Closing Diastemas with Resin Composite Restorations

The ultimate goal when closing dental diastemas is to establish an adequate interproximal contact, and to achieve an esthetic emergence profile of the respective teeth, with the interdental papilla filling the space underneath the contact area. However, the use of wedges for temporary tooth separation in order to compensate for the thickness of an interdental matrix usually compromises the emergence profile of the resin composite restorations. A black triangle underneath the interdental contact is the consequence. Still, to achieve sufficiently strong contact points, some type of tooth separation has to be done. A technique, where the matrix is shaped to provide an esthetic emergence profile, and a flowable resin composite is used as an interdental wedging material fulfills all the necessary requirements.