Chapters authored
Caries Management Aided by Fluorescence-Based Devices
Fluorescence-based intraoral cameras are increasingly gaining more interest in the modern dental practice, as an aid for the early detection of carious lesions. Such devices can have different operating systems, such as infrared lasers, quantitative light fluorescence (QLF), or LED lights, but they all rely on the fluorescent properties of tooth structures. Healthy enamel and enamel affected by demineralization have different light-scattering properties, a fact that allows for distinction under excitation with light of a known wavelength. The central problem in the treatment of dental decay is that operational care is still considered the predominant management plan for caries control in the general practice. Devices that use fluorescence have the potential to improve the detection and management of carious lesions significantly. Currently, there are several intraoral devices that employ fluorescence on the market, but more validation studies would be required to uphold the interest of the newly developed devices and to justify their reliability in clinical practice. Dental professionals cannot yet solely rely on one single-fluorescence device for incipient caries diagnosis, but they already present themselves as useful adjunctive tools to traditional examination methods.
Part of the book: Dental Caries
Novel Prosthetic Solutions for High-Quality Aesthetics
Human teeth play an important role in facial aesthetics. The modern society trends for more and more demanding aesthetics strongly reflect in teeth appearance. Perfect shaped, aligned, and white teeth are considered the business card of an appealing smile. Fixed prosthetics not only aim to restore the lost function of human teeth but also their aesthetics. The ideal in this matter is to provide an indirect restoration that perfectly matches the neighboring teeth or aims to improve the overall appearance of the patient’s teeth, depending on the situation. However, the choice of aesthetic materials and technologies has experienced a significant development in recent years. By far, dental ceramics are the state-of-the-art material when a high-quality indirect fixed prosthetic restoration is the goal. This chapter will provide information on this class of materials and their indications in fixed prosthodontics, focusing on novel manufacturing technologies, as well.
Part of the book: Human Teeth