Dentistry changed forever in 1981. “What the heck happened in 1981?” you’re thinking. Did Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill break the aisle to create earth-shattering dental legislation? Nope. Did NASA produce some landmark dental research on the first mission of the Columbia space shuttle? No again. Did the release of MS-DOS by Microsoft introduce easy record management for dentists? c:\run hardly.exe.
1981 was the year that Kuraray invented the MDP (10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate) monomer. The MDP monomer became the key to the original Panavia cement released in 1983, and later Clearfil SE. Adhesive dentistry has never looked back.
The MDP monomer is a functional monomer that is a connector between adhesive materials and tooth structure. We need a functional monomer to keep our restorative materials attached to the tooth. MDP works best bonding metal and zirconia to enamel and dentin. Of course, if we stopped with MDP, we would be missing a wide variety of materials we use today.
The new Panavia SA Universal by Kuraray features the historic and still-powerful MDP in addition to LCSI (long carbon-chain silane coupling agent). LCSI is a newer monomer that adds adhesive power to porcelain, glass ceramics, and resin composite. By utilizing these two monomers in the paste, Panavia SA Universal eliminates the need for a separate primer.
The “SA” in Panavia SA Universal stands for self-adhesive. Universal means all possible restorative materials (metal, zirconia, porcelain, glass ceramic, and resin composite). The name really does say it all! But the engine that powers it all runs off our two monomer friends we talked about earlier. What this means for you is a simple but powerful resin cement that you can use all over your practice. Panavia SA Universal can be used for crowns, inlays, onlays, and fixed partial dentures made out of any material on the market. With no primer, Panavia SA Universal can achieve over 30 MPa (megapascal) shear bond strength to all restorative materials. Impressive.
Want to amp up Panavia SA Universal? Use it in combination with Clearfil Universal Bond Quick. It will give you superstrong bonds across the board for those situations where you need maximum retention, such as short teeth and overtapered preps. If you use Clearfil Universal Bond in your practice as a bonding agent, you have a minimalistic armamentarium that can tackle any restorative situation you encounter. As someone who loves keeping things simple and minimal, this is a great, easy suite of solutions. Even the shading choices on Panavia SA Universal are simple. You have three choices: translucent, universal (A2), and white. Even in the anterior, you should be able to cover almost any situation with these.
If you are going to use a self-adhesive cement in your practice, Panavia SA Universal is an excellent choice. If you are a Clearfil Universal Bond user, it should be the only choice. All of your bonding needs would then be taken care of by two products. That is simplicity in a world of chaos. Ground rule double for Kuraray!
Joshua Austin, DDS, MAGD, writes the Pearls for Your Practice column in Dental Economics. After graduating from the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School, Dr. Austin associated for several years. In October of 2009, he opened a solo general practice in a suburban area of San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Austin is involved in all levels of organized dentistry and can be reached at [email protected].
