Eleven steps,
each one owned
Where the case stands, whose hands it is in and what comes next — none of it is left to guesswork.
The pathway is set from the start
Where a case stalled is usually understood only after the work is finished. A shade note is said on the phone and forgotten, trial feedback is lost in a message, and who is waiting for what becomes unclear.
So the pathway is written from the start and does not change. Every step has a single owner, and only that owner advances it. The clinic approves its own steps; the laboratory approves its own.
From agreement to delivery
The owner of each step is given in brackets.
- Agreement with the patient — The dentist and patient agree on Lovja treatment. Pre-treatment photographs are taken; these must be made before any preparation and must meet Lovja's documentation standards. (dentist)
- Tooth preparation and impression — The teeth are prepared and impressions taken, digitally or with polyether — polyether impressions are later converted to digital. Photographs of the prepared teeth are part of the record. (dentist)
- Patient card and data submission — The clinic completes the patient card Lovja provides. Impressions, pre-treatment and post-preparation photographs and all relevant case data are submitted to Lovja. (clinic)
- Preliminary review — Lovja reviews the submitted data and either approves it or requests corrections. This step secures the quality and accuracy of the design process. (Lovja)
- Design creation and approval — Lovja creates a custom design for the case and shares it with the dentist, who approves it or requests modifications. The finalised design is shared as an STL file. (Lovja → dentist)
- 3D printing of the mock-up and trial — The clinic prints the approved design in tissue-compatible resin and tries it in the patient's mouth. The mock-up can also serve as a temporary restoration, letting the patient live with the new smile before the final prosthetics. (dentist)
- Approval through trial and photos — Aesthetic accuracy, proportionality, facial harmony, bite alignment and symmetry are assessed. The dentist photographs the mock-up in the mouth and submits it with final approval from both the patient and the dentist. (dentist + patient)
- Payment — Discovery Partnership members, and partners who have exceeded their commitment limits, transfer the case fee before production begins. The case moves to production only once payment has been received. (clinic)
- Prosthetic production — Lovja produces the final prosthetics using its proprietary materials and techniques. (Lovja)
- No returns beyond this point — Once production begins, no further modifications can be made to the design or the case.
- Shipping — The prosthetics are shipped directly to the clinic's address for the final fitting with the patient. (Lovja)
Production waits for two approvals
The trial is where the case is decided. The mock-up in the mouth passes not only the dentist's approval but the patient's as well. What is assessed is aesthetic accuracy, proportionality, facial harmony, bite alignment and symmetry.
The reason is simple: the patient has seen and accepted the new smile before the final prosthetics are made. The gap between expectation and result closes here — not after production.
Payment sits just before production
Payment is not at the beginning of the pathway. It sits after the trial is approved and before production. No payment is requested until both patient and dentist have approved.
This step does not apply to every clinic. Per-case payment in advance is required from Discovery Partnership members and from partners who have exceeded their commitment limits. For other partners, payment follows the clinic's own contract terms.
Once production starts, there is no way back
After production begins, the design and the case can no longer be modified. This is not rigidity but the nature of the work: every Lovja is produced for one patient's measurements and for the design approved in that case. It fits no other mouth.
The point of no return is step ten — which means you have nine steps in which to change something. That is exactly what the trial is for.
Every step is visible in the portal
These eleven steps are followed live on Lovja.portal: which stage the case is at, whose turn it is, when each file arrived and who gave which approval. Every approval and every change is recorded with its date.
Going back is possible, but never without a reason.