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The global medtech industry has seen a lot of changes in recent years. Rapidly emerging technologies, ever-changing regulatory requirements as well as limited environmental and financial resources to name just a few. Each change, big or small, plays a part in how our industry develops. One very positive development to come from recent changes, in our industry and the business community as a whole, is a growing focus on the talent within an organization. Companies in all sectors are starting to realize that their greatest asset is in fact their workforce.

The approach at Elos Medtech is about investing in people, sharing experiences with each other and making the most of combined expertise. From insights about how to improve the surface-treatment on the tiniest orthopedic screw to modernizing and streamlining an entire medical device production facility.

Modernizing the Timmersdala site with the workforce

When we recently began streamlining and modernizing our Timmersdala production site in Sweden, we involved everyone at the facility. We inspired each other and focused on areas we knew we could improve and that would create a more practical, fun and rewarding workplace for everyone. And do you know what? We achieved it! Now we truly believe that the entire medtech industry could benefit, not just from having more efficient production facilities, but also from having more rewarding workplaces. Teams are not born, they’re built. And from the very beginning we worked together to get everybody onboard and contribute to the overall team effort.

Medical device facility with a cutting-edge production line where everyone focuses on what they do best

To start with, we thought long and hard about which machines to replace, taking into account maintenance costs, necessary operator skills, environmental impact and equipment bulkiness. The end result is a highly efficient, cutting-edge medical device production line.

We also invested in machines that eliminate unnecessary repetitive tasks, like our new collaborative robot (cobot) that enables the production engineers to spend m,ore time doing what they do best. And everyone knows you have more fun at work when you are doing what you are good at.

Reorganizing our layout has had a positive impact on production workflow and output

By now, you might be thinking that we just replaced a few old machines and stopped there. Not at all. Let’s talk about some of the other changes. We had a good clear out for a start and, once we’d done that, it was much easier to reorganize the layout around the new equipment. So now each machine is closer to the materials it uses, and the production engineers don’t have to keep shuttling back and forth between the two. That in itself has had a really positive impact on production workflow and output.

Then there’s our new morning scrum meetings. Every single morning, the entire production team gathers for a micro-meeting. Ten minutes later we all know exactly what we’re focusing on that day and what is expected from each of us. No second-guessing, no explaining to someone who isn’t up-to-speed, just easy communication and supercharged teamwork. You could say we’ve recalibrated our mindset. 

A modern, efficient production line delivers consistent quality on time every time and gives peace of mind

With a modern, efficient production line we are able to deliver a consistently high quality, on time every time. Naturally, this means a great deal of job satisfaction for myself and the rest of the production team. But just as, if not more, important is the fact that it makes us a more cost-effective and reliable supplier which, at the end of the day, means peace of mind for both us and our customers.

By involving everyone with open and honest communication and making the workforce part of the strategic planning process and aware of the company goals, we’ve built a stronger team spirit than ever before at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala. Everyone’s highly dedicated, we cooperate and we take pride in our work. And we all want to do a good job and deliver according, and even beyond, expectations.

I hope you enjoyed hearing directly from me and the production team here at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala! If you’d like to know more about medical device production or the recent improvements we’ve made here, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And don’t forget to explore some of our other articles on the Elos Medtech Blog, where we share our industry knowledge and insights.

Ethics and compliance in the medtech industry

Reducing our negative impact on the environment

Decreasing our energy consumption according to the EU directives

Waste management and recycling throughout our production chain

Elos Medtech’s Environmental Policy

• Meet and exceed all applicable environmental legislative requirements
• Minimize waste through careful and efficient consumption of all materials and energy
• Measure our business operations’ impact on the environment and set targets for continuous improvement
• Train employees in good environmental practice and encourage employee involvement in environmental action

Elos Medtech has many experts among the over 550 employees working at our facilities worldwide. This is a great asset to guarantee our customers expertise, quality, and capacity in our industry. A few months ago, we found a great way to use this asset to the fullest. By temporarily lending out workforce from our Chinese factory to our Swedish factory, we not only ensured on-time delivery but also upgraded our employees’ professional skills. For us, working as one company means there “ain’t no mountain high enough” when it comes to delivering what we promise to our customers.

