Take your dental practice to the next level.

With every restoration, you balance many factors: the size of the restoration, the colour and translucency of the patient’s teeth, the patient’s desire for aesthetics, and your practice’s productivity. At the same time, patients and practitioners alike are more motivated than ever to limit the unnecessary removal of healthy tooth structure. In every case, one factor remains constant: careful material selection and attention to detail pay off.

Dark spots under a new restoration aren’t just an aesthetic problem: down the road, they can make other practitioners suspect secondary caries. Don’t risk patient satisfaction and unnecessary rework: block out dark dentition every time with 3M™ Filtek™ Universal Restorative, Pink Opaquer.

In 2011, 3M introduced the first universal adhesive to simplify adhesive application and give you greater confidence in bond reliability. Today, there are more options than ever – but choosing the right adhesive doesn’t have to be complicated.

Build confidence in a new adhesive

How can you trust a new adhesive or predict how it will perform in the future? By looking at its evolution. Our clinically proven original formulation, 3M™ Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive, was the industry’s first truly universal adhesive. It has also become the most researched, with 5+ years of published clinical studies and 400+ peer-reviewed^ scientific publications^: Read the clinical booklet (PDF 1.0 MB)

Now, Scotchbond Universal Plus Adhesive offers all the benefits of its predecessor – with new levels of control and predictability.

^Scopus database search, July 1st 2021

Whether you are placing incrementally in the anterior or bulk filling in the posterior, finding the right balance of aesthetics and efficiency is important. Innovations such as true nanotechnology, low-stress monomers and composite warming can help you create restorations that look and wear like natural teeth.

Warmed composites are more fluid, enabling easier handling and requiring lower extrusion force when dispensing. Warming may also improve adaptation to the tooth structure, resulting in fewer voids and gaps. 3M has conducted extensive testing to ensure that our composites are both safe and effective when warmed. Download the flyer (PDF, 1.03 MB) to learn more about warming Filtek dental restoratives.

Every step is important to ensure lasting restorations, but perhaps no single step is as critical as light curing. If your light isn’t calibrated or functioning properly, you could be under-curing or over-curing without realising it. A high-performance light, routine monitoring and a curing light checklist can help you achieve a consistent cure – and avoid costly rework.

Be sure of your perfect cure

Every brand and shade of composite and/or adhesive require a specific output of blue light in order to fully polymerise - which means a major portion of your restorative business depends on the reliable performance and calibration of your curing light.

To learn more about it, start with a free CheckMARC Curing Light Test to provide you independant evidence-based information. Request for your local 3M representative to visit your Clinic to test your curing lights and bring you up to speed with valuable knowledge about the performance of your curing lights in clinically relevant scenarios and to help to optimise your protocols.

Request a call about checkMARC

Natural-looking anatomical shapes and a high-gloss polish: the most time-consuming parts of the direct procedure can be the most critical for long-term aesthetic results. Fine-tune your technique and use a streamlined system to make your restorations blend invisibly with the surrounding dentition – and help ensure long-lasting results your patients will love.

Tips for long-term colour stability

• Smooth surfaces are less likely to attract biofilm*
• Use the right speed and pressure for your handpiece – too much can remove the anatomy you’re trying to create

Tips for maximising composite aesthetics

• Choose a true nanocomposite for natural-looking result and polish retention
• Ensure a proper light cure

Fine Tune Your Final Finish

Finishing and polishing are more than just the final touch: these steps are key to bringing out the best in your restoration. When you hit all the right notes during the procedure, you help ensure beautiful results that last.

Read the article

Patients who have had one cavity are already at risk for more. After your restorative work is finished, it’s important to help protect against secondary caries. And that starts by talking with your patients about their increased risk of caries – and by exploring both in-office and at-home fluoride treatments. The Australian Dental Association recommends that people with moderate to high risk of caries receive a fluoride varnish professional fluoride up to 4 times per year.¹ For teenagers, adults and older adults who are at elevated risk of developing caries, dental professional or trained health professional advice should be sought to determine if they should use toothpaste containing a higher concentration (5 mg/g or 5000 ppm) of fluoride.²

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – but it isn’t always easy to convince patients to be proactive about their oral health. Help your patients understand their risk level and what they can do to set themselves up for better long-term oral health.

• Watch a video about fluoride and preventive care
• Download patient brochures on fluoride (PDF, 419 KB), cavity prevention (PDF, 548.39 KB) and dry mouth (PDF, 470 KB)
• Read our article about how to start the conversation