Duo-Link Universal: The Practice Hero for Cementation
Dependable in its performance, the adhesive resin cement from BISCO offers many advantages so that patients don’t return with a failed crown
"It’s never a good day when your work comes in a bag or a pill container,” said Steven Rabedeaux, DDS, MAGD, referring to patients showing up with a failed crown. After nearly 40 years in dentistry, he’s had to do a lot of repair and rescue of older dental work. He has seen it all at his thriving general practice in Newton, IA. When BISCO came to the market with Duo-Link Universal adhesive resin cement, Dr. Rabedeaux was excited to try it because he needed a resin luting cement that he could rely on—not only to execute those “rescues”—but for new crowns that wouldn’t fail.
Go-To Cement for Indirect Restorations Duo-Link Universal is specially formulated for the cementation of crowns, bridges, inlays, and onlays, and is ideal for all CAD/CAM restorations. “Duo-Link is my dependable go-to cement,” said Dr. Rabedeaux. “I have found that it performs just as indicated and I’ve been very happy with the results.”
The patients in Dr. Rabedeaux’s office tend to be older—his father owned the practice originally, and many of the patients are over 80 years old—so when there is a metal-based crown or bridge that he needs to put back together and can’t shine light underneath it, that’s the perfect situation for Duo-Link Universal. “I know it will set up and give me a dependable bond,” he said.
While Duo-Link Universal is compatible with all dental materials, it performs best when used with BISCO’s adhesives, Z-Prime Plus and Porcelain Primer, an ideal combination for indirect restorations. Duo-Link Universal comes in two shades—universal and milky white—and is available in an easy-to-use kit that can help simplify product selection and procedures in the office setting.
Confident Cementation
In situations when the tooth prep is shorter than optimal or the parallelism isn’t very good, Dr. Rabedeaux chooses the cementing power of Duo-Link Universal over any other cement. He’s had other cements fail or the endodontic post break off at the gumline. For post cementation, after priming the post, he places Duo-Link Universal all the way to the bottom of the post hole while also rolling the light-transmitting post in the cement and light curing. Then, the buildup and preparation are completed, and a final crown can be made. Duo-link Universal is ideal for the final cementation because the low film thickness allows the restoration to completely seat.
“BISCO has some great scientists who know what they’re doing in resin-basedchemistry.”
- Steven Rabedeaux, DDS, MAGD
Flexible Curing Options
Duo-link Universal has a high degree of conversion in both light- and self-cure modes that ensures ideal clinical performance. Dr. Rabedeaux appreciates that flexibility. The auto-mix dual-syringe guarantees a perfect mix and easy placement. The material is formulated to allow quick and easy removal of excess. “When you’ve got a little excess around the margins, you just wave the light pretty fast and that makes is real easy to clean away that excess gel,” Dr. Rabedeaux said. “But because it’s dual-cured, you can depend on the cure to set where the light won’t go. I also have complete confidence and no longer have the worry of failure. This cement performs incredibly well.”
Worry-Free Zirconia Bonding
Dr. Rabedeaux said Duo-Link Universal provides a great advantage for zirconia crowns or veneer cementation, in part because zirconia does not transmit light particularly well. He noted that using a light-activated cement for this indication presents a high risk of de-bonding. “If we have a very opaque veneer, we’re using Duo-Link Universal. Flash the light on it, clean up the excess, and then attempt to cure it. If it does have some light initiation, great, but with Duo-Link Universal we don’t need it—we know it’s going to cure either way.”
Cemented in Science
Duo-Link Universal offers a strong, reliable bond and is easily identified on radiographs for a quicker and more effective diagnosis. Dental patients expect that their restorations will last. In the case of Dr. Rabedeaux’s older patients who sometimes need a “rescue,” he can be the hero. “BISCO has some great scientists who know what they’re doing in resin-based chemistry. In general, they make great, dependable products,” said Dr. Rabedeaux. “Specifically, Duo-Link Universal is a great tool to have in the toolbox.”
