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Peg Laterals and Bioclear

Peg laterals are a fairly common appearance problem.The lateral incisors are the teeth next to the very front central incisors .They are smaller than the central incisors-both shorter and narrower and this gives a pleasing appearance .

However sometimes the lateral incisors are significantly smaller than average-peg laterals-and this does not look good.Many patients are unhappy with the appearance of peg laterals and seek a way of improving their smile.

One way of treating peg laterals is using the Bioclear method.This involves encasing the tooth in a white filling-or composite material -and subsequently closing any gaps between the lateral and central incisor and increasing the length if necessary to build the tooth into an appropriate shape.

The Bioclear method does not involve any preparation to the lateral incisor and so is a very conservative technique.Bioclear involves firstly thoroughly cleaning the surface of the peg lateral with an air blaster .This removes all the plaque from the tooth surface and hugely increases the longevity of the restoration .It also reduces staining which can develop in time around white fillings which looks unsightly.

After this the tooth is surrounded by clear plastic tooth shaped matrices which produce the desired shape.The composite material is injected around the tooth and hardened with a curing light.The tooth is then trimmed down to the desired shape .

Finally the  composite is finished to what is called the Rock Star finish which gives a tremendously smooth surface and looks great.

The advantage of using the Bioclear method rather than crowning or veneering the tooth is  that it does not involve trimming a healthy tooth down and can be placed and finished in just one visit. No temporary crowns are required and as there is no lab bill it is cheaper.

Bioclear is therefore the ideal method of treating peg laterals.