GC-KOL-Article-Bio-Emulation_SA

INTRODUCTION

In the modern dental practice, the restoration and tooth should unite predictably in such a manner as to form a structurally adhesive and optically cohesive medium, that has the ability to withstand the multi-axial bio-mechanical force loads in repetition over a prolonged period of time. By means of the evolution, advancement and refinement of adhesive dental technology 1,2 with regards to the bonding materials available on the market in conjunction with the validated clinical protocols at hand 3,4 , clinicians and technicians have been provided with the ability to biomimetically reproduce the union between synthetic dental materials and natural anatomic tooth structures. 5 With the perpetual improvement of dental restorative materials with regards to optical light transmission and color dynamic properties given the plethora of choices with a multitude of shades, translucencies, opacities, effects and stratification techniques 6-11 , the dental professional endeavors to faithfully emulate the dental archetype 12-14 ; that of the natural intact tooth, which serves as the model, mentor and measure. Despite the aforementioned significant advancements and improvements, re-creating the anatomical form and optical features of the intact tooth ever remains an arduous and challenging task and at times an elusive one, both within the clinical and technical dental realms. In order to optimize the optical integration of modern composite resins and silica based ceramics per restorative dental emulation, a thorough understanding of the coronal elements, (enamel / dentinoenamel junction / dentin) their three-dimensional configuration and their respective spatial inter-relationships is deemed compulsory.

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