"The first Ultradent sealant product I used from the company, before I ever even worked here, was UltraSeal XT® plus sealant. The office where I was working at the time had used another sealant product that I didn't like at all—it seemed it was always failing and we were constantly having to redo sealant.
"At a trade show we learned about UltraSeal XT plus sealant and decided to give it a try and track the success rate. We were amazed! We weren't having to redo any of our sealants and if we did, it was rare."
Before, with the other product, whenever we'd have a patient back that had had sealants placed it was almost a given that we would have to redo at least one. It caused so much angst and anxiety and usually my lunch hour.
"When I came to Ultradent I learned why UltraSeal XT plus sealant was such a superior sealant—it was stronger thanks to a higher fill, it adhered better thanks to the PrimaDry alleviating the moisture problem, and it was just a better product than the many I had used in the past.
"That being said, there was still the anxiety of having to keep the patient's mouth and tooth surface dry while applying the sealant. When you're working with a hydrophobic sealant, the area has to be desiccated. And with kids, it's very hard to keep it dry because they are often nervous and wiggly. Even with the most cooperative patient, they're breathing moist air through their mouths and that makes a difference. It's just very difficult to keep the area dry.
"So, when we started developing UltraSeal XT® hydro sealant, I really appreciated it. Ultradent understood the difficulties of keeping an area dry and worked to help hygienists with the problem.
"All in all, I would say my first favorite product is UltraSeal XT plus sealant because of the years of research and history of success behind it, with UltraSeal XT hydro sealant coming in at a close second. Hydro is a wonderful product for those people that absolutely want to go with something that just gives you a little more wiggle room when it comes to moisture concerns.
"I volunteer with Donated Dental and help with the Sealants for Smiles program. Both programs use the UltraSeal XT hydro sealant and the success rate is fabulous. With the Sealants for Smiles program, the same kids are seen and tracked every few years. Hydro has shown great retention. It's really nice to see and it's proving itself to be a really great product.
Long term I believe the hydro will give the same peace of mind that the UltraSeal XT plus gives in knowing that when a patient comes back in, there's a 98% chance that the sealant will still be intact. I'm just so much more confident in doing sealants because of our sealant products."