Very Cool Stuff Headed Your Way…

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…

© 2010, Jeff Saylors. All rights reserved.