First Impressions: January 2007

One-Up Bond F Plus
Tokuyama Dental

The hallmarks of a successful adhesive include its tissue benefits at the tooth-restorative interface and its clinical ease of use. Generally, fewer steps (and hence, technique sensitivity) mean that there are fewer potential complications and a more predictable procedure. Chairside, one of the more difficult aspects of placing adhesives is the requirement for sequential applications of various components. This requires an operative area that is clean, dry, stable, and totally moisture-controlled for a period of several minutes. The patient is not always totally cooperative (movement, saliva seepage around the rubber dam, or no rubber dam), and the components must often be mixed quickly amidst other crucial clinical procedures. The confirmation of an ideal component mix should not be a matter of guesswork. Tokuyama Dental’s One-Up Bond F Plus is a self-etching, multicomponent adhesive that eliminates many of the above concerns. The process requires only 3 simple steps: mix, apply, and light-cure. Moreover, each step is validated by built-in color-coding to confirm its successful completion prior to advancing to the next step. Guesswork is eliminated. One-Up Bond F Plus helps to develop a distinct hybrid layer zone at the tooth-restorative interface, serving as a transitional region between the 2 dissimilar chemical structures. One-Up Bond F Plus’ self-etching feature eliminates etching, rinsing, and drying of the prepared tooth surfaces. The novel “single-press” dispensing system provides equal amounts of the 2 components in one motion. A single application of One-Up Bond F Plus is all that is required for direct light-cured composite restorations. It is suitable for application to cervical dentin and root surfaces and continues to release fluoride after curing.

For more information, call (877) 378-3548 or visit tokuyama-us.com.

Kolorz
Zenith Dental

The recall/recare appointment is an important one for both the patient and the dentist; the patient’s teeth and oral health are monitored and maintained at their optimal level, and the dentist has the opportunity to diagnose and intercept problems at their earliest stages. Why, then, do so many patients studiously delay or avoid this pillar of their oral health? Historically, pain, cost, and the unpleasant recall process have figured as the most commonly used excuses. Current techniques and materials have largely eliminated the “ouch” factor. The cost is generally accepted as reasonable and most often covered by dental insurance. The remaining pretext includes the unpleasant tastes and sensations that the patient has experienced during scaling, prophylaxis, and fluoride treatment. Zenith Dental’s introduction of the Kolorz line of hygiene products targets the elimination of these objections. The line includes Professional Prophylaxis Paste, 60-Second Fluoride Gel, 60-Second Fluoride Foam, Neutral Fluoride Foam, and Topical Anesthetic Gel. The improved tastes and aromas for Kolorz were developed with food industry specialists to make them more palatable and attractive to patients. The chemical formulations are gluten-free and offer noncaloric natural sweeteners (no aspartame or saccharin) and xylitol. Patients actually enjoy the “delicious” and spatter-free prophylaxis. The wide range of attractive flavors make fluoride application, whether 60 seconds or 4 minutes, a positive as well as beneficial experience. Patients tend to focus on the tastes of the foam or gel, making the fluoride application seem shorter and more tolerable. The 20% benzocaine Kolorz Topical Anesthetic Gel leaves no bitter aftertaste as it quickly numbs soft-tissue surfaces. Kolorz hygiene products are a tasty surprise for both patients and dentists.

For information call, (800) 662-6383 or visit zenithdental.com.

Kodak P712 Dental Digital Photography System
Kodak Dental Systems Group

Dental photography could be a much easier process; it just has not been designed that way—until now. Until recently, dental photography—first film and then digital—was more focused on the imaging technologies involved; unfortunately, most dentists and dental staff are not professional photographers and were well out of their element. The key to successful digital photography is a simple system that provides the dentist with optimal images as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Kodak Dental Systems Group’s innovative P712 Dental Digital Photography System offers 7.1 megapixels for high-quality, high-resolution images through its professional 12X optical zoom lens. The Kodak dental close-up lens 2 (with ring flash) creates the shadow-free lighting that is essential for quality dental close-up images. New custom lighting settings enhance the particularly difficult-to-capture mirror images. A large 2.5-in LCD screen on the rear of the P712 makes positioning and framing a snap. A built-in positioning grid that ensures consistent framing from one shoot to the next further enhances the “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) system. The flexible distance guide positions the camera (in relation to the patient’s face and mouth) quickly and easily every time. Acquiring the picture is but half the story; quickly supplying the patient (or a specialist) with the image is where the true benefits are realized. The Kodak P712’s printer dock, facilitated by Kodak Easy-Share software, enables the dentist to rapidly create high-quality 4×6-inch prints directly from the camera (or the inkjet printer). The alternative is to temporarily store the images on the 256-MB storage card inside the camera. With the Kodak P712, you can concentrate on your patients, not the photo technology.

