Figure 4-37. - Typical operative dentistry instrument tray setup.
A cavity preparation is a mechanical procedure that removes caries or existing restorative materials and a limited amount of healthy tooth structure to receive and retain restorative materials in the cavity preparation. A cavity wall is a side or surface of the cavity preparation that aids in enclosing the restorative material. You should already be familiar with the terms used to describe the various tooth surfaces, such as mesial, distal, lingual, facial, incisal, and occlusal. A bevel is a slanting of the enamel margins of the tooth preparation cut at an angle with the cavity wall. There are numerous types of bevels, such as full, long, chamfer, and dovetail.
Cavities can occur on one or more surfaces, and can be of various sizes, ranging from very small to those that include all five surfaces of the tooth. Simply, cavities are those which occur on one surface of the tooth. When two surfaces of the tooth are involved, the cavity is called a compound cavity. A cavity is
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