Dental contact lenses or contact lenses are aesthetic works where only the front of the tooth is covered, called the buccal region. Currently, the material used is lithium disilicate, which is much more resistant than traditional porcelain and because it is more resistant, this technique can be done in various thicknesses, including extremely thin ones, which were called contact lenses.

One ​​of the great advances that occurred in contact lenses, in addition to the material itself, were the products for bonding them. Bonding agents between teeth and lithium disilicate (dental contact lenses) are extremely efficient, which gives professionals and patients a lot of security.

Teeth that require a very large change in color or positioning need to receive a little more wear on the tooth before performing the procedure.

What is the indication for the use of dental contact lenses?
Dental contact lenses are indicated for patients who have teeth with:

• inappropriate format;
• unwanted color;
• irregular size or for correction of teeth position;

That is, the lenses are indicated for almost all needs to change the aesthetics of the teeth, with the great advantage that the wear is light or even unnecessary and only on the front part (buccal region) of the tooth.

Before, it was necessary to completely wear down the teeth and often the wear was so great that it was indicated to perform root canal treatment before starting the treatment, so that there was no risk of that tooth hurting later and the work being lost.

What do I need to know before opting for the dental contact lens procedure?

It is very important to point out that although most articles about contact lenses aimed at the lay public state that there is no need for any type of tooth grinding or that there is minimally invasive grinding, the absence of any wear on the teeth is actually the minority of cases.
Although contact lenses are extremely thin, if something is added in front of teeth well positioned without making any wear, in my opinion, we run the risk of having the lip in front and an impression that the teeth "jumped out". In the mouth, any millimeter difference gives the feeling of a huge difference.
The wear can be really light, it is done only on the front part of the tooth, but once done, there is no turning back. The results are fantastic, patients are extremely satisfied.

I decided to put the dental contact lens, what's the next step?

1. In general, the patient goes to the dental office for the first consultation, where I try to find out the reason for the consultation and what he would like to change in his teeth. With this information, it is possible to make a general assessment of the mouth and observe what it needs from a professional point of view and the possibility of getting what it wants.
2. Next, the professional takes an impression, which can be done through a buccal scanner or the traditional method and the necessary changes to the teeth are made through a computer program or by the prosthetician, who makes the teeth in wax, on the patient's model and we call it diagnostic waxing. We love the teeth in wax and reproduce them in bisacrylic resin (cited above) in the mouth.we make the dental alterations on the computer and we make the teeth in resin, through a 3D printer.
3. Everything visualized, discussed and reaching a consensus that that color, shape, size and position are perfect, we move on to the phase of preparing the teeth.
   This part is still traditional, there has been no advance in a technology that replaces the little motor, a fact that surprises me when we say that in a very few years, almost all work will be done through computer programs.
4. Once completed, we send the model to the prosthetist and it is manually reproduced or we send the impression taken by the buccal scanner to a milling machine and this makes in the smallest details what was planned.
5. After the lenses are ready, comes the placement phase. The dentist and the patient look to see if everything is right in what we agreed on in our long conversations, being in accordance with the plan, they are cemented.
   Process for placing dental contact lenses.

What is the process of fitting dental contact lenses?

1. The process of placing the lenses is simple for the patient, but very rich in details for the dentist. If a tooth is 0.01 mm out of position, it is already we will have a problem in the final result.
2. The placement of dental contact lenses requires several sessions with the dentist. The first step will be planning the procedure, then the dentist will prepare the teeth and make the teeth in bisacrylic resin to see if the patient likes it and where we need to change something.
3. Then an appointment will be made to try on the lithium disilicate teeth - it's very important to see how it will look. Despite all the demonstrations made previously, here is the final result, the tooth that will be placed in your mouth, with the chosen color.
   If at the last moment the patient finds the tooth lighter than he wanted, bigger than desired or anything personal he wants to change, it is still possible. When it's ready, there's nothing else to do, it's that tooth and it's solved.
4. Once everything is resolved, the prosthetist makes the necessary changes and the next day the lenses are fitted, confident that it is exactly what we wanted from the beginning.

Is anesthesia required to insert a dental contact lens?
Yes and no! If the wear on the tooth was very light, not reaching the dentin, we can bond the lenses without anesthetizing the patient. However, if the patient needs deeper repairs, which reached the dentin, it is suggested that he anesthetize himself to avoid any type of discomfort, since one of the products used to prepare the tooth to receive the resin that will unite the lithium disilicate porcelain to the tooth is an acid attack.
Because it is acidic, it can cause discomfort in more sensitive teeth and the dentist can work more comfortably, without the patient moving around or enduring a little pain that is unnecessary.

Are dental contact lenses placed only on the front teeth or on all of them?
They are placed only on the front teeth, but in many situations, the premolars have a very different color or shape than what we planned at the beginning and will appear in the smile, contrasting with the placed lenses, so in these cases we extend them to the premolars.