Some commercially available products consumers have been using to fight gum disease are outdated and ineffective. Evidence of this comes from the fact that nearly half of Americans over 30 have some form of gum disease, and there has not been enough innovation in products that are designed to fight it – until now, according to the manufacturer bäz.

Jean-Jacques Elbaz, DDS, a Beverly Hills-based periodontist and expert on the Dental Board of California, developed a game-changing product: the Gumline Cleaner. By tracing the gum line, users can manually remove sticky plaque that builds in these areas by using friction.

Additionally, the soft tip massages gum tissue – promoting blood flow – and the bristles provide abrasion for effective biofilm removal. Not an interdental pick, the Gumline Cleaner focuses on the gingival margin. Its ergonomic handle allows the user to clean distal and hard-to-reach areas that toothbrushes can’t reach.

The new product is especially effective for patients who have traditional braces or aligner trays, recessions, dental implants, crowns & bridges, crowding, gingival inflammation, and more. Patients can find it online or at select dental practices. There are hundreds of toothbrushes, dozens of flossing and interdental products, lots of mouth rinses, but now there’s Gumline Cleaner, designed to provide better protection against plaque buildup around the gum line than what is achieved by brushing and rinsing with traditional products.

Articles

Ergonomic handle allows the user to clean distal and hard-to-reach areas that toothbrushes can’t reach.

New Gumline Cleaner From  bäz Designed to Focus on Gingival Margin

Quicker turnaround times are just 1 of the many features included with the fully automatic Ceramill Map 600+, Amann Girrbach's new scanner flagship for open articulator scanning that was announced on Thursday. The scanner is designed to deliver outstanding precision for perfect restorations and optimally support dental technicians in their work.

This new high-performance scanner heralds the advent of Industry 4.0 in the laboratory. The intelligent software algorithm automatically assigns the upper and lower jaws, thereby eliminating the vestibular scan and thus up to 30 percent of the manual steps in the laboratory. Due to its integrated universal carrier plate for all common types of articulators, the Map 600+ saves time-consuming plate changes and the intelligent scan height control automatically moves the object to be scanned into the best possible scanning area.

Amann Girrbach has equipped the Map 600+ with an Ultra HD camera. The highly sensitive industrial 3D sensor with Blue Light technology is designed to ensure outstanding depth of field and a scanning accuracy of 4 micrometers. Making optimal use of the advantages of digitization and a seamless workflow requires the model situation from the real articulator to be converted into a data set with maximum precision.

The scanner’s new, more efficient calculation algorithm also reduces the matching time by up to 35 percent, depending on the indication. This reduces the active waiting time of a scanning process by up to 25 seconds. Depending on the indication, the Ceramill Map 600+ therefore provides time savings of between 15 and 38 percent, according to Amann Girrbach.

Amann Girrbach's new scanner for open articulator scanning also produces even shorter turnaround times. 

Ceramill Map 600+ Delivers High-Speed Scanning with Maximum Precision

Vivos Therapeutics, Inc, has announced today the official formation of the Vivos Medical Consortium, a physician working group that will work to advance the company’s obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) technology capabilities.

This physician working group will collaborate to advance the technology’s capabilities and includes renowned physicians with specialties in sleep medicine, neurology, pediatrics, pulmonology, anesthesiology, pain medicine, otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, and forensic pathology from prominent academic institutions in the U.S. and Canada.

Led by Drs. Clete Kushida of Stanford University and Cecilia Wu of the University of Alberta, the Vivos Medical Consortium will assist the company with the planning, dissemination and conduct of key research initiatives, enhancing physician-dental collaborations, and expanding novel applications of the Vivos technology for additional medical conditions.

Members of the Vivos Medical Consortium include:

• Clete Kushida MD PhD (Co-Chair), Division Chief and Medical Director of Sleep Medicine; Neurologist, Professor, and Associate Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

• Cecilia Wu MD (Co-Chair), Anatomic, Cardiovascular and Forensic Pathology; Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Alberta

• Fred Lin MD, Division Chief of Sleep Surgery; Assistant Professor; Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• Manisha Witmans MD, Sleep Medicine Specialist and Pediatric Pulmonology; Associate Clinical Professor, University of Alberta

• Samuel DeMaria MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine and of Otolaryngology; Vice Chairman for Research, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• Seth Heckman MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, University of Alberta

• Yury Khelemsky MD, Program Director, Pain Medicine Fellowship; Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine; Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

“Every specialty in medicine deals with the negative impact of obstructive sleep apnea in some way, with the end stage of untreated sleep apnea including diminished quality of life, cardiac and metabolic disease, and the potential for premature death,” said Dr Wu. “Now more than ever, we are seeing the critical importance of optimizing personal health. For decades, the only treatment options for sleep apnea were limited and often invasive, but with the Vivos technology, that has changed dramatically.

“Our working group of physicians has been impressed by the potential impact of the Vivos technology and its applications, and I am excited to co-lead the Vivos Medical Consortium with Dr Kushida as we help guide the company’s scientific progress and research endeavors, as well as raise further awareness of the Vivos technology within the medical arena.”

