All-Bond Universal^®: Convenient, Stable Bonding in One Bottle

Dental adhesives play a critical role in restorative dentistry, allowing practitioners to bond restorations to tooth structure. However, with the rapid evolution of dental materials and with so many variations and generations of adhesives available, proper education on how to use specific adhesion products is vital to the success of the restoration, says Liang Chen, PhD, Director of Research and Development at BISCO Inc. For example, he suggests, some universal adhesives must be used with specific cements or be mixed with a self-cure activator, and not all adhesives from a given manufacturer are compatible with all cements from the same manufacturer.

So, how is a clinician to select the proper dental adhesive, and what makes an adhesive effective? Chen says there are a number of qualities to look for. “A good dental adhesive should have sufficient and durable bond strength to withstand various stresses. It should be hydrophilic during application so that it’s compatible with hydrophilic tooth structure and hydrophobic after polymerization to prevent water degradation. Also, it should be compatible with various resin materials, have a stable shelf-life, and be effective under different clinical conditions, such as with dry, moist, or wet dentin or in different etch modes. Finally, the adhesive should have a thin film thickness so it can be used under indirect restorations,” he explains.

An example of an adhesive that checks all of these boxes, Chen says, is BISCO’s All-Bond Universal®. As a universal adhesive, it can be used with direct and indirect restorations and is formulated to be compatible with light-, dual-, and self-cured resin materials. According to Chen, “All-Bond Universal is the only universal adhesive that is compatible with all self-curing/dual-curing resin materials without the need for an additional activator.”

For example, All-Bond Universal can be used with BISCO’s Duo-Link Universal™ adhesive resin cement, which is formulated for cementation of all indirect restorations, in addition to other cements. He emphasizes Duo-Link Universal is designed to provide easy clean-up.

Chen notes that All-Bond Universal is ultra-mild with a pH over 3, which makes the one-bottle adhesive system highly shelf stable. “After 2-year shelf storage at room temperature, the adhesive still performs as good as a fresh one,” he says, adding that the ultra-mild characteristic also makes All-Bond Universal easy to use and generates virtually no postoperative sensitivity.

Chen also stresses the benefit of convenience of the BISCO universal adhesive. “Three-step etch-and-rinse and two-step self-etch adhesive systems are still considered by many as the ‘gold standard’ due to their excellent performance in both in vitro and in vivo studies,” he says. “But the new universal adhesives are more convenient to use. Moreover, All-Bond Universal contains MDP functional monomer, has higher hydrophobicity, and performs as good as or even better than those earlier-generation adhesives in both clinical and laboratory studies.” Chen predicts that universal adhesives will soon be the new “gold standard” for dental adhesion.

To aid clinicians in keeping up with the evolution of dental materials, including adhesion and bonding products, BISCO offers various learning opportunities, such as the BISCO Experience, BISCO Institute, BISCO Symposium, and Ask the Experts. These platforms provide support in terms of education and answering questions to advance clinicians’ use and understanding of dental materials in their practice.

Chen expects the future of dental adhesion to be “less confusing,” with adhesives becoming easier to use, less technique-sensitive, and most likely more biocompatible. As this future develops, BISCO, he asserts, will continue to be a leader in the research and development of innovative adhesion technology.

BISCO Inc.
1100 West Irving Park Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60193
800-247-3368
bisco.com