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Corporate Profile: Dentsply Midwest by Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

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by Benjamin Lund, Editor Dentaltown Magazine

Forgive the obvious pun, but you really have to hand it to Dentsply Midwest for 85 years of groundbreaking developments in dental handpieces. Even today, Dentsply Midwest is firing on all cylinders, producing some of the highest-rated handpieces the dental profession has ever seen, and the company is still working on new ideas to further improve user satisfaction and effectiveness of its products. Dentaltown Magazine recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dentsply Midwest’s core team to get to know more about them, their roles at the company, Midwest’s relationship with the other Dentsply companies and what it prides itself on most.

First off, gentlemen, please tell me a little about yourselves, your professional history, when you started working at Dentsply Midwest, your current role within the company and what really gets you out of bed every morning.
Tom Wozny, R&D Manager: I joined Dentsply in 2008 when the organization was looking to expand its depth relative to innovation. The majority of my career was focused in the front-end of the development cycle across a variety of different industries for both OEM and engineering consulting firms.

Doug Mayer, Product Specialist: I started my dental career at Gendex-Midwest in 1993, as the territory manager for Chicago/Nor thern Illinois. Midwest was only my second job out of college, so as a young person, I was blessed with a great education from my Midwest mentors, who at the time, already had 20 to 30 years of dental experience. In three short years I learned what seemed like the equivalent of 20 years of handpiece knowledge. In 1996 I joined another leading handpiece manufacturer as the territory manager for Chicago/Northern Illinois. In 2010, I came back to Midwest as a handpiece product specialist. My job today is to educate my Dentsply colleagues, our dealers and our dentists’ offices on handpiece technology, maintenance, infection control and best practices. I also aid in the design of handpieces that help make the entire dental experience better.

Dominic Barraza, Senior Brand Manager: I star ted my dental career in my senior year at Arizona State University as an intern at SmartPractice, a dental products manufacturer and distributor. I started as a product coordinator and held various positions until I ended up heading the Dental Business Unit. From there I moved on to director of marketing for a leading dental materials manufacturer, which led to a position as director of export sales managing Latin American and Asian markets. It was an honor to start with Dentsply a little more than two years ago with the Midwest facility where I currently act as senior brand manager. It has been quite an experience being part of such a unified team that has developed, launched and established one of the highestrated and fastest-growing high-speed handpieces in the nation.

Bradley Unamboowe, Product Manager, Dental Handpieces: I’ve had an 18-year marketing career in medical devices from wound care to exam/surgical gloves and from resuscitation devices to or thopedic. Since 2008, I’ve been with Dentsply Midwest. Dentsply’s decentralized type of management structure allows us to effectively tailor the brand’s relationship based on the unique needs of our customers and our products, innovating and launching products that appeal to a great number of dentists – and we have a lot of fun doing it.

Grant Bearbower, Regional Sales Manager: I started my dental career in 2005 with Dentsply as a Dentsply Professional Division rep in the Minnesota/North Dakota market. I held this position for more than two years, until I was promoted to key account manager with our Alliance Group working with large group practices and universities. In 2010, I became the regional sales manager for the Chicago area. Currently I work with a group of eight territory managers in the Chicago area, plus I assist with the Midwest brand team.

Can you tell our readers a little about the history of Dentsply Midwest? How is it positioned within the larger Dentsply brand?
Unamboowe: In the dental continuum of care, Midwest handpieces and rotary instruments are an extension of one of the most critical tools of dentists – their hands. Midwest has been making a difference since 1927. Midwest has changed ownership many times but it has always operated true to founder Martin Staunt’s general principles of innovation, quality, reliability and durability.

In the very beginning, the company’s focus was solely on repairing handpieces. 1934 was when the Midwest branded Contra Angle was introduced, and when the firm turned toward manufacturing and innovation. In 1957 the Air Turbine Straight Angle – an air turbine spinning a belt – was introduced with one of the industry’s first four-hole connections for exhaust, chip air and water. The same year, the Midwest Air Drive 400 – an air turbine contra angle high-speed – was launched. In 1976 Midwest developed a new product category with fine cross-cut carbide burs. In 1977 the Insight Quiet-air – one of the first handpieces with fiber optics integrated into the handpiece – was introduced. In 1994, the Midwest Air Repair Service program was introduced, and is still one of the few manufacturer repair services to offer a two-business- day turnaround guarantee. Midwest created another new category in handpieces in 1996 with the introduction of the Midwest RDH Hygiene handpiece. Some of our innovations have led to ISO standards, like today’s five-hole hose, fiber optics in handpieces and lever-actuated chucking mechanisms. And, of course there’s our latest “first”: the Midwest Stylus ATC, a technology many dentists wanted (and even needed) – adaptive torque control in an air high-speed handpiece.

How does Dentsply Midwest work with the rest of the Dentsply brands?
Wozny: Midwest is frequently engaged in co-development efforts where our core competency in engineering electromechanical handpiece solutions is leveraged outside of our restorative franchise. The X-Smart EASY cordless endodontic handpiece is a shining example of such an initiative.

