Dear Colleagues,
In the past few days, both local and national media have published reports concerning the health concerns over Bisphenol-A and its use in plastic bottles, cans, and even home electronics. Unfortunately, the general category of "dental sealants" has been incorrectly added to the items of concern.
This alarm over Bisphenol-A is not new and typically comes and goes in the media. Ultradent is very aware of this subject and has successfully addressed the issue over the past 12 years. Most media attention to this topic comes from the original "Granada" study done some years ago that incorrectly lumped all dental sealant materials into one category. Dental sealants were labeled "possible risks" because of the results of a study that used only one competitive manufacturer's sealant material.
It’s important to understand that there is a significant molecular difference between the Bis-GMA used in UltraSeal XT plus and Bisphenol-A Dimethacrylate. Bis-GMA is a very stable resin monomer whereas Bisphenol-A Dimethacrylate is a much less stable resin monomer. Bis-GMA is well known, well established, and has been widely used by many dental manufacturers since the sixties and seventies. Ultradent has held the position for quite some time that our raw material Bis-GMA contains no trace of Bisphenol-A inpurity.
Methacrylic acid is bonded to Bisphenol-A via an ester group. This ester group is slightly unstable and somewhat susceptible to decomposition by saliva back into its base components: methacrylic acid and Bisphenol-A . BPDMA is NOT found in any product manufactured by Ultradent Products.
Bis-GMA is bonded via an ether group. This ether group is very stable and not susceptible to decomposition by conditions found in the oral cavity. UltraSeal XT plus utilizes Bis-GMA.
BPDMA should not be confused with Bis-GMA; these molecules are very different from each other.
Ultradent, as you all know, prides itself on the integrity of our employees and the quality of our products. We want to provide you with the information you may need to ensure that your patients have the highest confidence in our materials.
Until next time,
Dan
Comments (3)
It's crazy to think that all this time we have been exposed to BPA but until this recent spur in interest over it, it was brushed under the rug. Our lives are consumed by BPA. It is in fillings in our teeth, it lines the metal in our canned foods, and in our plastic food containers. It is scary to know that BPA is found in most baby bottles and sippy cups. There are many new companies coming out with BPA free bottles though. As far as plastic drinking bottles for adults go, Camelbak has always been BPA free and Nalgene and REI are coming out with a BPA-free lines, too.
Posted by Kristen Cink | April 29, 2008 10:09 AM
Posted on April 29, 2008 10:09
Why does this company use this wording: "Ultradent has held the position for quite some time that our raw material Bis-GMA contains no trace of Bisphenol-A inpurity."?
Is that the same as saying we guarantee that the product we use for dental fillings and sealants, Bis-GMA, contains absolutely no trace of Bisphenol-A impurity?
I think the wording is thought-provoking. Would appreciate a more straightfoward disclaimer. Why do they "hold the position" there is none, instead of guarantee there is none? Why do they say that the "raw material Bis-GMA contains no trace of Bis-A impurity" instead of saying that Bis-GMA, as it goes into your mouth, contains none? And why do they say it contains "no trace of Bis-a impurity", instead of saying it contains NONE, period??????
Posted by Erealia D. | May 24, 2008 6:43 PM
Posted on May 24, 2008 18:43
Erealia,
Thanks for taking the time to post.
By saying that we have "held the position for quite some time..." we are saying that we didn't recently adjust our formula in response to media coverage. We guaranteed no traces of Bisphenol-A many years ago and we continue to guarantee that our product contains no Bisphenol-A.
When we put our guarantee in writing, we meant to leave absolutely no doubt. What we intended to convey was that: (1) We do not use Bisphenol-A as an ingredient in our dental sealant, (2) The Bis-GMA we use does not contain Bisphenol-A, and (3) Not only is Bisphenol-A not an ingredient in our product, there is not even a trace of the impurity found as a contaminant in our product.
We apologize for any confusion. Our wording was meant to be more specific, not more vague. So, just to be clear, UltraSeal XT plus contains ZERO Bisphenol-A. You can also see Dr. Fischer's post about having UltraSeal XT plus re-tested at an outside lab.
Melanie Jones
eCommerce Manager
Ultradent Products, Inc.
Posted by Melanie Jones | May 24, 2008 9:18 PM
Posted on May 24, 2008 21:18