Beauty, efficiency, and protection

John W. Farah, DDS, PhD

The editors of THE DENTAL ADVISOR™ proudly bring you the "Shared Secrets" column. Every other month we will feature dental products and equipment that have received top ratings in THE DENTAL ADVISOR. Take your practice to the next level with the help of our "Shared Secrets."

Sinfony
3M ESPE (800)634-2249
www.3MESPE.com
+ + + + 1/2, Vol. 20-10
Editors' Choice

Sinfony is a laboratory composite indicated for anterior and posterior crowns, inlays/onlays, and veneers. The composite is a microhybrid with strontium glass and silica fillers, light-cured under vacuum. Restorations should be bonded with resin cement. Sixty-two restorations (51 posterior crowns and 11 inlays/onlays) were evaluated for clinical performance at four years after placement. The balance of translucency and opacity produces restorations that blend well with natural dentition. The colors of Sinfony restorations remained stable, and the surfaces were resistant to staining. No visible signs of opposing wear were noted, and 95 percent of restorations showed no clinically apparent wear. Fracture rate was low at 2 percent, comparable to ceramics and better than many other indirect composites. Overall, Sinfony restorations have continued to perform very well over a four-year period.

LA Axxess Bur Kit
SybronEndo (800)346-3636
www.sybrondental.com
+ + + + 1/2, Vol. 20-10

The LA Axxess Bur Kit was designed by Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan for preparing endodontic access openings. The kit is well-organized in an autoclavable metal bur block containing two each of 11 burs. The wide selection of burs includes those for initial access opening through restorations, caries removal, refining the access, and finishing. Three sizes of latch-head line-angle (LA) access burs create an extension of the canal, providing a straight path for files. The parabolic tips and titanium nitride coating on the line-angle burs help to prevent ledging and irregularities, allowing canal preparation to proceed more efficiently.

GelClair
Sunstar Butler (800)528-8537
www.jbutler.com
+ + + + 1/2, Vol. 20-8

GelClair is a bioadhesive gel, which coats and adheres to the oral mucosa for the management of pain associated with various oral conditions such as lesions due to trauma, chemotherapy, radiation, dental appliances and prostheses, aphthous ulcers, mucositis, etc. Patients noted fast relief that was long lasting. The licorice-flavored GelClair is supplied in foil packets of concentrate to be diluted with water for use three times a day.

Note: For information on the "Shared Secrets" lecture seminars or to subscribe, contact THE DENTAL ADVISOR™, 3100 W. Liberty, Ann Arbor, Mich., 48103, by phone at (800) 347-1330, by email at [email protected], or through www.dentaladvisor.com.

John W. Farah, DDS, PhD, and Editor, maintains a full-time dental practice in Ann Arbor, Mich., and lectures internationally on dental products and materials.
John M. Powers, PhD and Editor, is a Professor of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials at UT Health Science Center at Houston. He also is Director of the Houston Biomaterials Research Center.