Commenting on the anticipated impact of the Vivos Medical Consortium, Vivos Chairman and CEO Kirk Huntsman states, “Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious medical problem, yet it is one that, through the use of the Vivos technology, now has a highly effective medical solution that can be delivered by a dentist. With the guidance of the Vivos Medical Consortium, we look forward continuing to advance our technology and presence in the medical and dental communities and fulfilling our mission statement of combating this devastating disease by treating the underlying cause of OSA with minimal impact on quality of life. We are hopeful that our Medical Consortium will facilitate wider adoption of our technology for patients who would benefit from our non-surgical, non-invasive solution.”

Members of the Medical Consortium will serve as consultants to Vivos and receive customary cash and equity compensation, states the medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for patients suffering from mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring.

Team of prominent, multi-disciplinary medical doctors guiding research and fostering increased physician-dental collaboration in the management of obstructive-sleep apnea.


New Medical Consortium Formed to Advance Vivos Therapeutics’ Technology for OSA

Three signature workflows to provide dental professionals with a completely new way of practicing implantology and solutions from scan to crown that outperform expectations in efficiency, accuracy, esthetics, longevity and simplicity were introduced today by Dentsply Sirona. Additionally, the company has launched DS PrimeTaper, a self-tapping implant.

The dental manufacturer just announced the comprehensive restage of its implants business, including:

The Single Tooth Signature Workflow enables customers to do more and better, faster, simpler, freeing up time to see more patients.

The Partial Multiple Tooth Replacement Signature Workflow solves a signature patient case with three posterior teeth missing to be restored with a 3-unit bridge on 2 implants for more confidence for the clinician and more comfort for the patient.

The Full Arch Signature Workflow addresses a signature patient case with an edentulous maxilla. The workflow offers a restoration with a fix bridge on 4 implants with immediate temporization.

With a complete ecoystem of digital solutions and products – including well-known brands like Simplant, OSSIX, Axeos, Primescan, Atlantis and MIS – Dentsply Sirona is streamlining implant treatments for practice growth and consistent patient satisfaction.

Dentsply Sirona Implants is now presenting DS PrimeTaper, a self-tapping implant with a tapered design that can be inserted safely and easily. This enables long-term bone stability. The double thread allows the implant to be inserted quickly and safely. A simple drilling protocol, with only a few different drills, supports the workflow.

The company worked closely with the global implant key opinion leader community, and they have already started gaining experience with the product. Their reactions have been very positive:

Dan Butterman, DDS, from Centennial, Colorado, emphasizes the importance of a seamless workflow. “DS PrimeTaper represents the next step in implant dentistry. The digital-driven workflow results in higher accuracy, repeatability of processes, and time savings,” Butterman says. "My patients have better things to do than spending time in my office. Thanks to clearly defined processes and digital solutions, I can offer safer and faster treatment options which my patients appreciate. That's what efficiency is all about."

• Martin Wanendeya, DDS, from the United Kingdom, notes "DS PrimeTaper as a part of an integrated concept is different from what we knew before. In addition to reducing chair time and simplifying collaboration with my laboratory, Primescan for Atlantis suprastructures ensures esthetic predictability and a perfect fit.”

Seamless Concept for Transforming Digital Implant Dentistry


“Dentsply Sirona is about intelligent concepts that work intuitively and improve the predictability of treatment,” says Terri Dolan, DDS, Chief Clinical Officer at Dentsply Sirona. “Our goal is to enable clinicians, including both specialists and general practitioners, to focus on what they do best – creating healthy and beautiful smiles. We are confident that we are building a winning future in the area of implant solutions focused on the needs of our implant customers and their patients. Our connected and seamless concept for transforming digital implant dentistry is a first, essential step in this direction. Our vision for digital implant dentistry will be supported by a global clinical education program focused on end-to-end digital implant workflow solutions to achieve clinic, technical and practice excellence. The extensive curriculum is designed to build clinicians’ digital implant skills according to their level of experience and personal learning preferences.”


Dentsply World 2021 is taking place this week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In cooperation with the McGuire Institute (iMc), 2 levels of evidence will be covered: The basis is provided by a prospective, multicenter, clinical study evaluating the complete digital workflow including 10 private practice investigators and their referrals for a five-year follow-up.

In addition, an ambitious registry study has been initiated aiming to involve more than 500 clinicians, placing over 2500 implants for long-term follow-up. A key benefit of a registry study is to obtain long-term clinical data without being prescriptive or having a specific endpoint. Therefore, it’s a powerful tool to create scientific evidence and market insights from the daily use of the product by the clinician. Both the clinical trial and the registry will collect “Real World Evidence” which is now recognized by the FDA as being the standard in collecting data and is meaningful to clinicians and patients alike.

Company is launching DS Implants, harmonizing successful brands like Simplant, OSSIX, Atlantis and MIS. 

Dentsply Sirona Launches DS PrimeTaper, Announces Comprehensive Restage of its Implant Business

Sterngold’s original ERA® overdenture partial denture attachment system has been the choice of many dentists since its development in 1991—remains the standard in the industry today—and now the company has released the ERA RV Male Attachment, new green and purple extra oversized males, new options for long-time ERA patients.

Before the introduction of the ERA concept, patients and dental professionals alike were frequently frustrated by high costs from other options, complexity (other options could be difficult to fabricate, implement or maintain) and most important, resiliency. In the past, some options have been unreliable for long-term patient use.

ERA attachments consist of a metal female component, which is intraorally fixed, and a replaceable, high density nylon male anchored in the denture base. Smaller and more resilient, the ERA attachments are designed to deliver much greater overall performance.

