success and acceptance by thousands of dental professionals worldwide has made it the industry
standard for dental fiber reinforcement. Ribbond remains the preferred fiber reinforcement
of independent dental evaluators. Ribbond is the top choice of Reality evaluators, Clinical
Research Associates and also consistently receives the Dentaltown, "Townie Choice" award
as well. Reality evaluators list Ribbond as their preferred
reinforcement fiber and reference Ribbonds proven and documented history of success stating,
Ribbond has the most research and the longest track record in this category.
Its performance
has been very good. Clinical Research Associates states a clear
preference for Ribbond stating that,the importance of ease of use far outweighs cost,
and Ribbond reinforcement fiber has best ease of use. The most obvious difference between Ribbond
and other fiber reinforcements is its superior manageability. Ribbond is woven using a patented leno weave,
which uniquely allows Ribbond to be both open for easy wetting but also prevents Ribbond
from unraveling during placement.
You can see how Ribbond has no memory and
will not rebound when bent. Ribbonds superior manageability can easily
be seen when making a periodontal splint. Here you can see how Ribbond stays in position
and does not rebound out of the contacts and easily follows the arch and contours of the
teeth. You can also see how this differs from other
fiber materials.
Loosely braided materials, like Kerrs Connect,
unravel during use. When making a periodontal splint with the
loosely braided Connect fibers you can see how the material spreads apart, doubling in
width and resulting in an unnecessarily bulky and uncomfortable prosthesis for your patient. Glass fibers are stiff and have a lot of memory. It is difficult to construct a periodontal
splint using glass fibers you can see how the fibers rebound when trying to adapt them
into the contacts, and they do not stay in position.
This presentation clearly shows that Ribbond
has the best ease of use, but dont take our word for it, make your own comparison.
Please call or email us and we can send a manageability sample for your evaluation.
Please note that these samples will not be not clinically useable as they will not be
cold-gas plasma treated and will not bond to dental resins. If the other manufacturers
would send a similar sample the difference will be readily apparent. Manageability not only effects the clinician's
ease of use and patient's comfort, but perhaps more importantly, manageability directly relates
to long-term clinical success. Like a porcelain veneer or an orthodontic bracket, the thinner
the bond line is the better the laminate effect will be.
In the case of fiber reinforcements, strength
is achieved via design, layering the fibers against the teeth makes a laminate structure.
The closer the fibers are placed against the tooth surfaces, the thinner the bond line
will be and therefore better the laminate effect will be. When a carpenter glues two pieces of wood
together, he uses a clamp to minimize the thickness of the glue between the two pieces
of wood. Minimizing the thickness of glue reduces the chance of cohesive failure of
the layer of glue. This same phenomenon explains why we want thin bond lines in dentistry.
The same ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
Spectra fibers used to make Ribbond are also used to make bullet proof vests and light
weight armor protection for military aircraft. Glass fibers are not used for similar industrial
applications because they are brittle and are not fracture tough. Unlike glass fibers, the strength qualities
of the bullet proof Ribbond fibers are not compromised when bent. Glass fiber reinforcements
behave in a way similar to a pane of glass.
Glass is vulnerable to weakening due to stress
concentrations. When cutting a pane of glass, for example, the glass is cut by first scoring
its surface. The glass then easily breaks at this scratch. The bending of the the glass fibers during
the manufacturing process for woven glass fiber reinforcements creates stress concentrations
in the glass fibers.
Under magnification you can see that some of the fibers are actually
broken during this manufacturing process. Because weaving glass fibers compromises its
strength qualities, some manufacturers have chosen to use unidirectional configurations.
These configurations are effective in reinforcing forces that are parallel to the direction
of the fibers, but they are not effective in reinforcing multidirectional forces. This
phenomenon can be illustrated with mono-filament strapping tape. Like a unidirectional fiber
reinforcement, the mono filament strapping tape offers resistance when forces are applied
parallel to the direction of the fibers, but you can see how it easily tears when the forces
are applied in a direction perpendicular to the fibers.
Multidirectional forces are the norm in dentistry
and not the exception. Ribbonds lock-stitch leno weave offers multidirectional reinforcement.
In effect, each nodal intersection in the weave acts as a tiny knot that prevents crack
propagation within the resin matrix between the threads. Loosely woven or braided fibers also lack
mechanical interlocking of one thread to the next and like the unidirectional materials
will be susceptible to crack propagation within the resin matrix. Some marketers have tried to use simple in
vitro flexural strength tests to suggest clinical success, but these tests are meaningless without
an understanding of how strength qualities relate to clinical performance.
What we call
strength is really a combination of many qualities such as tensile strength, flexural strength,
flexural modulus and fracture toughness. A. Material might be very strong in one characteristic
but could be very weak in another. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
and when trying to evaluate the strength of a material it is probably more relevant to
test for the weakest characteristic rather than its strongest feature.
For example, a unidirectional fiber material
has a high flexural strength in regard to forces that are applied parallel to the direction
of the fibers. However, the mode of failure is more likely to be due to multidirectional
forces that are applied perpendicular to the direction of the fibers. In other words, maybe
a strength test that applies a load perpendicular to the direction of the unidirectional fibers
might be more relevant for trying to evaluate clinical success. Flexural strength and flexural modulus are
measures of stiffness, and it is true that glass fibers are stiffer than polyethylene
fibers.
However, any first year student in structural engineering will tell you that
it is easier to design a structure for stiffness using non-stiff materials than it is to design
a structure for fracture toughness using non-fracture tough materials. Stiffness is achieved via
design by the fibers being placed to make a laminate structure. Ribbonds superior
manageability allows for the most accurate placement of any fiber reinforcement. Accurate
and close placement against the surfaces of the teeth minimizes the bond line and maximizes
the laminate effect.
In the case of fiber reinforcements the two
most relevant questions would probably be; how fracture tough is the material and how
manageable is it? We would argue that Ribbond is both the most fracture tough material available
to dentistry and that its ease of use allows for the most effective laminate designs. There is no better test than the test of time
and Ribbond leads the field in its independently documented history of success. Such research
includes an independent 42 to 84-month recall study of Ribbond periodontal splints by Dr.
Howard Strassler at the Univ. Of Maryland, which showed zero fracture failures in the
eleven patients that were followed during the study.
We know of no equivalent independent
recall studies by other manufacturers. Ribbonds fibers are the standard in biocompatibility.
The same polyethylene material used to make Ribbond is used in solid form to make liners
for artificial hip and knee joints. Glass fibers are generally not considered biocompatible
in industry, which is why workers use respirators when installing fiberglass insulation. Some marketers of glass fiber reinforcements
state that you can polish glass fibers and that Ribbond cannot be polished.
This is partially
true. Since Ribbonds fibers are so tough, they cannot be cut to the same level as the
composite with a burr and will therefore feel - fuzzy - if polished. Being brittle, the glass fibers can be cut
with a burr to the same level as the resin and will initially feel smooth. However, as
the resin wears away, over time the glass fibers will not wear at the same rate.
This
will result in sharp protruding fibers that will cause irritation to the soft tissue.
Thus, in the long term, neither glass fibers or polyethylene fibers should be polished. Ribbond has an indefinite shelf life. This
minimizes waste since there is no expiration date and the Ribbond does not need to be refrigerated
for storage. Ribbond leads the field in fiber reinforcements
in both innovation and quality.
If you have any questions, please contact us and we will
be happy to assist you..
