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