General Technical Update

Date: 8/8/00

As Captek continues to gain tremendous popularity in North America, Captek-Precious Chemicals and the family of Captek Dealers promise to continually update clients on the latest research and developments. There is little doubt that Captek has distinguished itself from any other ceramic understructure and has become a standard restoration for the everyday dental practice. The benefits of predicable aesthetics, strength, fit and plaque resistance are almost impossible to match.Our tag line “Esthetics without Compromise” rings as true and is as relevant today as it was 5 years ago. The following are a few updates from our technical department. We know these tips will help improve the overall procedure in your lab. Over the past six months clients have been receiving Capbond Plus instead of the original Capbond. Capbond Plus has the same bond strength as the original Capbond, yet it is easier to apply and has a wider heat range in which it can connect well to the Captek coping. The range is about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. It is perfectly fine to mix Capbond Plus with the original Capbond. Slower is more accurate. With the help of our technical staff and strategic partners such as Cad Cam Ventures, reducing the heat rate per minute in the Captek P and G cycles is helping to achieve more accurate high temperatures. Many furnaces can handle the 80 C / 145 F temperature rate of increase without problem but some could not. Reducing the rate to 55 C / 100 F has certainly made it easier for the furnaces to achieve more stability at the high end. Remember to recalibrate the furnace with Captek Calibration Strips at this slower rate before making the adjustment. It is suggested to add another program with the updated values and run a test crown prior to switching completely. Captek technical representative are on call to answer any questions you may have along the way. Captek announces new finishing burs from Brasseler. Very soon, a final version of the Captek finishing kit will be available from Brasseler USA. Two main components of the kit include a new EUF bur in the football shape for straight hand piece use. This Extra Ultra Fine bur is excellent for final finishing at the margin edge. To remove larger amounts of material at the margin a 7881 M sintered diamond is safe and fast. Always heat up copings in the Captek torch after finished, prior to Capbond application to clean of any debris. Call Captek or your Brasseler representative to order. The following is a timely review of Captek Bridge and Splint philosophy and Furnace Cycles. The inventors, Dr. Shoher and Mr. Aharon Whiteman originally developed Captek as a bridge material for many, many reasons. As you know, Captek bridgework utilizes a rigid connector for splints and bridgework. The original testing for bridgework was done with a high palladium, low gold alloy. (250SL, 79% Pd, 2% Au). This alloy was chosen because of its high yield strength, and high resistance to distortion. Many other alloys have proven to work excellent over the past 6 years, yet most of the in-depth research has been done using the 250SL alloy. Our ADA bridge study conducted by Dr. Ed McLaren (Center of Advanced Studies, UCLA), included both noble and high noble metals for pontics. Preliminary reports have shown ZERO failures at closed to 4 years. Due to the rise in palladium, many clients have substituted high gold (high noble) ceramic alloys for high palladium “semi-precious” alloys. As you know from traditional soldering procedures, there are slight differences in the various alloy systems, even when they seem to have the similar gold, platinum, palladium and silver content. The various alloy manufactures use a variety of grain refiners and oxidizers. If you choose to cast your own pontics out of a material other than 250SL, we have found the following firing cycle to be the most predicable in creating that flawless Captek connection. Firstly, remove any oxides in the joint area prior to placement of the Capcon. Apply Capcon as recommended in the manual. The original Capcon brush was very big and hard to handle. Using a smaller brush, similar in size to the Capbond Brush will enable more accurate placement of the Capcon where necessary. (Remember; always keep a separate brush for the Capcon and Capbond). Apply the Capfil over the joint areas. A small piece of Captek G trimmings can be placed over the abutments if necessary. Please run the following cycles for the bridge connection: 4 min.: dry low temp.: 600 C/ 1100 F Temperature rise: 70 C/135F per minute High Temperature as determined by the proper Captek Calibration Cycle Hold: 4 min. Vac: Run full vacuum throughout the program Place a carbon pellet on the firing tray (These two additions to the firing cycles will keep the oxides low during the connection process). If you have any questions, please call any member of our technical staff at 1-800-921-2227. Look for additional updates in the near future. On behalf of the family of Captek Representatives, we thank you for your business and look forward to your continued success. Sincerely, 

Lou Azzara-CEO                                         Nick Azzara-VP