For decades, Crystal Mark Incorporated has developed and refined the air abrasion process for aerospace, semiconductor and other high technology disciplines. Crystalmark Dental Systems brings all that experience to bear with the highly evolved CrystalAir Intraoral Air Abrasion Unit. CrystalAir gives dentists a greater level of control for a wider range of treatment scenarios with a unit that is technologically superior and of greater value than that of the competition.

Air abrasion technology was initially developed in the 1940s by Dr. Robert Black, specifically, for dental cavity preparation. Unfortunately, the restorative techniques and materials available at that time involved the use of silver amalgam, gold or acrylic. These restorative materials did not lend themselves to the type and form of cavity preparation generated by air abrasion. This factor, combined with the introduction of the high speed turbine handpiece in the 1950s and no high velocity suction, essentially pushed air abrasion out of the limelight until its resurgence in the early 1990s.

While the use of air abrasion in dentistry was fading in the late 1950s, applications for this unique technology were being developed in other disciplines, primarily industrial in nature. Ernest Swan, the founder of Crystal Mark, Inc. (the industrial division), pioneered many of these non-dental applications and formed his own company in 1967. Today, the company is owned and operated by his three sons who are now joined by two of his grandsons. Crystal Mark, Inc. continues to lead the way in new and innovative applications for air abrasion technology.

Crystal Mark not only manufactures air abrasion equipment and supplies, but it also offers job shop and process development services in its Glendale, California facility. While this service offers air abrasion technology to customers it also gives Crystal Mark opportunities to discover new applications, refinements, and solutions in air abrasion technology. Some of the industries that benefited from air abrasions Applications from the precision surface finishing of semiconductor wafers to selective matrix removal from priceless fossils such as dinosaur bones has given Crystal Mark a far-reaching knowledge base and an understanding of the intricate details of applied air abrasion technology.

Today, with the development and refinement of composite restorative materials combined with the public demand for more conservative treatment options, dentists who want to practice minimally invasive dentistry recognize air abrasion to be absolutely essential in attaining the best results for adhesive bonding preparation, and a growing number of those clinicians will tell you that Crystalmark Dental makes the very best air abrasion unit available at any price.

Some of the industries which benefited from air abrasions beginnings were high technology fields such as the semiconductor fabrication industry. The world of paleontology also derived spin-off benefits from this technology. Applications from the precision surface finishing of semiconductor wafers to selective matrix removal from priceless fossils such as dinosaur bones has given Crystal Mark a far-reaching knowledge base and an understanding of the intricate details of applied air abrasion technology.

Today, with the development of composite restorative materials and the public demand for better more conservative treatment options, the dental profession is seeing a resurgence of the air abrasion modality for cavity preparation. Crystal Mark has been at the forefront of all other air abrasion applications for the last 30 years. We feel that it is only fitting that we return to our roots, and give back to the dental profession the very best in air abrasion technology. It is towards this end, that we have designed our line of continually evolving and extremly successful dental air abrasion products.

From the patients point of view, the most important attribute is the modalitys capacity that allows for painless, anesthetic-free treatment of most incipient to moderate cavity preparations. Air abrasion also eliminates the noise, heat, smell and vibration of the dental handpiece. In one fell swoop, dentists can neutralize the biggest stumbling blocks in access to dental care by doing away with anesthesia and the negative factors associated with the high speed handpiece. All of these variables contribute to a win-win situation for the patient and the treatment team.

From the dentists perspective, air abrasion offers many benefits. Cavity preparations generated with air abrasion are much easier to restore than they had been in the past thanks to the development of stronger and easier to use bonding systems and new composite restorative materials. The new generation of composite restoratives go hand in hand with the three dimensional configuration of the air abrasion cavity preparation. Air abrasion generates a cavity profile that has rounded internal as well as external line angles and no micro-fracturing of the enamel. These fluid internal line angles reduce the incidence of stress risers and provide a very nice cavosurface margin to finish to with direct composite restorations,thus many studies show Air Abrasion increases bond strengths significantly.

The bonding of the restoration to the tooth structure negates the need to follow conventional G.V. Black cavity design parameters; an outcome that is well established in the existing literature. This is primarily due to the restorative material being actively bonded to the entire tooth structure as opposed to a restorative medium that is retained by way of gross mechanical retention (read: that undercuts) such as is the case with G.V. Black amalgam fillings. Furthermore, there is no minimal thickness of restorative material necessary in order to retain its structural integrity. You can remove only that tooth structure which is compromised and leave sound tooth structure untouched. The end result is the conservation of tooth structure via conservative cavity preparations and no structural damage to the underlying enamel/dentin. The dental profession finally has at its disposal the modality with which to provide the patient with the ultimate in conservative dentistry.

Air Abrasion removes decay without damage to healthy tooth structure. Air Abrasion fillings are small, invisible and sealed better than any other type of restoration. Air Abrasion fillings last longer than any other restoration in dentistry today. With Air Abrasion there is no heat, no smell, no vibration and no noise! Air Abrasion fillings have superior esthetics, seal and longevity.