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Laurence Bohan
Content Writer
Laurence Bohan
Content Writer

Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.

What are Bulk Fill Composites?

Bulk fills are light-cured dental composites that require fewer layers than conventional composites. This results in easier material placement and faster polymerisation. Many dentists prefer using fewer layers in their restorations to reduce risk of air pockets and voids. Bulk-fill composites are mostly indicated for Class I and II posterior restorations. There are many factors that make a good bulk fill composite. These include wear resistance, polishability and radiopacity. Three essential boxes for any bulk fill to tick are durability, handling and aesthetics. Here’s what you should know.

The keys to an effective bulk fill composite

Durability

Any high-quality composite intended for anterior and posterior restorations should be able to demonstrate how it fairs against other brands in terms of hardness, compression strength and shrinkage volume. Aura Bulk Fill composite from SDI delivers on all three of these fronts according to dentist and practice owner, Dr Jati Heer: “I would definitely recommend Aura Bulk Fill to colleagues, especially to fellow GDPs who deal with posterior restorations daily - simply because it’s so reliable. I was told some time ago that Aura Bulk Fill would prove to be a good alternative to amalgam and that’s how I see it - a highly durable material that goes the distance,” said Dr Heer.

Comfortable handling

Easier handling and placement correspond to both increased comfort levels for the patient and a better experience for the dentist. Talking about Aura Bulk Fill’s non-sticky consistency, Dr Jati Heer says “some composites have a crumbly texture and you worry that will cause of poor adaptation of the material. With Aura Bulk Fill, its viscosity is such that that doesn’t pose a problem. I can inject it right where I need it and it adapts really easily.” All this equates to a streamlined process with a bulk fill that delivers excellent handling and polishing properties for easy placement within minutes.

Lifelike aesthetics

The challenge of matching composite restorations to the surrounding tooth structure can lead to practices stocking an excessive number of shades. Many of these may end up expiring and going to waste. To prevent wastage and simplify the shade matching process, many practices are turning to universal shade composites. Most clinicians would agree that the properties needed for a universal composite include a natural-looking finish: “My patients have always been very happy with the aesthetic results. A universal shade simplifies your clinical protocol, which is really important, and keeping things as simple as possible reduces the chance of problems further down the line,” says Dr Heer.

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