IDT Game-Changing Products 2016

Every year, Inside Dental Technology asks its Editorial Advisory Board to nominate Game-Changing Products for the annual Product iNavigator. These products demonstrate superior innovation and potential for bringing change to the industry. The following are the 2016 selections.

PEKKTON IVORY HIGH PERFORMANCE POLYMER

anaxdent North America
Steve Hoofard, CDT, AAACD
Figure 1. Pekkton is an ivory polymer used to create lightweight, resilient frames, substructures, abutments, and copings for ceramic, lithium disilicate, acrylic, and composite. It has greater rigidity and 80% higher compressive strength than PEEK polymers. The absence of any fillers or fibers provides a smooth, non-abrasive surface, and the material properties are similar to those of human bone.

FORM 2

Formlabs
Elizabeth Curran, CDT, RDT
Figure 2. Formlabs’ Form 2 is a very affordable piece of technology that allows small laboratories and dentist offices to 3D print biocompatible devices and models. This desktop printer can produce surgical guides, retainers, aligners, casts, and copings with great precision. I love it: precision 3D printing under $4,000.

CERAMOTION ZR ONE TOUCH

Nacera US
Keith Miolen, CDT
Figure 3. This revolutionary product has made a dramatic impact on the esthetics of our full-contour zirconia crowns. When fired, it appears like ceramics. However, ceraMotion ZR One Touch has the consistency of a thick glaze, which can be built up to contour and yet remains stable and in place when fired in an oven. This unique feature makes it great for enhancing cusp tips, occlusal anatomy, or simply adding a contact.

ZENOSTAR MT ZIRCONIA SYSTEM

Ivoclar Vivadent
Lee Culp, CDT
Figure 4. To meet the growing need for full-contour monolithic zirconia restorations, a need existed for a system that offers an easy technique combined with shade-true coloring liquids for “green stage” internal coloring. Zenostar MT zirconia and the Zenostar MT coloring liquids were created to perfectly blend translucency and beautiful esthetics, with an easy, predictable technique to make your zirconia restorations stand out from the rest.

GC INITIAL LISI AND LISI PRESS

GC America Inc.
Joshua Polansky, MDC
Figure 5. Utilizing LiSi Press with LiSi layering ceramic has changed the way we look at lithium restorations. We now have an alternative complete press/ceramic system that incorporates a feldspathic ceramic that can be easily layered to the LiSi Press ingots for optimal esthetic results while still incorporating the strength of a pressed restoration that the market has come to love.

CLEARMET PARTIALS

Keystone Industries
Dennis Urban, CDT
Figure 6. ClearMet is a clear partial frame material that is totally translucent and is an alternative to metal frames. The fit and esthetics are great.

CINTIQ INTERACTIVE PEN DISPLAYS AND TOUCH SCREEN TABLETS

Wacom
Larry Stites
Figure 7. We convert our new CAD technicians from using a conventional mouse to the Cintique pen display, and they all have noticed the comfort and intimate experience when designing. As a digital artist, I find this is the most important design tool I have. It is healthier for me and my CAD technicians, as it helps prevent RMS (rhabdomyosarcoma) issues, and it adds a new level of creativity and artistic expression that I would never get with a conventional mouse. This is the most important piece of technology that I have encountered.

COMPO-PATTERN RESIN

Dental Ventures of America Inc.
Gregg Helvey, DDS, CDT
Figure 8. This light-cured, one-component, polyethoxylated oligomer gel material is generally used for the production of dental patterns that are converted into metal castings; waxed crown-and-bridge porcelain or veneering patterns; or as a “luting” agent for bonding individual framework parts into their correct positions. The volumetric shrinkage is extremely low, which makes it very precise. The gel is very viscous with an extremely low flow rate, so it stays where it is placed without distortion.

IBN TREATMENT PLANNING TOOLS

Centergistix
Rick Sonntag, RDT
Figure 9. The “restorative-down” implant planning process has become more important than ever before, but to properly plan a case we need a gauge that is easy to use and shows us what options are available with the space we have. IBN Treatment Planning Tools do just that. With the minimum requirements and thickness printed on each gauge, the restoring dentist and laboratory know exactly what is possible without guesswork, keeping us in the “safe zone” and leading to a more predictable result.