Double Take: 'Mosaic is an ideal composite because of its viscosity'

Ultradent’s Mosaic^® universal composite can be used for all restorative purposes, resulting in long-lasting biomimetic restorations. Available in 20 different shades in an easy-to-handle formula, Mosaic is impressing both dentists and patients.

We spoke with Dr. Jaimeé Morgan, a cosmetic dentist in Midvale, Utah, about her thoughts on Mosaic and why she chooses to use it in her practice.

What do you look for in a composite?

When choosing a composite, I start with the basics, specifically the physical properties such as strength, shrinkage, flexural properties and wear resistance. Then, I look at optical properties because, let’s face it, if a composite resin system doesn’t have similar optical properties as the natural tooth, they’re not going to match. Then, I evaluate handling properties because a composite may have the best attributes on the market, but if the handling properties are not good for me, it will be a struggle to place the composite.

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Tell us about Mosaic.

Mosaic universal composite is a nanohybrid with a firm consistency and high polishability. It has enhanced physical properties, which means that not only is it a beautiful composite with optical properties that mimic natural tooth structure, it is also wear resistant and has high compressive and flexural strengths, while maintaining low stress and strain levels in the tooth.

What interested you in using Mosaic?

The introduction of Mosaic was intriguing because Ultradent already has a successful composite system that I had used for many years. Needless to say, I was skeptical until I ran it through the rigors. It is a stiffer composite and very easy to sculpt, whether I am placing an anterior restoration or a posterior restoration. I found that the exquisite polish that is easily obtained with this composite is remarkable.

Tell us about the delivery system.

It comes in 4.0g syringes, which were designed to decrease the potential of cross contamination, and 0.2g unit dose compules.

What are the esthetic qualities?

It has six enamel shades that mimic natural enamel translucency and a versatile Enamel Trans shade when you need even more translucency. It also includes Opaque White, which can be used for stain block out, crown build ups and for those patients who have whitened their teeth beyond “glow in the dark.” The 13 dentin shades in the system are fluorescent like natural dentin and have optical properties similar to natural dentin (including two bleached shades, B0.5 and A0.5, which I find extremely useful).

What makes it ideal for esthetics?

Whether you use one shade or multiple shades, this is an easy system to use and allows the clinician to implement multiple shades if he or she desires, but it is not a requirement to get enhanced esthetics. Also, this system can be used for anterior or posterior restorations.

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How does it handle and how does it compare to other composites you have used?

It is a firm composite that is ideal for freehanding restorations or using a veneer template such as Uveneer (Ultradent Products). The firmness makes it easy to shape and to clean excess away from the restoration or the template. It also does not lose it’s shape prior to curing.

What would you say to dentists who may be considering Mosaic?

For those using a veneer template system (e.g. Uveneer), Mosaic is an ideal composite because of its viscosity. When using Uveneer, I found softer, less viscous materials made cleaning up around the template labor intensive, while Mosaic’s stiffer consistency made peeling the excess composite away from the template easy, making the process much faster and simpler.