For more information, call (800) 944-6365 or visit kodak.com/dental.

iTero
Cadent

Anyone who has experienced a dental impression from a patient’s perspective realizes that it is not inherently a comfortable procedure. On the other hand, dental professionals know from experience that traditional impression techniques are not always as accurate and precise as they should ideally be. While impression materials and techniques have improved by leaps and bounds over the past quarter century (and in particular, during the last decade), conventional procedures are increasingly being superseded by imaging technology. Dentists, lab technicians, and patients can readily foresee significant benefits in making traditional trays and materials obsolete. Cadent’s iTero is an integrated digital impression system that serves as the link between dentists and laboratories. It is powered by a proprietary imaging technology that allows the dentist to take a 3-D digital scan of the patient’s mouth, to make any necessary adjustments, and then to electronically transfer the data file to the lab technician, who in turn fabricates a precise final restoration for the patient. The dentist-technician data transmission is virtually instantaneous, eliminating the costs of impression materials, additional chair time, packaging, transportation, etc. (This does not even include the advantages of greater precision, eliminating costly remakes and adjustments.) For the patient, the iTero digital impression takes less than 2 minutes and is painless, and the on-screen images are exciting. For the dentist, iTero does not require coating the teeth with a powder, and it is easy to learn and adapt to the practice. The margins can be readily seen from without and within, manipulating the digital impression image in all directions, eliminating clinical uncertainty. iTero’s cutting-edge technology also positions the practice very favorably.

For more information, call (201) 842-0800 or visit the Web site cadentitero.com.

Grandio Seal
VOCO America

The profession has long been aware that pits and fissures on otherwise healthy tooth surfaces are very caries-prone areas. The sealing of pits and fissures to prevent their colonization by cavity-forming bacteria has been a part of standard prophylaxis for some decades. The selection of a fissure-sealing material has always been a dilemma–whether to opt for a flowable composite with better physical properties (which on the down-side, may not be flowable enough to penetrate the more inaccessible areas of fine pits and fissures) or to choose a pit and fissure sealant that has excellent penetration properties (but exhibits greater polymerization shrinkage and is likely to wear quite rapidly). VOCO America has introduced a new sealant material that combines the best properties of both options. Grandio Seal is a nano-fissure sealant that has a 70% (by weight) filler content that offers low polymerization shrinkage, high abrasion resistance, and high transverse strength. The unique filler composition also offers the flowability of traditional sealants, without the “drip,” and a defined pressure point on the syringe for optimal flow. The extrathin metal applicator can access the tightest of fissures. Fluoride-releasing Grandio Seal is manufactured in a readily visible white opaque shade. It is indicated for pits and fissures in younger and older children as well as in adults who tend to have a higher caries risk. (Adults often tend to be overlooked for this simple yet effective and highly preventive service.) The blending of simplified application and superior wear properties utilizing the nano-particle fillers has eliminated the guesswork for the dentist and hygienist; uncompromised fissure sealing is now possible.

For more information, call (888) 658-2584 or visit vocoamerica.com.

Variolink Veneer Esthetic Resin Cement
Ivoclar Vivadent

As technique-sensitive as crown and bridge cements are, porcelain veneer cements represent an even greater clinical challenge. Most crowns hide the underlying resin cement completely. Veneer cements, however, are readily visible through the restorations and are expected to contribute to the overall aesthetics of the completed case. Veneer cements should be opaque but not too opaque, translucent but not too translucent, strong yet easy to remove, color stable, and light-curable. An updated reformulation of Ivoclar Vivadent’s popular Appeal Resin Cementation System has resulted in the Variolink Veneer Esthetic Resin Cement. There are 7 light-cured value shades; the medium value (or 0) cement is quite translucent, while the lower values contribute a yellowish tinge to warm the restoration, and the higher values increase the apparent brightness. The new system adds some intensity to the +3 and -3 shades. Thus, the dentist has the clinical ability to make the smile “warmer” or to “kick it up a notch” on the brightness scale simply by using the appropriate resin. Variolink Veneer has an amine-reduced formulation that offers long-term, predictable color stability to restorations. The removal of excess cement is also far easier than previously (when it involved high- and low-speed cutting tools, etc). After placing the Variolink Veneer-loaded restorations onto the teeth, tack the veneers into place and fleetingly pass the curing light over the marginal surfaces. Excess cement, now in a gel consistency, can be readily peeled away, revealing sealed margins and reducing polishing time significantly. Variolink Veneer uses a microfill technology to reduce wear and increase polishability and increase bond strength and translucency.

For more information, call (800) 533-6825 or visit ivoclarvivadent.com.