Experiencing the Lava C.O.S. System

The other night I had the pleasure of attending a seminar put on by 3M ESPE and Dental Services Group. The seminar was entitled “Digital Dentistry: From Prep to Crown” and it featured the Lava C.O.S. (Chairside Oral Scanner) from 3M ESPE.

As the presenter, Dave Best from 3M ESPE explained, Lava is a brand name for a digital approach to dentistry and there is a complete Lava network. The main focus of the evening was to educate attendees on the features and benefits of the Lava C.O.S.and to allow us all an opportunity to try it our for ourselves.

According to 3M ESPE, the main benfits offered by the Lava C.O.S. are better accuracy of fit and faster seating time. Rather than being a “point and click” sytem, it is described as 3D in motion providing continuous imaging. Lava C.O.S. is purely about taking impressions and sending them to the lab, not about bringing the lab into the office. There is a hands-on training programme provided to all buyers of the system and on average, the learing curve seems to be about ten to twenty cases, according to the company. 

There are approximately 19 dentists in Canada currently using the Lava C.O.S.who have done about 500 cases to date. In the US, there are approximately 500 users at this time.

So it seems like developments and advances in the field of digital dentistry are continuing and we’ll keep watching to see what the future holds for this exciting area of practice!

RESOURCES