VISTA APEX
RE-GEN Bioactive Suite
Engineered to deliver an effective bioactive boost where teeth need it the most
Although many factors affect the short-term stability and long-term success of restorations, preventing demineralization and decay around margins remains a persistent hassle for clinicians. To remedy this problem, some dental manufacturers have added self-repair and remineralization properties to their products. In recent years, composites and cements have evolved from passive chemistries to the new bioactive or regenerative trend we see today.
While bioactivity has piqued the interest of many dental professionals, one shortcoming of bioactive applications is that bonding agents create a physical barrier between composite material and tooth structure that compromises the ability of the composite to deliver bioactive ions to the tooth itself. This conflict was the inspiration behind the development of the RE-GEN suite of products from Vista Apex.
“When it comes to application, we realized that many bioactive products were being placed one step away from tooth structure,” said Scott Lamerand, co-owner and lead product innovator at Vista Apex. “By infusing bioactive properties into our adhesives, we deposit these tooth-building ions right onto the tooth surface where they can be most effective.”
Regenerating Tooth Structure
In engineering its RE-GEN product line, which, in addition to the first-ever bioactive adhesive, also includes a flowable composite, bulk-fill restorative, and pit-and-fissure sealant, Apex looked to the science behind Bioglass material. Bioglass has been used for decades in the medical industry to successfully regenerate both hard and soft tissue in the body.
While it was once thought that only synthetic hydroxyapatite could be compatible with the body, research and experimentation with Bioglass in the 1960s and 1970s proved that the material was more successful in regenerating bone growth in implant cases than synthetic hydroxyapatite.
“With RE-GEN, we figured out a way to take this proven technology and deploy it to the world of dentistry,” said Lamerand. “By offering materials that are biocompatible and that regenerate tooth structure, we give dentists a real solution for eliminating secondary decay and recurrent caries.”
"By offering clinicians materials that regenerate tooth structure, we give them a real solution for eliminating secondary decay and recurrent caries."
-Scott Lamerand, Owner, Vista Apex
Changing the Game with Bioactivity
One dentist who has taken notice of the RE-GEN line is John Kanca III, DMD, a pioneer in bonding solutions and restorative dentistry. “Increasing the availability of calcium and phosphate ions in the mouth delivers a bioactive boost right at the source,” he shared. “This can aid in self-repair around restoration margins, while preventing secondary decay and recurrent caries.
For example, he added, when clinicians fill an interproximal restoration with a material such as RE-GEN Flowable or RE-GEN Bulk-Fill that releases phosphate ions, there is potential to remineralize the adjacent surface, which also may be affected.
“What is really unique about RE-GEN, is that by offering bioactivity in a universal bond, we can also hope to see repair underneath the adhesive in the actual tooth structure,” Dr. Kanca concluded.
