VISTA APEX
RE-GEN Bioactive Suite
Complete suite of restorative solutions, including the first bioactive adhesive, breaks the barrier to promote regeneration
Clinicians spend a significant amount of time replacing failed restorations. While this is to be expected, Vista Apex’s new RE-GEN suite of solutions—including flowable and bulk-fill composites, a pit-and-fissure sealant, and the first bioactive self-etch and universal adhesives—offers some much-needed relief.
“Increasing the availability of calcium and phosphate ions in the mouth delivers a bioactive boost right at the source, which can aid in self-repair around restoration margins, while preventing secondary decay and recurrent caries,” said Dr. John Kanca III, a pioneer in bonding solutions and restorative dentistry.
Like many of his peers, Dr. Kanca has noticed the influx of products on the market that claim to be bioactive. But unless these materials have the capacity to form tooth-building hydroxyapatites, he warns, clinicians may be staring down the barrel of an empty promise. To break through this bioactive confusion, Vista Apex embarked on a journey of careful research and, in doing so, discovered how to take a proven technology and deploy it to address problems seen every day in dentistry—tooth fracture, wear, and secondary caries.
Promoting Regeneration
Delivering a bioactive boost where teeth need it most, the RE-GEN suite is the missing puzzle piece in restorative dentistry. RE-GEN products signal the first use of Bioglass as an active ingredient in dentistry. Backed by over 5 decades of successful use in the medical field, Bioglass has been proved to form a hydroxyapatite-like surface layer that promotes the regeneration of healthy tooth structure.
“Vista Apex’s new RE-GEN product line will bridge the gap between a perfect world and the real world by infusing bioactive capabilities into its adhesives and composites, which changes the game considerably from the usual product,” said Dr. Kanca. “The hope is that by offering products with bioactive capabilities, it will diminish the number of hassles that clinicians may face in an imperfect state.”
The Bioactive Bond
Perhaps the most notable products in the RE-GEN bioactive suite are universal single-bottle and self-etch adhesive systems that create a first-of-their-kind bioactive bond. While placing an adhesive prior to a composite restoration is essential to seal the tooth from external elements, traditionally, this seal ends up being a barrier to bioactivity, as it blocks ions in the composite from reaching the tooth.
RE-GEN solves this issue by adding the bioactivity into the adhesive layer. RE-GEN adhesives deposit biologically charged ions directly onto the tooth where they can promote the regeneration of tooth structure. “What’s really unique is that by offering bioactivity in our RE-GEN Universal and Self-Etch Adhesives, we can hope to see repair underneath the adhesive in the actual tooth structure,” concluded Dr. Kanca.
John Kanca III, DMD
Dr. Kanca, a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, is known worldwide as an authority on adhesive and restorative dentistry. He gave validation to etching of dentin with phosphoric acid, proved that resins can be used as pulp-capping agents, discovered the concept known as wet-bonding, and has contributed significantly to the understanding of how resins attach to dentin.
