3M™ Lava™ Ultimate - resin nanoceramics for dental technology
The resin nanoceramics 3M™ Lava™ Ultimate is a product from the dental division of 3M. The American group took over the German family business ESPE GmbH from Seefeld, founded in 1948, as early as 2001. In December 2009, ESPE Dental AG was then fully integrated into the American group. "ESPE Dental AG" and "3M Dental" became "3M ESPE". In 2016 the "ESPE" was deleted from the company name. The dental division of the American group now also falls under the 3M brand.
In 2011 the new resin nanoceramic block 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Ultimate, still under the name 3M ESPE, was introduced.
Indications of 3M™ Lava™ Ultimate
The Lava™ Ultimate Blocks are approved for the CAD/CAM-supported production of inlays, onlays and veneers. For a good and reliable result, the following edge and wall thicknesses should be observed in the CAD-supported design.
Edge thickness: 0.40 mm
Wall thickness: 0.60 mm
The material Lava™ Ultimate from 3M™ was originally approved for crowns in addition to inlays, onlays and veneers. According to the manufacturer, the restoration material should no longer be used for crowns, since in this case there is a risk of debonding (loosening of the restoration from the prepared die). With inlays, onlays and veneers, the chewing forces are distributed to a different extent, so that there is less stress on the restoration and therefore no risk of debonding.
Update: Due to this very limited indication, the comparatively small selection of shades and the now outdated aesthetics, we at CADdent have decided to remove Lava Ultimate from our product portfolio and replace it with VOCO Grandio Disc multicolor. This material impresses with a color gradient, it is approved for all single-tooth indications and it has the highest strength of all dental nanoceramics.