Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

Dental tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | November 2012 << FILLING, page 1 Planmeca already provides equipment to dental institutions and colleges in more than 25 countries around the world. Ear- lier this year, the company began supply- ing one of Malaysia’s largest dental schools in Kuala Lumpur with dental units, as well as panoramic and intra-oral imaging equip- ment. The equipment provided to the colleges in Riyadh and Kuopio will include Planmeca Sovereign and Compact i dental units, as well as PlanmecaProMax 3D X-ray imaging devices and PlanmecaProX digital intra- oral units. Once installed and networked with each other, they will provide an inter- active learning environment for students and help to improve the quality of dental care services, the company said. As one of the leading institutions in the Ar- abic world, King Saud University’s Col- lege of Dentistry currently has more than 120 students enrolled for its BDS pro- grammes. Supported by the Saudi govern- ment, it seeks to become an international- ly renowned institute for dental education and research by 2030. The University of Eastern Finland, a recent merger of the University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio, began educating dentists in 2010. Minimizing risks using conventional and digital shade determination, shade communication and shade control (3-part series) VITA shade, VITA made. More precise than the eye: digital determination and verification of all tooth shades VITA Easyshade® Advance – To err was human! 3421E VITA Easyshade Advance features cutting-edge spectro- photometric shade measurement technology with an inte- grated light source. As a result, it is entirely independent of ambient conditions and delivers shade results in VITA SYSTEM 3D-MASTER, VITA classical A1–D4 and VITABLOC shades in a matter of seconds. Increase your reliability and profitability – very easily and entirely digitally with Easyshade Advance. / www.vita-zahnfabrik.com 3421E_210x297 1 23.09.11 11:46 T he technological revolution from conventional to digital technology is gathering increasing momentum in a number of industries. At the same time, customer expectations are also growing, both in terms of greater individ- uality and quality, and also with regard to faster treatments at a less expensive price. As these expectations apply to many ar- eas of our lives, it is natural to expect that a guide should also be available for the area of cosmetic dentistry that guarantees indi- vidual, esthetic and superior quality tooth shade reproduction. Thekeystones toprostheticsuccess Shade determination, shade communica- tion, shade reproduction and shade control are the four keystones of an efficient, stan- dardized process chain in the fabrication of high-quality dental restorations. This struc- tured and standardized approach guaran- tees the best possible treatment of the pa- tient's needs by the dental surgeon and dental technician. Shade determination is the basis here for all subsequent steps, and so must be performed thoroughly and ac- curately. The issue of tooth shade is one of consider- able importance to the patient. This is due to the fact that for patients, shade is one of the few tangible points of reference that they have when it comes to evaluating re- storative treatment. VITA:settingshade standardsfor50years Those involved in shade taking have a va- riety of determination systems at their dis- posal for unique shade description. It has been over 50 years since VITA Zahnfabrik introduced the VITAPAN classical shade guide. This original A1-D4 shade guide is considered the standard internationally in tooth shade determination and classifies tooth shades as A1-A4 (reddish – brown- ish), B1-B4 (reddish – yellowish), C1-C4 (grayish shades) and D2-D4 (reddish – gray). In a further step towards individual de- termination of the tooth shade, VITA de- veloped the SYSTEM 3D-MASTER, which was the first tool to illustrate the tooth col- or space in a structured and comprehensive fashion. This approach is based on the fact that naturally-occurring tooth shades can be determined in a systematic fashion by selecting tooth lightness, chroma and hue. Naturally-occurring tooth shades vary most strongly in terms of degrees of lightness and as a result, incorrect determination is most clearly visible here. The 3D-MASTER SYS- TEM uses this information and classifies the 29 sample teeth into 5 levels of lightness, 3 levels of chroma and 2 hues. With the VITA Linearguide 3D-Master, this approach has been perfected – the person taking the shade can determine the tooth shade precisely and methodically in just two steps (1. Lightness, 2. Chroma and hue). Digitaldentalshadetaking– fastandprecise Fast and objective results for tooth shade measurement are prerequisite for an effi- 3INduStry