Diamond Polishing Paste

When I am working chairside, one of my favorite things to have in the set-up are diamond polishing paste and a rubber cup. My first experience was when I was a patient myself, having my porcelain crowns seated and adjusted. After having everything placed and the occlusion adjusted, the porcelain surface felt very rough and unnatural. Each time a polishing point was used in increasing fineness, I waited for everything to feel smooth and glossy, running my tongue over the porcelain as soon as I had the chance, just to be disappointed by the surface texture, until the last step, diamond polishing paste. The sensation of the glassy- smooth surfaces allowed my pulse to slow and my confidence to return that my new restorations would indeed feel like teeth. I wasn't sure on the mechanism of action, but I didn't care and immediately became a fan. Two years ago at the AAED meeting in Las Vegas, I attended a presentation that looked at the surface texture of different finishes and compared them. Under a scanning electron microscope, a porcelain surface that has been polished and finished with diamond polishing paste is undetectably similar to porcelain glazed in an oven. So now not only am I a fan, but I have a scientific explanation for how it works. I use diamond polishing paste as the final step when finishing porcelain, composite and even natural tooth surfaces after they have been adjusted. Give it a try and let me know what your patients think.