Confidence in the Esthetic Result
December 1, 2018
Volume 14
,
Issue 12
,
December 2018
Page(s): p. 64
"Early on, I learned that conservative dentistry was the best," says Robert Margeas, DDS, an adjunct professor in the Department of Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa who maintains a private practice in Des Moines, Iowa. "The success of porcelain veneers is mostly about preserving the enamel. From day one, I was very conservative-not necessarily prepless, but ‘prep less.'"
As a company, DenMat has always been focused on conservative dentistry, including no-prep and minimally prepared veneers. In a recent interview with Product Talk, Margeas discussed his use of DenMat's Lumineers®-thin, leucite-reinforced glass ceramic veneers. Part of their success can be attributed to the concierge-style service offered by DenMat's laboratory. If a clinician has a concern or a question for the technicians, it's very easy to get in contact with them directly. "I've been very impressed because you work with the same technician throughout the case," explains Margeas. "Often, you have a difficult time getting through to the technician at other laboratories."
Another extraordinary service pioneered by DenMat's laboratory is A.R.T.™ (Additive-Reductive Template). For more complicated cases, such as ones in which the patient hasn't gone through orthodontics, it provides a series of templates that demonstrate exactly where to reduce and by how much. Through the use of the A.R.T. templates and the Strategic Prep Model for freehand reduction, clinicians are intelligently prepping to attain better cosmetic results that conserve tooth structure. In addition, this process gives the dentist and patient the chance to approve the new smile in a close-to-final form prior to fabrication.
"If you're starting out doing veneers, and you're not sure where to reduce, this is an added benefit," Margeas says. "We didn't have that luxury in the past. When I see cases that I did 25 years ago, even though they're still in the mouth, they're sometimes not as esthetic as they could be. We either didn't reduce enough, or we didn't know exactly where to reduce."
Because clinicians couldn't prefigure what these cases were going to look like when complete, it was initially more difficult to present this treatment and to tell patients with the utmost confidence that they would look great. Now, clinicians can take a picture of the patient, send it to DenMat's laboratory, and their imaging service will image the smile so that patients can visualize what they will look like after treatment. This is possible due to the predictability and consistency of the technique.
"We each have a certain style that we prefer," Margeas says. "Maybe we want surface texture; maybe we want more incisal translucency. It's important to be able to show patients what they may want to look like. To be able to talk to the technician one-on-one and explain exactly what you want is essential to me because sometimes the desired esthetics get lost in the translation. Then you get something that you like, but the patient doesn't. The most important result for me is that the patients get what they want, not what I want, and that they're happy."
Approximately 85% to 90% of the work that the DenMat laboratory does involves anterior units. "That's important because the experience that they bring to the case often makes a difference," Margeas explains. "They've gained a lot of knowledge over the last 30 to 35 years. They've made developments, they've corrected issues, and they've improved the process. This provides a greater sense of security for these cases."
Board Member Bio
Robert Margeas, DDS, a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry, maintains a private practice in Des Moines, Iowa, and is an adjunct professor in the Department of Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa.
Notable Features
Cerinate II®-leucite-reinforced porcelain
Designed for use with multiple preparation techniques,including no-prep, enamel contouring, traditional, and A.R.T. (Additive-Reductive Template)
Can be produced using pressed, cut-back, and stacked fabrication methods.
To hear more from Margeas about the benefits of using Lumineers, check out the entire Product Talkinterview online at: www.insidedentistry.net/go/ product-talk-5
For more information, contact:
DenMat Corporation
denmat.com
800-433-6628
