Edit: This CE course was held on May 9, 2024. View the course and earn your free CE credits here. 

The integrity of the bond is a fundamental tenant in quality, long-lasting restorations. That's why our upcoming live Continuing Education course, led by Ultradent’s Sr. VP of R&D, Neil Jessop, is a must for dental professionals striving for excellence. Shear Bond Strength - How the ISO Gold Standard Testing Method Translates to Everyday Dentistry offers a deep dive into the essentials of dental bonding, tested and proven through rigorous ISO standards.

Can we stop sensitivity in its tracks? Should we use desensitizers? Can restorations routinely last well beyond 10 years when most literature reports 3 to 5 years is normal? Are all adhesives created equal? Should we generalize and group adhesives into main categories? 

“Commonly. what is believed about adhesives mostly comes from what is taught in school, what’s published in literature, and even from some prominent voices on the lecture circuit—but those conversations don’t always discuss the state of modern, minimally invasive techniques for bonding restoratives to teeth—whether direct or indirect,” says Jessop.

Don’t get stuck in the past and don’t get left behind; Once the basic rules are understood, a new world of opportunities will be unlocked, which were painstakingly revealed during the more than 30-years of testing and development which resulted in a new ISO standard and world class adhesive. “After teaching adhesive fundamentals to thousands of clinicians over many years, we are proud to be a part of helping so many find confidence in this critically misunderstood area” says Jessop.  

Less sensitivity and longer lasting restorations will be your new normal. 

The ISO Notch Shear Test and The Importance of Shear Bond Strength 

The Notch Shear Test (now an ISO standard) was developed from 1995 through 1997 and was adopted through a rigorous process as an ISO standard in 2013.  

Ultradent Sr. VP of R&D, Neil Jessop alongside Peak™ Universal Bond adhesive (top) and VALO™ X curing light (bottom).

The shear bond strength test is one of the tools used to measure the strength of a bonded interface. “Although there are other types of adhesive tests, the ISO test has proven highly useful and is particularly relevant for evaluating how well a restoration may bond to dentin and enamel. When a Shear Bond Test is used without proper controls or understanding, we find a huge range of data and numbers that make little sense to most of us,” Jessop says, adding, “Proper testing can reveal many new truths about adhesives never before understood. With this refined test we have been able to improve both the understanding of bonding techniques and products. In the end, better techniques and products make for better dentistry.”

What You Will Learn

In this course you will be taken through a simple yet important journey of adhesive testing. By fully understanding the fundamentals of adhesive testing you will learn to:

• Ask more insightful questions about research
• Cut through the immense and overwhelming noise of marketing literature
• Determine how strong dentin really is and what it means for adhesive dentistry
• Find out how strong dental adhesives can be if proper techniques are used 
• Implement techniques and critical steps which will raise your game regardless of the adhesive you are using
• Determine the substantial differences between enamel and dentin bonding 

With this new understanding, you will be better equipped to choose the right restorative path for your patients.  Together let’s bridge the gap in understanding between common scientific language of adhesives and practical everyday dentistry.

View course and earn CE here. 

About Neil Jessop 

Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Ultradent Products , Neil Jessop, has worked in Research and Development since 1992. From 1998 to 2002 he worked in the Biomaterials Research lab at Loma Linda University in California. In 2002, he was placed at the head of Ultradent’s Research and Development department. Since then, he has been able to further research by helping to create the strongest and most durable adhesive in dentistry. His work now covers six branches of R&D, encompassing more than 100 employees. He has two amazing daughters and an extremely intelligent and talented wife of over 30 years, who is a practicing dentist.