Welcome. Congratulations on taking an important step towards improving your practice by using the Bioclear Method, a revolutionary approach to restorative dentistry. The difference you’ll make for your patients can be life changing.

As you move forward, we want you to understand why the Bioclear Method uses 3M materials to help optimize results. We believe any change in your practice should be kept as simple as possible. That’s why there are just five primary 3M products used in the Bioclear Method, all scientifically proven to elevate procedures and results.

3M Filtek Supreme Ultra Universal Restorative and 3M Filtek Supreme Flowable Restorative are used for anterior restorations. They’re color coded blue. So you know they work together in the interior.

3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and 3M Filtek Bulk Fill Flowable work together for posterior restorations. They’re color-coded green as perfect partners for posterior restorations. Blue is for beautiful interior restorations, and green is for great posterior results. It’s that easy.

With all 3M composites, 3M Scotch bond universal plus adhesive is recommended. That’s the five product lineup for success with the Bioclear Method. Our learning modules will help you see why 3M materials were chosen for the Bioclear Method. We’ll also explain how they’ve been validated through more than five years of extensive scientific studies.

This module will help explain why 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is the composite of choice for posterior restorations using the Bioclear Method.

We’ll give you a brief product description, then you’ll hear from Dr. Nick Sethi about his experience using this restorative and the Bioclear Method on posterior teeth.

3M chemist and product development specialist Dr. Tim Dunbar will discuss its science-based benefits and the studies that back them up. Finally, we’ll look at some chair side tips for incorporating 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative into the Bioclear Method at your practice.

OK, let’s get started. The Bioclear Method uses 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative for posterior restorations for a number of reasons. One big reason is trust. 3M dental restorative have been put to the test for more than 50 years, in more than 1 billion restorations worldwide.

You can place 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative in one layer up to 5 millimeters deep, and achieve low shrinkage and shrinkage stress. In other words, save time without compromise. In fact, using 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and placing it in one increment, you can reduce composite placement time by up to 50% to 60%.

Polymerization shrinkage is the change in composite volume that occurs as you cure it. And stress is the amount of force exerted on the tooth because of polymerization shrinkage. Stress is what can break the adhesive bond, crack enamel, and allow leakage at the margins.

3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative uses two resin components to reduce polymerization stress. Our senior project development specialist Dr. Tim Dunbar will explain this in a few minutes. The important thing to remember is that you can place up to 5 millimeters of warmed Filtek One bulk Fill Restorative capsules with confidence about low shrinkage and stress levels.

You can also enjoy both the simplicity of one step placement and the confidence of a deep cure when using a 3-point curing. How is this possible? 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is formulated to allow the refractive index, or how much light passes through it to closely match the filler.

The Bioclear Method also calls for 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative in the posterior because it is proven to be safe to warm. Warming composite material significantly reduces extrusion force, and makes the restorative more fluid, which is necessary for injection molding.

3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative offers increased opacity for improved aesthetics. Patients today are more concerned about aesthetics than ever, even with posterior restorations. 3M’s true nano filler technology offers excellent polish retention and superior wear resistance similar to human enamel.

For all these reasons, 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is the composite of choice for posterior restorations using the Bioclear Method. Excellent. Now let’s hear from the experts, starting with Dr. Nick Sethi. Dr. Sethi is an instructor for Bioclear Learning Center. He will explain the benefits he realizes while using the Bioclear Method and 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative when doing posterior restorations.

And 3M chemist and product development specialist Dr. Tim Dunbar will explain the science behind 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and its proven benefits. Tim Dunbar holds a PhD in physical chemistry, and was the lead developer for 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill restorative and other well-known 3M dental restorative materials. Let’s start with Dr. Sethi. Do you feel confident that 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative in capsules is safe to warm? And does it work well for you when using the Bioclear Method?

I’m a huge fan of injection molding warm composite using the Bioclear Method. I’ve been using 3M’s Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative material now for about three years, and have to say it’s an amazing material, which improves my efficiency, increase predictability, and reduces any risk of marginal voids and deficiencies post-operatively.

Thank you, Dr. Sethi. Now to hear about the science behind the ability to warm 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative, let’s talk with Dr. Tim Dunbar. Tim, Dr. Sethi referred to some studies you’ve done to give dentists confidence in warming. What can you tell us?

