Crown #29
Using ContacEZ Diamond Strip to Adjust a Proximal Contact
By Dr. Daniel S. Kim, DDS
ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip is an innovative, new dental device designed to use prior to final cementation to achieve proper proximal contact adjustment of indirect restorations. Use of ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip restores interproximal relief* by eliminating excessive pressure between the indirect restoration and the adjacent teeth, and complete marginal seating is achieved simply and easily.
It is extremely important to tell your dental lab to retain the natural contour and space between the adjacent teeth. The models should not be scraped. If scraping is desired, it should not be exceed 0.10mm in thickness.
1. The crown was placed on the preparation and seated with finger pressure. The margin of the crown fit to the preparation perfectly, but there was pressure in the interproximal spaces because of overly tight proximal contact.
2. The crown was lifted from the prepared tooth and rested passively between the adjacent teeth. There was a marginal opening due to overly tight contacts and it was found that the mesial margin had less opening, which indicated that there was more pressure in the mesial interproximal space.
The side with the edge of the crown margin closer to the prepared tooth surface is the side with the heavier proximal contact. When a crown has a very heavy proximal contact, a rotary instrument is recommended for gross adjustment.
3. The crown was slightly lifted and a ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip was inserted into the mesial interproximal space that had the heavier contact. The crown was gently finger pressed. The ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip was passed with the abrasive surface facing the crown, buccolingually 6 times. The crown seated with each pass of the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip.
The orientation of the diamond particles on the metal strip may initially limit the movement of the strip to one direction. The crown was visible through the opening of the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip. This opening allowed easy access for an additional instrument to press down the loose crown while the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip was passed buccolingually.
4. Then the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip was moved to the distal part of the crown and inserted into the interproximal space. The ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip was passed twice buccolingually. Because there was light resistance to the distal, it was not necessary to pass the strip more than twice.
* "A Proximal Contact Adjustment and Interproximal Relief Method"
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, Vol.97, No.4, Page 244-245, April 2007, Daniel S Kim DDS FAGD and Kyu Won Suh DDS MSD DSO