Straumann launches new prosthetic solutions at IDS

COLOGNE, Germany, and BASEL, Switzerland--At Europe’s leading dental trade fair, the International Dental Show in Cologne, Straumann presented a number of new products and solutions designed to leverage efficiency, open new treatment possibilities, and enhance patient care in implant and restorative dentistry.

The main advances at Straumann recently have come in the restorative field, including launch of Straumann CARES Visual 8.0 software in Europe and North America.

With the new software, Straumann has completed the integration of its CAD/CAM system into the Dental Wings Open Software platform, offering customers an open system with features and functionalities. Users now have several data input possibilities and the option of producing prosthetics through the CARES validated workflow (covered by the Straumann Guarantee) or through an alternative milling process.

CARES 8.0 optimizes digital workflows, increases design flexibility, improves ease of use, and extends Straumann’s prosthetic portfolio for implant- and tooth-borne restorations. It is free of charge for Straumann CARES customers running up-to-date software licenses and is available for purchase to new customers.

Dr. Sandro Matter, executive vice president of Straumann’s prosthetics business unit, noted: “The standardization of dental software and the development of a common platform offer significant benefits. CARES 8.0 includes efficiency-driven functionalities such as simultaneous scan and design, mirror anatomy, intuitive design of screw-retained bars, and additional time-saving solutions. It also supports the proven concept of original prosthetics on original implants. Dental labs can use these latest features to work faster and more efficiently, giving them a competitive advantage in a challenging marketplace.”

Digital technologies have enabled Straumann to streamline the prosthetic workflow further. The new CARES X-Stream functionality with CARES 8.0 enables customers to design custom abutments and the corresponding full-contour crown or coping simultaneously from one scan.

Until now, two scanning and design steps were required--one for the abutment and subsequently one for the crown. The abutments and crowns are produced in a controlled milling environment for fit and consistent quality. They are then delivered together, significantly reducing turnaround time and shipment costs.

To complement its existing range of customized abutments in titanium and zirconium dioxide, Straumann has introduced the CARES Variobase Abutment, a hybrid with a titanium bonding base and a zirconium dioxide coping. This offers laboratories the combined benefit of a metal-to-metal implant abutment with an original Straumann connection and a variety of esthetic shades.

Straumann now offers screw-retained bridges and bars for its bone level implants and four additional bar designs. Laboratories can order CAD/CAM screw-retained bars and bridges for tissue level, bone level, or mixed platforms, for restorations up to 16 units in certain cases.

The company has complemented its selection of prosthetic materials with zerion HT, a translucent zirconium dioxide ceramic for efficient full-contour crown and bridge restorations. Available in four shades, it requires minimal processing, saving lab time and reducing the risk of chipping.

Straumann CARES Scan & Shape is a new service for the large number of laboratories that wish to order original Straumann CARES custom abutments but do not have the requisite scanning capabilities. Through CARES Scan & Shape, they now have the possibility of sending a model or wax-up to Straumann, where the scanning and design work is carried out according to their specifications.

The prosthetic component is then manufactured and delivered. In addition to quality, precision, and convenience, customers benefit from original Straumann parts and the company’s guarantee without having to invest in scanning equipment or software.

Straumann announced a new collaboration with Innovation MediTech GmbH (a Dreve company) concerning the production of resin models needed for finishing implant- and tooth-borne CAD/CAM restorations in the dental laboratory.

Intraoral scanning solutions now make it possible to complete the implant restoration workflow digitally from impression through design to manufacturing. However, to finish the final prosthetic, the laboratory still needs a physical working model, which can be ordered from Innovation MediTech or third parties.

Thanks to the new collaboration, the intraoral scan data will be transmitted via the Straumann CARES system directly to Innovation MediTech. The latter uses LED scanning technology in a generative manufacturing process to produce a high-precision resin model, which is forwarded on to the lab.

The model has a precisely positioned socket to receive a Straumann repositionable implant analog. This is essential for holding the prosthetic piece precisely and securely in the model for finishing by the lab technician.

Thanks to a Trusted Connection developed by 3M ESPE and Straumann (also announced at the IDS), dentists using the new 3M True Definition Scanner will be able to send the scan data directly to dental labs using the Straumann CARES 8.0 system. The labs use the scan data to design and order Straumann prosthetics for implant- or tooth borne restorations.

Using the Dental Wings Virtual Model Builder software, the labs can design and order the corresponding high-precision resin model from Innovation MediTech. The new model service will become available in the United States later in 2013 and in other markets concomitant with the introduction of the 3M True Definition Scanner.

While the biggest advances have come in the restorative field, Straumann has continued to enhance its surgical offering with multiple improvements. One such item at the IDS was Straumann’s NNC implant, which was launched in 2012 and has received a RedDot design award.

NNC combines Straumann’s high-strength material, Roxolid, and SLActive surface technology to make a high-performance small-diameter tissue-level implant with excellent osseointegration properties for narrow spaces. It also features Straumann’s new transfer instrument for easier, precise handling.

NNC is the forerunner of a new generation of smaller implants that Straumann is developing to preserve vital structures and to minimize the need for bone augmentation procedures.

Other novelties presented at the IDS include the TiBrush, a small product that simplifies debridement of implant surfaces affected by peri-implantitis, new sterile packaging for implant healing components, and a tool to assist practitioners in selecting the right products and combinations.

Called the Straumann Indication Based Product Selection Guide, this Web-based tool clarifies the specific benefits of Straumann's various implant and prosthetic solutions.

For more information, visit www.straumann.com.

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