To keep pace with the latest trends in cosmetic dentistry—including the need for durable, highly esthetic and convenient materials for use when creating direct restorations—the IPS Empress system has evolved significantly. Its most recent addition, IPS Empress Direct, is a light-curing, nano-hybrid direct composite that demonstrates exceptional handling properties for achieving consistent anterior esthetics, similar to ceramics, but with the on-demand ease of composite.
Clinicians need only determine the dentin and enamel shades using the IPS Empress Direct ceramic shade guide and simply replace the missing tooth structure with the appropriate material; they replace dentin with the corresponding dentin shade, and enamel with the corresponding enamel shade.
Because IPS Empress Direct is a nano-hybrid composite, it provides a gloss retention similar to that of a microfill or nanofill, but because it is a hybrid, it will also provide the benefit of higher strength and modulus of elasticity, making it suitable for posterior indications, also.
Here’s a case where a patient presented with distal decay on tooth 20 as noted on routine bitewings.
.