Reliable production flow in the medtech industry

In a strongly regulated line of business, such as the medtech industry, ensuring on-time delivery and living up to customers’ expectations is of the highest importance. We, at Elos Medtech, are constantly aware of the millions of patients we help and we go above and beyond to meet our customers’ needs. We strongly believe in the concept of “working as one company”, and a great example of this is the successful cooperation between our two factories in Sweden and China.

Sharing resources between production sites in Sweden and China

A few months ago, Elos Medtech’s factory in Timmersdala, Sweden, foresaw an upcoming temporary shortage of manpower. Proactive discussions and a strong willingness to cooperate within the Elos Medtech Group led to our factory in Tianjin, China, sending a group of skilled employees to our Swedish factory to help with production. After our Chinese colleagues arrived at Timmersdala, a result-oriented dialogue started with the local employees, in order to identify the production areas in which added labor was needed the most.

On-time delivery and increased knowledge in the Elos Medtech Group

There are several benefits to this type of cooperation. Aside from ensuring on-time delivery, it is also a great opportunity for our employees to see how different production sites work within the Elos Medtech Group. It is also a chance for our employees to broaden their knowledge and upgrade their professional skills.

Haibin Xu, Process Engineer at Elos Medtech in Tianjin, China, looks back at the positive experience: “I learned a lot of new professional techniques working at the factory in Timmersdala. For example, I learned more efficient ways of operating an advanced production machine that we also have in our factory in Tianjin. These methods can be applied in our factory to improve our production even more. It was also great to make new friends and strengthen our communication network within the Elos Medtech Group. The concept of “Working as one company” improves our problem-solving skills as we can share ideas, thoughts, and experiences.”

“Our colleagues at Timmersdala are kind, hard-working and willing to share their knowledge with us. We felt very welcomed and appreciated. While working, I learned a lot of new things which got me thinking “Wow, so we can do it in another way!”, says Yanhang Liu, CNC operator at Elos Medtech Tianjin, China.

Kaibo Sun, Production Technician at Elos Medtech in Tianjin, China, agrees with Yanhang Liu and adds: “I learned new processing programs and technology, which will help us brainstorm new ideas for the production of dental parts at our Tianjin site.”

Also, the employees at Timmersdala saw many benefits with the cooperation. “Having our Chinese colleagues helping us with our production was a very positive experience for us. Due to their knowledge and high understanding of our operations, they were able to quickly start working. We exchanged experiences from our two factories, and also the cultural exchange was very rewarding. We got to know each other in a completely different way, and we would love to work together with them again”, says Joacim Friberg-Bergström, Supervisor CNC at Elos Medtech, Timmersdala.      

A passionate, trustworthy and result-oriented medtech partner

Given the successful result of our global cooperation, we look forward to more opportunities like this in the future. Working as one company allows us to live up to Elos Medtech’s commitment to be passionate, trustworthy, and result-oriented. Taking responsibility and keeping our promises serves as a compass for how we work, which is to create the best value for all parties, through cooperation and participation.

I hope you enjoyed reading our blog article about how we work as one company. Feel free to visit our website for more information about what we do, and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.  

Our engaged and dedicated employees are the foundation of our successful company. By making sure our employees feel safe, healthy, and respected – not only in job situations but also as individuals – we can be the best employer possible. By caring for our people, we provide an attractive workplace as well as maintain a strong position in the market to continue to improve the lives of patients across the globe.

Empowering people by shared core values across our organization

Elos Medtech’s company culture is based on a set of strong core values that are shared across the organization. These values guide us in our day-to-day business and create unity across our global sites.

