Pearls for your practice: Tetric Prime by Ivoclar Vivadent

I grew up in the 1980s. As a male, that typically means one thing—I was obsessed with Transformers. Every boy in the '80s grew up wilding for these transforming robots where there is more than meets the eye. Toys, cartoons and movies... the trifecta of taking money from kids during this era.

For Christmas in 1985, I got one of my most favourite gifts ever, a first-generation Optimus Prime action figure. It was the coolest toy ever produced. It transformed so smoothly from the leader of the Autobots to a prime mover. I wish I still had it. Anytime I see the word Prime, I am reminded of that Christmas morning in 1985. It just makes me smile. Optimus Prime—smile. Amazon Prime—smile. Tetric Prime—smile! Primes never disappoint and Tetric is no different.

Tetric Prime is the newest flagship resin composite from Ivoclar Vivadent. It is a high-quality universal composite that is focused on great handling properties. It handles very smoothly with perfect adaptation and contouring. It is definitely on the creamy side of the handling spectrum, which works really well for adaptation and shaping. Handling isn't the only prime time feature of Tetric Prime, though. In addition to superb handling, Tetric Prime can do what you need it to do aesthetically.

From simple to complex, Tetric Prime is a great choice. It can be used as a single-shade system for posterior teeth or for anterior teeth without major dentine involvement. In situations of anterior teeth with large defects or heavily stained dentin, low-translucency dentine shades are available to layer. Tetric Prime has an amazing chameleon effect due to the refractive index of the monomer matrix. It matches the refractive index of the fillers, which leads to an indistinguishable blend.

In addition to handling and aesthetics, Tetric Prime meets the physical standards as well. With shrinkage stress below 1 megapascal (MPa), Prime can be trusted in posterior restorations with high C-factor. Tetric Prime is not a bulk-fill material and should be placed in 2 mm increments to achieve this shrinkage stress.

Prime inherits the famous Ivoclar radiopacity. Ivoclar always has some of the most radiopaque materials on the market. Prime is no different.

One of the biggest trends over the last few years has been single-shade composite restorations. Tetric Prime introduces Ivoclar's version of this, T Shade. T Shade is a highly translucent universal shade that chameleons very well for class I and class II restorations. In addition to T shade, Tetric Prime also comes in Universal A1, A2, A3, A3.5, A4, B1, B2 and C2 shades. Dentine shades are A2 and A3.5. There is also a BL1 bleach shade.

Tetric Prime gives you everything you need for a flagship universal resin composite. Handling, aesthetics and convenience are high on the list of plusses for Tetric Prime. Just like its namesake Optimus, Tetric Prime is more than meets the eye!

Originally publsihed in Dental Economics May 2021. Reprinted with permission.