News Feature

Light diffusion technology – key to the success of your composite restorations

With CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2, the shade transition from composite to tooth is virtually invisible. The secret to this lies in light diffusion technology. How does this work?

Before we discuss the technology in detail, here are some more information about our CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 composites. All CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 composites are suitable for both anterior and posterior applications. The different variants within the ES-2 family are characterized by supreme handling and a long working time, and the fact that they do not slump during modeling. A key feature of these composites is the ease with which restorations blend into their surroundings. This results in durable and aesthetic restorations.

In CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 composites, two types of fillers are used. Barium glass particles form the basis of the filler. Alongside this, advanced prepolymerized filler particles are added. The latter type is called light diffusion filler, since it is primarily these filler particles that achieve a light-scattering effect within the composite.

The way in which a restoration 'adjusts itself', to the shade of the tooth to be restored, is not the same for all composites. Most composite manufacturers make use of the so-called 'chameleon effect'. A composite that is sufficiently translucent allows light to pass through. Light is reflected off the walls of the cavity, whereby the composite restoration assumes the shade of the adjacent tooth structure.

In cavities that aren't too large with a sufficient amount of surrounding tooth structure, this chameleon effect works well enough. However, with larger cavities or in the absence of underlying tooth structure, as is often the case with anterior restorations, the aesthetic blending effect is limited. The brightness is far from satisfactory, and the restoration looks gray.

At Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc., we do things differently.

Besides the optimized translucency in CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 composites, it's the light diffusion technology that makes the restoration blend seamlessly with the adjacent tooth structure. Thanks to the combination of these two parameters — translucency and light diffusion — the capabilities are far more extensive than with just translucency.

The different dental tissues have different opacities. Enamel is more translucent than dentin. However, the degree of translucency/opacity of both tissues is not always the same. Age, thickness of the structure and various intrinsic and extrinsic factors all play a role.

Depending on the desired end result, the most appropriate member(s) of the CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 family is/are selected for the restoration.

In aesthetic restorations in which opacity differences need to be considered, a layering system is necessary. More uniform restorations are easily constructed with a composite that has broad shade and opacity coverage.

CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 Premium for highly esthetic restorations.

CLEARFIL MAJESTY™ ES-2 Universal for routine aesthetic restorations involving few or no opacity differences.