GIOMER materials: Essential ingredients for a healthy smile

In recent years, a new type of glass filler known as GIOMER has been receiving attention in clinical papers and on the lecture circuit.

Although widely accepted in Japan over the past 15 years, it has only recently caught on in the United States. Amongst the newest and the most innovative filler material on the market, GIOMERs are also the most misunderstood.

What are GIOMERs?

Although frequently used to describe the new category of restoratives, the term GIOMER is less of a category and more an ingredient. Succinctly put, GIOMER refers to any product that contains surface pre-reacted glass (S-PRG). S-PRG fillers are nano-sized glass filler particles that undergo an acid/base reaction receiving a surface modified layer to help block moisture before incorporation into the resin.

This process differs greatly from GI or compomers, which achieve an acid/base reaction only after placement, following a light cure, and after they absorb water. Following water sorption, fillers in GIs and compomers immediately swell, causing a rapid breakdown in both strength and esthetics.

Through pre-reaction and the addition of a surface modified layer, GIOMERs offer stable fluoride rechargability similar to GIs, but with vast improvement to strength and aesthetics.

Sustained fluoride recharge

Unlike other composite resin materials, GIOMERs are unique in their ability to recharge fluoride indefinitely. S-PRG filler particles act as a fluoride reservoir that recharge with brushing or rinsing with fluoridated products. Fluoride then releases when acid levels rise, providing sustained preventative benefits to adjacent tooth structure over the life of the restoration.

Independent evaluation of S-PRG materials conducted by the University of Florida and published in JADA, translates this benefit to clinical relevance. At eight years, none of the restorations failed, no sensitivity was reported, anatomical form was well maintained and most notably, no secondary caries were present in any of the patients.

Application of GIOMERs

Dental applications for GIOMER products are limited only by the imagination. Shofu has successfully incorporated the material into composite resins such as BEAUTIFIL Flow Plus and BEAUTIFIL II, and into the bonding agent FL Bond II with great clinical success. Further applications are under development.