MAY 2011 NUMBER 224

25 th Anniversary
The Ratings HYBRID COMPOSITES

1 (4.5)
Filtek Supreme Ultra
INTRODUCTION/MANUFACTURER’S CLAIMS
The original nanofilled hybrid, Ultra is now the third version in the Filtek Supreme line. The
presumed improvements over the previous version include better fluorescence, expanded
body shades (three new ones), and easier-to-handle translucent shades. While these types
of changes cannot be considered ground-breaking, its predecessor was already at the top
of the heap, so any modifications could not be expected to be radical unless the product was
totally reformulated, which it wasn’t.

TYPE
Nanohybrid

AVERAGE PARTICLE SIZE (µ)

RAVES & RANTS Translucent Dentin, Body &
shades Enamel Shades
+ User-friendly shading system
+ Handling is exceptional .075 (75 nanomers) .02 (20 nanomers)
– Still has a tendency to be gray in some instances
– Enamel bleach shades could be lighter FILLER CONTENT
Translucent Dentin, Body &
shades Enamel Shades
MANUFACTURER SHELF LIFE
3M ESPE 3 years Weight 72.5% 78.5%
www.3mespe.com
Volume 55.6% 63.3%
PRICES
KITS
Master’s Capsule (132 caps/0.2g ea) CONSISTENCY AND HANDLING
$631.30/26.4g ($23.91/g or $4.78/tip)
All evaluators liked the way it handled. From a viscosity aspect, most (75%) of the evalua-
REFILLS
Syringes (4g) tors thought it was just right, while 17% felt it was too stiff and 8% found it slumped too
$110.60/syringe ($27.65/g) much. For those who used brushes to manipulate and smooth the material, 82% found it to
Capsules (20) brush nicely, while the other 18% did not feel it brushed very easily, with one evaluator com-
$116.50/4g ($29.13/g or $5.83/tip)
menting that it doesn’t brush smoothly at the margins.

MICHAEL B. MILLER, D.D.S. – President/Editor-in-Chief INGRID R. CASTELLANOS, C.D. – Vice President/Publisher

EDITORIAL TEAM: David L. Baird, D.D.S., Bellevue, WA; Robert W. Baker, Jr., D.M.D, Ithaca, NY; Joel H. Berg, D.D.S., M.S., Seattle, WA; Raymond L. Bertolotti, Ph.D., D.D.S., San Leandro, CA; Nathan S. Birnbaum, D.D.S., Wellesley, MA; Alan A. Boghosian, D.D.S.,
Chicago, IL; Mitch A. Conditt, D.D.S., Fort Worth, TX; Gerald E. Denehy, D.D.S., M.S., Iowa City, IA; Marvin A. Fier, D.D.S., Pomona, NY; Daniel Fortin, D.M.D., M.S., Montreal, Canada; George A. Freedman, D.D.S., Toronto, Ont., Canada; David S. Hornbrook, D.D.S.,
San Diego, CA; Shigehisa Inokoshi, D.D.S., Ph.D., Tokyo, Japan; Ronald D. Jackson, D.D.S., Middleburg, VA; Mark E. Jensen, D.D.S., Ph.D., Slidell, LA; Thomas P. Keogh, M.D., D.D.S., Navarra, Spain; Timothy F. Kosinski, M.S., D.D.S., Bingham Farms, MI; Hannu O.
Laamanen, D.D.S., M.S., Turku, Finland; Paul Landman, D.D.S., Chicago, IL; Clarence C. Lindquist, D.D.S., Washington, D.C.; Edward Lynch, M.A., B.D.Sc., Ph.D., Coventry, UK; Sandesh Mayekar, M.D.S., Mumbai, India; Steven McGowan, C.D.T., Seattle, WA; Michael
K. McGuire, D.D.S., Houston, TX; Carlos Muñoz, D.D.S., M.S., Buffalo, NY; Christopher Pescatore, D.M.D., Danville, CA; Stephen D. Poss, D.D.S., Brentwood, TN; Robert G. Ritter, D.M.D., Juniper, FL; Derry F.M. Rogers, B.D.Sc., Melbourne, Australia; Andrew T. Shannon,
D.D.S., Vancouver, BC, Canada; Liviu Steier, D.M.D., Mayen, Germany; Franklin Tay, B.D.Sc.(Hons), Ph.D., Augusta, GA; Lori Trost, D.D.S., Columbia, IL; Marcos A. Vargas, D.D.S., M.S., Iowa City, IA; Charles Wakefield, D.D.S., Dallas, TX; Thomas G. Wilson, Jr., D.D.S.,
Dallas, TX; David Winkler, D.D.S., Windsor Berks, England.

