10 Questions - New innovations and implant solutions from Nobel Biocare

Nobel Biocare has long been one of the leaders of dental implantology-in fact, they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of P-I Brånemark’s first implant patient this year.

We recently spoke with Joe Day, their Vice President of Marketing for North America at Nobel Biocare, about the history of the company since Brånemark’s landmark case, how Nobel Biocare works well with labs, what's happening in the dental implant world and more. Read on:

01. Nobel Biocare celebrates the 50th anniversary of P-I Brånemark’s first implant patient this year. Looking back, which of your innovations do you feel stand out? 

As the pioneer of dental implants and science-based evidence, we have long played a unique role contributing to innovation within the dental implant industry and will continue to do so. We were the first to bring industrial production of dental implants and individualized CAD/CAM restorations. We introduced the first comprehensive concept for 3D treatment planning and guided surgery. We own the one-and-only All-on-4® treatment concept for efficient and reliable full-arch solutions, and our NobelActive® implant system continues to be a game changer where we see more and more companies trying to replicate it each year.

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02. How do you feel customers-and, by extension, patients-benefit from those innovations? 

We don’t develop individual products but entire solutions that provide fully functional, natural-looking results that aspire to last a lifetime. Our clinicians, lab customers and their patients can be confident all our components are designed to complement each other in a precisely harmonized system to meet the requirements of long-term clinical performance and cost efficiency.

03. One recent innovation from Nobel Biocare is a cement-free posterior solution. What does that offer the dental professional? 

Our new posterior solution consists of a selection of wide-platform implants, new anatomically designed temporary components and a full-contour zirconia implant crown, which is available with an angulated screw channel design. These components are an impressive lineup when a patient needs to replace a molar tooth and can’t open his or her mouth very wide. The increased access then provides a real solution to a real problem. But, of course, it is also a great solution whenever you need to angle the screw access hole for any reason and, as you said, it’s 100 percent cement-free. Even the titanium adapter is mechanically retained. 

04. How important is it for dental professionals to avoid “mixing and matching” random components in implant dentistry?

That is a very serious issue in the industry today. We firmly believe not all products are created equal. All dental professionals should be very careful they are using products that were designed and tested as complete systems whether they are all from one company or not. A key aspect of performance assessment is that a system is only as strong as its weakest link and that the performance of any component depends not only on the component itself but also on its interactions within the system. For this reason, we conduct research and testing not only on individual components, such as implants, abutments and screws, but always on the entire system too.

Technique: One workflow to solve four common implant problems

05. There are a lot of implant options out there. How is Nobel Biocare’s approach to customers any different from others? 

We are driving innovation in a way that our customers can provide solutions that their peers can’t. One such innovation is the restorative component in our posterior solution, a full-contour zirconia implant crown that takes advantage of our unique angulated screw channel concept. Our Omnigrip tooling is something that has to be seen to be believed with a screw that literally sticks to the screwdriver.  

06. Where do you think the biggest opportunities in implant work exist for dental labs? 

One of the biggest opportunities for dental labs that we see is getting involved in the treatment process much earlier than they might be used to. Many labs come in near the end and are often forced to adjust to a situation in ways they might not prefer. Our integrated and efficient digital workflow brings in dental labs using the NobelProcera® 2G Scanner at the planning stage with new scanning capabilities. This new feature adds value as a treatment partner by providing intraoral model surface information that assists with the clinician’s diagnostic treatment plan.

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07. How is Nobel Biocare a great option for labs? 

Our more efficient second-generation scanner delivers direct access to our comprehensive assortment of NobelProcera restorations; and, with our new open access program, users of the 3Shape Dental System who have integrated into the global NobelProcera production network gain access to NobelProcera’s high quality CAD/CAM abutments. And, open access won’t stop there, as more products are on the way.

An example of an All-on-4 case (warning: shows actual surgery!)

08. How does Nobel Biocare ensure its customers are properly trained and receive education in working with Nobel’s implant systems? 

Our comprehensive training programs cover every step of the treatment workflow and every stage of professional development. Hands-on sessions play a key role in our training courses both at our smaller events and larger symposia. We believe in peer-to-peer training through expert professionals, and our customers can access them close to home or around the world. Just in North America, we deliver more than 10,000 dental educational programs annually to help dental professional treat more patients better and more efficiently.

09. Which issues discussed at conferences or in the media do you think could be solved through more extensive training and education? 

We are learning from both scientific study and customer experience that the use of cement has become an increasingly discussed topic. While a cement-retained restoration is a great solution when restoring natural teeth and it can be a perfectly fine solution when done properly on implants, more extensive training and even simple awareness is needed. We are working on providing industry-leading screw-retained solutions so our customers don’t have to even worry about cement-related issues.

Infographic: Dental implants by the numbers

10. In your own words, what is Nobel Biocare’s final goal for your customers? 

We focus our knowledge and expertise on supporting our customers with a shared goal: treating as many patients as possible in the best possible way. Everything that we do aims to empower dental professionals to treat more patients better.

This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Dental Lab Products. For more great insights, make sure you're subscribed to DLP by clicking here: http://bit.ly/18S8j4i