I am always amazed by the variety of techniques and preferences that dentists have for how an assistant loads temporary cement into a restoration. You only have to ask an assistant who works in a multi-dentist practice to hear the variations. I have seen assistants load the provisional directly from the tip of the new systems that mix and dispense. Others dispense the temporary cement on to a mixing pad. Once it is on the mixing pad, there are many ways to load the provisional. Lastly, many of the temporary cements still require mixing, so will arbitrarily be on a pad before being loaded in the temporary.
My goals are two-fold. First having enough cement and an adequate seal so the provisional stays in place and doesn’t leak. Second, having the clean up process of the temporary cement be as efficient and effective as possible. Over the years I have had my assistant load the cement with a variety of instruments from plastic instruments to perio probes. Once I even went on a search for my old dycal application instruments, looking for something that would carry enough cement, but not glop it in.
Recently I learned the ideal tool, a bend-a-brush. My assistant “paints’ the internal surfaces of the provisional with a layer of temporary cement. She brushes the cement towards the margins coating all the internal walls. This technique assures all the surfaces are covered, air isn’t trapped at the incisal edge, and there isn’t a large amount of cement expressed that then has to be cleaned off, or could stay as an irritant to the tissue.
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