Passion means we are committed, determined and dedicated. Trustworthy means we are open and honest. Result-oriented means that we achieve targets that create value for our customers by taking initiatives and always wanting to excel.

We strongly believe in culture, age and gender diversity

Our diverse workforce enhances our ability to understand the different cultures of the world around us. This builds a stronger and more successful company.

A mix of generations and gender in our workforce contributes to the competitiveness of our company. Elos Medtech has a balanced and stable age mix across our different business centers and our gender distribution is improving by the year. In 2017, about 40 percent of our employees were women and 60 percent were men. Our executive management consists of individuals from both the US and China as well as Scandinavia.

Personal development and self-improvement

At Elos Medtech, it is important that our employees have good opportunities to grow – regardless of gender, age or background. Competent and well-trained employees is crucial, also in reaching our goals. Our employees are given annual performance reviews and personal development plans linked to individual targets to ensure career development.

We offer our employees training each year including task-specific training as well as internal and external training courses. Some of the training events are company-wide training sessions that include all of our employees.

A safe and healthy workplace makes safe and healthy employees

Providing a safe and healthy workplace is essential to Elos Medtech. Minimizing accident is especially important to our employees who work in our factories carrying out heavy lifting, operating machinery, and doing repetitive work.

All of our employees have access to occupational health support or health care coverage and wellness coverage as part of our employer-sponsored insurance.

We promote human rights and favourable labor practices

Our Code of Conduct is the basis of Elos Medtech’s organizational culture. We believe in the importance of a strong compliance culture that is fully embedded in our business. This, together with supporting policies and procedures, reflect our commitment and safeguard the trust of our customers and stakeholders.

Our Code of Conduct clearly states our stance on issues such as occupational health and safety, compensation and terms of employment, freedom of association, equal opportunity and non-discrimination as well as workplace practices.

Our Code of Conduct does not only apply to employees, board members, and management. We also encourage our business partners who contribute to Elos Medtech’s products, services, and other business activities to embrace our Code of Conduct.

Care for Our People is one out of three focus areas that are critical success factors on Elos Medtech’s sustainability agenda. Also, read Part 1: Care for Our Business – providing our customers with sustainable solutions.

Here you find our full Sustainability Report.

Elos Medtech has identified three focus areas that are critical success factors in our sustainability agenda: Care for Our Business, Care for Our People, and Care for Our Responsibilities. These are the sustainability topics where we have the greatest impact, and thus the greatest possibility to improve the lives of millions of patients. In this blog article series, we will go into detail and describe all three focus areas and what they mean for us, our customers, and the industry. Let’s start with Care for Our business!   

Committed to product performance and excellence

Caring for our business means ensuring customer satisfaction and product performance. One way for us to do that is to follow our industry’s rules and regulations. Elos Medtech develops and manufactures medical devices in a highly regulated environment. We hold a certification according to ISO 13485 (quality management system for medical devices) and comply with the requirements of international legislation and product safety standards, such as the United States FDA’s quality system regulations, European Medical Devices Directive and ISO 14971. Our commitment to product performance and excellence also extends to our distributors for our own products, and we ensure that they comply with applicable parts of the regulations.

Ensuring customer satisfaction in the medical device industry

We want to improve the lives of patients and help people live rich, active and fulfilling lives. To accomplish that, Elos Medtech combines knowledge and expertise to develop the best components and products in partnership with our customers. Our long-lasting and close relationships with our customers, distributors, and business partners have been of great importance for Elos Medtech’s growth and success over the last decades. We have CDMO customers in Europe, Asia, and the US, whereby approximately 30 percent of the customers represent 85 percent of the total sales. To better understand our customers, their needs and preferences, we conduct customer surveys on a regular basis. Customer satisfaction results are also analyzed in a biannual management review, which monitors customer complaints, quality ratings, and delivery performance.

