The Direct Restorative Technology for the Aspiring Anterior Artist

There is an undeniable art of dentistry, but not every dentist is a natural-born artist. Some dentists have to work harder to develop skills on both sides of the brain, and every dentist—even those with natural abilities—stands to benefit from tools and techniques that improve efficiency.

The Uveneer Extra direct composite template system from Ultradent is the latest innovation in restorative dentistry designed to do just that; it creates beautiful direct composite veneers in one visit.

With the exception of duct-taping a banana to a wall, creating a true masterpiece takes time. As Ultradent describes, it took Michelangelo four years to paint the Sistine Chapel. Unearthly talent aside, it might have taken him much less time if he had a template to work with. That’s essentially what the Uveneer Extra template system provides in dentistry.

Uveneer Extra is the equivalent of tracing paper, guiding clinicians toward consistent, predictable, symmetrical direct composite veneers, mock-ups, temporaries, and more.

The system’s technology helps to achieve a refined, anatomically correct, high-gloss restoration in a fraction of the time than if done freehand. To use, simply place your preferred composite onto the tooth, and press the template over the composite. Clean off the excess, cure, and behold your quick work of art with its beautiful contour and finish.

While the original Uveneer system has templates for upper and lower anterior teeth, the Uveneer Extra system offers additional designs for the upper anterior teeth: Extra Large, Large, Medium, and Square.The system kit features 24 templates in total, with each of the four sizes consisting of 6 maxillary templates from canine to canine.

Dr. Rafael Beolchi is a renowned lecturer and researcher of esthetic dentistry, and specializes in direct composite resin restorations. He appreciates the simple efficiency of the Uveneer template system, and he’s careful to draw a distinction between his work as art vs. his work as a time-constrained dentist.

"I don't want my patients to rely on my artistic [abilities] because what happens if they fail me? As in, if it's a day I'm not feeling good or I've received bad news […] I don't want to rely on myself as an artist,” Dr. Beolchi explains. "That's why I like creating methods and parameters, so I can guard myself; because it's not every day I wake up feeling like a Leonardo Da Vinci or a Michelangelo."

The balance between elegance and efficiency is what inspired Dr. Sigal Jacobson to create the Uveneer template family.

The Australian-based dentist found that traditional freehand direct composite veneers were artistically challenging, time-consuming, unpredictable, and not always cost-effective.

“Composites have developed to the point that we’re able to really change patients’ lives by doing more composite work,” she said. “Dentistry is going toward natural-looking surface textures, so Uveneer Extra has more natural templates which were scanned from real people.”

Each Uveneer Extra template is numbered to correspond with the tooth number and template size to assist in correct placement. As Dr. Jacobson described, they're modeled from real tooth anatomy, eliminating the potential for errors that can extend a procedure and destroy the day's schedule. Uveneer Extra templates require minimal adjusting or polishing, which also saves ample time. Each translucent, autoclavable template prevents the oxygen inhibition layer from forming during the curing process, resulting in hard, glossy surfaces, while allowing light to pass through to the composite for effective curing.

“In a single day I was able to do 11 mock-up veneers that were not part of the original schedule, resulting in several new cases being accepted,” said Dr. Chad Wagener of Ankeny, IA. “I wouldn't want to work without them now."

Dr. George Freedman, a founder and past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, added, "Uveneer makes the practice of the anterior esthetic dentistry easier, faster, and better."

So while you’re busy thinking about last-minute gifts for the holidays, don’t forget a last-minute restorative technology for your practice in 2020. Plus, unlike some technology systems, Uveneer Extra’s footprint is small enough to be