About the Case
A 65-year-old male presented with a chief complaint of wanting a more ideal smile. His teeth had shifted in the time since he completed orthodontic treatment as a teenager, resulting in diastemas and noticeable wear. It was important to him that any treatment done be as conservative as possible with minimal removal of healthy tooth structure. Upon examination of his smile, it was noted that patient had spaces between several of his front incisors and his central incisors were pushed lingually, out of alignment. He also had short, flat canines that had worn over the years. After a discussion of treatment options, the patient was not interested in orthodontic treatment nor in utilizing porcelain in his treatment due to cost and his desire to preserve tooth structure. It was decided that we could address all his concerns utilizing composite.
Typically, utilizing composite to close multiple diastemas and manually re-shape and lengthen teeth can be time-consuming, unpredictable and quite frustrating for a dentist. The time and expertise required to achieve ideal results can also result in treatment costs that can be prohibitive for the patient. In this case, utilizing the Matrix solved all these concerns by providing a template that allowed ideal contours and shape of the teeth while reducing the time needed to achieve a more esthetic smile. Using composite in this case allowed me to have maximum control of the esthetics of the case and had the added benefit of no additional porcelain lab costs for the patient. The tooth contours can be easily adjusted by finishing or by adding more composite. Additionally, composite allows me some creative design with finishing and polishing. The patient states that he feels very proud of his new smile, and he just can’t stop smiling!
