Advanced Paste-to-Paste RMGI Cement Delivers Superior Bond Strength
With so many demands on their time, practitioners continue to look for ways to save time and minimize headaches. How does VOCO’s new Meron Plus QM resin-modified glass ionomer (RMGI) cement help improve clinical efficiency and outcomes?
Meron Plus QM saves time and minimizes headaches in multiple ways. First, with its 2-minute adjustable working time that allows practitioners to shorten the working time when possible. Second, as a paste-to-paste RMGI cement, it eliminates the need to activate and triturate the material. Clinicians simply place a new mixing tip on the syringe and depress the plunger to mix and dispense. Third, Meron Plus QM has the ability to accept a tack cure (5 to 10 seconds per surface), facilitating quick and easy cleanup of excess material. This also eliminates the need to use a finishing bur or strip to remove fully set excess material — which would take additional time and create more discomfort for the patient.
As a paste-to-paste RMGI cement, how does Meron Plus QM differentiate itself from other leading brands?
Traditionally, to achieve the convenience of a syringeable RMGI cement (which meant converting the conventional powder and liquid into a paste-to-paste formula), manufacturers would have to sacrifice the material’s physical properties — including bond strength. Meron Plus QM eliminates this compromise because it maintains similar bond strength to Meron Plus AC, VOCO’s powder/liquid-form RMGI cement. This is why Meron Plus QM offers remarkably high bond strength, with more than 2.5 times the adhesive value to dentin. Meron Plus QM also has up to two times the bond strength to zirconia and other high-strength all-ceramic materials. And it does so while achieving a low water solubility value, ensuring success when clinicians are forced to work in moist environments.
What type of restorative materials work well with Meron Plus QM?
As an RMGI, Meron Plus QM achieves a high bond strength with metal-based and high-strength all-ceramic materials (such as zirconia). What is unique about this material is that as a paste-to-paste RMGI cement, it offers ease of use and simplified application — without sacrificing bond strength — while delivering all of the benefits of a glass ionomer, including continuous fluoride release to protect remaining tooth structure.
From Decisions in Dentistry. October 2018;4(10):48.