Dental Implants: Innovative Clipping Mechanism

The screwless dental implant system that connects implant and suprastructure with a novel clipping mechanism has won the Braunschweig Chamber of Commerce’s 2005 Technology Transfer Prize. Heraeus Kulzer will launch the dental implant system under the “IQ:NECT” brand 2006 in Germany, with global roll-out until 2010.

Fatigue of material and resulting effects such as loose or broken screws and unintended malformations are among the complications that affect about three percent of patients in Germany who were treated with one the approximately 100 different conventional dental implant systems.

Among the causes are heightened mechanical tension which can be created by the interplay of multiple elements connected by screws in classical implant systems.

“The existing dental implant systems often require time-consuming and complicated treatment, especially for patients who have several dental implants. The quality of this work depends strongly on the dentist’s and dental technician’s level of knowledge and experience,” explains Prof. Peters.

Between 1997 and 1998, the physicist and engineer developed a unique way of connecting dental implant and suprastructure: A clipping mechanism without interior screws that is constructed in a rotation-safe manner and topped off with a classically cemented crown. The new dental implant system consists of just a few pieces and ensures error-free imprints – even for adjacent teeth pointing in different directions.

The “clipping system” has been tested successfully in studies with more than 250 dental implant patients. Heraeus Kulzer, innovation leader in the dental medicine sector, will enter the dental implants growth market for the first time with the launch of the new dental implant system under the “IQ:NECT” brand. “The new dental implant system has excellent potential for growth. All users benefit to the same degree because IQ:NECT speeds up the process while improving stability and aesthetics,” explains Maria-Johanna Schaecher, head of Hereaus Kulzer’s Implants Division.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com