Product Evaluation

The clock starts ticking the moment a temporary restoration is placed. That’s because anything can happen in the time it takes to fabricate and place a permanent prosthesis. And a broken or debonded temporary restoration means a longer and more frustrating road to a successful outcome and a happy patient.

It’s the temporary material that largely determines whether that road is bumpy or smooth, and Dr. Clyde Ono definitely had a smooth ride with Patterson’s Temporary Crown and Bridge Material. “This product is as good as or better than any other temporary material available,” he told DPS after using the material for several weeks.

This fluorescent, paste-paste system for the fabrication of temporary crowns, bridges, inlays, and onlays is not only exceptionally user-friendly but “is equal to or surpassed name-brand materials in strength, especially marginal finishing,” according to Dr. Ono. He said the Patterson Temporary Crown and Bridge Material allows him to “fabricate temporaries with more predictable outcomes,” a win-win for the patient and practice.

Ease of Use

The Temporary Crown and Bridge Material is easy to use with an automatic and accurate 4:1/10:1 dispensing system. The material changes consistency from flowable to an elastic phase for easy fabrication and features a setting time of less than 60 seconds.

“This is an exceptional product that’s very easy to use and produces great results,” said Dr. Carl Sakamaki. “The setting time is quick but not too fast. It is very accurate, and the margins were exceptional,” he explained. Dr. Ashish Arya found the material “easy to work with” and called cleanup “extremely easy.” Noting that it is “quicker and safer to make, trim, and deliver the provisional” with the Patterson material, Dr. Varo Boyer explained, “Trimming, contouring, and adjusting were easier because the material isn’t easily damaged by a high-speed handpiece.”

“The fit made an excellent and readable margin for trimming that didn’t require additional material to refi t,” said Dr. Jeffrey Greene, who would like to see the material in a dual-cure formulation. For Dr. Jimmy Tran, “the material is easy to use, adjust, and polish,” and Dr. Raihan Nazir said, “Polishing is a breeze and there’s no need for a new dispenser.”

Strength and Durability

Evaluator feedback about the material’s strength was overwhelmingly positive. “This product is quite strong upon initial setup,” said Dr. Tran. “I didn’t have to redo the temp I made, and that’s a win.” With other temporary materials, Dr. Pooja Saro-ha experienced frequent fractures of temporary crowns in patients with parafunctional habits. She was pleased that “this material is strong and stays put,” and said, “It saved chair time by reducing the need to fi x fractured temporary crowns.”

“It is much stronger than my current material and does not break when I remove it, even if the walls are thin,” said Dr. Boyer. As a result, he said, “Patients are happier, and it minimizes return visits.” When using the material for a bridge prep on teeth Nos. 30–32, he “was able to keep my occlusal and axial reduction conservative while still having a strong provisional that would last for 3 weeks until the fixed partial denture was ready.” After performing a few nonocclusal double cantilevered temporaries to test the strength of the material, Dr. Ono declared, “They all held up for up to 3 weeks.”

Final Esthetics

Available in shades A1, A2, A3, A3.5, B1, and Bleach, the material features excellent shade matching and polishability for exceptional esthetic results. Dr. Nazir was impressed with the “amazing lifelike finish and good color consistency” that were missing from his previous “overpriced” product. He was “totally satisfied” with the Patterson material, and his patient was “overjoyed with the quality” after receiving a full-mouth makeover. “The color match and polish worked very well for an anterior crown on a fussy patient,” shared Dr. Greene. “The patient was happy, and the tissue was in excellent condition during crown placement.” Dr. Egon Safar found that “anterior temporaries matched better,” and Dr. Ono described finishing and polishing as excellent.

“The color match was spot on” for Dr. Sakamaki, who used the material to replace a bridge on teeth Nos. 7–9 and veneers on Nos. 6, 10, and 11. “They all came out great, and the patient was very pleased and thought they were the finished product.”

Overall Satisfaction

Several evaluators made it clear that this material measures up to higher-priced name-brand products. “The more Patterson products I use, the more I recognize how competitive they are,” explained Dr. Greene. Dr. Tran called it “comparable to the best on the market,” and Dr. Nazir said the Patterson material is “just as good if not better than the leading product” in the temporary material market. “It’s a great addition to the market, and I will definitely be using it,” he concluded.