Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 9/201414 Put in the hands of a knowledgeable ex- pert,sandblastingisthemethodofchoicefor cleaning and roughening dental surfaces. Long known by dental technicians, there is probably no laboratory in the world right now without a sandblaster—which is used for the removal of investment material residues or the upper, porous, inhomoge- neous layer. However, dentists used to work with sub- tler methods and on finer objects. Although sandblasting has no effect on soft tissue, therearehardersubstanceswhichweasclini- cians have to work on. For those, mini sand- blasters offer a suitable treatment option in dental practice. I have been looking for means and meth- ods to make the cementing process of recon- structionmuchsafer.Inotherwords,Isimply wanted to avoid de-cementing. Every dentist is aware of the complicated situation in which a crown or a post becomes loose. Re- placing it can be a nuisance not only due to thetreatmentfeebutalsopatientdissatisfac- tion.Andwhataffectssingularcrownsiseven more severe in bridges and abutments. In these cases, Airsonic is clearly showing its strength. Placing provisional crowns While every practitioner has his or own method, I set my crowns, bridges and tele- scope attachments ‘soft remaining’. I think I am in good company, since I recently read thatimmediatecementationwithoutletting thecrownsettingincanpossiblyleadtocom- plaints and claims for compensation. I became aware of the Airsonic Mini Sand- blaster through a handout by Hager & Werken, a dental company from Duisburg, Germany.Althoughsimilardevicesareavail- able from other manufacturers, the favourable price of the Airsonic was unbeat- able. There is a fitting adapter for all units. Therefore, only two steps were necessary for my KaVo turbine coupling. After one click andfillinginsomestreamingpowder,thede- vice was ready to go. The results proved con- vincing from the first attempt. In mere sec- onds, the inner part of the crown, which was to be cemented, was thoroughly cleaned. The question remains why sandblasting with the Airsonic by Hager & Werken en- hances the adhesion of dental cements. Well, the roughening of the surface during sand- blasting results inanoverall surface enlarge- ment.These‘mountainsandvalleys’arewhat we need for the mechanical interlocking which is basically what happens during ce- mentation. There is no chemical process here. By now, I have optimally prepared numer- ous crowns, bridges and dental posts for ce- mentation with help of the Airsonic. More- over, we found another type of application during the treatment of a child patient named David who needed to have his pri- mary molars, that were slightly carious, re- stored.Inthepicturesyoucanclearlyseethat with the use of the Airsonic, and within a short amount of time, we were able to condi- tionthemoptimallyfortheplacementofoc- clusal composite fillings. No disruptive bleeding was observed at the surrounding gingiva tissue occurred, which is a common phenomenon during treatment with a pow- der jet. Of course, the sand has to go some- whereattheendwhichiswhyagoodsuction technique is required. But this is something we already need when working with a tur- bine. The Airsonic Mini Sandblaster is deliv- ered with an optional adapter for coupling it quickly to the compressed air supply in den- talpracticesandlaboratories.There,ithasits uses as well. Hager & Werken also offers the mobile Airsonic Absorbo Box which ensures a clean and fast working environment with abraded material remains and no extra suc- tionsystemneeded.Thechangeablefilterab- sorbs the abraded material remains reliably. Meanwhile, the sand blaster has shown to be an almost indispensable tool for our prac- tice. It is not only cost-effective but is also veryreliable.Theintegratedvalveiswhatdif- ferentiates the Airsonic from all its competi- tors that need the pressure to be controlled through the hose. With help of a pneumatic valve, the hose can be conserved and has a longer life time. TRENDS & APPLICATIONS Fig.1: Components like the connecting hose,blasting powder container and optional adapter cou- plings are included with delivery. Fig.2: For every turbine connection (and for the air connection in dental laboratories), there is a ﬁtting adapter coupling. Fig.3:The sandblaster lies comfortably in the hand. Fig.4: Prior to cementing a dental post,the surface is roughened with the Airsonic®. Fig.5:The“loose”crown is thoroughly cleaned before re-cementation. Fig.6: Initial caries in the distopalatinal ﬁssure of tooth 55 (mirror image). Fig.7: After the cleaning with Airsonic (with dental dam),a small defect was also de- tected in the central occlusal ﬁssure. Fig.8:Filling with tooth-coloured composite material after bonding.Owing to the roughening of the enamel,etching was not necessary. 2 Roughening, cleaning and preparing Sandblasters in dental practice are a‘blast’for patients Dr Hans H.Sellmann,Germany 3 54 6 87 DR HANS H.SELLMANN DDS,MSc,PhD maintains a private prac- tice in Nortrup in Germany. He can be contacted at info@der-zahnmann.de. 354 687

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

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