Linda Greenwall, specialist in restorative dentistry and prosthodontics, discusses the benefits of SDI’s Luna 2 composite for complex restorative cases.
At my practice, we deal with a wide range of restorative issues on a daily basis. We see a lot of advanced complex cases such as patients with tooth wear, erosion and tooth grinding. We also see a great many aesthetic problems as well.
With such a wide range of restorative materials on the market, finding a reliable universal dental composite that meets the demands of all types of restorative cases is key to clinical success.
This includes looking at the strength and function of the composite. Additionally, the handling capabilities and the aesthetics, flowability, compressibility and ease of use.
Superior strength
It can be difficult to find a universal dental composite that offers all of these things. However, the new generation of nanohybrid composites, such as Luna 2 from SDI, helps us to provide a greater range of versatility for the complex patients that we treat, from both an aesthetic and functional point of view.
Luna 2 is a universal dental composite that is easy to place and sculpt. It can be used in both the anterior and posterior regions, which adds to its versatility.
The flexural and compressive strength of a composite is extremely important, especially in load bearing areas. Luna 2’s high compressive strength (360MPa) and high flexural strength (130MPa) allow it to withstand masticatory forces in a similar way to dentine. This makes it ideal for our patients with extreme tooth wear who are biting down heavily on the composite.
Improved shade matching
Luna 2 universal dental composite has a greatly improved shade matching system over the original Luna formulation. This allows for a simpler and faster match to the VITA Classical Shade Guide.
Many dentists like to work with the VITA Classical Shade Guide. We are all very familiar with it. Despite it being over 60 years old, we still refer to it when patients want to achieve a B1 shade.
With Luna 2 you can also reach more extreme bleach shades, represented by 2XB (2X Extra Bleach). This is very helpful when doing composite build-ups and changing patients’ smiles.
Meeting patient expectations
Today’s patients have high demands in terms of aesthetics and function as well high expectations for what we, as clinicians, can do for them.
We need to be very clear with patients what is possible and what is not in terms of restorative outcomes and what is the right treatment in each individual case.
The best results also depend on patient maintenance. After we’ve completed an aesthetic case with composite, the patient is asked to come back a week later for us to review the case, modify, polish, and check the bite.
We also give our patients a post-operative instruction sheet to follow. Nothing is perfect in life and restorations can chip and break, so patients need to return for regular maintenance so we can assess any problems quickly and restore them.
Problems can arise when patients do not visit their hygienist regularly or do not maintain and clean their teeth, as discolouration can occur with any type of composite. Composite restorations are high-maintenance and patients need to be aware of that.
The beauty of universal dental composites like Luna 2 is that they can be restored quite easily, swiftly reinstating both function and aesthetics.
Listen to Dr Linda Greenwall discussing the benefits of Luna 2 and how she uses Luna 2 in her daily practice in the new SDI Podcast available on demand at sdirestoratives.co.uk/videos/.