Directing more force away from the implants or attachment side, the ERA allows the prosthesis to remain tissue supported, generating less wear to both the attachment as well as the insert. This means greater comfort, stability, and ease of use for the patient, according to Sterngold.

As clinical studies have proven the longevity and reliability of these attachments over several decades, Sterngold now offers green and purple retentive inserts for the ERA® RV partial denture attachment system.

ERA Male Attachments — Levels of Retention


Every attachment procedure begins with the black processing insert. This insert has a built-in spacer so it sits rigidly on top of the female. When you’re ready to remove and replace the black male insert, you have a multitude of options, each one increasing in retention. For many years, your ERA® male attachment insert options were limited to the following:

Now Sterngold is offering even greater retention with these 2 additional ERA male attachment options:

There are 4 types of ERA males: partial denture — ERA RV, Micro ERA, ERA Overdenture, and Micro ERA Overdenture. In any case, all ERA males are mechanically anchored in the denture base, providing both vertical resiliency as well as universal hinge movement.

To implement an ERA RV attachment, you can purchase all the materials you’ll need in the company’s Stern ERA RV Starter Kit. This kit includes:

Additionally, the process of removing and replacing ERA males is simple. Worn out males can be removed with a specially designed bur and the new ones simply snap into a metal jacket that’s been permanently processed into the denture. Simply follow these steps:

Use the core cutter trephine bur to remove the center post of the male.

Pop the remnant of the male out with the ERA® extraction tool.

Snap the new male into the metal jacket or denture acrylic.

Resiliency, dependability, and budget-friendly, the ERA attachment system is a dependable choice for removable partial denture and overdenture treatments. The addition of new retention inserts only expands the number of patients who can now be considered for this proven treatment method.

The addition of new retention inserts only expands the number of patients who can now be considered for this proven treatment method.

Sterngold Introduces the ERA RV Green & Purple Retentive Inserts for Partial Dentures

Dentsply Sirona is partnering on a series of initiatives designed to move the dental industry forward towards a more sustainable future, and today announced its updated sustainability strategy, the release of its inaugural sustainability report, and new sustainability hub on its website.

Dentsply Sirona’s disclosure is aligned with the guidelines from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

“Sustainability is fundamental to our mission and vision. We strive to create long term value for all our stakeholders by supporting our customers to provide world-class dental care, while integrating sustainability and lifecycle thinking into everything we do,” says Jorge M. Gomez, Chief Financial Officer, Dentsply Sirona and chair of the Dentsply Sirona Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee. The company’s Dentsply Sirona World 2021 is taking place this week in Las Vegas.

Aligned with 10 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), the company’s sustainability strategy focuses on 3 strategic pillars: “Healthy Planet”, which strives to mitigate the environmental impact of our operations; “Healthy Smiles”, which focuses on improving oral health quality and access globally, supporting our customers and fostering a healthy company culture; and, “Healthy Business”, which ensures our business is built via responsible and transparent practices and the effective integration of sustainability principles across all aspects of our business.

2020 sustainability highlights and the next milestones:

Established a robust baseline for Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and implemented a range of on-site emissions reduction initiatives

Set out to reduce Scopes 1 and 2 GHG Emissions Reduction ≥ 15% by 2025, and to achieve net zero carbon emissions (scopes 1-3) by 2050

6% YOY decrease in total waste (solid and hazardous) per measure of net sales, and set out to reduce total waste ≥15% by 2025

Established a goal to reduce water withdrawal for manufacturing/warehouse operations by ≥15% by 2025.

Trained more than 1 million dental professionals in 2020

Nearly 7,300 Clinical Education and training courses conducted in 80 countries

Set goal to achieve 25 million smiles by 2025

Working to achieve gender parity and gender pay parity by 2025

More than $10 million provided in cash and in-kind donations to philanthropic and community initiatives

50% of Board members are gender and/or ethnically diverse, with average tenure of 5 years

91% of Board is independent (all except Chief Executive Officer)

Dentsply Sirona is partnering on a series of initiatives designed to move the dental industry forward towards a more sustainable future. It is a Founding Partner in the FDI World Dental Federation’s “Sustainability in Dentistry” initiative, joining GSK, Procter & Gamble, Colgate and TePe to create a Code of Good Practice, which will provide guidelines and objectives for achieving a sustainable procurement and supply process throughout the dental industry.

“The world is facing major environmental, social and economic challenges, and all sectors need to step up and play their part,” says Don Casey, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsply Sirona. “As a global leader in dentistry, Dentsply Sirona has a responsibility to go above and beyond to create a more sustainable future – empowering not only our employees, but our customers, partners and peers to take action with us.”

Company committed to drive change towards sustainable dentistry, announces sustainability goals, and publishes its inaugural sustainability report and new dedicated hub on its website.

Beyond. Taking Action for a Brighter World is Dentsply Sirona’s New Sustainability Strategy

With this week’s new release currently being showcased at the International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, Germany, exocad GmbH now offers dentists design tools for a vast range of indications with a wide choice of integrated devices.

exocad GmbH, an Align Technology, Inc. company and a leading dental CAD software provider, this week announced the release of 

, the next generation of its easy-to-use CAD software for single-visit dentistry, being showcased this week at IDS.

The new chairside workflow is highly automated, intuitive and optimized for practice use. Newcomers to CAD/CAM can benefit from fast wizard-guided workflows, while experts can select free design sequences for greater flexibility.

