In this comparision between President vs Affinis Putty both from Coltene, I will try and see if we can get a clear winner?
President (The Original) putty from Coltene, was launched in 1975 and is still going strong. You can read the detailed review of President putty here.
You can also read the detailed review of the Affinis putty here.
Usually you don’t see a dental company having 2 brands of the same type of product. You might get 2 brands of composites from the same company but both type of composites will have different properties and indicated uses (For example, Ivoclar Tetric N Ceram composite & Te-Econom Plus composite). So why did Coltene develop 2 addition silicon putties?
Companies usually come up with a new product only to rectify major errors or incorporate new advances to improve the properties/features of the previous product. Minor modifications doesn’t mean starting a new product line altogether. So why did Coltene launch Affinis line?
Coletene claims, Affinis putty has increased wettability, is thixotropic but with increased flow and faster in setting as compared to other putties including President.
So if Affinis is better, why hasn’t President line been closed down?
I spoke over mail with Coltene company representative, who gave 2 major advantages of Affinis over President
- Fast setting times
- Autoclavability of Affinis impressions.
Faster set times can be advantageous in certain clinical situations, autoclaving the impressions requires other equipments like heat-resistant impression trays and special tray adhesives, making the process more expensive.
Also, if you are from a hot weather country and don’t store your putty in the refrigerator, chances are faster setting of Affinis can become a problem for you.
The company representative also told me that they have kept the President line along with Affinis line in certain countries because President is cheaper.
So, the advantages of Affnis putty comes at an increased cost compared to President Putty. I personally don’t think the increase in price of Affnis putty comes with any significant advantage for regular use.
Your Dental Review Choice President Putty