There are actually three reasons why you should warm your composite. The first is that warm composites are fluid and handle more easily. The second is that warming lowers the extrusion force. On the right hand side of the slide, you see some of the testing we’ve done at 3M to quantify this amount of lowering of the extrusion force.

But what this means for you as a practitioner is that the composite can come out of the capsule or syringe more easily, and this leads to less hand fatigue for you as you’re placing composites. The final reason, is kind of my favorite, warming, may improve the adaptation of the composite to the tooth structure.

The five products on the left of the slide show the five 3M composites that can be safely warmed. On the right hand side of the slide, we see the science of safety, that is the rigorous testing that we’ve done at 3M to show that warmed Filtek composites are safe for clinicians and patients.

First, the toxicology testing has been done and shown that warming is safe. Second, an extensive literature search and internal to 3M pulp temperature rise test has shown that minimal heat is transferred to the pulp from a warmed composite.

Third, extensive. Extensive physical property testing has shown that our composites are just as strong from a warmed composite as they are from a room temperature composite. This slide shows some of the external testing that we’ve had done through an Academic Research Laboratory.

They’ve shown for our 3M Filtek Supreme Ultra Universal Restorative and for 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative that there is no difference between warmed and room temperature composite for fracture toughness. Diametral tensile strength, Flexural strength, and Young’s Modulus. That means that you can be confident that the restorations you make from warmed composite are every bit as strong as those made from room temperature composite.

When injection molding posterior restorations using 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and 3M Filtek Bulk Fill Flowable Restorative, you can be confident that the flowable is curing beneath the bulk fill. Our reason for saying that is explained on this slide. It shows some of the testing that we’ve done to prove that to ourselves and to others.

Any shade of 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative can be co-cured up to 4 millimeters with any shade of 3M Bulk Fill Flowable Restorative. When you injection mold 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative on top of 3M Bulk Fill Flowable Restorative, you can be confident that the bond strength is every bit as strong as the traditional techniques as the slide shows.

And our conclusion from this data is that there’s no statistical difference in bond strength when using cured versus using cured plus uncured adhesive in the bulk fill composite injection molding technique.

Thanks for that, Tim. Now back to Doctor Sethi. Could you please talk about the 5 millimeter depth of cure you can achieve with 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative? And why that’s an advantage in the posterior?

Achieving excellence with adhesive dentistry is no quick process. The doctor has to understand extensively cavity preparation, isolation, adhesive protocols, and matrix band solutions. So being able to bulk fill these restorations in 5 millimeter increments brings an element of controlled efficiency to an otherwise traditionally time consuming and cumbersome process.

I spend a lot of time in my practice replacing old amalgam and failing composite restorations. These restorations are often very deep and very wide. I’ve got so many variables to deal with, with isolation, matrix bands, and adhesive protocols.

But for me, being able to use the Bioclear Method with warmed 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative restorations in a 5 millimeter increment brings this level of efficiency, predictability, and means that I reduce the risk of any voids, and any post-operative leaking or sensitivity. And long term, they look excellent with almost no marginal staining at all.

Using the go no-go probe, we are able to safely ascertain where we are able to build up in one 5 millimeter increments, or where we may need to do a second layer. This gives the operator confidence knowing that we’re getting the best out of the materials using heated injection molding without any compromise in your final restoration.

Combining the Bioclear Method using warmed Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative material, we are able to provide an efficient build up process and a 3-point cure, curing from the occlusal, bucko, and palato. And just to make sure we get the best out of the restoration, once you remove all of your excess, I like to light cure again just before letting the patient go to make sure that I have not compromised at any point of my restoration.

Thank you Dr. Sethi. Now Tim, how does the science behind 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative make the 5 millimeter depth of cure possible?

Smart contrast ratio technology allows us to manipulate the refractive index to give us good opacity and high depth of cure. It does this by making the composite translucent before cure. But then after cure, the composite becomes opacified. What does this mean for you as a clinician when using 3M’s Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative? You get the best of both worlds. Good opacity and a 5 millimeter depth of cure.

Thanks Tim. Now back to Dr. Sethi. How do you feel about the strength and aesthetic outcomes you get using 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and the Bioclear Method?

I have actually tried a few other bulk filled restorative materials, and I’ve often been left a bit frustrated with the aesthetic outcome. In order for materials to be bulk filled traditionally, they take out some of the optical fillers to allow light to pass through. But by doing that, the restoration looks translucent and gray.

