Henry Schein Halas to bring Lava back to the boil

Henry Schein Halas has been appointed by 3M ESPE as its exclusive Certified Lab Channel Partner in Australia. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, Henry Schein Halas will sell 3M ESPE Lava materials, software and equipment and provide customer support for dental laboratories using the Lava CAD/CAM system.

"This partnership will provide our existing Lava Accredited Design Centre Laboratory customers and Lava Accredited Laboratory Network customers increased support and expertise by leveraging the combined strengths of both 3M ESPE and Henry Schein Halas," said Derek Walker, National Sales & Channel Manager at 3M ESPE.

"In addition, this partnership will allow 3M ESPE to expand its commitment and focus to innovation in materials research and digital workflows for the dental industry."

3M ESPE's current CAD/CAM network, also known as "The Lava Network" includes four centralized industrial Lava milling centres located in Sydney, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast; 25 "Scan and Design" dental laboratories; and a further 31 Accredited Lava Dental Laboratories located throughout Australia.

Henry Schein Halas is currently 3M ESPE's largest partner for their consumables business and Ross Phillips, the new Laboratory Business Manager, looks forward to strengthening the partnership to better serve the needs of the growing laboratory CAD/CAM market.

"Since its introduction in 2006, Lava has become the premium brand for CAD/CAM zirconia restorations," Mr Phillips said. "At Henry Schein, we recognize that CAD/CAM is one of the fastest areas of growth in the challenging dental laboratory sector and we're excited to have the 3M ESPE Lava CAD/CAM solution in our laboratory portfolio."

Coinciding with the announcement of the new partnership, 3M ESPE has added Lava Ultimate Implant Crown Restorative and Lava Plus High Translucency Zirconia to the product range.

According to Mr Walker, Lava Ultimate Implant Crown Restorative provides a polish that lasts along with functionality other CAD/CAM materials cannot match, backed by a 10-year warranty.

Lava Plus High Translucency Zirconia is specifically designed to deliver the aesthetics of a layered restoration from all-zirconia that allows dentists to create true restorative masterpieces. Compared to other shaded zirconia materials, the unique formula of the Lava Plus zirconia system provides significantly higher translucency and beauty, without compromising strength. Created with special chemistry and processing, Lava Plus all-zirconia material provides strength and resists chipping and with its patented shading technology, enables highly aesthetic all-zirconia or traditional layered restorations. With the aesthetic improvements offered by the Lava Plus zirconia system, one-piece all-zirconia restorations are becoming an attractive and affordable alternative to PFM or full cast metal restorations.

"Henry Schein is in a strong position to drive the unique Lava offering through these two new innovative products," Mr Phillips said. "Dental professionals always strive for a restoration that perfectly imitates adjacent tooth colour, translucency, individual characteristics and shape. Thanks to a unique shading system and special chemistry and processing, the laboratory will finally be able to raise their monolithic restorations to a higher level of aesthetics, ultimately benefiting the patient. It's also the only system on the market that matches the VITA classical shade guide A1-D4, including the bleached shades, exactly."

3M ESPE and Henry Schein Halas have a combined sales and service team of over 50 representatives focused on supporting dental professionals with product and technical information.

"The Henry Schein Halas designated Laboratory Team will provide first-class support, new innovative materials and equipment that provides laboratories with a digital solution they can confidently implement," Mr Walker said. "Furthermore, sales and service teams will be complemented by 3M ESPE continuing Professional Education Programs available to dental professionals."

"We estimate that over 60% of all CAD/CAM restorations are now full contour translucent Zirconia and this will continue to grow at an exponential rate," Mr Phillips said.

"LAVA Plus is a more aesthetic product and will enable the dental laboratory to offer a market leading brand and really differentiate themselves from other monolithic products currently on the market. We would implore all dentists and laboratories who have not yet tried monolithic zirconia to try Lava Plus. It may change the way they look at traditional PFM restorations entirely."

NB: This partnership is for the Australian market only. Lava products will continue to be supplied and supported through existing channels in New Zealand.