Investments help improve our environmental performance

Another way for us to care for our business is to invest in sustainable solutions. Our aim is to invest more than five percent of our investment budget in projects that improve our environmental performance. In 2017, we invested more than seven percent of the budget in a new cooling system and waste heat recovery project at Elos Medtech Pinol in Denmark. The focus of the project was to reduce the amount of cooling required by a new compressor. By recovering the heat from the compressor via a waterborne cross-flow exchanger, the heat can be transferred to a heat pump that utilizes the waste heat to heat up other rooms and water at the premises. By making this investment, we will reduce the site’s energy consumption by 200,000 kWh per year going forward.

Elos Medtech never compromises on quality

We love the medtech industry and care for our business in many different ways. As a trustworthy partner in the medical device business, Elos Medtech is fully committed to knowing and following all relevant laws, rules, regulations, and procedures. We guarantee high product quality through dedication to critical details and we focus on patient safety in both decisions and work processes. That way, we ensure high quality in everything that we do.  

Our world continues to change – our passion remains the same

The world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand our stakeholders’ needs, trends and other forces that will shape our business in the future. We must get ready for tomorrow today!

I hope this blog article gave you a good insight into how we Care for Our Business. Keep an eye out for our two upcoming blog articles about how we Care for Our People and Care for Our Responsibilities. In the meantime, visit us on our website and talk to us on our social media channels!

He is driven by new challenges, loves alpine skiing, and has extensive knowledge in logistics and supply chain management. Andreas Liljeskog is the new Head of Procurement & Logistics at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala. Seeing the possibilities of the company and how he could contribute at a grass-root level, his next destination was a given. It is now fair to say Elos Medtech is on top of its logistics game.

Hi, Andreas! You joined Elos Medtech as the Head of Procurement & Logistics a few months ago. Tell me about your previous experience?

In 2008, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Economics after four years of studying International Business Engineering at the University of Skovde. I started working as the Production Planning Manager for Semper with responsibility for production planning. I ran a project together with the marketing organization to convert sales into production needs focusing on long-term capacity and material planning.

After three years at Semper, I began my career in the medtech industry and became part of Nobel Biocare’s supply chain organization. My responsibility was somewhat similar to what I did at Semper but at a much larger scale. It included capacity and material planning for factories across the globe: Europe, Asia, USA, and Canada. In addition, I ran a number of improvement projects.

My next job was as the Supply Chain Manager for Kinnarps. Initially, I was responsible for the order-to-delivery process analyzing information flows and decision making processes for production, planning, and product supply. I made a pre-study and identified logistics and material handling processes from customer needs, quotes, and orders to manufacturing, delivery, and assembly. Eventually, I became responsible for the business process development department as well as the back-office function. I was in charge of 20 employees while also running a number of improvement and organization projects.

In 2016, I joined Dentsply Sirona Implants for a demand planning project. I was very intrigued to return to the medtech industry. During one year, I ran a project in close cooperation with the sales organization to forecast production, purchase and inventory planning.

When the year had passed, I became part of Dentsply´s PMO (Project Management Office) organization to work with generic operation projects. One of the projects I headed was called “Buy-finished-goods” with the purpose of outsourcing defined products and processes to key suppliers with the ambition to have the supplier delivering a finished goods packaged product directly into Dentsply´s finished goods warehouse.

For a period of time, the project included Elos Medtech, which is how I first got in contact with the company. At a later stage, it was formed a joint project between Dentsply and Elos Medtech in Timmersdala where we wanted to work with improvements in the logistics and supply processes. I had the opportunity to work with and visit the site in Timmersdala and in Maj 2018, I fully joined Elos Medtech in Timmersdala as an employee.

Describe your role at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala?

My role as Head of Procurement & Logistics at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala is both new and old. The function itself has previously existed but evolved a lot around the production process. Elos Medtech has now chosen to include the role in the Management Team and increase the focus on logistics and supply chain planning as well as strategic procurement.

