Monday, June 11, 2007

Nanotechnology: buzz word in dental implants

Millennium Research Group (MRG) has conducted a detailed analysis of the US dental implant market in its US Markets for Dental Implants 2007 report. The analysis reveals that nanotechnology is creating a new buzz in the dental implant market. More specifically, many prominent dental implant manufacturers are incorporating nanotechnology into their dental implant surface designs because the technology is purported to cut healing time in half and improve osseointegration.

Leading dental implant manufacturers that have incorporated such technology into their dental implants include 3i and Bicon, both of which have branded their nanotechnology-based dental implant surfaces as "NanoTite", Astra Tech with its OsseoSpeed, and Straumann with its SLActive. According to MRG's US Dental Implant Marketrack, Straumann's SLActive dental implants have been well adopted in the US; however, the results of a survey of a statistically significant number of dentists performing dental implants in the US indicates that many dentists do not associate SLActive with nanotechnology. These results, highlighted in the US Markets for Dental Implants 2007 report, indicate that most respondents identified 3i as the nanotechnology-based dental implant surface manufacturer with which they were most familiar.

"Nanotechnology-based dental implant surfaces represent a new generation of surface treatments. Clinical data suggests that these new surfaces can benefit patients by improving the time it takes for osseointegration to occur," says Melicent Lavers, Manager of dental research at MRG. "These new dental implants are, however, priced at a premium and it is unclear whether or not dentists are passing on the additional cost to patients."

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