Easy Tip for Removing Resin

We all occasionally have had resin cemented or bonded crowns come off the prepared tooth. It's easy to prepare the tooth for rebonding or cementation but the problem is, how to get the resin out of the crown.

Some of us may have tried to pick at it with a scaler or lightly drill it out with a fine diamond. The inherent risk is altering and weakening the intaglia surface of the crown. We hardly ever worried about this when removing cement on a PFM crown.

The technique I use to remove the resin is a Brownie Point. I only ever used them for polishing gold restorations but have found them to function perfectly well at slow speeds removing the cement without concern for scratching or marring the internal crown surface. Additionally, for those who spot etch and bond provisional laminate restorations, the brownie is a great adjunct to removing that tiny bit of composite on the facial surface of your prep.

Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Mary Anne Salcetti, DDS, PC, Spear Education Visiting Faculty. [ www.maryannesalcettidds.com ]