In addition, we work well within the division developing co-branded solutions. Most recently, the development of the Midwest RDH Freedom cordless prophy handpiece teamed perfectly with our sister brand Nupro with disposable angles and prophy paste. This combination is already exceeding all expectations and is sure to set another standard in the industry.

What is your current business philosophy? Or in other words, if you were to meet a dentist on the street, how would you describe what Dentsply Midwest does and how it helps dentists succeed?
Wozny: Midwest and the entire restorative franchise led the way in how unmet customer needs are identified, which is the root of how successful products are developed. Many different techniques are employed in order to identify and confirm that a proposed new product or feature is one that yields tangible benefits to the clinician. Such benefits could include improving a clinical outcome, increasing patient comfort or providing economic benefits to the practice.

Mayer: We are easy to do business with! We always put the customer first. As a life-long handpiece guy, I have always said, “Our job doesn’t end when the dentist signs on the dotted line, our job begins when they sign on the dotted line.” The sale is never the end of our relationship – it is the beginning. That is what makes Midwest different. There will always be challenges with the “fastest machines on Earth,” aka, handpieces. That is why you need the people behind the product the most! It matters who you buy your handpieces from.

Barraza: We actively engage our customers in all aspects of our business. They volunteer with hardly a recruitment effort. I’d say Midwest customers are among the most loyal in the dental profession and they are energized and empowered by being able to participate in new product development. Whether they visit our research and training center here in Chicago, allow us into their practices or attend one of our remote activities, we have a tremendous amount of gratitude toward the best professionals in the industry.

Unamboowe: We design, manufacturer and service products critical to dentists, and want them used on our children, grandparents, spouses, family, friends and colleagues, because we feel that good about what we do. We stand behind our products so you can do what you do best.

Bearbower: Dentsply Midwest is focused on the customer. We make sure when dentists work with Midwest, their entire experience – from the first day they purchase one of our handpieces – is a great experience.

What would you say Dentsply Midwest prides itself on most of all?
Wozny: Undoubtedly we pride ourselves most on quality and customer service. At the end of the day, clinicians must be able to count on our products, and know they’re getting more than just an essential piece of equipment.

Barraza: From a spring chuck in the ’60s, to a wrench chuck in the ’70s, to a power lever in the ’80s, and a push-button in the ’90s to our latest innovation, the Midwest Stylus ATC, which is now one of the highest rated high-speed handpieces in America, we are continually innovating.

What contributes most to the success of Midwest in the handpiece and rotary instrument arena?
Wozny: Much of our success stems from customer loyalty that has taken decades to establish through generations of new products and customer support. Midwest constantly strives to increase what we call “Dental IQ” and work with clinicians in their own environments so that we have the knowledge to continue meeting customer needs.

Bearbower: Our people also make the difference in why Midwest continues to separate itself from the competition; they drive our success now and will in the future.

It seems one of your major concerns is in improving the comfort level of dentists while they use your handpieces. How have you addressed that concern and what are you looking into now to improve your future devices?
Wozny: The physical stress on dentists’ hands is an important issue, but the mental aspect is often overlooked. Midwest has designed its most recent products with ergonomics and ease of use in mind so that the dentist does not have to be concerned with anything but the clinical task at hand. A great example is our Stylus ATC, which combines comfort (due to the unique grip design) with state-of-the-art adaptive torque control. Analogous to the famous golf instruction “let the club do the work,” the ATC allows the focus to be on the target.

What do you do to reassure customers that they’re buying one of the best handpieces on the market?
Mayer: Midwest has been a force in the dental handpiece business since our founding in 1927. And we have been especially strong since the introduction of the revolutionary highspeed handpiece, the Quiet Air, in 1967. Yet, it is still all about taking care of the customer, and treating them exactly how we, ourselves, would want to be treated. And that has endured Midwest through the decades.

If dentists face a problem with one of your products, what steps can they take? How will they be treated when they call you?
Unamboowe: Call your Midwest rep or Midwest air repair at 800-800-7202 right away. We will respond with urgency and respect and with the intention of solving your problem. Handpieces are complex products that get a lot of use and they are important devices for every dental practice. Our associates and structure are set to respond as such.

How does Dentsply Midwest set itself apart from the competition? What is your single greatest advantage?
Unamboowe: Needsbased innovation and relationships. Midwest Stylus ATC has been referred to by various “dental gurus” as one of the most meaningful technological advancements in air handpieces in recent years, and our strategy of selling through distribution has been consistent for decades.

How do you see dentistry changing in the future and how will Dentsply Midwest contribute? What new products might dentists see from you in the future? And where are you investing most of your time and money right now?
Wozny: We initiated the change with the introduction of the Stylus ATC and the RDH Freedom. Both of these products are cutting edge in their own respects and indicative of the continued intertwining of electronics and software controls of mechanical systems. Dentists are consumers just like anyone else and are part of the global technology explosion that allows us to do things we thought were only science fiction 20 years ago. The expectation of dentists is that technical advancements will be supplied to their industry at a more consistent pace and Midwest is perfectly positioned to do just that.

If you want to learn more about Dentsply Midwest and its products, visit www.prevent.dentsply.com, or call 800-800-2888.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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