Recently, we started using a new technique for Enamel Microabrasion. The results are spectacular. Here is one notable case:
Enamel Microabrasion is a technique for reducing or removing internal enamel stains from teeth. Such stains can range from bright white to dark brown. This technique is not entirely predictable. The benefit however is that it reduces the need for composite resin bondings and even veneers.
Enamel Microabrasion has been an accepted technique since the 1980s. It uses an abrasive, and the same 37% phosphoric acid that we use to etch tooth enamel in the Total Etch technique. Don't worry when we say the word "acid." This stuff is less acidic than the contents of your stomach. But it creates microscopic roughness on the enamel surface. We then create a chemical and micromechanical bond to this roughened surface, and that's how we bond resin and porcelain restorations to the tooth.
That's really magnified etched enamel. Beautiful, isn't it?
Our recent tweak to Enamel Microabrasion was suggested by Dr. Ray Bertollotti. Instead of commercial products, we use our own etch that we made ourselves, combined with the 50-micron aluminum oxide powder that we use in our microetchers. OK, sandblasters. Don't worry about them either, they're small.
We do a deep polish of the teeth, just as in other forms of the technique. Gums protected by the rubber dam; eyes protected by goggles; and ears protected by making sure no one has the operatory monitor tuned to C-SPAN.
Folks always wonder "How much tooth is being taken away?" Well, studies show that, on average, Enamel Microabrasion removes 12 microns of enamel. That's twelve thousandths of a millimeter. Front tooth enamel ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 millimeters thick. Compare removing 0.012 mm with Enamel Microabrasion to a veneer, where roughly half the enamel (0.5 to 1.0 mm) is removed, and you get a sense of how conservative Enamel Microabrasion is.
Oh, and Enamel Microabrasion does an odd thing. The stain-affected teeth look better a week after Enamel Microabrasion is done than they do immediately. This has to do with how the process dries out the enamel; when it re-wets with saliva for a week or so, the stains fade even further. And Enamel Microabrasion can be combined with whitening techniques to achieve a bright and stain-free smile in the majority of cases.
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