‘Own-Label’ Versus Branded Commercial Dental Resin Composite Materials: Mechanical And Physical Property Comparisons.
Abstract
A majority of dental materials are manufactured by companies who have experience in the field. However, a number of “own label” materials have become available, principally marketed by distributors and other companies with little or no experience in the field. These materials are attractive because of their reduced cost, but they may have no research on which clinicians might base their potential performance. It is therefore the purpose of this work to compare the performance of different batches of a number of “own-label” dental materials with a similar number from manufacturers with experience in the field, using a variety of laboratory test regimes which include filler determination, degree of conversion, flexural strength and flexural modulus, in order to evaluate key material properties. The results indicated that own-label dental resin composites produced similar results to materials from established companies in terms of flexural strength characteristics and degree of conversion. However, a greater batch-to-batch variation in several mechanical and physical properties of the own-label materials was noted.
Copyright© 2016 Dennis Barber Ltd.
The evidence base for ‘own label’ resin-based dental restoratives.
Abstract
There is anecdotal evidence that sales of ‘own-label’ (OL) or ‘private label’ dental products is increasing, as dentists become more cost conscious in times of economic downturn. However, the purchase of such (less expensive) products could be a false economy if their performance falls below accepted standards. So, while the examination of a resin-based product under research conditions alone may not guarantee success, it could be considered that a material which has been subjected to testing under research conditions will demonstrate its effectiveness under laboratory conditions or reveal its shortcomings; either of these being better than the material not being examined in any way. It was therefore considered appropriate to determine the materials on which research was carried out, with particular reference to OL brands.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine whether there is a research base behind OL resin-based restorative dental materials.
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