A publication member of the

American Association of Dental Editors 1
VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE SHADES
36
MEASURED AT LIGHT-CURED TIMES % • 13 body shades keyed to Vita (A1B, A2B, A3B, A3.5B, A4B, B1B, B2B,
B3B, C1B, C2B, C3B, D2B, and D3B)
5 seconds 0.9 • 6 dentin shades keyed to Vita (A1D, A2D, A3D, A4D, B3D, and C4D)
10 seconds • 6 enamel shades keyed to Vita (A1E, A2E, A3E, B1E, B2E, and D2E)
1.3
• 2 additional body shades (A6B and B5B)
5 minutes after end of curing (40 sec) 2.0 • 2 enamel bleach shades (WE and XWE)
• 2 body bleach shades (WB and XWB)
• 1 dentin bleach shade (WD)
POROSITY • 4 translucent shades (B-Blue, G-Gray, A-Amber, and C-Clear).

SHADE % OF VOIDS All evaluators thought there are plenty shades for most uses. Most (83%)
evaluators considered the anterior esthetics to be really good, while an even
A2E 0.4 higher percentage (92%) found the posterior esthetics to be exemplary, with
two evaluators commenting that they only use body shades for posterior
A2B 0.1 teeth. However, two other evaluators reported still experiencing some of
the “gray” effect of previous versions of this product.
Clear 0.2
BLEACH SHADES
Amber 0.5
XWE is almost a perfect match to Vita B1, while WE is slightly lower in value.
WB is slightly lighter than B1, WD is the lightest, while XWB is slightly lighter
than WB. Having lighter enamel bleach shades would have been preferred.

A2 Enamel A2 Body

Vita B1 B1 Body B1 Enamel

Trans Clear Trans Amber

All of these values are quite low, which means you will probably not experi-
ence many surface voids during finishing and polishing. Most (67%) of the
evaluators found no porosity or surface voids, while the other 33% reported
Vita B1 WE XWE WB WD XWB
only a few voids during finishing.

DEPTH OF CURE (MM)

2 TRANSLUCENCY/OPACITY (T/O)

CURING TIME FOR GINGIVAL WALL INCREMENT SHADE T/O RATING (%) COMMENT

A2D 82 Good for dentin/opaque shade

CURE TIME TEST PERIOD CURE %
(seconds) (gingival compared to occlusal)
A2B 63 Good for body shade
20 immediate 65
A2E 57 Good for enamel shade
20 24 hours 67
B1B 62 Good for body shade
40 immediate 76
WE 61 Slightly opaque for enamel shade
40 24 hours 81*
WB 72 Slightly opaque for body shade
* Exceeds 80% goal

Clear 25-30 Good for incisal shade

WORKING TIME UNDER DENTAL UNIT LIGHT
45 seconds.