The software includes a step-by-step guide through the design process and a smooth integration with open intraoral scanners, production devices and implant systems, according to exocad. “

open architecture means clinicians can pair it easily with their preferred open hardware devices,” Tillmann Steinbrecher, CEO and cofounder of exocad, says. “This gives our users real freedom of choice helping to further one of our primary goals at exocad: creating software that’s truly future-proof.”

The new release is designed to offer improved automatic design proposals. Instant Anatomic Morphing enables efficient adjustments: the anatomy of teeth automatically adjusts in real-time for dynamic occlusion. Smile design with exocad’s advanced 2D/3D approach is now faster, thanks to AI-based detection of facial features. exocad’s cloud-based data transfer tool 

simplifies the communication and collaboration between clinicians, dental technicians and production centers. 

seamlessly integrates with exocad’s leading lab and guided surgery software programs, 

can benefit from a system that integrates with their current workflows. Further highlights include:

Broad levels of automation – dental professionals can finalize a crown design in just a few clicks

Greater flexibility in the selection and integration of intraoral scanners, 3D printers and milling machines

Seamless connection with exocad’s guided surgery solution 

Simple interdisciplinary collaboration between practitioner and dental laboratory through efficient integration with 

Highly automated pre-op workflow: clinicians can easily recreate the existing tooth anatomy if they prefer to maintain the exact same shape and function of the tooth

was selected for the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Award in 2021, marking a third straight year with that honor.

The softwareis now available in the EU and other select markets. exocad names its releases after current EU “European Capitals of Culture” and selected the Irish city of Galway for the current release cycle.

* Product available in selected markets only. Check with your local distributor for availability.

Fast and intuitive dental crown design software integrates with all open hardware. 

exocad Showcasing ChairsideCAD 3.0 Galway CAD Software for Single-Visit Dentistry at IDS

Now that Formlabs’ benchtop industrial selective laser sintering (SLS) printer has been validated for orthodontic model production, the 3D printing company today announced it will be showing off 3 high-throughput production solutions for dental models for the first time at the International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, Germany this week.

The 3 solutions for high-throughput production of dental models include:

The Fuse 1, the world’s first benchtop industrial selective laser sintering (SLS) printer, has been validated for orthodontic model production and will be shown for the first time at IDS.

The upcoming reformulation of the popular Model Resin which will double the speed of restorative model production on the company's flagship dental stereolithography (SLA) printers, Form 3B and Form 3BL.

The validation of Form 3B, Form 3BL, and Fuse 1, by 3Shape for their Clear Aligner Enterprise solution.

This suite of new hardware, software, and material solutions for the dental industry enables Formlabs users to increase the speed of their dental model manufacturing while reducing costs.

“Dental manufacturing demands a high degree of customization, and 3D printing is the key solution to enabling that customization at scale without sacrificing cost, speed, or quality,” says Dávid Lakatos, Chief Product Officer at Formlabs. “With more than 10 dental-specific resins powering our SLA line of printers, we are disrupting the dental market with high-speed resins for dental practitioners and labs to create high-quality, patient-specific dental products. Now with the Fuse 1’s validation for dental manufacturing we are expanding our dental offerings to our SLS line of printers and enabling even greater speed, versatility, and affordability for our dental users.”

The Fuse 1 is designed to reduce costs and labor by enabling large dental manufacturers to produce more than 150 dental models for clear aligners in a single print. Compared to other SLS 3D printers, the Fuse 1offers a more accessible price and easier workflow while delivering high quality parts, according to Formlabs. When compared to already-affordable SLA costs, it enables laboratories and clear aligner manufacturers to reduce the cost per part by 50 percent, while simultaneously increasing production volume. This enables more efficient model production.

With the reformulation of its Model Resin for the SLA platform of printers, Formlabs is enabling dental labs and practitioners to slash turnaround times and produce more models each day. The new formulation reportedly reduces print speed by 50 percent and overall work time, including post-processing, by 60 percent.

The importance of speed in dental manufacturing is a given. When Formlabs released its fast-printing Draft Resin for orthodontic model production last year, it quickly became a staple in labs that rely on digital workflows. David Leeson, EVP of Laboratories Operations at Glidewell, one of the world’s largest dental labs, has shared that "Formlabs' new Draft Resin is the fastest-printing SLA material we've used and has accelerated our throughput by nearly 40 percent.”

3Shape’s Clear Aligner Enterprise solution provides software to clear aligner manufacturers for treatment planning and digital production preparation. The dental scanning and software company has validated the interface between their digital workflow and the Form 3B, Form 3BL, and Fuse 1, confirming that they are suitable for clear aligner model production, demonstrating the value and quality Formlabs’ robust dental solutions bring to the industry. The Fuse 1 is the first SLS 3D printer validated by 3Shape for production of clear aligner models. Formlabs and 3Shape partnered previously to enable fabrication of surgical guides, splints, and more. This partnership continues both companies’ commitment to make workflows more efficient and drive forward the standard of care in orthodontics.

“Formlabs Dental is laser focused on making flexible and patient-specific treatment protocols accessible to every dental professional through 3D printing. To achieve this we are constantly looking for partners, and 3Shape recognizes the benefits of our printers,” adds Sam Wainwright, Formlabs Dental Product Manager.

