BeautiBond® Enables Secure Bond, Reduces Technique Sensitivity

Making anterior restorations both esthetically pleasing and functionally beneficial for patients can be quite challenging, says Paiman Lalla, DDS, a highly accomplished clinician who maintains a private practice in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. Both the composite and bonding agent, he notes, can cause microleakage and marginal stain lines due to the contraction of the composite after light-curing and the film thickness of the bonding agent. This, he suggests, can then lead to cariogenic bacteria, postoperative sensitivity, and secondary decay.

To combat this, Lalla uses a bioactive restorative material, Beautifil^® Flow Plus X from Shofu, that can release and recharge beneficial ions to help protect the restoration. He combines this with BeautiBond^® (Shofu) universal bonding agent because of the "security of the bond," he says, and because it creates no postoperative sensitivity. Its unique dual adhesive monomers deliver equal bond strength to enamel and dentin with an extremely low film thickness of 5 µm, according to the manufacturer, eliminating marginal discoloration. "BeautiBond is a self-etch, no-agitation, one-coat application adhesive. It simplifies procedures with fewer steps, reducing technique sensitivity," Lalla says.

To illustrate his use of the Shofu direct restorative products, Lalla points to a recent case (as shown) of a 56-year-old man who presented with composite failure on the maxillary left central and lateral incisors and cuspid, and a receding gum line. The patient's main concern at the time was the composite failure. After administering an anesthetic, Lalla used coarse and fine diamond burs to remove the old composite restoration from teeth Nos. 9 through 11 and slightly bevel the enamel margin of the preparations in a starburst pattern. The enamel surfaces of the preparations were selectively etched with a 38% phosphoric acid solution for 15 seconds and then rinsed thoroughly with water.

Next, Lalla applied the BeautiBond universal bonding agent to all surfaces of the preparations in one generous coat with a microbrush, leaving the adhesive undisturbed for 10 seconds, then air-drying it for 3 to 5 seconds before light-curing for 5 seconds with an LED curing light. Then, with a mylar strip in place, the clinician placed 2 mm of high-viscosity flowable nanohybrid composite (Beautifil Flow Plus X, F00 A3) into the bonded cavity to develop the lingual aspect of the restoration, and then light-cured it. The composite material was then placed in 2 mm increments into the remaining facial surfaces of the cavity while using Willhite's "mylar pull" technique.

After contouring, final polishing was accomplished with a 32-fluted carbide bur and Shofu's Super-Snap^® 8 mm polishing disc system. "The restorative material blended perfectly with the surrounding tooth surface and attained an exceptionally high luster," Lalla exclaims, lauding yet another superb direct restoration made possible by Shofu products.

Paiman Lalla, DDS
Private Practice, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago; Master, International Congress of Implantologists; Fellow, International College of Dentists; Fellow, Academy of Dentistry International

Shofu Dental Corp.
800-827-4638
shofu.com