Seamless, gorgeous, and super easy—that’s how I would describe OMNICHROMA in a nutshell. Before I actually used it, however, I was less than optimistic when I was told that I could match any tooth, from A1 to D4, and I’d only have to inventory a single material. Furthermore, if it were true, I’d be able to eliminate the tedious and often frustrating task of matching shades for direct restorations. I could only quote President Reagan’s memorable phrase, “There you go again!” How many times in my 30-plus years of practicing had I heard the promise of one-shade-fits-all? A universalshade composite has always been the holy grail for dental composites.
What made this time different for me was the fact that the material was developed by Tokuyama Dental. It’s a great company with a well-earned reputation of respect because of its continuous and meticulous R&D and innovative approach to problem-solving. They offer consistently high-quality materials and have typically been willing to make adjustments in response to user feedback. So, I agreed to give OMNICHROMA a try before it was brought to market. I was immediately impressed. Prior to light curing, it looked the same in every restoration. After light curing, it disappeared and blended seamlessly, picking up the shade of the surrounding natural dentition.
You need to geek out a bit to understand why OMNICHROMA is truly revolutionary in dentistry. Unlike any other composite, its chemistry is based on what’s known as structural color, or more specifically, Tokuyama Dental’s Smart Chromatic Technology. The phenomenon takes place when different wavelengths of light are changed by a material’s structure, reflecting and expressing colors different from the material itself. Not a translucent material, OMNICHROMA has identical 260-nm spherical fillers that are the optimal size and shape to produce the effects of structural color to match any surrounding tooth color.
