A Merril Lynch analyst`s report on the dental implant industry has been released. Issues discussed include: the risk of increasing regulation of implant placement, image guided surgery`s growing importance, Nobel Biocare`s sales strategy and various implant company`s product launches. As always, a very interesting read.
3i has introduced their CAD/CAM precision bar milling system. This system produces a computer designed superstructure that is milled out of a solid billet of titanium alloy to ensure a passive fit. Six different types of implant systems are supported.
Sirona have received the FDA`s 510K approval for their Galileos 3D X-ray imaging system. This system uses a Cone Beam-based technology that calculates a large volume 3D image set, more than 200 exposures, in a single low-dose 3D scan of 15 seconds or less. This 3D image set is processed and presented in the new GALILEOS software, an advanced extension of Sirona’s SIDEXIS XG imaging software.
Sweden`s Medical Products Agency has made a preliminary finding that Nobel Biocare AG`s dental implant Nobel Direct, is too risky to use except with `great care`. The regulator said it will over the next few weeks come to a final view on Nobel Direct and what eventual warnings will be attached to the implant. The agency issued its statement after investigating the results of Nobel Biocare`s own two year study and said this study was not based on a representative
Meisinger has released their balloon based sinus lift system. It uses a system of precision drills and drill guides to allow the introduction of a saline-filled balloon into the sinus. This balloon is then filled to gently push the sinus up. They report up to 10mm of lift height with minimal invasiveness.
The General Dental Council (UK) convened a small working group in December 2005 to to consider what training standards would be necessary for a general dental practitioner before practising implant dentistry, to publish those standards and then periodically to review them in the light of developments in implant dentistry. Such standards could be used not only by practitioners but also by the GDC in the consideration of patient complaints against dental practitioners who, allegedly, practise implant dentistry beyond the limits
Implant Direct LLC has received a FDA 510(K) Marketing Clearance for their Spectra System. Dr Niznick, inventor of the internal anti-rotational connection, has started his own dental implant design and manufacturing company that employs a web-based order and support model to deliver a versatile line of implants at about 50% of the price of the major manufacturers.
Astratech has released their Cresco(r) system for ensuring passive fit on screw-retained implant bridges. This system allows for up to 17 degrees of angle correction for screw-retained bridges using bendable wax tubes giving maximum flexibility in terms of being able to compensate for angled implant placement when bone quality and quantity are poor. Using a Cad-Cam-like milling machine corrects the casting distortion of prosthetic superstructures to a very high degree of precision. The majority of implant systems are supported.
MIS Implant Technologies Ltd has released a Crest Widener used to widen a narrow alveolar crest which has sufficient height for implant placement. The cortical plates are separated and the crest widener distracts the plates so that new bone is created between the plates and the attached gingiva. They have a step-by-step guide and video of the surgical technique on their website.
The University of Connecticut Health Center has received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the US National Institutes of Health to study the relationship between osteoporosis and the success or failure of regeneration and dental implants. They plan to recruit 120 women for the study. Specifically, the study is designed to help the researchers develop a reliable estimate of the two-year success rate of bone augmentation and dental implants in women with broadly varying bone density measurements.
