This is a perfect example of a technician using his education and reason, and expanding on the instructions provided my Ivoclar...not deviating from them. In the e.max manual, the span of a bridge is described as three units, but more importantly, it gives the max distance that a pontic should span depending on where its located. LabGuy did make a three unit bridge. There is one pontic. The fact that he and the Doctor chose to splint an adjacent crown to strengthen a less than ideal tooth is simple engineering. This still falls within the material providers qualifications and is in no way a contraindication.
Its easy to be tempted to go beyond what Ivoclar suggests when using e.max. Its a beautiful easy to use material. Not to mention...give a man a hammer, everything becomes a nail. Its true, ed 3, that just like in rope or chain manufacturing, tensil strength is stated at less than 50% on breakage, Ivoclar isnt stating in the manual at what point the material will break. They are guiding us to stay well within its known parameters, because they know we are going to be pushing its limits.
e.max isnt going to hold up better because YOU blessed the bridge with your magic and talents. We've all got a stake in e.maxs' success. We,re your brothers in this business. Im not saying I have the answers, but when some of the 'elders' on this site grace us with their knowledge and experience, we need to sit down and learn. Not just keep defending what we've done in the past.
