Ivoclar explains how the colour and light properties of natural teeth can be recreated using its composite resin products.
There are two main possibilities to imitate the colour and light properties of natural teeth with composite resin:
1. Value-based shade system
This system considers the dentin core as crucial in influencing tooth colour, determining the hue and chroma. The enamel imparts the desired brightness (value). This system produces lifelike results but it is challenging for clinicians to accurately judge enamel opacity. Consequently, most modern resins are also designed to accommodate various levels of colour saturation in the enamel.
2. A-D shade system
This system provides various dentin and enamel materials with the same chroma but different opacities. It is easier to use compared to the value-based system. IPS Empress Direct uses the A-D system, offering a straightforward layering scheme that allows dental professionals to work intuitively.
Intuitive shade system
The IPS Empress Direct product range includes 32 colours: 13 dentin shades, 16 enamel shades, and three translucent materials for incisal areas. This variety allows for solutions that meet the requirements of different clinical colour situations and light-optical properties.
The dentin materials have true-to nature opaque properties and therefore influence the overall shade from within the tooth. The enamel materials have a higher translucency and therefore allow light to diffuse naturally through the dentin materials.
Three translucent materials, Trans 20, Trans 30 and Trans Opal, are available for controlling light reflections in the incisal region.
Creation of an opalescent effect
The effect material IPS Empress Direct Effect Trans Opal further helps imitate natural tooth characteristics, such as the ‘halo’ effect or lifelike translucency of incisal edges. The special Trans Opal material allows you to create a lifelike opalescent effect in just one step. In reflected light the material has a bluish tinge, while in transmitted light it has a reddish-orange appearance – exactly as it should be for natural-looking results.
The Trans Opal material is available in two variants: a flowable (IPS Empress Direct Effect) and a sculptable composite (IPS Empress Direct).
Innumerable possibilities offered for characterisation
IPS Empress Direct Opaque and IPS Empress Direct Color provide additional options for characterising anterior and posterior restorations. IPS Empress Direct Color offers six shades to imitate effects such as discolouration, hypocalcification, or enamel cracks.
Find out more and book your in practice demonstration.
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