Across its SLS and SLA platforms, company is prioritizing print speed and affordability, enabling dental labs and clear aligner manufacturers to more efficiently produce models. 

Formlabs Showcasing 3 High-Throughput Production Solutions for Dental Models at IDS

Described as the latest step in helping dentists achieve their digital dentistry clinical and practice goals, Dentsply Sirona has announced the launch of a truly esthetic, high-strength zirconia CAD/CAM block in a bold new partnership with VITA Zahnfabrik. CEREC MTL Zirconia will launch at DS World in Las Vegas this week and brings together a high level of esthetics and ease of processing alongside the strength familiar with zirconium oxide in a multilayer graduated zirconium oxide block.

The new material will be available from September 2021. Dentsply Sirona has helped shape the world of digital dentistry with innovation across multiple imaging and software platforms, specifically, in the CEREC workflow where patients require a restoration. In these scenarios, dentists what to know which material fits best in terms of strength, esthetics, and processing simplicity. Until now, material selection has been somewhat limited, particularly in delivering across all 3 of these vital performance areas.

Less than 1 year ago Dentsply Sirona began to shift the conversation from compromise to delivering on what is required with the release of CEREC Tessera. CEREC MTL Zirconia continues this conversation, particularly for posterior restorations where zirconia blocks have been critical to success.

CEREC MTL Zirconia is a zirconium oxide enriched with yttrium oxide that leaves virtually nothing to be desired. A key factor in the material developed and produced by VITA Zahnfabrik is the special color technology consisting of a multilayer color gradient. This MTL (multi transitional layer) technology, in combination with high translucency, is designed to result in very natural esthetics without compromising on strength. This property turns the material into genuine innovation and an optimal choice for bridges and crowns as well as for inlays, onlays, and veneers.

While this color transition visibly improves the esthetics, the 3-point flexural strength of more than 850 MPa helps ensure very high strength. This enables minimally invasive crown preparation with a wall thickness as low as 0.6 mm. This strength and wall thickness allows for ideal anatomically designed posterior restorations and gives clinicians more flexibility in the CEREC workflow.

Chairside Supply with Simple, Fast Workflow


And one of the best parts, according to the manufacturer, is fast and easy processing. After scanning with CEREC Primescan, which is now twice as fast with the upgrade to CEREC SW 5.2, and creating a finished restoration in 5 clicks, a crown made of CEREC MTL Zirconia can be milled out in as little as 5 minutes in the Super Fast mode of CEREC Primemill. Subsequent sintering in CEREC SpeedFire takes around 20 minutes, and the optional glaze firing can be completed after just 9 minutes. With conventional cementation as the finishing step, this zirconia may become the CAD/CAM block of choice for posterior restorations.

The first users of CEREC MTL Zirconia expressed great satisfaction with the new material and praised above all the uncompromising path to impressive esthetics, according to Dentsply Sirona. "It is very rare for a material and workflow to come along that changes the way you practice. There are things that make you more efficient, but the advent of chairside esthetic zirconia has changed the way I do things in my office” reports Mike Skramstad, DDS, from Orono, Minnesota. “CEREC MTL is the pinnacle of what I am looking for in a chairside zirconia. High strength, esthetic, cementable, and low minimal thickness design not only make the execution of the restoration easy, but the efficiency, fit, and workflow has simply changed everything for me."


Dentsply Sirona's block portfolio for CEREC restorations includes glass-ceramics (CEREC Tessera) as well as various zirconium oxide blocks (CEREC Zirconia+) and is now completed by a true multi-talent for restoring teeth in different regions of the mouth.

"With CEREC MTL Zirconia, we are rounding off our CAD/CAM block portfolio of glass-ceramic and zirconia blocks with an esthetic zirconium oxide," explains Mathias Kraus, Vice President Restorative Marketing/Single-Unit Crown at Dentsply Sirona. "In this way, the highest demands of patients in terms of strength and esthetics can be met simultaneously."

The new product is the result of a collaboration between VITA and Dentsply Sirona. "With this innovation, we have succeeded in ideally combining the requirements for maximum esthetics, ease of processing, and familiar strength," explains Bernd Schnakenberg, Head of Global Sales & Marketing at VITA. While VITA is the designer and producer of this new MTL zirconium oxide block, Dentsply Sirona with Degudent GmbH, Hanau, will be responsible for the exclusive global distribution.

CEREC MTL Zirconia to debut at Dentsply Sirona World; developed in partnership with VITA Zahnfabrik.

Dentsply Sirona Launching New Esthetic, High-Strength Zirconia CAD/CAM Block this Week in Vegas

Intraoral Repairs: Fixing PFMs Effectively and Efficiently. Photo Courtesy of Nestor / stock.adobe.com/


Intraoral repairs can be a cost-effective and fast alternative to replacement when a patient comes in with a chip. Knowing how to do one properly and efficiently can help the patient with their tooth esthetics and function and financially.

In a Dental Talk Viva Learning podcast, Rolando Nunez, DDS, MSc, and Manager of Clinical Affairs for BISCO, says that most of the intraoral repairs he encountered in his practice were porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) restorations.

