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Dental composites have now been used for many years,
and practitioners have come to recognise their valuable
properties when trying to reproduce restorations that can
be regarded as truly aesthetic. And whilst composites
cannot be used for all dental restorations, they are
perhaps the best option where intra-oral conditions do
allow their use.
The work of Dr Vanini
Dr Lorenzo Vanini is one of the worlds most respected
innovators in dental composite technology, and his
extensive work over the past 20 years has resulted in the
introduction to the dental market of the now well-
established Enamel plus HFO range of restorative
composites.
Dr Vanini developed a unique build-up technique
that utilised a systematic layering of composite materials
that resulted in a much more realistic and natural
appearance to both anterior and posterior direct
composite restorations, and reduced the sometimes
obvious lines of demarcation that could be detected in
some composite restorations. The same build-up
techniques were also found to work effectively with
indirect composite restorations produced in the dental
laboratory.
Enamel plus HFO composites
The Enamel plus HFO range of composites offered the
practitioner and technician considerable scope of use, but
it was not always possible to produce restorations that
would both reflect and refract light in the same way as
that of natural tooth enamel. This is due to the somewhat
different refractive indexes of the natural enamel (n 1.62),
and that of the composite (n1.51), and in an effort to try
and balance out the values of these, some users would
add extra composite enamel. This procedure tended to
increase the brightness of the restoration the so-called
glass effect which did not always assist in rectifying the
balance of both reflected and refractive light, or in the
desired appearance of the restoration.
HRI enamels
A newly introduced composite enamel material, known
as HRI, has now addressed this problem.
The HRI enamels use high refractive index
Nano-Zirconium Oxide particles (12%), together with a
specially developed silanisation process. The HRI
enamels also contain a high refractive index glass filler
(68%), and have a Vickers hardness of 700mpa, and a
flexural strength of 13,500mpa.
There are three UE (Universal Enamel) shades that can
be used in conjunction with the regular Enamel Plus
HFO Universal Dentine (UD) shades. UE1 is an
amber-based shade, UE2 is a general-use enamel shade,
and UE3 is intended for use with white or bleached teeth.
Advantages of HRI
The advantage that the HRI enamels offer can be
described as a cloning of the natural enamel layer. The
HRI enamels possess the same light refractive index as
that of natural tooth enamels, and consequently they can
be applied over the dentine composite as a much thinner
layer; this being virtually as thin as that of the natural
tooth enamel.
The use of the relatively intense HFO Opalescent
shades, such as OA (Opalescent Amber), and OBN
(Opalescent Blue Natural), will therefore be significantly
reduced, and these need only be used where a specific
shade enhancement is required.
Use of the HRI enamels can also negate the need to use
the HFO glass connecter, as one of the functions of this
material was to balance light reflection and refraction
effects.
Dental professionals that are already familiar with
Enamel Plus HFO composites will find that the
introduction of the HRI Enamels offers them new
opportunities to further enhance the aesthetic quality of
all their composite restorations.
Tony Beale describes the new HRI composites that
produce a true representation of natural tooth enamels
A new advance in
composite restorations
For those practitioners wanting to learn more about Enamel
Plus HFO, the new HRI enamels and HFO technique courses,
please contact Optident Ltd, International Development
Centre, Valley Drive, Ilkley, LS29 8AL. Call 01943
605050, email char.billington@optident.co.uk or visit
www.optident.co.uk.
Figure 1: Central incisor prior to restoration with Enamel Plus
HFO composite
Figure 2: Restored central incisor, showing use of HRI enamels
and the complete integration with the natural tooth enamel
Figure 3: New HFO composite kit showing HRI Universal Enamel
shades (UE1, 2, 3), and note new dentine shades UD 0 and UD 0.5
for bleached teeth