2
SHADE GUIDE
Not a conventional one, but shade wheel the size of a CD meant to comple-
ment your Vita shade guide. It is actually three plastic disks joined in the mid-
dle with a grommet. The top and bottom discs have a circular window close
to the grommet, plus three smaller windows arranged in a straight line to its
edge on one side meant for Class III and IV. On the other side, there are
two windows for Class I, II, and V. The windows on the side designed for
Class III and IV are labeled "Single", "Dual", and "Multi", while those on the
opposite side are labeled either "Single" or "Dual". It also has illustrations of
how to layer a two-shaded or multi-shaded restoration.
The middle disc on the Class III and IV side includes the 16 Vita Classic
shades plus W, XW, A6, and B5 arranged in a circle and are visible through
the circular window, while the shade recipes are displayed through the small
circles that line up with the shade.
For example, if you want to create an "A3" restoration, you move the wheel
to be centered over A3. The "single" circle tells you to use A3B if you just
want to restore the lesion as simply and quickly as possible. If you want to
get slightly more artistic, you use A3E over A4D, which is the formula in the
"dual" window. But if you want the ultimate in esthetics, you would use the
recipe in the "multi" window, namely A4D/A3B/A2E/A.
Most (67%) of the evaluators thought this guide was unique and easy to use
along with the suggested combinations being helpful. However, a sizable
minority (33%) still preferred a more conventional shade guide. One evalua-
tor considered the wheel very easy to learn and use as a reference, while
another thought the wheel could be intimidating at first glance.
SHADE SHIFT AFTER CURING
Most shades become more translucent and darker.
FLUORESCENCE
A2 Body
FINISHING AND POLISHING
POLISHER MATCHES ENAMEL GLOSS
D-Fine Double Diamond Yes
HiLuster Plus Yes
Pogo Yes
All evaluators considered it easy to polish to an enamel-like gloss.
PACKAGING
Tips
Called capsules, kit comes in a plastic tackle box in an unsealed cardboard
sleeve that you will probably discard. The tackle box is divided into sections
for all the shades, which are identified with color-coded labels attached to
the rear of each section. The actual black tips have color-coded caps desig-
nating shade groups: dentin (dark royal blue), body (medium blue), enamel
(light sky blue), and translucent (cream). They are also imprinted with the
word "Supreme Ultra," the shade and expiration date. In addition, they have
a relatively long nose for easy access to the bottom of most preparations.
At least four evaluators commented that, even though tackle boxes are not very
unique or sleek, they are useful, organized, easily refillable, and very portable.
Syringes
Although there are small syringe kits, you will most likely buy the refills if you
prefer syringes. All refills come in sealed plastic bags that are difficult to
store on a shelf. One evaluator preferred an organizer. The screw-type
syringes have moisture-resistant white labels with a color-coded band that
also indicates the shade circumferentially and the expiration date. The caps
are tight, but can be removed fairly easily using a rotational movement.
DIRECTIONS
Multi-language, plain paper, annoying foldout design. Information is accu-
rate, easy to follow, straightforward, but very brief. There are also plastic-
coated color technique cards that fit into 3M ESPE's small binder. While also
fairly brief, there are very well-done, with excellent illustrations demonstrat-
ing the most common uses of this product.
3
 REALITY
Strengths Very complete shading system. Body versions Weaknesses At least five evaluators mentioned that it
tend to be very close to universal translucent/opaque still has a tendency to have a grayish effect, especially
shades and good for Class III and V restorations. Colors with the lighter body shades. No organizer for syringes.
seem to blend very well into tooth structure. Easy to han- The cutting of the material from the syringes on a pad
dle with instrument or brush. Not overly stiff and has min- may produce a fraction that looks white and dry. Working
imal stickiness – still sculptable. Very good polish that has time is mediocre. Enamel bleach shades could be lighter.
more durability than previous versions. Minimal voids.
Slightly exceeds 80% cure goal. Fluorescence is close to
tooth structure. System is well organized. Most (67%)
evaluators consider it to be better than the previous ver-
sion, while the other 33% could not tell the difference
between the two versions.

BOTTOM LINE Not perfect, but the combination of logical shading and exceptional handling takes it to the head
of the class.

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