Every once in a while I get a chance to see a new product that is so revolutionary, you know the minute you see it that this is a game changer. I honestly think the Kerr SonicFill is one of those devices.
When I began to place indirect porcelain inlays & onlays I was always looking for the "better mousetrap" of adhesive placement. It seemed the thin viscosity materials were too thin... making them hard to place, while true composites were way too viscous to allow the restoration to seat. What I really wanted was to figure out a way to be able to use a true highly filled composite as the luting agent, but getting it to the proper viscosity was the key.
After a bit of research, what I discovered was a product called the Kavo SonicFlex handpiece. It was an air powered scaler that could be fitted with a special tip. This tip had a rubber end on it, which looked a bit like a small pencil eraser. What I could then do was fill the prep with composite, place the restoration into it, place the rubber tip on the restoration, and step on the rheostat. The vibration of the SonicFlex would cause the composite to almost liquify which allowed the restoration to seat fully while the excess composite would flow out of the prep as the restoration was seated. This was the golden ticket for placing indirects.
Fast forward a few years. Kavo and Kerr are now owned by the same parent corporation and because of this, they share intellectual property. I was contacted by Kerr and, after signing an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) I was shown a system that was in the beta phase of development. This beta project would eventually become the Kerr SonicFill.
The idea behind SonicFill takes the original concept I described above and elevates it to the next level. Rather than allowing you to just seat inlays and onlays, SonicFill allows you to actually place composite. The idea is a nice merge of sonic technology and restorative placement. The SonicFill handpiece has threads which engage & hold the cartridges that hold the composite. The cartridges screw onto the handpiece and extrude the composite in a "butter like" consistency as pressure is applied to the rheostat.
Anyone who has ever placed composite knows how sticky the material can be and how difficult the process of placement can be as you fight to adapt the material to the preparation. SonicFill does away with all of that by allowing the sonic energy to simply let the material flow into the preparation. Kerr is estimating that this system will cut procedure time by almost 50%. I've been using Sonic fill for about 2 weeks now and have come away impressed. More impressed, in fact, than I have been with a new product in quite sometime.
As the 2011 dental show season kicks into gear, you owe it to yourself to get to the Kerr booth and try out this product. I think it is that revolutionary. I've had a hard time keeping this system to myself. I'm glad that I can finally tell you about it.
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