Why I Use Warm Composite... and Why I Feel You Should as Well

 

For over 2 decades I've been warming my composite.  This started when I had a conversation with Dr. Josh Friedman who owns the dental manufacturer AdDent.  His company was selling a product called Calset and he wanted me to consider using it.

The Calset is an AC powered base that is used to warm composite.  The best way to understand Calset is to simply visit the product webpage.  I came away from that conversation intrigued and I began to look at research that had been done on the process.  I was amazed at the number of articles and by the results they provided.  Warm composite is easier to place, easier to sculpt, and most importantly cures better.  By warming composite the molecules move faster and that creates better photo-polymerization.  That creates greater depth of cure, less shrinkage, and better marginal adaptation.

Lately, there has been another revolution in warming composite.  Two companies, AdDent and Vista-Apex have launched composite dispenser guns that actually warm the material in the gun.  The unit from Vista-Apex is called Phasor while the unit from AdDent is called the Compex HD.  

Both devices work well and there a few differences between them which you can read about in the product links provided in the above paragraph.

I recently came across a blog post from 3M (now Solventum) that lists 5 reasons why you should warm your composite.  Their market share is about 50% of all composites placed, so you can feel confident that providing warm composite really does make a difference.  Plus, as far as I know, 3M does not make a warming system, so that lends even more credence to their statements.  The blog is informative and lists the scientific papers they referenced in creating the post.

You can read Solventum's "Five Reasons Why You Should Warm Your Composite" blog post by following this link.

I think after reading what Solventum has to say, you'll be as convinced as I am about the benefits of placing warm composite.  I'm not sure why this concept has taken so long to gain traction in the profession, but I feel that, with all the evidence available, this should be something doctors take a great interest in.