February 21, 2010
Received this email last week…
“News Alert
GlaxoSmithKline announced today that it will stop selling three versions of Poligrip because of concerns about health risks.
February 18, 2010
Dear Dental Professional:
Since there is much news coverage about today’s GlaxoSmithKline announcement, we wanted to make you aware of this news, as it may result in questions from your patients, your colleagues or members of the media in your area.
According to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, this action affects three Poligrip products: Super Poligrip Original, Ultra Fresh and Extra Care. GlaxoSmithKline says it will remove zinc from its denture cream, following reports that excessive use has caused neurological damage and blood problems in consumers.
The company said it plans to reformulate the product without zinc, and that the words “Zinc Free” will appear on the new packaging. In a consumer advisory on its Web site, the company said it had “become aware of potential health problems associated with the long-term excessive use of our zinc-containing denture adhesive products.” To download a copy of the complete advisory, please click here (168kb PDF).
Glaxo’s voluntary action follows dozens of lawsuits filed against the company alleging Poligrip caused nerve damage, resulting in symptoms such as weakness and numbness, as well as blood problems like anemia. The company says its products are safe when used as directed, but some consumers use the cream excessively to help make their dentures fit.
Best regards,
Tom Albright
Vice President of Marketing, Nobel Biocare North America
Nobel Biocare USA, LLC
22715 Savi Ranch Pkwy., Yorba Linda, CA 92887″
February 16, 2010
Spoke with Daniel Jung of B&D Dental yesterday. He is planning on visiting our laboratory next week – on his way to Chicago – to “install” our capability to mill e.Max CAD using our Origin Pro 5000. I am very excited about this application. I was pretty gung-ho about e.Max CAD when it was first made available for the Cerec InLab system, however my enthusiasm quickly dissipated due to the unbelievably poor marginal integrity of the restorations milled with our Cerec MC XL. We chose to use e.Max Press rather than put out an inferior product.
The Pro 5000 has demonstrated its ability to mill a variety of materials -zirconia, titanium, PMMA – to much higher tolerances. I am hopeful that Daniel’s work with e.Max CAD will demonstrate the same level of sophistication. If so, I see lots of potential. Will report our results in the near future.
Also, recently received this comment -
Hi Jeff,
I just subscribed to your blog and find it very useful. Thanks for sharing.
If you are coming to Lab Day in Chicago, please stop by and visit our booth. We have been working with Biomet 3i and 3Shape to make their working models with the custom abutment built into the model. This will let you build the crown beforehand and load it when the abutment is placed.
Regards,
Lee Dockstader
3D Systems
That’s pretty flattering, but more importantly a great idea! Think about it. Using the Encode system, a dentist could take a simple C&B impression, and using a combination of 3Shape’s Abutment Design software, Biomet 3i’s Abutment Head Library and Lee’s proposed technology, the entire abutment/crown complex could be fabricated without having to uncover the implant prior to abutment placement and crown cementation. This reduces simple single tooth replacement cases to a single surgical appointment and two restorative appointments (impression / placement).
We’ve done a number of the Encode Abutment cases using Biomet 3i’s Robocast technique which accomplishes the same thing, but at a fairly dear price. I’m not sure of the details of Lee’s technology – I plan on stopping by to check it out when I’m in Chicago next week. Will report back on what I learn…
February 12, 2010
This week has been crazy with the record snow fall. I’ve been busy attempting to keep us close to on-schedule which ain’t easy when your crew doesn’t show for a couple of days. We’re working today and Monday (was a scheduled day off – Presidents’ Day – oh, well), and should be looking good by midday.
I’ve taken the opportunity to get a few updates to our 3Shape software.
First, we are in the process of getting the Biomet 3i Abutment Library loaded so we can offer authentic Biomet 3i Abutments – milled by Biomet 3i. Preliminary pricing looks like $249 for Titanium and $320 for Zirconia. This is pretty good when you consider that price includes a try-in and final gold screw. Look for a formal announcement sometime later this month.
Second, we upgraded to the latest version of 3Shape’s software which now gives us the ability to auto-parallel abutments that will be used as bridge abutments. This was a great feature in NobelBiocare’s BioCad software, and now 3Shape has answered the call. Rumor has it that we might just see further inroads made against NobelBiocare as the scuttlebutt has 3Shape introducing milled bars at the Chicago Mid-Winter Meeting. Can’t say for sure, but I will be there February 26/27. If it happens, I will let you know…
February 9, 2010
We’re getting great results with our SDL ORIGINal Z Full Contour Zirconia (FCZ) Crowns – clients are reporting minimal, if any, occlusal or proximal adjustments.
However, I recognize that we’re not perfect, so I thought I would share a link to a PDF describing AXIS Dental’s Zir-Cut Diamonds specifically designed for use on zirconia. AXIS fills orders through dealers, so you might want to have that information handy when you call (800.355.5063)…
February 9, 2010
Dear Clients –
Manassas got hit with about 30″ of snow over Friday and Saturday. We were unable to open the laboratory for business on Monday. We are here today (Tuesday), but we are expecting more snow (over 10″) tonight. This kind of weather is nothing sort of freakish for our area, thus there’s a good chance we will not be open Wednesday.
I am hopeful that we can work on Thursday as scheduled. We are also planning on working on Friday, if necessary, although no delivery routes will be run. We had planned to take off on Monday for Presidents’ Day, but under the circumstances, I have chosen to open for business, and we will run pick-up and delivery routes on that day.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Jeff