My main responsibility as the Head of Procurement & Logistics is to lead and develop the logistics and procurement team. We are responsible for production planning and strategic as well as operational purchases for the Timmersdala production site. The latter includes procurement, supplier selection, negotiation of contracts, and planning and executing supplier quality management together with our QA function. The function is also responsible for raw materials inventory management.

With increased focus on logistics and supply chain planning, our logistics team is now directly responsible for the operational customer service. We have dedicated Supply Planners who are solely responsible for deliveries and making sure our customers receive all the information they need such as stock availability and delivery times. We have seen large improvements in customer response times with this new organizational setup.

Supply Chain Management is very much about minimizing non-value adding activities to reduce complexity, lead times, and costs, and we want this to be our focus.

Why did you decide to work at Elos Medtech?

From a logistics and supply chain point of view, I think it is very exciting to operate in the medtech industry. There is so much left to do! While the automotive industry, for example, is very much at the forefront, the medtech industry has still got challenges to face. I am very driven by the fact that all processes are not yet optimized and that I am able to contribute with new insights and ways to think – and hopefully improve things.

I chose to work at Elos Medtech because I wanted to get involved in this exciting journey that the company is undertaking. I was intrigued to work with a smaller company that allows me to be closer to the production and make a difference at grass-root level. Elos Medtech in Timmersdala is full of possibilities and there is so much knowledge in the organization – over 50 years of experience in development and manufacturing in the medtech industry!

What does your role mean to Elos Medtech’s customers, do you think?

I try to put myself in the customer’s shoes and keep one step ahead. To me, it is important to understand the customers’ needs to be able to meet them in the best way possible. I think communication, trust, and transparency is the key to maintaining long-term relationships and confident customers. It is also important to engage yourself at an early stage to be proactive and provide value-added services to your customers.

Which are the strongest trends in sourcing at the moment?

A while ago, I visited a procurement seminar in Brussels where professionals shared their knowledge in sourcing and what is on trend in the medtech industry right now. One of the subjects was time-to-market and the need for contract development and manufacturing partners to be involved early in the process, which also comes with higher demands on technical knowledge. There was also focus on risk management and the importance for legal manufacturers to implement risk management in their outsourcing activities.

Of course, there were discussions about the new Medical Device Directive (MDR), which enters into force 2020, and how it will affect the supply chain in terms of costs, requirements, and responsibility. Another subject was single sourcing versus dual sourcing. The trend pointed towards long-term collaborations and single sourcing, meaning the legal manufacturer chooses to outsource some of the steps in the production process to one contract development and manufacturing partner instead of using several suppliers.

What about Elos Medtech, do you offer single or dual sourcing?

Both, actually! Elos Medtech offers single sourcing, which is beneficial for customers who want to use one reliable partner to reduce costs and unnecessary administrative work. But we also offer dual sourcing for our dental segment via our production sites in Sweden and Denmark for customers who want to secure extra capacity and minimize the risk of disruption in supply.

Thank you for sharing all of your knowledge and insights Andreas. Last but not least, what do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I enjoy spending time with friends and family. I live with my wife and two kids; my son who is five and my daughter who is eight. I have a great passion for alpine skiing and in the wintertime, my family and I love to visit ski resorts in Sweden as well as abroad. In the summertime, I enjoy riding mountain bike and playing golf.

Would you like to learn more about Elos Medtech and what we can offer? Read more about Supply & Inventory Management as well as our other services.

The dental industry is moving forward at a fast pace. Over the years, Elos Medtech has developed a strong global dental offer. Our long-term dedicated focus has been very successful and created new customer inquiries. To meet these inquiries, we have appointed Soren Olesen as our Dental Business Director at Elos Medtech. Taking on the role, he will lead our new global dental strategy. I met with him to discuss the next step on the dental market and what the future might hold for Elos Medtech.

Hi, Soren! Tell me about your role as Dental Business Director and the new dental strategy. How will you combine your contract manufacturing offer with your dental product portfolio?

