Statement from Luis Miguel Vera: “Our eyes see in 3D.  Due to VITA I can experience shades in 3D.”

Luis Miguel Vera
Seville, Spain.

Before I present my patient case to you, I would like to introduce you to the beautiful city of my birth, Seville. Seville is in the Andalusian region in Spain and features a rich history. (because Seville was ruled by Muslims, Christians and others during its early founding, it would not be accurate to leave this statement in) Seville is the origin of one of the most important sights in the city quarter of Santa Cruz, the former minaret, the Giralda. Also, the Virgin Mary is very highly honored in my native city.

We Andalusians love to celebrate and have just observed our annual worldwide festival, the famous "Féria de Abril".

In Seville, there is traditionally a large variety of arts and crafts, including the art of goldsmithing and ceramics. The latter was passed on by the Muslims. The ceramic tiles called "azulejos,” which one can admire at the Plaza España, and the "Carthusian ceramics,” are well-known.

In this case, our patient has very translucent teeth. Because of that, we did not want to risk a restoration with a metal ceramic crown. To use the vital stump shade, we decided on a pressed ceramic in combination with VM 9 Add on, which transports the liveliness of the natural play of color. However, our creativity was challenged - how would we control the tooth shade in our model? Our idea was to manufacture a stump that matched the natural tooth from the composite stump material VITA SIMULATE.

When measuring the shade of the neighboring tooth with the spectrophotometer (21), the center of the tooth yielded the result of 2M1 with a dE of 1.2 and, in the gingival third 2L1.5 with a dE of 1.7. The measurement of the stump shade showed 1M1 and, in the cervical area of the tooth, 2M3. Therefore, we selected the pellet in the shade 2M1P-T from PM 9 for pressing.

Here, you can see the milled tooth and its vitality very well.

First, we created a functional wax model for the pressing process. Then, this was embedded and pressed with the pellet in the shade 2M1P-T from PM 9.

After deflasking and inspecting the shape on the model, we created a palatal silicone key. In doing so, we did not lose any reference to the original form in the cut-back and always maintained control.

For optimal harmonization with the neighboring tooth, we created the inner life of our restoration with VITA AKZENT Plus and fixed this with a shade-fixing firing. We reconstructed the individual form of the incisal edge with Add-on material.

Finally, we glazed the crown with Glaze LT. With the aid of the stump made from VITA Simulate, we checked the shade of the stump material. To ensure that the transport of the stump shade was easily visible in the crown, we used glycerine for the try-in. This allowed us to avoid trapped air between the crown and stump.

Measurement of the tooth shade now showed 2M1 with a dE of 1.6, while the neighboring tooth showed 2M1 with a dE of 1.2. This deviation is not perceived by the human eye.

The restoration on the model.

and the restoration cemented in the mouth,