I was absolutely blown away by the technology with the Filtek One as the optical properties change as your light curing. So there is no compromise you get to have a 5 millimeter bulk cure, but you still end up with a super strong and aesthetic natural looking restoration.

Thank you Dr. Sethi. Now Tim, how does 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative deliver on posterior strength and aesthetics?

Since you’re using 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative in posterior restorations, you want it to be strong. We’ve tested it extensively within 3M, and we’ve sent it out to the dental advisor to be tested by them. When they tested it, they recorded the highest flexural strength of any composite tested by the dental advisor. So you can be reassured that this material is strong enough for your posterior restorations.

Most clinicians would agree that the smoother and shinier a restoration, the better. When we tested 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative at an external lab, it was found to have the lowest surface roughness, and to retain its gloss the best of the four comparative composites it was tested with.

What this means to your patients is that their restorations will feel smoother, and accumulate less plaque. Now that you’ve switched from incremental filling to bulk filling, let’s talk about some of the advantages. In an independent in vivo study in Brazil, it was shown that there is significant 17 minutes on average time savings when bulk filling.

Not only that, but it was shown that when 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative was used with 3M’s Scotchbond Universal Adhesive, there was no increase in post-op sensitivity relative to the traditional methods of incremental filling.

Now let’s wrap things up with some chair side tips for using 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative and the Bioclear method in your practice. Meet Daley Williams. She provides chair side support for restorations placed using the Bioclear Method. So she knows her stuff. Welcome Daley. What advice can you give us about smooth and successful practice integration?

Hello, and thanks for the introduction. 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is a critical component of injection molding and the Bioclear Method. And so this product should not be left out of your integration plans. From a clinical perspective, this bulk fill is essential to include in your practice because it is safe to warm.

Warmed composites are one of the pillars of the Bioclear Method. 3M has performed extensive testing showing that warming 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is safe, and that it won’t harm the physical properties of the material.

It also has a depth of cure of up to 5 millimeter, while still having reduced polymerization shrinkage and stress rates. Furthermore, Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative offers increased opacity for improved visual aesthetics. Warming your bulk fill composite may be new to you. So here are some important do’s and don’ts.

Do place the 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative capsules into the heat sink warmer five minutes before the procedure to allow it to warm to 68 degrees Celsius, 155 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if the composite won’t be used immediately, remove it from the warmer until you’re ready for the next procedure.

Capsules may be heated to 70 degrees Celsius, 158 degrees Fahrenheit for up to one hour. Only use approved devices that have been tested for safety and efficacy when warming 3M Filtek composites. It’s not safe to heat your composites using unapproved methods. No light bulbs, microwaves, mug warmers, or other unapproved heating devices to heat your flowable and universal restoratives.

Remember that during curing the output of your light is as critical as your technique. Light curing is something you might not think about too much because you do it every day. However, the material properties and color stability of the composites replacing may be compromised if they’re not adequately cured.

To help you cure with confidence and make sure that the output is adequate, you can arrange to have a 3M rep test your curing light with the checkmark system. They can also give you tips on your curing technique if you have questions.

Wear eye protection during curing. Orange goggles filter out blue light, and allow you to pay close attention during the curing process so that you can accurately direct the light where it’s needed to ensure strong, long lasting results.

While we’re talking about light curing, do be sure to follow the instructions for use for both the depth of cure and the curing time of the composites you’re using. And remember, curing times vary depending on the shade of the composite you’re using. Generally speaking, the darker the shade, the more additional curing time is required.

After the critical light curing step, you’re ready to finish and polish the restoration using the Bioclear Method steps, which goes as follows. Step 1, contour the teeth using 3M soft flecks extra thin contouring and polishing disks.

Step 2, floss the interproximal areas. Step 3, finish the restoration using the Bioclear magic mix pre-polishing paste and cup, followed by step 4, the final polishing using the diamond impregnated rock star polisher. Finally, remember that the shelf life of 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative is three years. So check before using it to make sure that the product date is within that time frame.

Thanks for learning about 3M Filtek One Bulk Fill Restorative, and why it’s the composite of choice for posterior restorations using the Bioclear Method. Please assign this module to your staff members in Bioclear Expand. To learn more, go to 3M.com/Bioclear.