Under pressure. It’s the reality of the working environment when a dentist needs to fill a cavity quickly and efficiently. It’s also the reality of the material needed. When a filling is consistently under stress, the material needs to be strong with excellent

marginal integrity. Faced with the everyday pressure to finish procedures quickly, dentists need a composite that’s up to the challenge.

If you are Kerr Corporation, you respond to the pressure by developing products to fit these needs products such as SonicFill 2, which uses proprietary filler technology and special rheological modifiers

to produce a dramatic reaction to the sonic energy applied through the handpiece during placement. This reduces the viscosity of the material up to 84% creating adaptation similar to a flowable—ensuring intimate adaptation between the composite  and bonded surface. The filler system also enables excellent gloss, color-matching, wear resistance, and strength to make bulk filling even easier and more reliable.

Kerr believes that dentistry is a science—and an art. They also believe that being a successful dentist is something much more. It means mastering an ever advancing science, embracing the latest tools of technology, and steering a growing business in a rapidly changing healthcare market. This is why for more than 125 years, dentists have increasingly turned to Kerr for a total restorative solution, an innovative portfolio of products that work together to streamline the chairside experience and bring simplicity and predictability to the operatory.

How does Kerr meet the challenges of offering products that succeed in such a  competitive market? According to Eugene Qian, PhD, director of product development, this is the general process that goes into getting these products to market: 

1. 
   

   Identify pain points, unmet needs, or shortcomings of existing products

   
   


2. 
   

   Propose product idea/concept

   
   


3. 
   

   Research/identify technologies that could potentially provide the solution to address the unmet need or shortcoming

   
   


4. 
   

   Conduct feasibility study

   
   


5. 
   

   Design the product

   
   


6. 
   

   Verify that the designed product meets the requirements/

   
   

     specifications through in-vitro bench testing

7. 
   

   Validate that the designed product meets the end user needs through in-vivo clinical evaluation

   
   


8. 
   

   Commercialize the product

   
   

    

   
   

Kerr Restoratives offers comprehensive solutions for virtually all direct and indirect procedures. From using the exact material clinicians prefer to designing groundbreaking solutions, the company dedicates its time to creating the utmost value in its products.

“We constantly strive to develop innovative products or improve existing products to adapt to clinicians’ changing needs and provide clinicians with restorative products that will simplify the restorative procedures, and make the clinical outcome more predictable and reliable,” said Qian.

Maxcem Elite Chroma

Kerr’s Maxcem Elite Chroma is the first self-etch/self-adhesive resin cement that has a Color Cleanup Indicator. It dispenses a pretty shade of pink that, as it fades, lets you know when it’s time to remove the excess cement. Once cured, the cement fades to the cement shade. How smart is that? As the color changes, you’ll know when the cement has reached the proper gel point for easy removal. As the cement begins to transition to the cement shade with the faintest hue of pink, you’ve reached the optimal time to remove the excess cement. With other cements, you can’t visually tell if you’ve reached the perfect cure point (did someone forget to start the stopwatch?) or you might even “over” tack cure, resulting in a difficult cleanup process. That means extra time wasted in cleaning up excess cement, especially if you have to pull out the ultrasonic scaler to get it off.

In addition to the Color Cleanup Indicator, Maxcem Elite Chroma also features One-Peel cleanup, which means that if you follow its cues and remove it at the right time, it will come off in one piece—no poking and peeling off chunks of cement, or

fishing them out of your patients’ cheeks. Add to these features its ability to form a strong and durable bond with a wide variety of dental substrates, compatibility with

all indirect restorations, the automix delivery system, and easy no-refrigeration storage, and there really isn’t anything they haven’t covered with Maxcem Elite Chroma.

OptiBond XTR

Kerr describes OptiBond XTR as the only bonding agent that combines the power and durability of a total-etch adhesive with the ease of use of a self-etch technique.

The OptiBond XTR self-etch technique reduces postoperative sensitivity and aids in patient comfort.

“I really like using this product. It has made me more confident

about decreasing postoperative sensitivity,” said evaluator Patricia

DeCino of Lakewood, CO.

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EVALUATION SNAPSHOT

Maxcem Elite Chroma

We have to get numerous products out just to seat the restoration. A lot of prep work

went into the cementation. With Maxcem Elite [Chroma], it’s easy on the patient as far as cleaning up the excess cement, and it’s easy on the doctor or assistant,” said one dental assistant during the DPS evaluation of Maxcem Elite Chroma. Ease of cleanup

was the highest-rated attribute, and many evaluators said it was their favorite feature, including one dentist who said, “The patient doesn’t have to experience a lot of scaling and scraping around the margins when cleaning off a crown or bridge.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Color Cleanup Indicator provides reassurance of

a full cure

• Tack-curing accelerates the color change

• Time-saver for dental assistant/hygienist, who

knows exactly when to clean up

• Easy one-peel cleanup at gel state, with virtually

no flaking/clumping

FROM THE EVALUATOR:

“I was looking for a product that would help me differentiate between when it is time to clean it and when it is ready. [Maxcem Elite Chroma’s] chromatic ability helped me to know when it was the appropriate time for cleaning, which resulted in a less messy area. The easy dispensing and the change of color while setting made the chairside

experience innovative and unique.”

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Lourdes Albandoz, DMD

Corona, NY

This article was originally published in Dental Product Shopper