‘Impladent has always been a product- and customer-focused company’

How was your childhood?

I was born in Greece on Feb. 1, 1939, under the name Vassilis Valentis. My family attended church every Sunday, and my father was a wealthy man. Sometime before 1945, as my mother told me, the Nazis killed my father and took all his gold, locomotives and cabooses. My entire family was killed, except for my mother and me. To survive, we moved to a farm with my nanny and another maid.

To protect our valuables, my mother sewed all her jewelry and gold coins inside the linings of her jackets and coats. After the war, we relocated to Athens, where my mother planned to remarry the man we were living with at the time. She supported us by working as a seamstress and a nightclub singer.

What was your first job, and how was it?

In 1956, at the age of 17, I was hired by Dr. Leonard Linkow, where I worked until 1960. Money was given to my school for a patent idea I had created, which was featured in “Popular Mechanics,” and that led to this opportunity.

At first, I worked in Dr. Linkow’s lab, but during the last two years he taught me surgery. Since I was ambidextrous, I found it easy to work inside a patient’s mouth. I then assisted Dr. Linkow with various implant designs and inventions, many of which he later filed patents for.

Dr. Linkow’s first book, “Full Arch Fixed Oral Reconstruction Simplified”, acknowledges my name, Maurice Valentis, and my contributions on pages viii to ix. He credited me for inventing a method to take a patient’s impressions using a copper band technique for 12 teeth at one time by using a dental tray filled with plaster of Paris. No rubber-base materials for single-step dental impressions had been invented yet.

I also developed two systems to compensate for prepared teeth that were not parallel and pioneered a method requiring only one porcelain biscuit-bake to minimize shrinkage for 12-unit bridge by mixing larger-crystal Ceramco porcelain, which shrinks and cracks, with a fine-smaller crystal Swiss porcelain. By using this method, I was able to prevent shrinkage, thus eliminating unnecessary work that previously took two months.

My experience with different crystal sizes in dental porcelain later influenced me to develop the OsteoGen Synthetic Bioactive Resorbable Crystal Grafting products at my company, Impladent Ltd. I was fortunate that my son, Andrew Valen, joined my wife and me in February 2013, helping us develop new products. His knowledge greatly expedited the process.

Additionally, I worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, N.J., from 1980 to 1984, developing a transducer for force registration in patients along with Dr. Cinotti. Later, from 2002-2006, I was appointed an adjunct professor at NYU Dental School by Dr. Racquel LeGeros, who conducted (XRD) studies on our OsteoGen synthetic bioactive resorbable crystals. On the 11th floor at NYU, I authored a paper with Dr. Allan Schulman, chair of the Department of Dental Materials Science, titled “Establishment of an Implant Selection Protocol for Predetermined Success.” It was my honor that Dr. Schulman was willing to collaborate with me on my work, since I specialized in implant load bearing areas in a compressive mode by patients’ muscular system and written papers on force registration by using transducers.

Why did you choose this line of work?

I believe God had something to do with it. I arrived in the U.S. in 1955, landing at LaGuardia Airport. The taxi took me to my mother’s apartment at 150th Street and 71st Avenue, where she lived with her new husband. Coincidentally, Dr. Linkow’s first dental office was in the basement of that very building.

A receptionist at his office, who I gave my “Popular Mechanics” documents, introduced me to Dr. Linkow. I took a three-month English course to learn my fifth language at Queens College four blocks away. I attended Jamaica High School, where I excelled in engineering drafting with a 98.5 percent average. This skill led to a summer job at Name Plate in Flushing, N.Y., which later helped me design implants for Dr. Linkow.

In 1980 and 1981, I received FDA 510(K) approval for the Flexi-Cup implant, a three-dimensional blade implant designed to collect cancellous bone in its vents during buccolingual insertion as well as the Hydroxi-Flex implant, the world’s first plasma spray coated dental implant, as recognized in ASTM Special Technical Publication 1196 by Tom Driskell. These implants significantly improved bone support in a compression mode by 200 percent, compared to conventional blade implants.

Dr. Kenneth Judy and I conducted successful clinical studies on the Flexi-Cup, and 10 years later, Dr. Linkow expressed interest in patenting that three-dimensional blade with me. Since I had already had this patent, I suggested a design patent, which we obtained.

In 1996, I invented the LaminOss screw-type implant, which offered twice the metal-to-bone support in a compressive mode, compared to a conventional implant. Dr. Linkow Installed this implant in my maxilla, tooth number 14, splinted to the bicuspid and two molars 30 years ago. He placed my OsteoGen Synthetic Bioactive Resorbable Crystal grafting material in the osteotomy, which helped to control migration of connective tissue as evidenced by three different studies: Spivak; Ricci; Valen. My LaminOss implant continues to function and is in excellent condition all these years later because of the load bearing areas against the bone which help support the forces. As a member of the Academy of Osseointegration, allografts are not bioactive as presented in our Academy NEWS in Vol. 34, No. 2, 2023, page 11.

In 1999, I Invented the PhysioLock dental implant, further enhancing bone support by 30 percent compared to the LaminOss implant, using the principles and science of Osteocompression, within physiologic limits. To use this implant system, a clinician would drill a 2.5 mm osteotomy to install a 4.2 mm implant using our unique surgical cassette. This innovation was supported by the research paper I authored with Dr. Schulman at NYU.

Tell us about your company — when was it founded and what are its main products and services?

Impladent Ltd. was founded in the mid-1980s and received FDA clearance for the OsteoGen Synthetic Bioactive Resorbable Bone Graft Crystals in 1984. Since then, we have expanded our product range to include innovative and affordable regenerative materials, such as bone grafts and implants.

During the past decade, we have revolutionized socket preservation with the introduction of the  OsteoGen Bone Grafting Plug — a one-step solution for socket preservation. Our OsteoGen crystal technology has also been incorporated into strips, bone blocks and bone plates to support a wide range of dental regenerative procedures.

How has the company evolved since its inception?

Impladent has always been a product- and customer-focused company. However, we have adapted to changing industry needs over the years.

A major shift came with the growing demand for simple, affordable bone graft products. Historically, bone grafting was reserved for specialists, but over the past two decades, general practitioners have increasingly sought education and solutions in this area. In response, we streamlined our products to be more accessible while maintaining high standards for predictable outcomes.

While many larger companies pursued complex, non-resorbable and expensive bone grafting solutions, we focused on creating easy-to-use and cost-effective alternatives. Our goal has always been to ensure that general practitioners can perform bone grafting with confidence, without compromising on quality or reliability.

Is there anything you’d like readers to know about your company or products?

We are excited about our continued growth. With multiple new products in development, we are expanding our sales staff across the country. Additionally, with our imminent EU approval and expansion into international markets, we look forward to broadening our global reach.

Besides dentistry, what are you passionate about?

I have been passionate about art since childhood. I began oil painting at the age of 7 and even created a fresco at the Belleclaire Hotel in New York in 1963. My work has been exhibited at a Fifth Avenue gallery, and I sold several paintings and sculptures to fund my early research laboratory.

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