Irena Sailer | Vincent Fehmer | Bjarni Pjetursson
FIXED RESTORATIONS
Irena Sailer | Vincent Fehmer | Bjarni Pjetursson
FIXED RESTORATIONS
A CLINICAL GUIDE TO THE SELECTION OF MATERIALS AND FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-3-86867-563-4
Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH Quintessence Publishing Co Ltd
Ifenpfad 2–4 Grafton Road, New Malden
12107 Berlin Surrey KT3 3AB
Germany United Kingdom
www.quintessence-publishing.com www.quintessence-publishing.com
Copyright © 2021
Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH
All rights reserved. This book or any Part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.
Editing: Anya Hastwell, Elizabeth Ducker, Quintessence Publishing Co Ltd, London, UK
Layout and Production: Ina Steinbrück Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Dedication
“To our families and mentors who inspired us”
Irena, Vincent, and Bjarni
I must admit that the request from Irena Sailer, Vincent Fehmer, and Bjarni Pjetursson to write a foreword for their new book entitled “Fixed Restorations” surprised me. My first thought was: Do we need a book about fixed restorations in this day and age?
On second thoughts, I rapidly changed my mind. They are right. It is necessary and even urgent to publish such a book at this juncture. In many discussions with colleagues, I have noticed how little we know about the incredible product developments in fixed restorations in recent years, and the controversies surrounding the issue. Many protocols and elements have changed in this area of dentistry. It seems essential that the dental community have an overview and guidelines of the current state of the art. A multitude of different materials is available in fixed restorations. Also, the manufacturing techniques for fixed restorations have made fundamental developmental changes, which need to be fully understood.
The practicing clinician should also have a strong foundational knowledge of all the various materials and manufacturing techniques in fixed restorations. But, hand on heart, is this requirement possible? Only during their formal education years do clinicians learn the ability to obtain profound knowledge of the composition and availability of the different materials in fixed restorations; their advantages and disadvantages; their various fields of application; and the various manufacturing techniques. The combined elements of official tutoring, available literature, communication, and controlled hands-on experience allow the clinician to formulate opinions about the gold standards of restorative treatment. Considering the last decades of dentistry, it is apparent that a clinician will never be in the position of always being up to date in the fields of new materials and new manufacturing techniques of fixed restorations. During a clinician’s entire professional life, development of these new techniques and materials is too rapid and intensive to remain fully informed.
Therefore, nowadays, more than ever, the clinician must build a team with his or her laboratory technician. The laboratory technician is the individual who works with dental components daily, gaining a deep understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different materials. Laboratory technicians hold casts in their hand or look at models on the screen daily; they see the chipping, the fractures, and the problems of the different materials used for fixed restorations as they are utilized and produced. They can formulate opinions on suitability and functionality better than anyone else. The wise and ethically motivated dental clinician and researcher needs to lend an ear to the incredible experience and understanding of laboratory technicians.
Irena Sailer, Vincent Fehmer, and Bjarni Pjetursson choose this innovative approach in their book by selecting authors with different backgrounds. Irena Sailer and Bjarni Pjetursson are both incredible clinicians and researchers. Still, they knew and understood that for such a book project to succeed an exceptional laboratory technician’s contribution and input would be required. They found it in Vincent Fehmer. They together have the complete knowledge and experience to create such a mammoth undertaking. I can see with my own eyes what thorough and intense discussion they must have had during the writing of this book. They knew that one of them would never be able to finish such a project. The only way to succeed was to form a team with three exceptional characters.
In the fall of 2019, I had the pleasure to be invited to the wedding of Irena and Vincent. Bjarni was the chosen best man. At the fantastic evening party, all attendees could feel the unique energy between the three of them. They have more than just friendship. There is energy, emotion, and pleasure between them. These characteristics are necessary to build an incredible team to create a unique project like this book.
Dear lovely readers, you now have this book in your hands. I am convinced that you will feel the energy and the enthusiasm of the team behind it while reading. The sparks of fixed restoration will also fly in your mind.
Prof Dr Markus Hürzeler
Today’s progress in dentistry is extremely rapid regarding the development of new materials and techniques for treating patients in need of fixed restorations. It is easy for clinicians to lose oversight of the myriad of materials available and the technical methods to process them and thus to feel left behind this rapid but fascinating progress. In addition, scientific journals in the field are filled with articles on new material categories, new material compositions, and new techniques and methods for material processing. It is becoming increasingly difficult for clinicians to master the problem of which material is best for which indication in clinical practice. With this book, the authors Irena Sailer, Vincent Fehmer, and Bjarni Pjetursson have compiled clinically relevant and useful recommendations on where and how to apply the optimal dental materials in a given clinical situation. It clearly represents the current best practice for decision making regarding material selection in patients in need of fixed restorations. I expect this book to help seasoned clinicians, trainees in dental schools, as well as students in postgraduate programs to provide better care for their patients.
Divided into four parts, the book covers basic information regarding materials and the overall production processes in the first part, and the clinical procedures step-by-step in the second part. The broad illustration with excellent pictures helps the reader to understand the connection between the initial diagnosis, the patient’s needs, the careful identification of indications, and the optimal choice of the best suitable materials, coupled with the state-of-the-art manufacturing technique. The discussion of the clinical challenges occurring around dental restorations would not be complete without the third Part detailing the important issues of long-term outcomes, and the final Part describing the management of complications. Thanks to their years of experience in clinical dentistry and their careers as clinical researchers, the authors excellently combine clinical judgment with the scientific evidence for the recommendations on best practice for fixed restorations. In the light of today’s important role of dental implants to support and improve the desired clinical outcomes, this book deals with materials to restore natural teeth as well as dental implants.
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