A literature review confirms that these are frequent occurrences, with a calculated average incidence of 27 percent in fixed dental prostheses between 5 and 14 years old. Moreover, the most frequent problem is a chip in the porcelain, at a 34 percent rate by some estimates. When assessing the fracture, here are the 3 types you will likely see:

Static Fracture: the porcelain is broken but still in place

Cohesive Fracture: a chipping fracture in the body of the porcelain

Adhesive Fracture: bonding failure either between the veneer and the core porcelain or the porcelain and metal substrate

It is incumbent upon the dentist to determine how to move forward. Some fractures can be polished, while others need repair. The most severe need replacement occurs when the fracture extends into a function area, recontouring will change the anatomic form too much, there is a high risk of thermal damage to the pulp during recontouring, or it will not look good.

Jeff Lineberry, DDS, FAGD, AAACD, says he sees fewer PFMs in his practice, and when he does, many are failing, often because of their age. As a result, Dr Lineberry tends to default replacing a PFM restoration with a different, more modern material, usually lithium disilicate or zirconia, depending on the case and the location of the restoration.

“Usually, when they are failing, I am replacing them,” Dr Lineberry says. “Lithium disilicates is one of the happy mediums where we have an excellent restoration that’s durable and esthetic. Zirconiais an option as well and it is durable, and they are more esthetic than PFMs. However, with more esthetic zirconia nowadays, the overall strength of it is reduced.”

Another significant consideration when choosing between repairing and replacing a failing PFM restoration is how the fracture happened. Dr Nunez explains that it is essential to determine what caused the fracture before you move forward with a repair. If it was a hockey puck to the mouth, then you can move forward with the repair. However, if the fracture occurred because of chronic habits, flaws with the restorative materials, or occlusion problems, dentists should address that problem first so the repair will last.

“Many times, when restorations are chipped or broken, that’s a functional issue, like too much pressure and so forth, which leads to premature failure of the restoration,” Dr Lineberry agrees.

Once you are ready to proceed with the intraoral repair and have isolated the area, fixing it depends on the fracture. Static Fractures often only need polishing. The polishing repair technique works best in the posterior when the chip is small and doesn’t affect esthetics or function. When the chip is more extensive, clinicians should protect the tooth pulp and remaining porcelain from heat.

However, Cohesive Fractures require a bit more technique. These can either demand the recementing of the chipped-off material or by building up composite resin. In either case, the restoration substrate requires surface modification and roughening.

Intraoral repairs require you to create either mechanical or chemical retention depending on the substrate. Per the 

, treating the ceramic surface starts by removing the glazed layer with a diamond bur or sandblast and acid-etch (or both) to expose the ceramic layer underneath, which reacts better and has a larger contact surface area. The authors recommend either a 37 percent phosphoric acid, a 5-10 percent hydrofluoric acid, or a 1.23 percent acidulate phosphate fluoride for the acid etch. However, it is essential to isolate to protect the soft tissues from damage when using hydrofluoric acid. For metal substrate, they recommend sandblasting and metal primer. Tin plating could enhance the bond strength for high-noble or noble metal surfaces.

Dr Nunez says that a silane coupling agent is essential after roughening the ceramic surface to achieve a good chemical bond to the porcelain. Moreover, he says that it should be pure silane, not a product that contains silane. Also, Dr Nunez cautions clinicians to be careful of sandblasting in intraoral repairs where both porcelain and metal are exposed because the sandblasting can create microcracks in the porcelain surface. Instead, he recommends roughening the surface of the metal with a diamond bur followed by primer containing MDP (Methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate), a popular monomer in many universal adhesive primers. However, if you have both surfaces that need treatment, it is indicated that you should apply the silane first to the ceramic surface and then the MDP to the metal surface.

If the clinician is going to reattach the porcelain chip, then it can be rebonded at this point. However, suppose the clinician uses composite to repair the restoration, and the restorative surface requires metal masking. In that case, it is essential to use an opaquer first before layering translucent resins on top of it. The authors in the Balkan Journal of Stomatology recommend a flowable resin in an opaque shade.

BISCO has an Intraoral Repair Kit indicated to repair PFM or Zirconia/Alumina restorations, porcelain & lithium disilicate restorations, and direct and indirect composite restorations. It comes with Z-Prime Plus, Porcelain Primer, Porcelain bonding Resin, Dual-Cured Opaquer, Porcelain Etchant (9.5% HF), and Barrier Gel. Then, you use the composite system you like to complete the restoration from there.

 Dr Nunez explains that the Dual-Cure opaquer is essential because it allows you to cure it with the light to keep in place, but the self-cure properties will continue to polymerize the material and assure a depth of cure. This curing continuation is essential for the material closest to the metal surface.

3M ESPE also has an intraoral repair system; the CoJet™ System is indicated for use with resin nano-ceramic, metal, ceramic and composite surfaces of indirect restoration. It includes CoJet™ Sand, 3M™ ESPE™ Sil, Visio™ Bond, Sinfony™ Opaquer Powder, Sinfony™ Opaquer Liquid, Brush Handles, and Disposable Brush Tips.

by The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics

 compared the 2 systems for bond strength using a diamond bur to roughen the surface and airborne particle abrasion. The authors suggested that the BISCO system performed well in Cohesive Fractures contained to porcelain substrate and that the 3M system did better when the fractures extended to metal surfaces.

In his North Carolina practice, Dr Lineberry doesn’t remember the last time he repaired a PFM. However, he does repair restorations with a zirconia substructure with porcelain on top of it. While there are specific bonding protocols for zirconia, Dr Lineberry says most of it is micromechanical.