My role as Dental Business Director is to create a global dental strategy to meet our business goals and provide our customers a comprehensive range of services and products that we can offer the dental implant market now and in the future.

The platform for our dental strategy is our capability of combining development and manufacturing as well as our specialized expertise in innovative digital dentistry products and instruments. We will continue to collaborate with our present customers, providing dental implant companies with dental products, but also increase our collaboration with technical partners, providing them with services for enabling a seamless digital workflow. Our technical partners include CAD, CAM, printing, and scanner companies.

Our new strategy mainly derives from the growing interest among dental companies to collaborate with a strategic development and production partner as well as being at the forefront of digital dentistry. This requires an innovation speed and resources that some companies are not capable of investing in. This is where Elos Medtech comes in. We will function as a bridge between dental implant companies and technical partners using our Digital Dentistry products and Elos Open Digital Solution as their way to create more business and move forward. With our new dental strategy, we want to set the standards for digital dentistry and create the optimal digital workflow.

“We will continue to collaborate with our present customers, but also increase our collaboration with technical partners”

There seems to be a great interest in digital dentistry in general and Elos Accurate in particular. Why is that?

Change toward digitalization is a global trend affecting our society including the dental industry. More dental professionals are moving away from traditional techniques and towards digital equipment such as intra-oral and lab scanners, CAD/CAM software, and 3D printers.

The increased interest in Elos Accurate; our own-developed digital dentistry solution, is without a doubt based on our vision of partnership. We strongly believe collaboration creates value for everyone involved. Keeping a close dialogue with our partners based on mutual trust and maintaining a high level of competence has led to a product portfolio with the right focus – innovative prosthetic and lab products including a library for an open digital workflow.

“Keeping a close dialogue with our partners and maintaining a high level of competence has led to a product portfolio with the right focus – simple and innovative dental products for an open digital workflow.”

Elos Medtech has had a strong growth in the dental implant business segment. Why?

Since 2014, we have had a double-digit growth. Based on our extensive knowledge and specialization, we have managed to meet the market’s need for a trusted strategic partner in the development and production of dental implant products in an ever-increasing regulatory environment. These are the reasons for our long-term sustainable growth.

Many companies are starting to acknowledge the need for innovation from an outside partner. While many traditional contract manufacturing companies compete in efficiency and LEAN manufacturing, Elos Medtech benchmarks against our own customers on how to create value and competitive advantages to move forward. We have the competence to match our customers’ in-house resources for developing and producing dental implant products. Creating value for our customers based on a high level of in-depth understanding of digital dentistry, quality excellence and design for manufacturing makes us best in class.

What are the advantages of the new dental strategy for your customers?

As collaboration partner, our customers will get direct access to our vast experience and extensive knowledge in product design and development, engineering, manufacturing, delivery as well as product application, CAD/CAM and library software.

By our digital product portfolio, dental implant companies will benefit from an injected market position by successful market launches of integrated solutions and premium products for dental professionals, expanding their product portfolio and reducing time to market. The technical partners such as CAD, CAM and scanner companies will benefit from the increased market penetration provided by our open digital workflow and Elos Accurate.

Using Elos Open Digital Solution, dental professionals will achieve a seamless workflow regardless of technique. This allows them to make all the choices they need to carry out their work in the best way possible. They can choose from all the major lab scanners as well as CAD/CAM software, upload Elos Accurate libraries for free, and mill restorations in-house or off-site.

Our new dental strategy allows more dental players to utilize the advantages of digital dentistry and an open digital workflow. We simplify for both dental implant companies and technical partners as well as dental professionals.

Tell me about the investments you have made over the past few years?

We strongly believe that value is created from not only from production efficiency. In addition to our Automated Factory and robotics, we have invested heavily in human capital; competencies, capabilities, research, and knowledge to further develop our dental products and services. This is what differentiates us from traditional contract manufacturing companies where investments are mainly focused on machines and other production equipment.

