Search Dental Tribune

NovaPro Flow™

 

NovaPro Flow Flowable Composite is the latest composite restorative from Nanova Biomaterials, Inc. Incorporating nanofiber technology for increased strength, you can compare to standard concrete versus rebar reinforced concrete. NovaPro Flow provides increased durability and longevity without sacrificing handling properties or shade matching.

What is nano?

Nano means 109 or one billionth.

What benefits do nanomaterials have?

Materials contain defects which make them weak. If the material were free from defects, the strength of the material would be much higher. When a material becomes smaller it reduces the chance of there being a defect in the material, increasing the strength of the material.

What is a nanoparticle?

A nanoparticle is a particle with all three dimensions less than 100 nanometer. Most dental composites on the market are filled with nanoparticles.

What is a nanofiber?

A nanofiber is a particle with two dimensions less than 100 nanometer and one dimension longer than 100 nanometer.

What makes a nanofiber better than a nanoparticle?

Nanofibers are able to resist shear, tensile, and bending forces better than nanoparticles, but when used together, as in NovaPro flow, their synergy exponentially improves the strength and longevity of the composite, similar to reinforced concrete.

Why haven’t fibers been used in dental composites in the past?

Many researchers have filled dental composites with glass fibers, carbon fibers, and others in the past, which improved the strength but could not be polished. This is due to the large fibers being pulled out of the composite leaving voids on the surface, making it impossible to have a mirror finish. On the other hand, nanofibers are so small (one thousand times smaller than a human hair), providing an unblemished finish.

Learn more.
 

advertisement
advertisement