Corporate Profile: An Inside Look at an Implant Giant by Dentaltown staff

Tell us about your start in dentistry and what’s at the core of your company.
I began my career in 1976 when I was visiting the office of Dr. Leonard Linkow in New York City. He had patients flying to see him from all over the world so he could place blade implants. I immediately recognized a need for a more effective and efficient solution for patients who needed implants and for doctors who wanted to place them. Patients were desperate for permanent solutions, and doctors were interested in adding this to their repertoire. That was 40 years ago.

Integrated Dental Systems was formed in 2012 to be a designer, manufacturer and distributor of easy-to-use implant systems. The goal was simple, and one we plan to keep for years to come: to make implant dentistry more available to more people. We do this by designing easy-to-convert systems that allow loading and case completion in less time than traditional implant dentistry at much lower costs.

Let’s get right to it: How have implants changed over the years?
The market has really evolved over the past 25 years to titanium cylindrical implants, and from smooth surfaces to rough ones to improve integration. Many surface treatments have been used to improve integration and speed the procedure. Immediate loading and tapered implants have become the design standard of care, while sand-blasted, acid-etched (SLA) surfaces have proven very reliable.

Titanium of various grades has been used over the years; currently, the most popular is a Grade 4 pure titanium, with treatment to increase the strength. Some manufacturers use a Grade 5 titanium alloy that’s strong but contains aluminum and vanadium, elements some users and patients are concerned about.
Today, the market has reached a tipping point. The general public is very aware of the benefits of implants. The cost of the procedure has come down and for the first time, general dentists have placed more implants than specialists have.

Dr. Gordon Christensen has said that there are 20 procedures general dentists perform that are more complicated than a single-tooth implant restoration. The percentage of implant restorations per 100 tooth replacements is still only half of that in Western Europe, parts of Asia and the Middle East. In the U.S. it’s 11 per 100, while those other areas are showing numbers like 25–40 per 100 teeth restored with implants—sometimes more. I remember how in the 1970s endodontists did the vast majority of root canal treatments. Today general dentists perform about 70 percent of all root canal cases, yet endodontic specialists—endodontists—have never been busier. Why? Because there are so many more cases and general dentists know when it’s beyond their capability. Endodontists’ cases are more difficult and require more skill and experience.

Patient fees have gone from more than $6,000 per implant to less than $2,000. Meanwhile, the cost of implants also has gone down, from around $500 to less than $200 today. Dental implants and prosthetics have become the best-selling and fastest-growing dental product in the world.

Why does education play such a large role in what IDS does?
One of the biggest obstacles to getting implant dentistry off the ground was education. There wasn’t a very good system that educated and instructed dentists, hands-on, how to do implant dentistry. So we helped create one, knowing that if we wanted to see implants really thrive, we first had to embrace the philosophy that any dentist could learn the clinical and surgical skills required to confidently place implants.

IDS supported this philosophy with a nationwide team of dental-implant sales-and-service field representatives—full-service dental supply dealers. More than that, IDS offers same-day delivery and a wide assortment of products to meet any user’s needs, at prices that are lower than those of most market leaders.
In partnership with Advanced Implant Educators (AIE), we offer a full range of courses, including evening lectures, full-day workshops and multiple-day, live surgical training courses given by globally recognized instructors.

These practical courses provide new users the ability to begin placing and restoring implants, as well as advance the skills of users who are already placing and restoring implants.

What makes the implants at IDS unique?
Our implants are manufactured by MegaGen in Daegu, South Korea. The founder and CEO of MegaGen, Dr. K.B. Park, also founded the largest dental hospital in South Korea, which now has 23 locations, more than 1,100 staffers and more than 350 dentists.

Those dentists place 5,000 MegaGen implants a month. This is remarkable, and why we believe there is more clinical use, evaluation and improvement of our implants prior to commercial release than any other implant company in the world.

MegaGen is fully integrated and manufactures each part of the systems, which ensures quality, accuracy and consistency.

What are some of the different implant systems available?
IDS has a variety of designs for users so they can select what’s most appropriate for their patients and practice. One of our more popular systems, the AnyRidge Implant System, has more than 15,000 users that tell us the system delivers better initial stability, faster integration, immediate loading and faster case completion than any other system based on scientific research. I know it’s easy to make a claim like that, but we’ve seen it tens of thousands of times in clinical situations. One unique attribute, which I think dentists can appreciate, are the three core sizes mated to 10 thread-diameter sizes with a single prosthetic connection. Clinically, this allow users to match the thread size to the bone density to gain maximum stability. The system also hosts Xpeed, which is a patented surface treatment that accelerates osseointegration.

Another one of our popular lines is the Reflect Implant system, which is prosthetically and surgically compatible with five of the leading brands of implants. That means that in the operatory, users don’t have to change their armamentarium, technique or cases in process. This system has been fully tested and compared to traditional brands, and in those comparisons has proven to have equal or superior mechanical properties, at half the cost or better.

What do you see as the most important aspect in the future of implant dentistry?
For a long time, placing implants meant a few things. One, it meant high cost. Now that’s not the case. Two, it meant that a dentist had access to information and training—enough so that he or she could comfortably and confidently place implants. Now that there’s a wealth of training, continuing education and hands-on workshops, it’s easier than ever for dentists to feel clinically confident in the operatory. Lastly—and what we think is the future for implants—is being able to deliver single-visit surgical placement and restorations for patients.

Many implant cases traditionally take multiple visits and a very comprehensive treatment plan that’s taxing both for patient and doctor. Now we’re seeing—and IDS is on the forefront of—the ability to provide implant treatment for patients in a single visit. Once this becomes the standard in the industry, implant dentistry will become one of the basic tools dentists have in their toolboxes, rather than a procedure that so many doctors remain hesitant to offer in their practices.

Every IDS implant system has everything doctors need to perform a fully digital work flow—that includes scanning, milling, printing, and custom abutments and surgical guides. Our implant design files are in all the popular treatment planning software, mills and cone-beam units. This is the future of implants: faster, less expensive implant treatments with materials that are constantly improving for faster integration and case completion. The future will provide most patients with a single-visit surgical placement and restoration. That is why we named the company Integrated Dental Systems.

How would you describe your company to a dentist who hasn’t heard of you?
First, I’d say that IDS has a vast amount of experience in the dental industry. Something that resonates with dentists is when a company has experience in the field.

We aren’t selling you anything that we haven’t already tried in a clinical setting long before we expect doctors to use it in their operatories.

Any practicing doctor knows that it takes experience to truly master a technique or a treatment. Well, we’ve mastered implants. We also have an experienced customer service team—a field force of more than 20 implant sales and service specialists who help customers with demonstration surgeries, proper inventory levels, delivery and education. This means bringing implant experts who can answer any and all questions a doctor might have, from start to finish, right to the doors of dentists everywhere. We service all of our users to make sure we exceed their expectations for delivery, training, education, quality, digital integration and clinical support.

Our goals are to continually offer more user-friendly implant systems, implant services and implant restorative products to make procedures faster, successful and less expensive.

We believe that implant procedures will become a single-visit (or at most a two-visit) procedure in the future, and that final restorations will be fabricated before surgery and placed at the time of surgery. This will be largely made possible by the stability of the newest implant designs and the accuracy of CAD/CAM-fabricated digital prosthetics. Overall, IDS has a long-term plan to make sure it stays ahead of the curve when it comes to implantology.