Soft-Core HD vs. Thermafil

Dr. A asks,

soft-core.jpgI have been using Thermafil (Tulsa Dental) – a warm gutta-percha carrier system for years with great results. I have had absolutely no problems with the system. It fills the canals beautifully. But I have been reading about Soft-Core HD (Axis) which is very similar to Thermafil but somewhat cheaper. Really looks to be about the same kind of product. Have any of you switched from Thermafil to Soft-Core HD? Does it work as well? Have you encountered any problems with the system? I wanted to get some feedback from users before I decide to buy the system. Thanks.

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Filed Under Root Canal Obturation, What's Hot, Endodontics, What's New 

Comments

6 Responses to “Soft-Core HD vs. Thermafil”

  1. Jeffrey Hoos DMD on April 7th, 2008 7:38 pm

    I was wondering what the motivation would be to change if you are having great results. I have not experience with the product but, one failure will more than making up for any saving. The greatest way to save money in dentistry is to limit inventory.
    So unless you can use up the “last” of it……stick with what you have.
    But you can come to my office and load up on lots of unused stuff.

  2. Dr K on April 15th, 2008 10:18 pm

    I would agree with Dr Hoos in that results speak for themselves. I am also a Thermafil user with great results and would never switch due to price. My patients results are first but I also receive excellent customer service from Tulsa Dental.

  3. Dr. Chan (Hong Kong) on April 19th, 2008 12:40 pm

    Agree with both Drs’ comment.
    Cost of softcore is about 1/3 of themafil
    However, I had used many systems for years, I preferred to use them according to the situation.
    I will only use softcore for those canals of molars which are narrow but not too curved.
    Protaper GP points in Protaper system are my favourite now since no pre-heat is necessary and results are nice.

  4. Raymond Kimsey on April 24th, 2008 5:47 pm

    I first used thermafill years ago but at that time the obturators did not fit the system welll so I switched to Softcore which worked much better and cost less. That was fine for a few years then Softcore changed and they were not radioopaque. This made it difficult to determine the quality of your obturation BUT much worse when other doctors saw your endodontic tx they looked bad. I complained and they changed them out but they still were not radioopque like they should be. Of course they did not offer to pay for my time to retreat nor did they recall the entire lot as many months later I bought more softcore from a dealer and it too was low density.
    My mistake was not reporting to the FDA.

  5. Dr. S on April 25th, 2008 10:20 am

    I have switched not due to price but do to the fact that the carrier portion of softcore does not go clear to the tip of the GP like thermafil. I was seeing the carrier extruded through the apices of not only some of my cases but those of others as well. This almost dooms the endo to failure. I have had more success and comfort in knowing that the soft core is more what I was looking for in my warm gp technique.

  6. Russ Fitton on April 26th, 2008 9:18 am

    In 27 years of doing endo the only failures I’ve ever had no matter what system I tried was with the Thermafil system. The fills would look great but 3-5 years later they would fail. Not all of them but about half of them. I just don’t think the seal is as good as you get with other methods. It’s like sticking a corn dog down the canal and all you have at the apex is the stick. I’m using a resin sealer with lateral condensation and the sequence GP in .06 taper. It’s almost like thermafil in that you only need 1 GP cone and mabye 1-2 accessory cones. With the resin sealer there’s no washout of the sealer . If the patient disappears for awhile before getting the final restoration you don’t have to worry about the canals being recontaminated.

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