Technical Support for ContacEZ

What is ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip?
ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip is an innovative new precision 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 (IR) by eliminating excessive pressure between the indirect restoration and the adjacent teeth and complete marginal seating is achieved simply and easily.

Is ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip autoclavable?
Yes. It is autoclavable and multi-usable.

How thick is ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip?
It is an ultra-thin (0.065 mm thin) abrasive diamond dust dental strip, which is thinner than the normal range (0.10 mm) of lateral movement of teeth.

Why is the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip flexible instead of rigid?
ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip is flexible, so that it can pass along the curvatures of the proximal contact surfaces of the adjacent teeth. It is also useful for contouring along the convexity of the proximal contours.

What should I do if the Diamond Dental Strip cannot access the interproximal space?
First of all, the proximal contact of the crown from dental lab is too heavy. Heavy proximal contact is mostly happened  when the maximum scraping of 0.10mm on adjacent teeth on the stone models is exceeded. Please visit www.contacez.com/Applications/LAB Diamond Strip System for more information.
Lift the crown up slightly and insert the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip in the interproximal space. Allow the crown to sit on the prepared tooth, but do not press down yet. Simply hold the crown in place and start to pass the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip in one direction buccolingually until you can access the strip in the interproximal space.

What should I do if the Diamond Dental Strip becomes stuck and will not move?
Release the crown from the prepared tooth and allow it to sit there and make sure not to press down on the crown at all. Now start to pass the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip buccolingually to one direction. Because of the orientation of the diamond particles, the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip will pass in one direction only at the beginning when the proximal contact of the crown is overly tight to the adjacent teeth. When it passes both ways then apply gentle pressure on the crown following the passing of ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip.

Can the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip be used for cement removal after crown cementation?
No. ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip is not designed for the removal of crown cement.
It is designed to release pressure in the interproximal space and to restore interproximal relief prior to crown cementation. ContacEZ Serrated Dental Strip is designed for cement removal. Please visit www.contacEZ.com/Products for more information.

I often have difficulty determining which contact is the offending one on a crown. I have tried articulating film, orange paint on marking medium and tension on floss while holding a crown in place. Any better method?
Here is simple way to determine which contact is the offending one on a crown:

  1. Request your dental lab not to scrape the proximal contact surfaces of the adjacent teeth on the working model. If scraping is required, it should be less than 0.10mm in thickness. It is important to retain the natural contour and space between the adjacent teeth.
  2. When the crown arrives from your dental lab, it should fit to the prepared abutment with near complete marginal seating but with slight pressure to adjacent teeth.
  3. Dislodge the crown from the abutment and insert a ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip into the interproximal space with the abrasive side facing the crown. Place the crown but don’t press down on the crown yet.
  4. Pass ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip buccolingually a few times.
  5. Perform Steps (c) and (d) on the mesial and distal sides of the crown.
  6. The side with heavier pressure is the offending one. Repeat Step (d) on mesial and distal sides of the crown until the pressure is equal on both sides and interproximal relief is achieved (JPD, vol 97, issue 4).
  7. The crown now has ideal proximal contact and complete marginal seating has been achieved. The crown is ready for final cementation.

ContacEZ Serrated Dental Strip breaks when it is used to remove crown cement. What can I do? ContacEZ Serrated Dental Strip is very useful because it is so thin, however, it is also delicate. If contacts are too tight, the Serrated Dental Strip will break. Adjust your contacts with the ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip prior to final cementation. Then remove the excess resin cement around the crown with an explorer. Pass the Serrated Dental Strip back and forth gently and buccolingually (do not press down!) to cut and clean out the remaining resin cement in the distal and mesial interproximal spaces. The ContacEZ Serrated Dental Strip will pass through the interproximal space in most natural dentitions with minimum resistance.

Does ContacEZ Diamond Dental Strip cause food impaction issues?
No. interproximal relief* is achieved by adjusting proximal contact to passive contact or no contact. This microscopic clearance between the indirect restoration and the adjacent teeth is so small that ground food particles cannot pass through. Food impaction is prevented by properly deflecting contours and the occlusal anatomy of the teeth. (*The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, “A Proximal Contact Adjustment and Interproximal Relief Method” Vol. 97, No. 4, by DS Kim,DDS & KW Suh,DDS)

Is it correct to assume that the side with the most open margin has overly tight contact during crown seating?
No. If the crown is far off from the abutment because of massively scraping on the adjacent teeth at the dental lab, the side with the crown margin that is closer to the prepared surface of the abutment has the overly tight contact. When you place the crown vertically onto the abutment, the tight side pushes the crown toward the other side. For more information, please visit Crown Seating and Case Report #29.

What is Interproximal Relief (IR)?
In natural dentition, there is passive contact or no contact between the teeth when the mouth is in a resting position. For proximal contact adjustment of indirect restorations, it is important that dentists restore this passive contact or microscopic clearance to relieve pressure between the proximal contact surfaces. The relief of pressure in the interproximal space is referred to as Interproximal Relief. By restoring Interproximal Relief, complete marginal seating of the indirect restoration is achieved, and the elevation of the occlusion of adjacent teeth is prevented. Interproximal Relief enhances patient comfort and restores functionality immediately after definitive cementation of the indirect restoration.

What would happen if Interproximal Relief (IR) were not achieved when the indirect restoration is seated?
Because the indirect restoration is most likely improperly seated, the excessive interproximal pressure may cause the extrusion of the adjacent teeth or the incomplete marginal seating of the crown.

What will ContacEZ Restorative Strip System do for me?

  • Simplify accurate proximal contact adjustment achieving complete marginal seating of crowns.
  • Minimize the need for occlusal adjustment.
  • Avert adjacent teeth extrusion due to excessive interproximal pressure.
  • Enhance patient comfort immediately after final cementation of indirect restorations.
  • Reduce chair time.
  • Eliminate the need to use articulating films.
  • Eliminate the need to hold small restorations on your fingers and the use of rotary instruments.
  • Reduce the tedium of taking small crowns and inlays/onlays in and out of the patient’s mouth.
  • Offers single-handed design for better tactile control.
  • Grants easy access to tight anterior or posterior spaces.