The Amaris shade system follows natural principals and reduces esthetic direct restorations to 2 steps.
Introduced in 2007, Amaris, VOCO’s “simplified esthetic composite,” is intended to make direct esthetic restorations simple by reducing the number of steps involved in the technique.
According to the manufacturer, some of the advantages of this simplified system include: only 5 opaque shades and 3 translucent shades to restore the entire dental shade spectrum, layers that mimic nature from inside the tooth, and virtually no learning curve.
Material Handling and Manipulation
The manufacturer describes Amaris as nonsticky and nonslumping with a smooth consistency. In addition, VOCO says that the working time for the product is at least 8 minutes, and it is fast and easy to polish.
When the 9 dentists who participated in this evaluation were asked to rate Amaris on material handling, 2 rated it as excellent and 7 rated it as very good. One evaluator said, “The material handled well. It didn’t stick to the instrument.” Another evaluator commented that the material was a “perfect consistency—not sticky or tacky.”
With regard to material manipulation, 5 evaluators rated Amaris as excellent and 4 rated it as very good. One evaluator noted that “the material stayed where put and was easily manipulated with instrumentation.” Another evaluator commented on the viscosity of Amaris, saying that it was “just creamy enough, but not too soft—just right. I think this is the first composite I’ve used that I have been thrilled with all aspects.”
Shade Options and Final Shade of Restoration
According to VOCO, the 5 opaque shades and 3 translucent shades offered with Amaris can cover the entire dental range. The concept, says the manufacturer, is scientifically based on equal shade distribution of hue, chroma, and value. Amaris has equal gaps between each opaque shade, which can be closed with 3 translucent modifier shades. Using a manufacturer recommended 0.5 mm translucent layer allows for 15 shade combinations, plus 3 bleach variations. Varying the thickness of the translucent layer, says VOCO, allows Amaris to provide an even larger variety of options that will cover the entire dental shade spectrum.
When asked to rate Amaris on shade options and final shade of restorations, 6 rated it as excellent to very good, 1 rated it as good, and 2 rated it as fair. One evaluator said that he liked “the simplicity of the shade system and the nomenclature and results.” Another evaluator said that he thought the shade guide “did not match well with the final shade results of the restoration.” However, a third evaluator strongly recommends following the shade guide colors. “When I would select a shade based on the shade guide, it always appeared a little light upon placement, but once cured it’s like a chameleon effect—it blends well with the surrounding tooth structure. Trust the shade guide.” His only concern is that “once the shade guide distorts due to multiple disinfectants, will it be difficult to select the shade?”
Layering Technique
The evaluators were asked to rate Amaris on its layering technique. Five evaluators rated it as excellent, 3 rated it as very good, and 1 rated it as good. One evaluator said that he “loves the flowable high opaque. Great to cover up noncarious residual stains when replacing old amalgam. Other products on the market don’t really provide this flowable.” A second evaluator said that he likes “the ability to customize the look of the restoration with minimal steps to match shade and layer.”
Overall Satisfaction
When asked to give their overall satisfaction rating for Amaris, 6 rated it as excellent to very good, 1 rated it as good, and 2 rated it as fair. One evaluator said that he did “some great large anterior incisal edge composites” and that Amaris provides “way better esthetics than any material on the market that we’ve tried, and it is relatively simple to use and select shades.” Another evaluator said that he would “switch to Amaris for all anterior restorations.” A third evaluator said, “We’ll be placing an order [for Amaris] when we run out of our current product.”
