We all have those patients… the ones with the oversized tongue, hyper-producing salivary glands, and tiny openings that need a crown on #18. They are usually the nicest people in your practice too, so you feel bad that you dread to see them on the schedule for the crown seat appointment, but you and your assistant are still recovering from the battle you fought during the prep. There is no way you can keep the prep dry for an adhesive cement, so you want something user friendly and moisture tolerant… enter Bifix SE Cement.
Here at the Dental Advisor, we recently received Bifix SE Cement (VOCO). According to the manufacturer, this dual-cured, universal, self-adhesive resin cement is versatile, has minimal steps, low solubility, and is moisture tolerant. Additionally:
Easy to use. Gel-phase cleanup, no refrigeration, no hand mixing or trituration required
High bond strength and mechanical strength without an adhesive
Optional light cure mode
Compatibility with common materials such as Ceramic and Zirconia, CAD/CAM materials, PFMs and metal restorations
Efficient self-cure mode sets up completely without any light
Low 10 μ film thickness cuts down on adjustment time
Radiopaque for excellent identification under x-ray
Endo-tips for easy root canal access in every pack
Bifix SE syringe
Consistency/viscosity of Bifix SE
Available in 3 shades
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board? – Easy cementing without bonding, primer or etchant is always a bonus. – The syringes are kind of small but the universal tips are nice. – Slightly higher viscosity than other dual-cured, universal, self-adhesive resin cements we have evaluated. – Nice, easy shade selection: Translucent (T), White Opaque (WO) and Universal (U). – The low solubility is a big plus to hopefully show good long term stability, we can’t wait to evaluate it to find out!
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for our clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
Panavia cements have come a long way. When I was a dental assistant, more years ago than I hate to admit, I remember Panavia was our go to for the tough stuff. When a patient came in with a crown that fell off after only being on a short time, or they had a short prep and the temp had to be re-cemented every other day, the Doctor would send me to the fridge to get out the Panavia. It was also extremely complicated. I remember always propping up my laminated instruction card and laying out everything step by step (and yet still getting lost in the steps). Now Panavia SA Cement Universal, a dual-cure, self-etch, self-adhesive resin cement that provides fluoride release has made cementing much more streamlined, no matter what you want to cement. Bonus!!! You don’t even have to run to the fridge anymore, as it can be stored at room temperature!
Here at the Dental Advisor, we recently received Panavia SA Cement Universal (Kuraray). According to the manufacturer this material adheres to virtually every material including glass ceramics without the need for a separate primer. Using a unique silane coupling agent built into the paste – LCSi monomer – the cement delivers a strong, durable chemical bond to porcelain, lithium disilicate, composite resin, crowns/bridges, inlays/onlays, posts, and even adhesion bridges. All of these can be cemented with a single-step bonding formula.
Suitable for prosthetic restorations, even LiDiSi cementation
Easy, gingival-friendly excess removal
No need for separate primers
Storage at room temperature
Panavia SA Cement Universal syringe
Panavia SA Cement Universal and an A2 Zirconia crown
Nice viscosity, not too thick or too runny
Panavia SA Cement Universal in shade A2 being applied to a shade A2 zirconia crown
The viscosity of the material and shade being shown here
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board? – Cutting out the need for primers is a big bonus. – Our editorial board liked the fact that you can cement to virtually any material with a single step process. – The material has a nice consistency/viscosity. – Upwards of 4 minutes for self-cure may be a bit long in the eyes of the evaluators.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for our clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
As a dental assistant, I found myself many times taking a torch to the distal extension of a plastic tray. I was trying to melt it just enough to re-mold and widen it without setting it or myself on fire. I was mostly successful.
We recently received TransForm™ Heat Mouldable Impression Trays (Astek Innovations) here at the Dental Advisor. These impression trays are able to be reshaped by placing the area you wish to mold in water heated to approximately 158 degrees for approximately 20 seconds. According to the manufacturer these trays are made of a strong material, are anatomically shaped, have finger rests, and are made of biodegradable material. Available in small, medium, and large trays in dentate and edentulous.
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – Very easy to mold once submerged in the hot water. – Placing it back in the hot water made the material go back to it’s original shape. Very convenient in case you over mold.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
Let’s be honest. Most of us do not use rubber dam as much as we probably should. It is the gold standard in isolation. However, when someone brings up using a rubber dam, most of us think of the challenges we have had with it over the years more than the benefits. One of those challenges is having it rip on you after it’s been punched and you stretch it out to put it over the teeth.
We recently received Polyisoprene Dental Dams(Hedy®) here at the Dental Advisor. What makes this product unique? According to the manufacturer this product is latex free; however, has similar physical characteristics to natural rubber, has excellent tear resistance, is powder free, and boasts an impressive 1230% elongation and 76N/mm tear strength. Available in sizes 5″ x 5″ and 6″ x 6″ in heavy and medium weights.
Polyisoprene Dental Dam placed on tear strength testing machine in Dental Advisor Biomaterials Lab
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board? – Although we did not do any official testing… when a product boasts 1230% elongation and 76 N/mm tear strength we cannot pass on putting it on the tear strength testing equipment in the Dental Advisor Biomaterials Lab. The results were rather impressive (images above).
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for our clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
I spent 10 years as a dental assistant before going dental school. In that time I acquired some super powers. Super Hearing: I could hear if my doctor needed something from clear across the building, Psychic Powers: I knew what my doctor was going to need before they even knew what they were going to need, and a Hulk Right Hand: from squirting out heavy body impression material on a routing basis.
Here at the Dental Advisor we recently received the PowerMix™ (Clinician’s Choice) automatic impression material dispenser. What makes this different from some automatic impression material dispensers is that it is cordless and portable (weighing in at 2 pounds). According to the manufacturers it dispenses void-free impression material at the press of a button, filling a full arch impression tray in only 10 seconds! The impression material is proprietary, so you have to use their material that fits into the unit. You can dispense the material either using the dispenser hand held or leave it in the cradle, which is portable.
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – The entire unit is very portable, it would be easy to hop from operatory to operatory with this. – When using handheld, the shape is kind of awkward to hold in your hand. – Talk about fast! It filled a full arch tray in no time, as promised. – Very smooth dispensing of material.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for our clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
In the complex world of bonding and cementation is there still a place for resin-modified glass ionomer cements? I would argue, yes! High risk patients, of course but also their ability to cement your restoration when you cannot obtain a dry field make them great to have in your arsenal.
We recently received FujiCEM™ (GC America) Evolve resin-modified glass iononmer luting cement. The manufacturer claims this material has high moisture tolerance, low film thickness of ~12µm, and sets in 4 min 30 seconds with a 2 minute 15 second working time. This material features the ability to tack-cure for 3 seconds for easy clean-up of excess cement.
Pro Tips: For optimal bond strength to the tooth make sure to clean the tooth and remove excess water but do not completely desiccate, leave glistening. No need for any pre-treatments on the tooth. An optional cavity conditioner can increase your bond strength, but do not try etching in its place. For optimal chemical adhesion to the tooth some of those minerals removed during etching are required. Make sure to pre-treat your restoration according to manufacturers directions with this material.
FujiCem Evolve dispenser
FujiCem Evolve in hand
Dispensing FujiCem Evolve into pre-formed pediatric zirconia crown
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board? – Very convenient dispensing. – Good consistency of mixed material. – Only available in one shade, “Universal”. – We felt it was very difficult to remove their “push and click” tip.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for our clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
