Pros:
Time savings
Quality of final impressions
Cons:
Not all materials come packaged for use with Pentamix 3 Mixing Unit
Size could be smaller
According to the manufacturer, using the Pentamix 3 mixing unit enables users to work with quick-setting materials as well as reduces time pressure for dentists and assistants. Nine dentists participated in Dental Product Shopper’s evaluation of the Pentamix 3 mixing unit. They rated the product on such things as ease of use, speed and time, convenience and productivity, and quality of final impressions.
Ease of Use
3M ESPE states that the easy-to-use features of the Penatmix 3 mixing unit ensure accurate material dispensing and comfortable handling. With the touch of a button, it mixes and dispenses a completely homogeneous mix—free of voids that interfere with the accuracy of impression detail and the fit of the restoration. Because it’s fully automatic, the Pentamix 3 reduces strain on dental assistants. When the evaluators were asked to rate the ease of use of the Pentamix 3 mixing unit, 4 rated it as excellent and 5 rated it as very good. One evaluator said that “We have 3 of them and use them several times a day in our busy 3-dentist practice.” The same evaluator also added that “It is always ready to use.” Another evaluator said that “the size could be smaller.”
Speed and Time
The dentists who participated in this evaluation were asked how important speed and time are to them when purchasing mixing units. Seven of the evaluators said speed and time are very important to important. When the evaluators were asked to rate the time to fill the tray and time savings of the Penatmix 3 mixing unit, 6 rated it as excellent and 3 rated it as very good. One evaluator said that “[It is] much faster than the Pentamix 2 [mixing unit],” while another commented that “It cuts down on mixing time, set-up, and mess.”
Convenience and Productivity
All the evaluators said that convenience is very important to important when purchasing a mixing unit. When asked to rate the productivity of the impression procedure when using the Pentamix 3 mixing unit, 5 evaluators rated it as excellent, 2 rated it as very good, and 2 rated it as good. One evaluator said, “[The Pentamix 3 mixing unit] is definitely convenient.” Another evaluator said that one inconvenience is that “not all materials come packaged for it.”
Quality of Final Impressions
According to 3M ESPE, the Pentamix 3 mixing unit dispenses a completely homogeneous mix—free of voids that interfere with the accuracy of impression detail and the fit of the restoration. When the evaluators were asked to rate the quality of the final impressions (no voids, drags, etc) that the Pentamix 3 mixing unit produced, 6 rated them as excellent and 3 rated them as very good. One evaluator described the material mix as “homogenous.” A second evaluator said, “If I use a still material, I’ll have voids, but that would happen if I used a gun.” He went on to say that the Pentamix 3 “works great with most materials.”
Overall Satisfaction
When the evaluators were asked if they would recommend the Pentamix 3 mixing unit to their colleagues, all said definitely or probably. When asked if they would purchase it in the future, 7 evaluators said definitely or probably; 1 said he wasn’t sure, and 1 said probably not. At the end of the evaluation, the dentists who participated were asked to give their overall satisfaction rating of the Pentamix 3 mixing unit. Four evaluators gave the unit an overall satisfaction rating of excellent and 5 rated it as very good.
