I just spent the morning working with Drs. Gordon and Rella Christensen. I had the opportunity to show Gordon the 4.0 software and get him and his team up to speed. It’s always interesting visiting such a high-energy individual who is passionate about his profession.

Even more enjoyable was visiting with Gordon’s wife, Rella. About two years ago, she had begun a study comparing e.max milled with a CEREC fired at the 12-minute cycle and the 19-minute cycle. The other materials tested in this study were Bruxzir and Zirconia layered with porcelain as a control.

The entire study will be published in an upcoming issue of CR Report so you will be able to dig into all the great details. But here is a quick summary:

e.max and Bruxzir at one-year recall on cases placed in the mouth – ZERO failures. No cracks, no problems, no chips.
e.max fired at 12 minutes performed exactly the same as e.max fired at 19 minutes. No difference whatsoever.

For those of you who have been waiting for clinical validation of the shortened cycle – here it is. Apparently, shortening the firing cycle based on the recommended parameters has no effect on strength or longevity. Granted, it’s only one year, but it’s one year in the mouth and Rella stated that in all her studies. If they see problems, they see them in the first year.

I’m happy to see this cycle validated further. This is now the third independent test that has been done and this one is in vivo and it should put all claims of "E-mostly-Cad" to rest.

Attached, please find the photo of the oven settings you need to change on your Ivoclar CS oven to get to the shortened cycle. Ive also attached a video that walks you through how to reprogram your oven step by step as well as a step by step on how to glaze your emax restorations: