Monday, December 17, 2018
With winter ready to reign and the new year on the horizon, it's time once again for us to look back on the best and most popular content on Dentalcompare from the past year. Our weeklong tour of the top content on the site begins, as always, with a look at the news that grabbed the most views with our Top 10 Dental News Items of 2018.
The top news items are a great way to get a sense of what's important to the dental industry right now, and as always with you the Dentalcompare audience, the top news items are filled with the announcement of exciting new products. However, this year other themes make themselves known alongside the innovations and technologies. Changes in the industry with consolidation and the rise of group practices are the topics of several of the top news, and legal battles between leading dental technology companies also proved to be of great interest.
Here are the Top 10 Dental News Items of 2018:
10. New Dental Products: dima 3D Printing Resins from Kulzer
3D printing was among the most engaging topics in dentistry in 2018 with a large number of companies adding new printers to the marketplace, but the real development that will drive greater use of the technology is materials that get the job done. These new materials from Kulzer are designed for the printing of denture bases and denture teeth, making efficient, effective, and esthetic removable appliances easier to produce than ever before. As 3D printing materials such as these make it possible to complete restorations faster, better, and less expensively than traditional methods, the technology will really hit its stride in dental practices and labs.
9. New Dental Product: SLX Clear Aligner System from Henry Schein
2018 was definitely the year of options when it comes to clear aligners. With some key patents expiring in late 2017, this year proved to be a time when new companies entered the market with their own take on clear aligner systems. This system from the orthodontics arm of Henry Schein offers digital case planning, fewer aligners per case and a patented manufacturing process used to produce extremely clear aligners that are comfortable for patients.
8. Henry Schein and Sprig Oral Health Technologies Enter Into Exclusive Distribution Agreement
Last year the dental industry saw the end of a number of exclusive distribution deals for major technology products, but that didn't mean these deals were gone for good, and Henry Schein turned a few heads this year when it added a new exclusive deal to distribute products from pediatric dentistry specialists Sprig Oral Health Technologies. Pioneers in zirconia pre-formed pediatric crowns, Sprig has expanded its products to include materials and instruments used when placing those crowns.
7. New Dental Product: ivory ReLeaf from Kulzer
Sometimes the seemingly simple finds a way to stand out. That's what some clever product design does for the Ivory ReLeaf from Kulzer. Taking its name from its design, this HVE device looks like a leaf but really serves as a way to provide suction, retraction, and maintaining a dry field. It's the type of product design patients will ask about, making it easy to explain all the ways your practice invests in patient care and comfort.
6. The 2018 Glidewell Dental Symposium Scheduled for October 2018
This news item making the top 10 is something of a surprise. News of industry events doesn't always draw the biggest crowds, but for one reason or another, the announcement of this Glidewell Dental event caught your collective eyes. Maybe it was the announcement of hands-on workshops, or maybe the intrigue of the digital dental technologies being promoted throughout, but whatever the reason, this announcement proved to be the 6th most visited news article of the year.
5. Henry Schein Makes Investments in Three Implant Companies
Another news item about Henry Schein and changes in the industry, this story of the distribution giant adding to its implant portfolio was among the most viewed. The real news from this story is how the dental implant market is changing. This trio of moves positions Henry Schein to have stronger offerings in the lower-priced implant market, the European implant market, and the premium implant tier as well. It shows how the company is positioning itself to stay at the center of the implant arena even as that arena spreads out a bit as different types of dental practices seem different types of implants for their patients.
4. New Dental Products: iTero Element 2 and iTero Element Flex from Align Technology
Here we have the most popular new product announcements of the year. The iTero intraoral scanner has long been at the forefront of digital dentistry, and with the latest updates, the system has grown from a digital pathway to Invisalign, to restorative workhorse with versatile configurations. The launch of not one, but two upgraded versions put the system on par with any other intraoral scanner currently available in terms of applications, flexibility, and clinical usefulness.
3. Pulpdent Showcases ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE in New Video
Video remains one of the best ways to communicate with an audience. This one launched by Pulpdent was an instant success with the Dentalcompare audience. A clinical technique showing how ACTIVA BioACTIVE RESTORATIVE can be used to treat 9 teeth in a single visit, the video made an impression as it showed how simple and effective the material can be. With clinical video easier than ever to capture via small loupe- or light-mounted cameras, more clinical videos like this are likely in the future.
2. Invisalign No Longer Has Interoperability with 3Shape TRIOS
Not all industry news these days is about mergers and acquisitions. Sometimes companies wage economic and legal battles to hold their place in the industry, and this year saw a fight break out between one-time digital orthodontic partners. 3Shape was among the first third-party companies to connect to Align Technology for Invisalign production. While the arrangement was reportedly successful for both sides, a brewing fight over intellectual property sparked Align to sever the connection between the 3Shape intraoral scanner and its clear aligner system.
1. Dental Whale Merges with Breakaway Practice
Changes in the dental industry aren't just happening on the manufacturer side of things. Industry pressures are giving rise to the group practice and DSO models, and stand-alone practices are looking for paths to remain competitive. This merger between companies that help those individual practices get ahead made a lot of sense at thetime, and this led to it being the most read news item on Dentalcompare in 2018. Having a single partner to help a solo practice gain access to all the services and support of a DSO practice is great for those practices, and that's just what this merger aims to build.