Townies Tour Planmeca Headquarters

A select group of Townies visited the Windy City in early September to check out Planmeca's U.S. headquarters. When the company was founded in Finland in 1971, it focused on making dental stools; today it has evolved into a leading source of dental technology.

PlanmecaUSA President Brett Hines welcomed Townies to the headquarters, in Roselle, Illinois, and to the new Planmeca Digital Academy for an overview of current Planmeca technology. Hines demonstrated the evolution of dental technology through the prism of Planmeca's development.

• 

  Dr. Kyle Smith of Tennessee experiments with the ergonomics of the Planmeca Sovereign Classic unit.

• 

  Planmeca rep Brent Garvin, right, sets up the ProMax 3D Mid to take Smith's scan.

• 

  Planmeca marketing director Dmitry Edelchik, left, discusses the company's ultra-low dose technology with Dr. Thomas Willingham.

• 

  Drs. Willingham, Tom Nguyen and Mina Wahby take a break from the classroom but closely follow and engage in a discussion.

The whos and hows of the trip
Through Dentaltown, clinicians can learn about companies through select visits, seminars, presentations, hands-on tutorials and discussions about the research and development of new and up-and-coming products and equipment. These select Townies act as emissaries, sharing information about the companies they've spent time at on the message boards with other members.

Planmeca welcomed the unique opportunity to host an elite group of dentists and highlight its new technology.

"Townies represent one of the largest online communities of clinicians," said Dmitry Edelchik, director of marketing for Planmeca USA. "They have a need for knowledge and innovation to keep their practices at the forefront of dentistry. It's this passion—and willingness to share their expertise with fellow clinicians—that make them a one-of-a-kind community."

Dr. Michael Kelliher of The Flagship Dental Group in Longmeadow, Massachussetts, wrote on the Dentaltown message boards after visiting the facility: "What always impresses me is that a lot of [Planmeca's] innovation is focused on reducing radiation dose. Pretty amazing that their [ultra-low dose] single-tooth 3-D image is actually less radiation than a PA."

Chicago dentist Dr. Louis Kaufman, who gave a presentation about how Planmeca technology has changed his practice, discussed the positive effects on his patients and team, and the return on investment he's seen.

"I netted a 548 percent increase in my investment with my Planmeca ProMax," said Kaufman, who hadn't been doing any implant cases before, but now takes on about 12 such cases per month. An intangible bonus, he said, was the better working relationship he had with specialists and referral sources once he started taking on more complex cases.

"Once some of the specialists saw what my technology was capable of, they began to see me as an excellent source for referrals and outsourcing for some of their imaging needs," Kaufman said.

Dr. Tim Goodheart from Raytown, Missouri, echoed Kaufman's comments after seeing some of the company's imaging technology. "If you haven't considered 3-D imaging—and I personally hadn't given it much thought—I think it's probably time to reconsider and investigate," Goodheart said on the message boards.

Tetsuya Shimbuku gave the Townies a tour of the Planmeca Digital Academy showroom, focusing on Planmeca's connected dental operatories.

"We provide all dental solutions for the dental operatory, from imaging to dental furniture that integrates with your existing system," Shimbuku said. He demonstrated how the Sovereign Classic Chair instantly recognized an existing handpiece and integrated it into the dental system, allowing the dentist to work immediately.

Dr. Kyle Smith of Tennessee said, "It was very cool seeing what they have to offer in the 3-D, scanning and milling side of things, because personally I had no idea how far the tech had actually come."

To learn more about Planmeca, visit planmecausa.com.