“Things stick to rough surfaces better than smooth surfaces,” Dr Lineberry says, adding that he uses air abrasion on Zirconia substrates.

When he has done PFM restoration in the past, Dr Lineberry uses an air abrasion on the exposed metal substrate also. After thorough cleaning of the exposed metal, he uses bonding agent on the metal, followed by an opaquer or very white composite to keep the metal from showing through the restorations. Forgoing the use of an intraoral repair kit, Dr Lineberry uses an assortment of materials for his repairs, but notes that he tends to reach for Scotchbond™ Universal Plus Adhesive (3M) or G-Premio Bond™ (GC America) for his bonding agent.

“It depends on the situation,” Dr Lineberry says about the materials he uses for repairs.

Dr Lineberry says that many clinicians are steering clear of using hydrofluoric acid intraorally, even though it was commonly used in the past. While it creates a strong bond, it is toxic and can damage the oral cavity. He says there are a lot of great conditioning agents for porcelain that work well.

“I’m kind of old school, so a lot of times when I condition porcelain, I use silanizing agent.Will they hold up? That’s a great question,” Dr Lineberry says of the porcelain conditioning agents. “Overall, you have to address any functional issues that caused the failure, and, in my opinion, you still have to rely upon micro-mechanical retention rather than bonding.”
 

Klein, DDS P. The First Aid Kit for Intraoral Repairs. Dental Talk Viva Learning. Published 2021. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://vivalearning.com/member/podcast.asp?x_podcastId=169. 

Aslam A, Hassan S, Nayyer M, Ahmed B. Intraoral repair protocols for fractured metal-ceramic restorations - Literature review. Scielo.org.za. Published 2018. Accessed September 9, 2021.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-85162018000100008. 

Aslam A, Hassan S, Nayyer M, Ahmed B. Intraoral repair protocols for fractured metal-ceramic restorations - Literature review. Scielo.org.za. Published 2018. Accessed September 9, 2021http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-85162018000100008..

Aslam A, Hassan S, Nayyer M, Ahmed B. Intraoral repair protocols for fractured metal-ceramic restorations - Literature review. Scielo.org.za. Published 2018. Accessed September 9, 2021. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-85162018000100008. 

Aslam A, Hassan S, Nayyer M, Ahmed B. Intraoral repair protocols for fractured metal-ceramic restorations - Literature review. Scielo.org.za. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0011-85162018000100008. Published 2018. Accessed September 9, 2021.

Solid is, K., Gerasimou, P. and Boutsiouki, C., 2012. 

Intraoral Ceramic Restoration Repair Techniques: Report of 3 Cases

. [online] Researchgate.net. [Accessed 9 September 2021]. Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268279790_Intraoral_Ceramic_Restoration_Repair_Techniques_Report_of_3_Cases>

Intraoral Repair Kit | BISCO Dental. Bisco.com. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://www.bisco.com/intraoral-repair-kit/. 

CoJet™ System: Intraoral Repair and Surface Pre-treatment. multimedia.3m.com. Accessed September 9, 2021. https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/814608O/3m-cojet-system-intraoral-repair-and-surface-pre-treatment-strong-bonds.pdf. 

Yoo JY, Yoon HI, Park JM, Park EJ. Porcelain repair - Influence of different systems and surface treatments on resin bond strength. 

. 2015;7(5):343-348. doi:10.4047/jap.2015.7.5.343

When doing intraoral repairs, it is important to know the right methodology to offer the best patient outcomes.  

Intraoral Repairs: Fixing PFMs Effectively and Efficiently

Stan Goff is the Managing Editor of Dental Products Report, Dental Lab Products and Modern Hygienist. He has covered the dental industry since 1999 and can be reached at sgoff@mjhlifesciences.com.  

From whole new implant workflows, to desktop scanners, CAD software, endodontic developments and more, this week's news and new product launches look primed to have a big impact on workflow efficiencies and patient care going forward.

With the return of in-person live trade shows this week at IDS in Cologne, Germany and DS World 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada, plenty of new dental product launches were announced this week. Here's just some of the many introductions aimed at improving oral health care.

New Product Launches This Week 

Dental manufacturer Miele is showcasing its line of sterilizers and instrument cleaners at the IDS this week in Cologne, Germany.

Alongside thermal disinfectors and small sterilizers, air purifiers, washing machines and dishwashers provide protection against viruses and bacteria, and these infection control products are on display at the Miele booth in Cologne from September 22-25.

With their new accessories, Miele thermal disinfectors can be put to universal use, even in the fields of orthodontics and implantology. For the machine-based cleaning and disinfection of multi-function syringes, the company offers matching adapters which guarantee the secure positioning of cannula from a variety of brands in upper and lower baskets.

Additionally, a new insert has been developed which considerably increases the capacity for trays and cartridges–an aspect which simplifies the reprocessing of surgical instruments. All holders can, if required, be inclined to now take 12 trays in the lower basket–twice as many as previously.

If phobic patients have to be treated with laughing gas, the reprocessing of double hoses and masks represents an additional challenge. Early next year Miele will be offering a space-saving solution: A new holder which can hold up to 2 hoses with a capacity that can even be increased to 5. A matching mesh tray is available for reprocessable patients' masks.

