SELECTING THE BEST MATERIAL FOR YOUR PATIENTS

Are you wondering how you can select the best material for your patients? There are so many old and new materials that you are able to choose from. We at iDental Lab, are happy to help make your decision process a bit simpler! It all comes down to the patient’s oral conditions, preferences, expectations, and finally, keeping in mind the cost.

We understand that some of your patient’s expectations and demands can be high and sometimes even unrealistic – which can make the decision process of choosing the best material for your patient a bit challenging. It is crucial to set the patients expectations from the beginning of the restoration procedures.

Here are some helpful factors to please keep in mind when deciding:

1. Male or Female Patient – This is not a significant factor; however, it can help determine the shape and characteristic.
2. Age of the Patient – This is a very important factor since younger teeth can be healthier and have a solid opaque shade. While older teeth have a lot more translucency (glass looking), especially coming from deep inside of the teeth.
3. Final Shade – We will need to know this in order to determine the final material selection.
4. Is the patient currently bleaching? If so, then you may want to wait a few months before selecting the final shade.
   Or has the patient ever bleached before? Then most likely, we will not be able to use a single shade guide.
5. Prepped Shade (dentin shade) – If Dentin shade is closer to the final shade, then material selection can be much simpler. If shade is darker, then we may have to eliminate certain materials such as e.max or Empress.
6. Bite Condition – Some materials such as e.max and Empress, may or may not be suitable for patients with bite conditions such as; underbite, crossbite, or upper front teeth protrusion.
7. Teeth Grinder – If your patient is a heavy teeth grinder, then we may have to compromise with shade selection and choose from our stronger materials, such as CAD-CAM Monolithic Zirconia, Full Gold Crown (FGC), or Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM) with Metal Occlusal.
8. Final factor to consider; The Health of Teeth – Root canal teeth may or may not get darkened over time, even if it is a lighter shade at this present time. Therefore, E.Max or Empress may not be the most suitable selection for these patients.

Our recommendation for older patients, would be Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM) with precious or semi-precious, or Porcelain Fused to Zirconia (zirconia layered crowns and bridges); these may be the best choice for most conditions. For shade conscientious patients, E.Max and Zirconia layered crowns would be the better choice, but may not be suitable for each patient’s needs.
We hope this article can help you and your patient!
Please, feel free to reach out and give us a call to discuss if you have any further questions.