DTUK2010

T he life of a dental editor can be a pretty mundane one. We don’t often get let out, mostly for the safety of the general public. But sometimes an opportunity comes along for us to pack our things and head for foreign climes. One such opportunity arrived recently when I received an in- vitation to visit the offices of im- plant manufacturer Euroteknika, located in a French village just ten minutes from Chamonix, and I wasn’t about to say no! Euroteknika was established in 1992 by implantologist Guy Hervé. In 2004, the company was acquired by French dental dis- tributor GACD, which allowed the company to develop five ranges of implant systems and maintain its service mission – to offer high quality products with professional service at the best price. In 2010, the company now boasts: • A new facility of more than 3,000m2. This allows the whole of the manufacturing process to be done in-house • The claim that it is the number one French manufacturer purely dedicated to implants • A staff of 64, having grown from a staff of six in 2004 • The establishment of Teknika Training in 2009 to allow for var- ious types of training and men- toring to allow first time dentists to place implants and more expe- rienced clinicians maintain their skills What does this have to do with dentists in the UK? Well, Euroteknika has developed an exclusive partnership with D2D Implants, the implant arm of D2D Endo. After an extremely early start, my fellow colleagues from the dental press and I met John Laugher, head of Sales and Mar- keting at D2D at the airport for our flight to Geneva where we were met by our French hosts Laurent Dereuddre, Internation- al Marketing and Sales director and Benoit Fontaine, Sales advi- sor. Driving to the factory it was hard to understand why every- one didn’t move their business there! Nestled in a little part of France that lies between the bor- ders of Italy and Switzerland un- der the shadow of Mont Blanc, the area is known for more than just its outdoor pursuits of climbing, parasailing and skiing – it is also home to a thriving mi- cromechanical manufacturing industry, the origins of which lie in clock making. After a chance to have a cof- fee, it was time to get down to why we were there; to find out more about Euroteknika and D2D Implants. Laurent gave a series of presentations that provided a background into the company and its aims in the development of five implant systems. Then John Laugher spoke about D2D Implants, the importance of the relationship between the two companies and the benefits that it can bring to UK dentists. We then had the opportu- nity to tour the factory, seeing the process from the storage of the titanium bars through to the manufacture of the implants; the finishing and packaging of the products as well as the R&D suite and the order fulfilment area, which uses an innovative electronic system to try to re- duce errors. I am a big fan of getting behind the scenes to see how things are made, so this was a very interesting experience. The processes that the implants must go through are so com- plex; and the attention to track- ing the implants from the batch number on the source bar of titanium to the implant being placed in a patient’s mouth was mind-blowing. Throughout the time we were in France the Euroteknika team, including managing di- A winning formula Implant trIbune pages 16-18 Implant Tribune Vavalekas Michail discusses the topic of peri-im- plantitis and ways of treating it Treating Peri-implantitis Dental Tribune looks back at an enlightening visit to implant manufacturer Euroteknika pages 19-22 Case study looking at the use of CAD/CAM in dental implant treatment CAD/CAM possibilities Implant Tribune page 13DTàThe heart of the operation: Euroteknika’s implant manufacturing facility