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SCHOTT North America
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04-01-2009, SCHOTT North America, Inc. SCHOTT NanoFine Glass Powder Brings New Shine to Dental Fillings SCHOTT expands portfolio of glass powders for dental composites
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April 1, 2009 [at the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) in Miami] — SCHOTT, the international technology group, introduced today the world’s first “NanoFine” dental glass powder that consists of particles that are only 180 nanometers in size. SCHOTT NanoFine offers dentists and patients alike finer filler materials for longer-lasting and more attractive dental fillings. Dental product developers will also benefit from SCHOTT’s expanded portfolio of dental material.
The main components of dental composites consist of a polymer resin, which is initially liquid but hardens when exposed to UV light, and the filler material: glass.
NanoFine glass particles for dental composites
New SCHOTT technology has succeeded in improving the grain size beyond the standard, as set by its SCHOTT UltraFine (5 to 0.4 micrometer (µm) grain size) products, to SCHOTT NanoFine by refining its patented multi-stage grinding process. The resulting particles are an average of 180 nanometers (nm) in size, or less than half the size of the smallest SCHOTT UltraFine grains, with a tolerance of only 30 nm and a very narrow grain size distribution.
“Dental filling contains up to 80 percent glass powder, which gives the filling excellent mechanical properties,” explains Dr. Jörn Besinger, head of development at SCHOTT in Landshut, Germany. “In the case of composites, not only is glass-purity required, but particle size is important: the smaller the better.”
SCHOTT NanoFine filler particles improve the appearance and ability to polish the composites and improve their resistance to wear. In order to make it easier to process the powder, SCHOTT NanoFine is offered 180 with dispersing aids on an optional basis that prevents agglomerates from forming. The fine glass powder can also be combined with coarser particles to increase the packing density of the glass particles contained in the material. This reduces polymerization shrinkage, which is the contraction that occurs during hardening of the polymer mixture.
Composites are quickly replacing the traditional metallic alloys, such as gold or amalgam, as materials for fillings, because they have none of the disadvantages of metals; they do not conduct electricity, heat or cold to the sensitive nerve of the tooth. They can be matched to the color of the tooth, unlike dark metallic fillings. Furthermore, many patients dislike amalgam for health reasons, because it contains mercury.
SCHOTT expands portfolio by adding other glass types
For IADR, SCHOTT will be adding glass powders that contain zirconium to its portfolio of inert glasses that includes glasses containing barium, strontium and other special highly radio-opaque glasses for root canal fillings. These glasses are available with a refractive index of between 1.47 nd and 1.83 nd. This allows for a perfect match between the transparent filling material and the demands of various polymer recipes.
These glass powders from SCHOTT are x-ray opaque to ensure that the dentist reading an x-ray can distinguish a filled, healthy or carious tooth.
About SCHOTT’s Electronic Packaging business
Based in Landshut, Germany, SCHOTT’s Electronic Packaging business is the leading manufacturer of special glass powders that feature specific physical, chemical and bioactive properties.
With several competence centers all over the world, SCHOTT’s Electronic Packaging business offers the most modern dental glass powders in the highest degrees of purity and the finest grain sizes of 5 µm to 180 nm for aesthetic restoration of teeth. With 1,500 employees at four production locations and several competence centers around the world, local customer support and co-developments for individual packaging solutions are at the heart of the business, serving the worldąs leading manufacturers in the automotive, data- and telecommunication, sensors and semiconductors, consumer electronics, laser as well as security and tracking industries.
For further information: www.us.schott.com/epackaging
About SCHOTT
SCHOTT is a technology-driven, international group that sees its core purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions through special materials and high-tech solutions. Its main areas of focus are defense, household appliance industry, pharmaceutical packaging, optics and opto-electronics, information technology, consumer electronics, lighting, automotive engineering and solar energy.
SCHOTT has a presence in close proximity to its customers through highly efficient production and sales companies in all of its major markets. The company has approximately 17,000 employees producing worldwide sales of approximately $3 billion. In North America, SCHOTT’s holding company SCHOTT Corporation and its subsidiary SCHOTT North America, Inc. and their affiliates employ about 2,000 people in 13 production operations with 4 sales offices.
The company’s technological and economic expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological responsibilities.
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SCHOTT North America, Inc.
Corporate Office
555 Taxter Road Elmsford, NY 10523 USA
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 | +1 (914)831-2201 |
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