Dental News - FenderMate: A great idea with a small beginning

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 5 October 2011

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On Jan. 8, 2003, the Directa KUSP Group of reference dentists met in the Strand Hotel in Stockholm, where Prof. Dan Ericsson proposed his idea for a combined wedge and matrix in response to a need in the market. A number of prototypes were made and trials undertaken, and by autumn 2004, when the KUSP Group met in Uppsala, Ericsson had his prototype solution — a thin steel plate attached to a wooden wedge.

The stainless-steel plate could not be glued onto the wooden wedge satisfactorily, but engineering consultants presented a solution with a plastic wedge that could be fused with the metal plate. A manufacturer in Huddinge, south of Stockholm, took the idea onboard, and in 2006, FenderWedge was born: a combined wedge and protective matrix for use in protecting the adjacent tooth during preparation. “Fender” is a protector on a car or boat.

Encouraged by the technical solution and successful acceptance of FenderWedge in the market, Directa returned to the task of finding a solution to the original concept of a combined wedge and sectional matrix for use with composite fillings. Many trials and clinical tests were made, and the first version of FenderMate was released at IDS in Cologne in 2007.

At that time, FenderMate needed a retentive ring to hold the stainless-steel plate in position. It was made of dead-soft metal and needed to be burnished to create a contact point. It did not satisfactorily fulfill the high expectations required, and further work and developments were made, under the guidance of Dr. Jan Johansson.

Many further trials, tests and modifications were made to fulfill Directa’s goals of a combined wedge and sectional matrix system that was simple to use, required no retention ring or burnishing, made a good contact point, adapted to the shape of the patient’s tooth and created no cervical overhang.

At IDS in 2009, FenderMate as we know it now was launched on to the market. FenderMate accommodates around 60 percent of Class II fillings and is used for molars and pre-molars.

Because of the success of this unique product, Directa continues today to make further developments to expand its “Fender” line.

At the recent CDA meeting in San Francisco, a FenderWedge for full crown preparations and a FenderMate for primary teeth were being shown.

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