Two years after their market launch, the 4 small Miele Cube and Cube X sterilizers offer even greater user convenience by simplifying the reprocessing of instruments in dental practices: these include a new and flexible holder which for the first time accommodates containers and cartridges with a maximum height of 70 mm. Practices which combine the use of a Cube or Cube X unit with a Miele thermal disinfector and hence require considerably more demineralized water now see their needs met fast in the form of Miele full demineralization cartridges.

The company has also developed an app by the name of DataDiary for the wireless transmission of reprocessing data from up to 9 sterilizers. The most recent updated version is available for Android and iOS.

Everywhere in dental practices, Miele machines can reduce the risk of contracting an infection by preventing the spread of viruses and bacteria. Wherever frequent and thorough ventilation is not sufficient, the 3 mobile Miele AirControl air purifiers provide effective assistance: With an air throughput capacity of up to 3,000 cubic meters of air per hour, they are able to replace the entire air in a room 6 times an hour, while at the same time filtering the air as it passes, according to the manufacturer.

A five-stage filtration system which includes a high-performance HEPA H14 particulate filter, captures even the minutest of particles and renders more than 99.995% of all air-borne particles, viruses, bacteria and fungal spores innocuous.

With the company’s System4Dent, a Miele Professional can offer an innovative complete system for the safe and efficient instrument reprocessing in dentists' practices. Based on many years of experience and in close consultation with experts in the field, System4Dent offers a system solution which can be divided into key steps such as cleaning, disinfection, sterilizing, chemical processing, and the highest service quality.

Miele Cube and Cube X small sterilizers on display at company’s booth in Cologne, along with System4Dent portfolio.

Miele Showcases Infection Control Product Line at IDS

In what sounds like an ideal partnership, Carbon and Keystone Industries announced that the 2 companies have agreed to develop a flexible removable partial denture resin based on Carbon's patented dual cure materials.

The joint effort will bring about the first use of Carbon's patented dual cure process in a dental application. Carbon is a leading 3D printing technology company, while Keystone Industries, is a leading dental and 3D resin products company.

Providing dental professionals with an innovative process to address the large partially edentulous patient population via the ability to print a flexible partial denture will be the next step in the strategic partnership between the 2 companies that was initiated in 2019. The 2 companies originally partnered to launch KeySplint Soft Clear to Carbon’s 3D printing technology platform, and more recent additions of both KeySplint Hard and KeyGuide. This latest development will allow for the first dental use of Carbon’s patented dual cure process.

"Our dual cure resins meet the needs of a broad range of applications. However, this partnership will result in the first use of Carbon's patented dual cure process in a dental application,” Phil DeSimone, cofounder and Chief Product & Business Development Officer, says. “We're excited to extend our partnership with Keystone to expand denture options for doctors and patients."

Related reading: PostProcess Resin Removal Solution Now Compatible with Carbon DPR 10

This partnership builds on Carbon's industry leadership in developing digital denture solutions that are enabling a new standard of care for edentulous patients. In 2019, Carbon partnered with Dentca to introduce the first FDA-approved 3D printed denture. Carbon was also the first 3D printing technology company to partner with Dentsply Sirona to introduce Lucitone Digital Print, the first high-impact, high esthetic denture base. Nearly a quarter-million denture parts have been printed on the Carbon platform through partnerships with Dentsply Sirona and Dentca.

Keystone Industries has spent decades producing leading denture products and, more recently, ground-breaking 3D printing resins for dental professionals. Keystone’s denture expertise spans a wide array of applications: Diamond D® high-impact denture base acrylic (heat and self cure), KeyMill® high-impact CAD/CAM milling discs for denture bases, ClearMet clear, flexible partial denture resin, Millenium PMMA acrylics, the upcoming high-impact pourable version of Diamond D and in 2022, the KeyDenture 3D printing resins. Using this expansive denture material experience to partner with Carbon’s dual cure 3D process will allow the 2 companies to work towards an innovative breakthrough for partial denture frames.

“We have had a long and productive relationship with Carbon,” notes Keystone Industries dental president Ira Rosenau. “Together, we can leverage several strengths of our companies to bring a very substantial innovation to dental professionals – an efficient way to manufacture custom flexible partial dentures for the many patients who need such a prosthetic device to improve their daily lives."

Companies announce plans that will lead to the first use of Carbon's patented dual cure process in a dental application.

Carbon, Keystone Industries Working Together to Develop a Flexible Removable Partial Denture Resin

Plenty of things have been happening this week at Denstply Sirona World 2021, including great live entertainment, innovative product launches and strategic partnership announcements that look to make the global dental manufacturing power even bigger and better going forward. But none of that news is as heartwarming and as potentially impactful as the announcement that the company is launching a 5-year partnership with Smile Train to support safe and quality cleft care for children around the world.

Globally, 1 in 700 babies are born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Clefts can have devastating effects on the quality of life of a child, both physically by compromising the ability to communicate and to eat properly and from social stigma resulting in feelings of anxiety and a lack of self-confidence. A child with a cleft requires more than just surgery. Essential cleft care includes nutrition programs, dental and orthodontic care, speech therapy, and social and emotional support.

Dental company announces donation, the official launch of its 5-year partnership with Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused organization.

New Product Launches This Week

Miele Showcases Infection Control Product Line at IDS

Carbon, Keystone Industries Working Together to Develop a Flexible Removable Partial Denture Resin

Dentsply Sirona, Smile Train Partnering Up to Support Cleft Care for Children

New Material Indications, Planned Print Platform Validations Key to Lucitone Digital Print Denture System Extension