The Swiss Army Knife of Dental Materials

JAMES M.
WRIGHT, DDS

A Utah native,
Dr. Wright is
passionate about
oral health care
and is committed
to providing
the surrounding
community with
exceptional care
and treatment.
After growing up
in Bountiful, UT,
and attending the
University of Utah,
Dr. Wright studied
dentistry at the
Marquette University
School of Dentistry
in Milwaukee. During
his tenure in dental
school, he donated
his time and services
to underprivileged
individuals at
Amish and Spanish
outreach clinics.
When he is not
in the office, Dr.
Wright can be found rooting at University of Utah football games, as well as spending time outdoors with his wife and 3 sons. He maintains a general and cosmetic dental
practice in Salt Lake City, and works in
Ultradent’s clinical
department as a
Concerns Specialist.

The Swiss Army Knife of Dental Materials

Ultradent introduces J-Temp, a unique temporary material that meets multiple clinical indications—saving clinicians time, money, and materials

Just as the greatest stories have already been told, it’s easy to assume that the greatest dental products have already been made. That’s not a mantra Ultradent tends to live by, however, which is evident in its most recent product launch of J-Temp—a light-cured, radiopaque, flowable temporary material with multiple clinical indications.

“What I love about Ultradent is that the company makes such great products,” said James M. Wright, DDS, a practicing dentist in Salt Lake City who also works in Ultradent’s clinical department, helping his fellow clinicians get the most out of Ultradent equipment and materials. “J-Temp is so innovative and needed to minimize overhead and product in the office. It’s one product that can do multiple things—kind of like a Swiss Army knife approach to everyday dentistry.”

Here, Dr. Wright shares how J-Temp can come to the rescue in 4 unique clinical scenarios.

Endodontics

One of the key reasons that Dr. Jaleena Jessop, the inventor of J-Temp, created the material was to aid in situations where a cusp is missing and a clamp needs to be placed for a rubber dam. She wanted to create a temporary resin that could easily recreate the cusp and allow the clamp to sit in place—ensuring proper isolation during endo irrigation and acting as a barrier to endodontic irrigants.

Another example is that before J-Temp, we had patients call often to say they lost their temporary, but when they came in, it wasn’t really lost but had washed out. J-Temp doesn’t do that. It’s a resin, so you build the access in endo and if adjustments need to be made, you can take a finishing bur to it and it’s good to go until the patient returns.

Implant Impressions

One of the best features of J-Temp is its minimal shrinkage, which makes it great for implant impressions. If you’re taking an impression for multiple implant units or an implant bridge, you can splint in between them. Depending on the impression material being used, there can be some shrinkage that causes the material to torque on the impression copings. Splinting in between with J-Temp ensures that the implant or impression copings are where they were initially when placed, so we get a nice precise placement of the implant crown.

Whitening

If you encounter a tooth that’s been endodontically treated and has darkened over time, you can do internal whitening, also known as the “walking bleach” technique. A clinician can place Opalescence Endo in the pulp chamber and then place J-Temp over the access opening to achieve a tight seal that won’t interfere with the hydrogen peroxide.

When the patient returns in a few days, we can easily remove the J- Temp, rinse it out, and seal it off again to allow the oxygen to dissipate out of the tooth before we place the final restoration. It’s great because the patient doesn’t have to wait—they can go home and go about their life while the whitening does its job.

Temporary Restorations

Sometimes, you don’t even have to get the patient numb. Just make sure you have a clean surface, put the J-Temp in place, light cure, and the patient is good to go. Let’s say you have a patient who broke a cusp off a molar or premolar, and it needs a crown. You can use J-Temp to recreate the anatomy of the tooth and take an impression for your temporary.

Or, if it’s an emergency and the patient doesn’t have time to do everything that’s needed, you can temporize with J-Temp and have them return in a few weeks to complete the necessary treatment. J-Temp also is ideal for temporizing inlays and onlays thanks to its easy placement and distinct purple color that simplifies removal of the material.