How much is 1/2 mm?


I often explain that teeth that I will restore with a minimally invasive technique may need a half millimeter or less of reduction. This often reassures patients that not much of their tooth will need to be reduced in order to complete a particular bonded restoration. Today I was explaining the amount of tooth I would have to modify to restore a chipped incisal edge with bonding. I showed my patient a mock up of the proposed change by applying some uncured composite to her front teeth. I shaped it nicely and sent a iPhone photo via text to her smart phone. I felt this change was a "no brainer" since it was affordable and would vastly improve her smile without needing any anesthesia and would involve a minimal reduction to her tooth.

My patient was reticent and kept asking about how much tooth would have to be removed and I explained repeatedly that it would be less than a half a mm. I was having a hard time explaining what needed to be done , at least until I pulled out this caliper and set it for .5mm. Then she immediately understood and was visibly relieved! I guess not every understands how small .5mm really is!

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2017/11/how-much-is-12-mm.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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