Good news is worth repeating! You may not be familiar with thermoplastic materials as they relate to dentistry. Might I acquaint you with All Dental Prodx’s Bite Buddy and its diminutive partner, Temp Tab? They are in fact the same material, provided in two wafer sizes, the latter being best suited to temporary crown formation, the former intended for recording bite registrations.
The use of thermoplastics to form a matrix for fabricating temporary crowns isn’t a news flash. But, like any dental material class, there are variations in material properties that relate to handling and ease of use. What appears to distinguish All Dental Prodx’s brand of thermoplastic is its “set state,” which, while being rigid, is also flexible enough to remove from undercuts, comfortably—within reason, of course.
For this review, I’ll focus on Bite Buddy and how it’s used for carrying out its namesake. I’ll go out on a limb. When it’s necessary to record a tooth to tooth bite registration, Bite Buddy may have no equal. Its advantages over other material classes are as follows.
Bite Buddy remains inexpensive, particularly since unused portions can be reused simply by reheating. By the same token, if your bite record proves inaccurate, simply reheat and retake. You will enjoy the ease with which accuracy can be confirmed; this is because the material itself allows for low profile bite records, not exhibiting the typical peaks and fins most commonly seen when using other material classes. Such excess material often makes it necessary to remove the registration, trim, and confirm, as the opened patient cannot get past the “flash” when attempting to re-occlude. The inherently low profile of the thermoplastic and consequent instant confirmation will instill confidence in the accuracy of your record.
It does not require a gun or tray to apply, simply a hot water bath that will soften the material in little more than a minute. We use a kitchen variety hot water bath, originally designed to boil water for tea, to soften the thermoplastic. Once the blue opaque material turns clear blue, we retrieve it from the bath, tear off the estimated size we desire, and then roll it into a small hotdog, stretching it to a length that will fit the arch. What other bite registration material will allow you to take it to the mouth and modify its shape and size on the fly, to accommodate the existing occlusal scheme?
Its softened form factor will allow placement of entire arch forms spanning even edentulous spaces. Such arch forms will set as “non-sticky” horseshoe occlusal templates that exhibit exceptional dimensional stability when allowed to cool properly. Particularly unique is its reliability when recording a bite where only two-thirds of an occlusal table is present, such as that needed when constructing a removable partial denture. Bite Buddy’s ease of placement, along with its inherent “flexible rigidity,” will allow your lab to mount models accurately despite the absence of three point contact; it’s certainly accurate enough to go directly to wax try in, thus saving an extra visit.
Let’s take Bite Buddy's handling properties one step further. Imagine fabricating a five-minute protective bite splint intended to preserve your eight unit temporary veneer creation for your bruxing patient. How many emergency repair visits might that save you? Such splints have, in this author’s experience, held up incredibly well!
Yes, as with any new material, there is a learning curve—albeit it a short one. Here are some pointers.
- Use latex rather than vinyl gloves to handle Bite Buddy. Bite Buddy will stick aggressively to vinyl.
- Less is usually better. That is, in order to keep Bite Buddy from creeping into tooth related undercuts and at the same time ease removal, use less of the material and in doing so, keep your record on the upper third of the tooth height.
- After removing from the bath, roll it until it approaches a putty-like consistency so that it will be less apt to droop as you place it. It will at this point begin to become less translucent, but this does not present a problem.
- You must allow complete cooling before removal. This is aided by use of the air/water syringe to promote the cool down.
Bite Buddy is sold in boxes of 25. Its cost varies, but averages $60, depending upon your dealer. It is not unreasonable to anticipate two to three bite registrations per wafer, so long as the unused material is hygienically handled and stored. Consider Bite Buddy a strategic element in your dental problem solving armamentarium.
