Enhance Your Restorations From Start to Finish
Trusted all over the world for more than 50 years, 3M dental composites have been used for over 1 billion dental restorations.*
System like Filtek have become the composite of choice for thousands of dentists thanks to the number of advantages it brings to the table, most notably convenience.
Similarly, when it comes to impressions, 3M’s award-winning range of a-silicone and polyether products have won several prestigious industry awards, including Imprint 4 VPS which has received the Dental Advisor’s Top Award for VPS Impression Material multiple years in a row.
To add gloss and shine to new smile makeovers, 3M Sof-Lex finishing and polishing discs are designed to be time-saving and easy to use.
Impression Materials
Impressioning is key to getting an accurate fitting restoration and the overall aesthetics of the final prosthesis.
A silicone, or VPS, is widely regarded as the best impression material due to the advantages it holds over alternative materials. These include:
- Most dimensionally stable impression material.
- Best fine detail.
- Most time to pour.
- High patient acceptance.
One of the downsides of a-silicone is that it is naturally hydrophobic, so excellent moisture control is required to prevent bubbles or holes forming.
This is not the case with Imprint 4 VPS which has a unique chemistry that makes it one of the most hydrophilic a-silicone materials on the market.
Imprint 4 VPS displaces moisture right from the start in the unset state. This allows the material to reproduce accurate details even in a moist environment—giving you better precision and confidence.
According to 3M, it is the only a-silicone currently to offer active self-warming, a process whereby the material warms during its working time to approximately 37°C resulting in a snap-set setting profile right at the end of the working time.
This self-warming technology speeds up the setting reaction, which means shorter chair times and less patient stress.
Composites
With over 400 million dental restorations globally, Filtek Supreme XTE Universal Restorative is a dental composite that ticks A LOT of boxes.
Able to provide beauty for anterior restorations and strength for posterior ones, Filtek Supreme XTE is highly versatile and indicated for restoration classes I-V.
Along with its superb aesthetics and excellent strength, studies have found Filtek XTE to have wear resistance equivalent to enamel and high polish retention for lasting shine.
The Filtek Supreme XTE range makes it easier to match any patient’s dentition, with 36 shades that directly align with the VITA Classical Shade Guide, for single-shade application or multi-shade layering techniques.
For a multi-shade technique, the four opacities — translucent, enamel, body and dentine — are colour-coded for easy identification and to help you create natural-looking results.
For single-shade application, an array of 8 “go-to” body shades most used for dental fillings lets you simplify your practice while still meeting high patient expectations.
Finishing and Polishing
Be it a Filtek Supreme XTE direct restoration or an Imprint 4 VPS-inspired indirect restoration, finishing and polishing is key to achieving a high gloss look similar to natural teeth.
To help you create a beautiful finish without spending a great deal of time, 3M has developed an easy-to-use, colour-coded system for the adjustment of composite, compomer, metal and ceramic restorations.
3M Sof-Lex Finishing and Polishing Solutions are designed to help you quickly and efficiently achieve a result similar to diamond polishing.
Due to the availability of the strips as well as discs in different grits and widths, even interproximal areas, as well as facial and lingual margins, can be finished and polished in a time-saving procedure without damaging the achieved results – all with an easy pop-off mount for quick changes.
Because abrasive particles are embedded throughout the rubberised spirals, all surfaces of the spiral design can be used: side, top, bottom and edge.
Safety is enhanced courtesy of the unique, spiral geometry that adapts to all tooth anatomy and is kinder to gingival tissue.
*according to 3M (data on file)
