used material in our country is zirconia and it is similar in functionality, the difference between these two is that E-max is more translucent than zirconia, which means that it is more aesthetical. Therefore, be smart when choosing the material for your future crowns and veneers, because it is what you will wear on your teeth in the foreseeable future.
If you are in need of fixed prosthodontics or want to improve your smile, please contact us so we can schedule an appointment!
