December 6, 2009
Received this email on Friday – (Reprinted with permission)
Dear Ivoclar Partners,
WE HEARD YOU!
Senior management met this afternoon and, recognizing that we are all experiencing a fragile economy in all of our markets, determined to absorb the price increases Ivoclar North America experiences as a result of the declining dollar against other currencies. Therefore, THERE WILL BE NO PRICE INCREASE ON E.MAX INGOTS, as was scheduled for January. Please adjust your plans accordingly.
Thank you for your voice and your patience.
Now that’s what I call a responsive company!
December 5, 2009
I am pleased to be able to report that the case against Mr. Lee Culp has been dropped. I don’t know the exact details, but I am happy for Lee, who I have known for over 20 years. This case had the potential to drastically alter the dentist/technician relationship had it gone to trial and been decided unfavorably for Lee. We should all breathe a sigh of relief…
December 5, 2009
Thanks to Cameron Priest and the good folks at Triodent, you can now receive free samples of that company’s Gribtab and Triotray products. Cameron provided us with samples of the Griptab product earlier this year, which we distributed to a few clients. All feedback has been extremely positive! Can’t speak for the Triotray, but the idea looks good. Anyway, click here to go to an online form where you can register to receive your free samples.
FYI – I haven’t received any consideration for this post. The only folks who have provided any funding for this blog are the six sponsors in the click-thru ads in the right-hand column. Please visit their sites and consider using their services. It makes me feel better about taking their money…
December 4, 2009
As mentioned in a previous post, our Removables Department is now headed by Mr. Bill Tidwell. Bill brings over 35 years of experience to his position, but I like him because he’s not satisfied with doing the same old processes with the same old materials. He wanted me to suggest you check out CMP’s Impak material -
| IMPAK & IMPAK-PF |
 |
IMPAK… a revolutionary new “soft” acrylic with MEMORY! IMPAK is not just another soft reline material, but has many remarkable uses which traditional soft reline materials cannot match. IMPAK material is used extensively by both professional and amateur athletes for comfortable, precision-fitting mouth protection. IMPAK can also be used to fabricate bruxism appliances with hard biting surfaces, night retainers following orthodontic correction, or as a retainer for surgical packs and splints.
Now, with the addition of IMPAK-PF “soft” acrylic resin, the problematic mandibular denture can be made stable and comfortable. By utilizing existing severe lingual undercuts which were previously impossible to engage with traditional hard acrylics, VB’s IMPAK-PF solves the problem. |
|
For more information, call Bill directly @ 800.678.7354
December 2, 2009
Just finishing watching 3M’s latest webcast featuring updates with respect to the Lava System. Here’s my take -
“e.Nuff is e.Nuff” Ad Campaign – Features ads run in trade publications making counterclaims against Ivoclar’s recent e.Max ads. Super. I feel like I’m back in the Beta vs. VHS days – Hopefully the best product won’t lose this time…
“Premier Rx” – An online campaign to get doctors to authenticate their Lava restorations with exciting rewards like an iPod Nano (I was at Best Buy last night, and could have purchased one for under $50…). Can I say a few words about this authentication program? First, there doesn’t seem to be any control over the Lava stickers. We routinely receive a batch of stickers with our shipment of Lava copings from our milling center. I have no idea which sticker should go with a particular coping – not even sure it matters. And, one time when we didn’t get any stickers; we called and asked for them and received “a whole bunch of ‘em”. In my mind, they are meaningless unless 3M gets a better control process in place.
If a program like this drives a dentist to prescribe Lava, I don’t want to work with that doctor…
“Rock the Block” – some sort of bonus program for 3M field reps. Look, I really like my 3M reps (well, most of them), and I want them to be successful – BUT, WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME!!! Damn, I get tired of being treated like the red-headed stepchild. 3M provides incentives for doctors and representatives, but labs get a big, fat NADA! Sure, you can make the argument that I will benefit from increased sales of Lava – maybe. What I don’t get is the fact that large companies ignore the relationship that labs enjoy with their regular clients – docs trust us to make recommendations! I guarantee a client is going to give more weight to my opinion than a company rep’s – I’m looking out for his or her’s best interest, so why not spend time convincing me that your product is superior? The galling part is, who do you think is paying for the incentive programs – the laboratories! We’re the one’s buying Lava copings milled from Lava blocks – these incentive plans only serve to drive up the cost of the copings.
Which brings me to the next part of the webcast – 3M states that they are lowering the costs of their zirconia blocks (could be lower if we weren’t buying Nanos and handing out bonuses) as of December 4th (I think I heard this right). However, they neglected to say by how much (I’ve since heard its 20% – that’s great! I hope the milling centers see fit to pass the savings on, but I haven’t heard anything), nor did they indicate that milling centers were under any obligation to pass the savings on to their client laboratories. I would think most of them will to remain competitive – I’ll be watching…
Other stuff -
3M made a brief comment about the success of their DVS restoration – I still don’t get it. Maybe I should try one, but I don’t feel like buying another ceramic system right now. My milling center will mill a Lava coping and DVS pattern, and lute them together for $99. I would try one, except I don’t feel like spending $1500 for the ceramic kit in case I need to do any additions. Maybe 3M could come up with a sample kit to let labs try out DVS before committing?
We also heard about an alternative zirconia product which will mill on the Lava System. I’m not sure about the wisdom of this – if your product is so great, why do you want to play in the low cost arena with a different material. What if the new material performs well – Have you just cut your own throat? Or, if the new material performs poorly, do you risk upsetting your current clientele? This is a tough one. I would rather see 3M protect the Lava brand, and put their efforts into developing lean manufacturing processes to drive costs down. Japanese auto manufacturers have a superior reputation because they delivered exceptional value, not by offering a lesser product at a lesser price. Here’s an idea – reduce the number of your milling centers to a few, big regional operations. How much could be saved in shipping/labor/maintenance costs? But, you have to leave them as independent operators, otherwise you’ve just replicated NobelProcera, and no one wants that…
Lastly, 3M alluded to 3 new materials that are “in the works”. That’s it. Can’t tell you anymore.
In an aside, I am currently working on a blog post which will make you rich just by reading it! I will follow up on this idea at a later date, so keep reading… ‘)
(Emoticons are so lame, but I had to do it…)
