Lava DVS…

October 27, 2009

Just received a PDF from one of our milling centers detailing the working instructions for designing and fabricating a Lava Digital Veneering System (DVS) restoration.  I wrote a post about 3M’s efforts regarding DVS last week, and none of what I read in this PDF changes my mind as to its viability in our lab.

Again, the problem centers around the rather “prior generation” performance of Lava’s CAD software compared to others like 3Shape.  In addition, the price point is such that I can’t figure out why I should fabricate a DVS rather than a press-to-zirconia solution like Vita’s PM9 or Noritake’s CZR Press.  DVS may – and I mean “may” – require less labor than a pressable restoration, but the material/milling costs seemingly far exceed the potential labor savings.

And, that was before I read “For the correction firing of the margin use correction powder.”

Uh-oh.

Sounds an awful like the directions for e.Max CAD.

See, I read the words “For the correction firing of the margin use correction powder,”, but I hear a little voice in my head saying “Beware – This type of restoration doesn’t really fit too well, so you’ll have to “fix” the margins before you send it out.”

And, did I mention that 3M’s instructions include the sandblasting of the Lava coping with Rocatec Soft?  This stuff isn’t cheap, and the cost of it should be factored into the final cost of the restoration.  Maybe I’m all wet, but I just get where this restoration fits into the marketplace…

© 2009, Jeff Saylors. All rights reserved.