To provide state-of-the-art digital solutions we need to have specialist knowledge. The power of the Elos Medtech group is that we have the ability to develop competencies for innovative dental products and world-class quality systems as well as collaborate closely across our specialized areas.

How will you take the next step in the US market with your dental products?

Representing about 35 percent of the total global dental implant market, we need to be directly present with our offering in the US market with sales representatives and shipping ability. We are now in the process of creating a full Product Concept For The US Market. Taking this next step into the US market is an important milestone for us as it confirms our dental focus and will serve as a platform for further investments.

What is the outlook for 2019 for Elos Medtech’s dental business segment?

The outlook for 2019 and the coming years is positive. The market is shifting from being surgeon driven to becoming prosthetics driven. This is a trend that Elos Medtech picked up a long time ago and also the reason we are at the forefront of digital dentistry today.

Being part of the very niche business of contract manufacturing for more than 25 years and increasing our focus in digital dentistry for the past few years, maintaining an independent role and building a high level of competence, we strongly believe that we have earned our position on the market as a trusted partner.

Thank you, Soren, for sharing your knowledge and information. We look forward to seeing what the future might hold for Elos Medtech and the dental industry!

Would you like to know more about Elos Accurate and Elos Open Digital Solution? Visit our website for dental professionals. For more information on our development and manufacturing offer, please visit elosmedtech.com.

Change towards the digital era is an irreversible global trend. With technology developing at a fast pace, digital dentistry will only become more efficient and user-friendly, allowing dental professionals to work in even smarter ways than before. However, the future always brings new challenges. In this blog post, I share five trends pointing towards a digital future in dentistry and the challenges ahead.

1. A new set of skills among dental professionals

The digital development in dentistry brings the need for an entirely new set of skills for dental professionals. Even if the artistic part of the dental process remains, the tools are different – it is now a matter of digital handicraft skills to achieve the dental restoration. Consequently, dental education schools and programs will have to increase their focus on how to master digital equipment such as CAD/CAM technologies to educate students in clinical settings.

2. New materials for creating new digital dentistry solutions

As digital technology and using an open digital workflow are coming into broader use, there will be an increased need for a wider range of dental materials on the market; fabrics, surfaces and colours as well as multi-layer materials. More research on the clinical behaviour, applications and biomechanical characterization of new dental materials will be necessary for dental professionals to increase their knowledge and application techniques.

3. Who does what in the dental workflow is shifting

The dental industry is undergoing a shift in who is carrying out what procedure in the dental workflow. Now that the digital equipment such as scanners, computer software, and milling machines have entered the labs, the line between labs and milling centres is starting to fade. Also, some clinics have the digital equipment to design and mill prosthetic restorations in their office (in simpler cases such as the production of temporary restorations or single crowns). This allows the dentists to provide dental restorations to patients directly, without any help from a lab or milling centre. This will ultimately increase competition and put higher demand on dental professionals to operate as one unit offering full-in-office services.

4. Software developments and new apps for dental professionals

With the goal set on increased efficiency, cost reduction, and higher patient satisfaction, dental professionals now focus on implementing modern IT solutions in their everyday practice. The technology of CAD/CAM software already enables for excellent communication between dentists, technicians, and patients. But as digital dentistry is overshadowing the conventional techniques, it will become even easier to communicate in the future; for example by uploading and sharing files, providing educational counselling and treatment plan options, and guiding patients through complex procedures using smartphone apps.

5. New and stricter regulations for digital dentistry

As technology is moving forward, so will the rules and regulations for digital dentistry. The approval process for producing dental components as well as using the digital equipment will most likely become stricter with time. This is a positive development as dental companies will have to produce validated products and use validated work process leading to increased patient safety. However, it also means manufacturers and practitioners will need to prepare for inspections from authorities and notified bodies that will approach the dental industry through an increased number of inspections in the future.

Should I invest in digital dentistry?

