Simplicity Is the Key to Danville’s Prelude™ Adhesive

Discussing issues related to adhesion, Raymond Bertolotti, DDS, PhD, Director of Clinical Research at Danville, notes that when bonding to enamel, an etch-and-rinse approach is preferred, as simple micro-mechanical interaction appears sufficient to achieve a durable bond. However, when bonding to dentin, a mild self-etch approach is superior, he suggests. “Bonding to dentin involves additional ionic bonding with residual hydroyxapatite, providing additional primary chemical bonding, which definitely contributes to bond durability.” Therefore, he concludes, when bonding to both enamel and dentin, selective etching of the enamel followed by a two-step self-etch system such as Danville’s fills the need.

“Selective etching of enamel followed by the application of the two-step self-etch adhesive to both enamel and dentin currently appears to be the best choice to effectively and durably bond to both tooth tissues,” he explains. The additional time involved, he insists, is worth it. “Certainly 10 seconds of dwell time for each of the solutions is not excessive time relative to the one-bottle systems.”

Bertolotti focuses on what he calls Prelude’s “unique features that none of our competitors can touch.” One, he says, is that it “works perfectly with both phosphoric acid-etching or with a self-etch primer.” The other feature, he says is its thickness, or, rather, its thinness. “Prelude film is 5-µm thick, while our leading competitor’s film is over 300 µm.” To illustrate this advantage, he explains, “If you put 300 µm under an average filling, it is visible on an x-ray like a large hole, while 5 µm cannot be seen at all.”

Bertolotti also cites the advantages of using Danville’s 5-µm adhesive for bonding a CEREC® (Sirona, www.sirona.com) restoration, observing that it is desirable to first apply an adhesive to the tooth and cure it before bonding the restoration. “Ours is like a coat of varnish on it; it will have no effect whatsoever on the fit of the CEREC. This is not the case with other adhesives, which affect the fit of the CEREC.”

Observing that their lack of postoperative sensitivity and ease of use are the primary reasons self-etching adhesives have displaced the etch-and-rinse systems as best sellers, Roetzer recalls how Prelude bested its competitors in overcoming sensitivity issues in clinical practice. “While teaching in a general practice residency (GPR) in two clinics with eight residents, we had problems with different bonding agents. Once we switched the clinics to Prelude, we never had another problem with sensitivity,” he claims.

Bertolotti calls Prelude “a winner that has stood the test of time,” with sales that continue to rise. Roetzer says these “double-digit increases” reflect dentists’ growing awareness of the unique features of their product. “We have it all—dual-cure, film thickness, and the ability to go both total-etch and self-etch.”

To support clinicians in their use of Prelude adhesives in their practices, Roetzer has assumed the role of resident dentist to handle customer questions as they occur in practice. In addition, he says, clinicians can refer to the company website and the customer service reps, who offer extensive technique advice, as well as reprints of pertinent articles. “I personally deliver lectures on recommended products by Danville and other manufacturers,” Roetzer adds.

Looking to the future, Bertolotti sees adhesion taking center stage in restorative dentistry. “Adhesion is definitely taking over in this field. We now have the ability to not only bond to enamel and dentin, but to all metals, porcelain, zirconia, alumina, and just about any other restorative material with enamel-equivalent bond strength,” he claims. He foresees adhesion’s replacement of retention forms with their “inherent tooth destruction,” enabling what he calls “truly minimally invasive dentistry.” Here he quotes the famed Japanese dentist Takao Fusayama: “We should be tooth doctors, not teeth destroyers,” adding that adhesives play a key role.

As for the role of Danville Materials in further advancing the adhesion field in the near future, Bertolotti offers a glimpse at his company’s planned innovations. “If we can develop a product to meet our high standards—and we are getting close—we expect to be able to introduce a one-bottle self-etching adhesive,” he says. He further maintains that the company has already created SilJet, which is capable of providing adhesion to many surfaces, utilizing a microetcher for application. Also, nearing completion, he says, is “a ‘universal primer’ for just about any ceramic surface.”

Whatever the future holds, Danville Materials is dedicated to producing the best clinical dental materials available at value pricing. In addition to adhesive products, the company also specializes in: caries detection, flowable composites, impression materials, provisional composites, post materials, core build-up material, and more. Products, Bertolotti notes, will continue to be developed with carefully selected properties that deliver predictable results to enhance dentists’ performance.

“We have found that the handling properties of a given material and the ability to use a material in a predictable and efficient manner is of paramount importance,” says Bertolotti. “Therefore, we fully develop our products with improved performance in mind.”

3420 Fostoria Way, Suite A-200


San Ramon, CA 94583

800-827-7940

www.danvillematerials.com