Cost-Effective Materials With Sophisticated Features

Shofu’s bioactive Giomer restoratives and polishers facilitate efficient treatments with durable and esthetic results

As a clinician, the most important thing to Neville Hatfield, DMD, is to treat his patients in the same manner that he would treat his family members or himself. This principle meshes perfectly with the overall philosophy of the Mahwah, New Jersey, group practice where he currently works as a general dentist. "Our philosophy is one in which we treat each patient as an individual and not a number," he says. "No person or situation is the same, and as such, we look at the whole individual when we formulate our treatment plans."

Being newer to the profession, Hatfield is currently an associate, but he notes that he receives incredible mentorship from the other doctors at the practice. "I have also received invaluable mentorship from Howard Glazer, DDS, who was the first to introduce me to the world of evaluating, lecturing, and writing about dental materials and products," Hatfield says. "Although my career goal is to become a super-GP, I am currently choosing to focus on small incremental improvements in my day-to-day clinical procedures to build a solid and reliable foundation of knowledge."

Glazer was the one who first exposed Hatfield to Shofu's products during a lecture at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Hatfield vividly remembers watching the hands-on demonstration. "I was given extra leftover samples and have been using Shofu's products ever since!" he says. Among the many Shofu products that Hatfield currently uses, the restorative ones, which include BeautiBond^® Xtreme, Beautifil^® II, Beautifil^® II Gingiva, Beautifil Flow Plus^® X, Fit SA^™, Super-Snap^® polishing disks, Super-Snap^® X-treme polishing disks, OneGloss^™, and more, really help in his pursuit of building his foundational knowledge while providing the best quality care.

Hatfield has achieved excellent outcomes for his patients with Shofu's Beautifil line of composites, including Beautifil II, but he particularly appreciates the versatility of Beautifil Flow Plus X. Beautifil Flow Plus X is a bioactive flowable nano-hybrid restorative with a proprietary filler particle. Indicated for all classes of restorations, including occlusal and cuspal repairs, it has the strength, durability, and esthetics of a hybrid composite. "In theory, you could use Beautifil Flow Plus X for every clinical indication that you'd use a resin composite," Hatfield says. "Although I use it in much of my bread-and-butter composite dentistry, I particularly like to use it as the base layer of my Class I and Class II composite restorations. I spread the material around so that the tooth/composite margin is fully occupied by it to take advantage of its bioactivity. My other favorite application for Beautifil Flow Plus X is in Class V restorations. Because of its chameleon effect, I find that I just have to get a close approximation of the shade and the material will seamlessly blend with the tooth structure."

For Class V restorations with gingival defects, Hatfield uses Shofu's Beautifil II Gingiva. Beautifil II Gingiva features a range of five gingiva-colored base shades that can be combined to produce 15 variations to meet the needs of patients of all ethnicities. "Pink composites can offer a great solution in areas of gingival recession with exposed root surfaces in the esthetic zone," he says. "Ideally, most of these cases should be referred to a periodontist for a surgical connective tissue graft procedure. However, the use of pink composite can provide an alternative esthetic solution that is more affordable and requires less time."

Like other composite resin materials from Shofu, Beautifil II, Beautifil II Gingiva, and Beautifil Flow Plus X contain the company's proprietary Giomer Technology, which actively releases and recharges six beneficial ions, including fluoride, that continuously protect the tooth by neutralizing acid, imparting an antibacterial effect, and reducing tooth mineral solubility. "The biggest thing that separates Shofu's composites from other composite resin products on the market is the inclusion of Giomer chemistry," Hatfield says. "This chemistry creates an inherent bioactivity within the material that protects restorations."

When it comes to finishing and polishing his composite restorations, Hatfield appreciates Shofu's Super-Snap polishing disks, which are designed for fast, easy, and safe contouring, finishing, and polishing of all microfilled and hybrid composites. He also uses Super-Snap^® X-treme, which offers greater flexibility, durability, and tactile feel while providing "X-Treme" gloss results. "Some of my absolute favorite Shofu products are their Super-Snap finishing and polishing products," Hatfield says. "I have yet to use another polishing disc system that is as easy to use and as effective in its polishing ability. I also really enjoy using their cone-shaped OneGloss polishers. I use them as a one-step polishing system for my posterior composites." Shofu's OneGloss, a one-step finisher and polisher, provides the ideal finish for all types of composite restorations simply by altering the contact pressure as you go from finishing to polishing.

According to Hatfield, the price point of Shofu's products is another compelling reason to use them. "The Giomer restoratives are incredibly cost-effective for the number of uses that I find for them, especially considering their bioactive and other benefits," he says.

Hatfield emphasizes that he has achieved many incredible outcomes using Shofu's Beautifil composites and other restorative products in esthetic cases. And the high patient satisfaction doesn't stop with the esthetics. "I've noticed a marked decrease in postoperative sensitivity among my patients," he says, "especially when Beautifil Flow Plus X is combined with BeautiBond Xtreme and Beautifil II packable composite. In fact, I have had one of my teeth restored with that combination of materials and have not experienced any sensitivity whatsoever. I truly believe in BeautiBond, Beautifil, and Shofu's products in general."

Key Points

• Beautifil Flow Plus X is a flowable nano-hybrid restorative material that is indicated for all classes of restorations, including occlusal and cuspal repairs.

• Beautifil II Gingiva features five gingiva-colored base shades that can be blended to meet the needs of patients of all ethnicities.

• All Shofu composites include Giomer Technology, which actively releases and recharges six beneficial ions, including fluoride, that continuously protect the tooth by neutralizing acid, imparting an antibacterial effect, and reducing tooth mineral solubility.

• Super-Snap and OneGloss finishing and polishing products provide the ideal finish for all composite restorations.

• Shofu products cost less than those of the leading competitors.

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