CHARACTERIZATION

                    CRAZELINES 

Craze lines are created by placing resin tints to form a wall of color as if a crack existed in the tooth.  Brown craze lines are created with brown tint while white craze lines are created with yellow tint.  There are several techniques to produce craze lines.  I prefer to build the mesial or distal portion of a defect with composite forming a lateral wall and cure the composite.  A thin layer of tint is placed on an instrument and wiped on the lateral composite wall.  Excess is removed and the brown tint cured.  The remaining portion of the defect is built with composite, cured and polished.

            HYPOCALCIFICATION

Hypocalcifications are created by placing white tint on a restoration.  White tint is placed on cured composite, shaped and light cured.  A final enamel layer is placed over the surface of the restoration in a thin layer.  Composite is shaped and polished.

                    CUSTOM COLOR AND CHARACTERIZATION

Composite is difficult to match for some teeth.  Color is altered by mixing tints.  Tints thin composite and reduce filler percentage thereby increasing shrinkage.  Oxygen is incorporated so there is a lower percentage of composite cure and therefore it is a weaker material.

A medically compromised patient requires tooth replacement. Teeth are brown color and highly characterized.  Fiber reinforcement strengthens composite across the lateral space.  Composite builds a tooth substructure to be veneered and characterized.  The cuspid is veneered with a brown crazeline.  The lateral is veneered with a hypocalcification.