cosmetic dentistry_ beauty & science

special topic _ white spot lesions I One of the reasons that earlier approaches to the treatment of white spot lesions have fallen short is that fluoride therapy is not always effec- tiveintheadvancedstages,andtheuseofrestora- tive fillings usually sacrifices significant amounts of healthy tooth structure. Instead of adopting a wait and see approach, Icon has been shown to arrest the progress of early enamel lesions up to the first third of dentine in one simple procedure (Fig. 6), without unnecessary loss of healthy tooth structure. In the procedure described here, the surface area of the white spot lesion is eroded with a 15 % HCl gel, which opens the pore system of the lesion. This is then dried with ethanol, followed by the ap- plicationofIconontothelesionwiththeapplication aid. The extremely high penetration coefficient en- ables it to penetrate into the lesion pores. Excess material is then removed, and the material is light- cured. The total treatment time should be about 15 minutes (Fig. 7). The cosmetic treatment of cariogenic white spots in one visit can be very appealing, especially to young patients and their parents (Figs. 8a & b). No drilling or anaesthesia is required and those patients who have already demonstrated poor compliance with their brushing can be treated earlier. I would recommend that clinicians try the Icon product when attempting to remineralise whitespotlesionspost-orthodontictreatment.This is not just minimally invasive dentistry; it is micro- invasive dentistry._ Fig. 6_The first treatment to bridge the gap between prevention and restoration. Fig. 7_Smooth surface procedure. Figs. 8a & b_Lesions before and after Icon treatment. I 17cosmeticdentistry 1_2012 DrDerekMahonyisa world-renownedspecialist orthodontist,whohasspokento thousandsofpractitionersabout thebenefitsofinterceptive orthodontictreatment.Earlyinhis career,DrMahonylearnedfrom leadingcliniciansthedramatic effectfunctionalappliancetherapycanaffordpatients inorthodontictreatment.Hehascombinedthefixedand functionalapplianceapproacheversince.Hislectures arebasedonthepositiveimpactsuchacombined treatmentapproachhashadonhisorthodonticresults andthebenefitsthisphilosophyprovidesfroma practicemanagementperspective.DrMahonyisa contributingeditortotheJournalofClinicalPaediatric Dentistry,InternationalOrthodonticJournaland SpanishJournalofDentofacialOrthopaedics. Hecanbecontactedatinfo@derekmahony.com. _about the author cosmeticdentistry Fig. 8a Fig. 8b Fig. 6 Fig. 7