Shofu’s Beautifil® II Composite Big on Therapeutic Properties

Composites are an extremely varied and diverse group of dental materials, says Brian Melonakos, President of Shofu Dental Corporation. Besides the different types of composites—flowable, bulk fill, hybrid, and many more—each individual composite offers users unique features and advantages, which could include excellent handling, superior esthetics, or even therapeutic properties. Shofu’s Beautifil® II, he suggests, is one composite option available on the market that offers clinicians all three of these features.

According to Melonakos, Beautifil II’s therapeutic characteristics are one of many qualities that set the product apart. “Beautifil II, like many of Shofu’s restorative materials, features Giomer technology,” he says. Shofu’s Giomer products contain the company’s proprietary Surface Pre-Reacted Glass (S-PRG) filler particles. These particles release six separate ions—fluoride, sodium, strontium, aluminum, silicate, and borate—all with known bioactive properties. Melonakos explains: “The bioactive properties of Shofu’s Giomer materials offer patients significant therapeutic effects, including enhanced remineralization, inhibition of plaque formation, and acid neutralization.”

Another advantage offered by Beautifil II, he adds, is the material’s excellent handling capabilities. “Shofu’s composites don’t stick. They’re easy for the clinician to place and manipulate, and we often hear very good things from our clinicians regarding how easy it is to work with our materials,” he says.

Beyond its bioactive properties and ease-of-use characteristics, Beautifil II is a highly versatile universal composite. Clinicians can use it for any Class I through V indication, and it is appropriate for both the anterior and posterior areas of the mouth. Especially notable for anterior restorations is that the Giomer particles demonstrate both opaque and transparent qualities, giving Beautifil II a chameleon-like effect in the mouth. “When a clinician is working on an anterior restoration with Beautifil II, the material’s unique light refraction properties ensure that the new tooth looks natural and adapts seamlessly with the surrounding dentition,” Melonakos explains.

Beautifil II is also extremely strong and has a high retention rate. According to Shofu, Beautifil II’s predecessor, Beautifil®, was recently reported at the 2013 International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting to have a 66% retention rate in a 13-year-long independent study. “Beautifil II only builds on the excellent foundation provided by Beautifil. In addition to the excellent retention rate, which included 95% at the 8-year recall, the study also showed that patients with Beautifil restorations had no secondary caries at the 8-year recall and only two total at 13 years. The results were outstanding,” says Melonakos.

Shofu offers a vast array of background literature to support clinicians who are using the highly aesthetic, fluoride-releasing, versatile Beautifil II in their practices. In an effort to make access to this information easier and more intuitive, the company is in the process of developing an iPad® application that aggregates all of the literature, technical information, photos, and even clinical articles about any given Shofu product. Currently, the app is only available to Shofu representatives and lecturers, though Melonakos believes this may change in the near future. “It’s fantastic for our sales people, because it allows them to become a resource for our customers without having to carry around a bunch of papers, and they never have to worry about forgetting an important piece of literature or instruction booklet,” he explains.

In addition to Shofu’s well-prepared sales staff, the company also provides education to its customers via hands-on programs, CE articles, key opinion leader (KOL) lectures, webinars, and live patient demos at trade shows. “We’ve found that our clinicians love the opportunity to learn via hands-on workshops and live patients. We plan on hosting more of these going forward,” says Melonakos.

Looking ahead, Melonakos says that Shofu will continue to expand its composite offerings to include bulk-fill materials that incorporate Giomer technology. “We’ll be looking to offer clinicians more bioactive options to choose from when considering restorative procedures. We want all of Shofu’s composites to offer our clinicians’ patients healing properties, rather than just sit passively in the mouth.”

Shofu Dental Corp.
1225 Stone Dr
San Marcos, CA 92078
800-827-4638
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