You Have the Art, BISCO Has the Science

Just a few years out of dental school, Dr. Luis Abrahante has wasted no time carving his own path, opening a fee-for-service dental practice in Mountain Brook, AL, and embracing advanced procedures such as All-on-X, veneers, and comprehensive smile designs.

“I know a lot of other dentists say this, but I enjoy working with my hands and doing the art of dentistry,” he shared. “A lot of times, people will think, ‘I’ll just go to the dentist with the most experience.’ Well, in dentistry, that doesn't always apply. You can be a dentist for 40 years and still not be at your peak. You have to have the art component inside you.”

A native of Cuba, Dr. Abrahante came to the United States as a teenager. After graduating from the UAB School of Dentistry, he joined Dr. Thomas Dudney, a fellow UAB alumnus and renowned cosmetic dentist, at his Alabaster, AL, practice. That's where his real-world training accelerated at lightning speed.

“I worked with him as soon as I graduated for about 2 years. It was almost like a mini residency at 10 times speed,” he joked. “Three months out of school, I was doing full-mouth reconstructions. It was very fast learning with him, and that’s when I started using BISCO products.”

Bonding with BISCO

Since owning Over the Mountain Dentistry, a general practice focused on high-end esthetic and implant dentistry, Dr. Abrahante has built a reputation for himself in the upscale, close-knit community. He continues to trust BISCO products—and the science behind them—to deliver exceptional results.

But it wasn’t always that way.

“When I first purchased my practice, they were using a different bonding agent,” he said. “I brought with me the same assistant I had with Dr. Dudney, and when she saw me blowing on the adhesive, she said, ‘Why is this so thick?’ She was used to All-Bond Universal, which dries in 10 seconds.”

In addition to All-Bond Universal, Dr. Abrahante routinely relies on TheraCem, Duo-Link Universal, ZirClean, and Z-Prime Plus, especially for high-end esthetic restorations and veneers.

“I know all the ins and outs of these products,” he said. “With All-Bond Universal, you get all the benefits of a 2-part adhesive in a single bottle. You get MDP included, so you don’t have to worry about using different techniques. And it’s compatible with everything.”

A Quantum Leap for Composites

Now, he’s happy to add BISCO’s new universal composite, Quantium, to his re-storative routine. A light-cured, radiopaque material designed for both anterior and posterior restorations, it offers excellent handling and placement while deliver-ing the strength needed for long-lasting function. And with its superior esthetics, it helps achieve natural-looking results.

“It’s very easy to use, and I like the simplicity,” Dr. Abrahante said. “You have to be fast, right? You don’t want to use a composite that takes a long time for you to polish, especially on anterior restorations. What I really like about Quantium is that it’s not opaque—you can just grab any regular polisher and get a shine out of it really quickly.

“Another thing I like is that the shrinkage is very, very low compared to others,” he continued. “For example, when I use other composites on a Class I or II restoration and take a picture, I can see a white halo between the composite and the tooth. I haven’t seen that with Quantium. When you take a picture, the transition between tooth and composite is almost seamless.”

Quantium also helps Dr. Abrahante avoid a potentially sticky situation.

“With some composites, you have to be constantly wetting your instrument because it’s always sticking to it. With Quantium, if you want to try to push inside of the restoration, it doesn’t stick to your instrument. That’s huge. It saves you a lot of time.”

Available in 6 VITA shades and in both enamel and body translucencies, Quantium is formulated with various filler sizes, which is what gives it low shrinkage and high polishability. “It polishes well, has great esthetics, and it handles really, really well,” Dr. Abrahante affirmed.

Great Products…and People

Now that he's in business for himself, Dr. Abrahante has found many reasons to stay loyal to BISCO—not only for the products themselves but also for the people behind them.

“You talk to them, and it’s like talking to a dentist,” he said. “When you ask a question about a BISCO product, they know everything about it. I’ve even heard stories about people calling there about other companies’ products, and they answer questions about those products, too, because they know their stuff."

Every Day Is a Reward

As a dentist, having the ability to transform patients’ smiles—and their confidence—is something Dr. Abrahante never takes for granted.

“I don’t think I could have picked a better career; I enjoy it so much,” he said. “And the type of dentistry that I do is very rewarding because it’s a lot of full-month reconstructions and veneers. We get a lot of people whose teeth are in very bad shape, and in 3 weeks, we get them a whole new smile. It’s awesome to see these people change their lives.”