Interview: 25 Years of ideal osseointegration

A pioneer in the manufacture of dental implants in Spain, and one of the first ones in Europe, Microdent has received acclaim for its contributions to the field of oral implantology for which it has developed innovations such as: self-tapping implants; first conical implant for bone expansion; single-phase implant prostheses for “cement-bolted” implants; and first attachment designed for immediate loading.

Highlights of Microdent’s surgical instruments include a traumatic ridge expander kit and the sinus membrane-lifting device Cortical Fix.

Microdent founder Eugenio Gil studied and trained in Switzerland, specializing in the manufacture of small precision parts in the 1960s.

“With a group of company specialists from Bechler, we prepared special machines for producing electrical contacts for NASA’s rockets,” Gil said. “This professional experience helped me to apply high-precision technology to dental manufacturing.”

After titanium became the choice material for osseointegration, Microdent focused solely on the manufacture of prosthetic attachments. Later, the company expanded its facilities and equipment and, with the help of leading implants experts, designed the current system of external connection implants now known as the Microdent Implant System.

Since 1989, the company has kept accurate statistics of the success rates of its implants and osseointegration timetables.

Titanium manufacturing was unique at the time Microdent began working with it, so dentists and many Spanish manufacturers asked the company for advice. The results of those implants have been so reliable that Microdent still maintains “all the clients who began using our implants then,” Gil said.

Asked about the essential quality parameters of an implant, he explains there are several key issues:

• Quality and accuracy of the internal thread of the implant. Adjustment to the retention screw of the prosthesis is too loose in most implants, which causes serious problems after placing the prosthesis.
• Accurate fitting of the implant-abutment connection, as it should not allow space for bacteria growth.
• For adjusting individual prosthetics, rotation should be as tight as possible.
• Implant design is an important factor to avoid bone resorption problems.
• In small-diameter implants, load resistance between the inner area and the outer diameter should be taken into account.
• Quality and purity of the material with which the implant is made.
• Cleaning after surface treatment is equally important.
• The external thread must achieve good primary retention.

Gil said clinicians should be wary of cheap implants because there is a big difference in both the cost and quality of production, which many people may not take into account.

In October, Microdent introduced Ektos in Europe, its new universal internal connection implant.

This hexagon-shaped new implant system prevents any rotational movement and creates a conical coupling area between the implant and the prosthesis that provides extremely effective connection sealing. The implant design maintains Microdent’s characteristic external thread, renowned for its great primary stability.

Microdent is internationally recognized for the invention of bone expanders, which have provided oral implantology with a major technological innovation, Gil said. This practical and simple instrument avoids the surgical trauma of bone expansion and allows for effective clinical control of the bone growth process.

Along with the MV series of expansive implants that come with all Microdent systems, these expanders enable implant placement in very narrow maxillary areas, which is of great benefit to patients with small bone areas, he said.

Microdent has also developed Cortical Fix, which has been a major technological innovation in implantology. The instrument allows the use of a minimally invasive technique for sinus lift and the placement of longer implants in the upper maxillary, Gil said.

He emphasizes that the true proof to the quality of Microdent’s implants is that its first clients, who placed implants more than 25 years ago, still use the Microdent system a quarter century later.

“They are loyal to the brand because it works and because Microdent implants offer great performance,” Gil said.