There will always be new challenges ahead, but considering the advantages of digital dentistry and using digital equipment such as intra-oral scanners, lab-scanners, CAD software, milling machines and 3D-printers, you will get return on your investment in terms of a smoother and more flexible workflow, reduced cost and time, improved accuracy and a high level of predictability. The digital era is simply here to stay, so I suggest you jump on the bandwagon!

Now, the real question is: Are you ready to meet the future of dentistry? Perhaps, you have already invested in digital equipment, or maybe you’re not yet convinced? Either way, you are welcome to visit Elos Dental to learn more about digital dentistry and the benefits of an open digital workflow.

Standard coatings and surface modification technologies for the orthopedic market have been used for decades. Nevertheless, medtech companies continue to look for ways to improve the osseointegration process – and breakthrough advances are on the horizon. Elos Medtech has developed a new coating and surface technology for OEM’s to supply state-of-the-art implants with optimal properties for osseointegration.

Coating and surface modifications for the orthopedic market

Today, there is a wide range of applications for coating and surface modifications for the orthopedic market. The products are focusing on improving wear resistance and osseointegration. Plasma-sprayed titanium surfaces or calcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite (HA)-based coatings are currently the standard methods for within-the-bone implants. However, these methods are associated with issues concerning coating delamination.

Surface modifications to minimize coating delamination in orthopedic implants

Let us shift focus to the dental industry for a minute. While the orthopedic industry is fairly conservative when it comes to introducing new surface technologies for improving osseointegration, there may be much to learn from the field of dental implant research.

For example, numerous surface modifications based on processes as diverse as the grit blasting, anodization, and chemical surface modifications are currently used in the dental industry to enhance osseointegration. While many of these processes still pose challenges when it comes to bacterial infections, the risk of coating delamination is low or nonexistent, compared to, for example, HA-based coatings.

Surface roughness to minimize bacterial infection in orthopedic patients

With bacterial infections being of high concern, a key consideration is the porosity and texture of the surface coating. Research shows that rough surfaces facilitate bacterial adhesion, making it more difficult to treat these infections with systemic antibiotics.

On the other hand, roughness in the micrometer range is beneficial for stimulating osteogenesis and, thus, ensure fixation of the implant in the bone. Considering these factors, a turned surface with a roughness in the nanometer range would be desirable for reducing the risk for bacterial infections. This, however, requires that other means than micrometer roughness, for stimulating osteogenesis, are introduced.

A new coating and surface technology to meet market needs

Based on previous experiences with thick hydroxyapatite coatings, some OEMs might fear coating delamination. This risk, however, is greatly reduced by tailoring the substrate adhesion and keeping the correct thickness of the applied coating to a minimum.

Elos Medtech has, through an international collaboration, developed a new coating and surface technology that accelerates the process of osseointegration for implants with smooth surfaces. In collaboration with iNANO at Aarhus University, Danish Technological Institute, Medical University of Innsbruck and the Innovation Fund Denmark, a titanium oxide-based PVD coating, that releases small amounts of the bone-stimulating element strontium, has been developed. This release does not compromise the stability of the coating and therefore the integrity of the deposited structure is maintained throughout the lifetime of the implant. Adhesion is ensured by including a graded binding layer, matching the chemistry of the substrate material, and applying a very thin coating in the one to two micrometer range.

Our new surface technology does not only minimize the risk of coating delamination and bacterial infection – we have benchmarked this technology against leading dental implant surfaces and it outperforms these surfaces for early-stage peri-implant bone volume. In other words, implants modified with our technology are rapidly integrated into the bone and have a larger peri-implant bone volume to support the stresses on the implant. Thus, OEMs are able to supply state-of-the-art implants with optimal properties for osseointegration, leading to faster rehabilitation of the patient.

Do you want to learn more? Also, read:

• Measurement and Surface Analysis of Medical Devices
• Surface Analysis Techniques for Medical Technology Devices

For requests – whether they be technical or timeline based – visit Elos Medtech. We help you from design to prototyping through to compliance and global distribution.