Dental News - Infiltration: a new treatment for caries

Javier Martinez de Pison, DT Latin America

Fri. 17 April 2009

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MIAMI, FL, USA: The president of DMG America, George Wolfe, couldn’t be happier. German-based researchers associated with DMG obtained the IADR “Materials and Bioengineering Research Award” for their investigation on Resin Infiltration of Natural Caries Lesions using “Icon,” the new revolutionary resin of the company.

The winners, Sebastian Paris, H. Meyer-Lueckel, and A. M. Kielbassa of the University School of Dental Medicine, Charité-Berlin, Germany, used the Icon resin, which replaces hard tissue lost in caries to demineralization (up to 800 μm), sealing the approximal region. This micro-invasive therapy can arrest caries progression by infiltrating and sealing the problematic region.

Infiltration with Icon means that this resin creates a diffusion barrier not on the surface but within the hard tissue, stabilizing and blocking the caries, which, in approximal applications is indicated up to a maximum radiological lesion progression into the outer third of the dentine.

Caries infiltration is a recommended treatment for vestibular smooth surface lesions, which are frequently observed after the removal of fixed orthodontic appliances and in patients with poor oral hygiene. The treated lesions loose their opaque color and resemble healthy enamel, producing a drastic esthetic improvement.

Wayne Flavin, director of scientific affairs for DMG, said that Icon “bridges the gap between remineralization and restoration, and provides an opportunity to treat upon discovery” (of the caries).

Simple procedure and esthetic results

He explained that Icon is not unlike any other restorative resin “where dentists etch, rinse, dry, and light-cure, so they are using a technique they already familiar with, except that the materials are revolutionary in what they are capable of doing.”

“It’s a resin that penetrates very deeply into a lesion to seal and arrest the progression of the lesion,” Flavin explained. “At the same time, you get a very good cosmetic result, because the refraction index of the material is very similar to enamel.”

The procedure takes between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the familiarity of the dentist with the product, and where they are working, such as vestibular or approximal lesions. Flavin said they DMG is developing training videos and CE programs for dentists, although most are familiar with it.

The Icon comes in a kit containing products such as a patented double syringe for etching that uses a screw-type mechanism that facilitates its application.

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