Industry News

Formlabs and Bego Announce Partnership

Formlabs, a designer and manufacturer of 3D printing systems, and Bego, a specialist in the field of prosthodontics and implant dentistry, have announced a partnership that will allow Formlabs customers to 3D print temporary and permanent crowns and bridges directly for patients with Bego dental materials.

Dental professionals who use Formlabs’ Form 3B and Form 2 3D printers can use Bego resins to 3D print permanent single crowns, inlays, onlays and veneers, and temporary crowns and bridges. The material will offer patients aesthetics, a low tendency to age and discolor, low plaque accumulation, and high comfort because of low sensitivity to cold and heat. Both the temporary and permanent materials will be offered to Formlabs users in different shades and can be individualized to a high aesthetic result.

Information: dental.formlabs.com

Carestream Dental Introduces Digital Dentistry Difference Education Campaign

Carestream Dental introduced its Digital Dentistry Difference public education campaign at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting. Through this campaign, the company will directly educate consumers about the benefits of digital dentistry and will arm doctors with resources to prompt conversation with patients, which it says will solve an awareness gap that research suggests is harming patient perception of doctors and the oral health care industry.

According to the first Global Digital Dentistry survey, commissioned by Carestream in November 2019 to measure public attitudes, perceptions and behaviors related to dental technology, patients across the globe believe that the oral health care industry lags behind both optical and orthopedic sectors in terms of the technology used. In addition, fewer than half of patients believe their doctor uses very advanced technology.

As part of the Digital Dentistry Difference campaign, Carestream will reach patients through a large-scale public relations initiative, and by connecting digital dentistry experts with national and regional news media to share information on how the technology makes a difference. The company is partnering with Dr. Miguel Stanley to conduct a broadcast media tour in late May, with plans to reach regional markets throughout the U.S. and encourage viewers to talk to their doctors about the digital technology used in their care.

Information: carestreamdental.com

Dentsply Sirona Introduces 2 New Programs

Dentsply Sirona has announced both One?DS?2.0 and its Clinical Accelerator–Advanced Training Kits.

Through One DS?2.0, an update to the company’s 2019 One DS rewards program, doctors can buy new qualifying equipment or join as a current owner of qualifying equipment. When eligible practices reach $20,000 in Dentsply Sirona consumables spend each year, they can earn up to $20,000 in cash rebates over three years.

The clinical accelerator is designed to help practices expand their abilities and procedural offerings by offering advanced education designed to increase practice growth and new workflow adoption. It consists of four days of hands-on education. Doctors can choose from four clinical accelerator offerings: implants, orthodontics, endodontics and restoratives.

Information: dentsplysirona.com

Align Technology to Acquire Exocad

Align Technology has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Exocad for approximately EUR 376 million in cash. Exocad offers fully integrated workflows to dental labs and dental practices via a broad customer base of partners and resellers in over 150 countries. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2020.

The acquisition brings Exocad’s expertise in restorative dentistry, implantology, guided surgery, and smile design to the Align technology portfolio, extending Align’s Invisalign and iTero digital solutions and paving the way for new, seamless cross-discipline dentistry in lab and at chairside. Exocad also broadens Align’s platform reach in digital dentistry with close to 200 partners and more than 35,000 licenses installed worldwide.

This acquisition is the next step in the collaboration between Align and Exocad that started in 2017 with the integration of Align’s iTero intraoral scanners and Exocad chairside CAD software. The collaboration later expanded to a fully validated workflow that enabled in-house milling of dental restoration on any compatible milling machine, and most recently, at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting 2020, the new Exocad Connector.

Implant Direct’s Smartbase Engaging Abutment Receives 510(k) Clearance

Implant Direct announced that its Smartbase abutment has received 510(k) clearance for use with the Legacy and InterActive systems and is now available for sale in the United States. Smartbase CAD/CAM engaging abutments combine high aesthetics and more freedom of choice with screw-retained restorations.

The abutment features a dual-hue finish: The gold anodization allows for the use of more translucent restorative materials, while the pink anodization of the titanium base offers a more natural blending with gingival tissue. The concave transgingival profile shapes tissue growth for a thicker gingival cuff, reducing the chances of the abutment showing through and enables subcrestal placement. The Smartbase abutment also supports a digital and conventional workflow.

Information: implantdirect.com/smartbase

Glidewell Announces 4th Annual Symposium

Glidewell, has announced the fourth annual Glidewell Symposium scheduled for Nov. 6–7, at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. The event will provide practical clinical education and business strategies designed to make an immediate difference in dental practices. Topics will cover all phases of general dentistry, including restorative techniques and materials, dental implants, tissue regeneration, in-office scanning and milling, dental sleep medicine and practice management. Attendees will earn 12 hours of continuing education units.

The session’s first day includes presentations designed to offer solutions to the challenges of everyday dentistry. Keynotes will be presented by Dr.?Gordon J. Christensen and Dr. Jack Hahn, an implant-dentistry pioneer who has been placing and restoring implants for five decades. The doctors will share stories about their clinical research and wisdom gained as practicing dentists.

On the second day, attendees can choose from several tracks for focused, in-depth lectures, and hone in on clinical information, tools and techniques to better serve their patients. After Saturday’s focused tracks, all attendees will be invited to the Glidewell Expo, a hosted barbecue and VIP party at the Glidewell campus in nearby Newport Beach. On both days of the symposium, attendees will also be able to browse interactive exhibits featuring 3D?printing, intraoral scanning, in-office milling, CAD/CAM workflow, dental implants, and regenerative and restorative materials.

Information: glidewellsymposium.com