Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | June 2012 A11INDUStrY NEWS Handpiece engineers focus tightly on clinicians’ needs L ots of companies like to talk about being respon- sive to customer needs. NSK, a global manufactur- er of dental handpieces and other small-motor equipment, walks the talk with devices created sole- ly in response to customer feedback. One of the most telling examples is the S-Max Pico, the handpiece with the industry’s smallest neck and head size. “In our Asian markets especially, dentist were asking for a smaller-head handpiece to use with patients with smaller mouths,” said Rob Gochoel, NSK marketing manager — North America. “We kept hearing how dif- ficult it was to use a standard or even miniature handpiece for restorative work on patients with smaller mouths, especially when working on poste- rior teeth. Having a decent amount of room to see and work in is critical when you’re trying to be as minimally invasive as possible and leave as much healthy tooth undisturbed as you can.” Industry game changer To address the need, NSK engineers and product developers went to work on a concept they called an ultra-miniature handpiece. “It’s more than 20 percent smaller than the smallest miniature out there,” Gochoel said. Coming up with the new device wasn’t just a question of taking a stan- dard system and making everything smaller. Many of those existing parts were already about as small as the ma- terials and demands on them would al- low. So, in many ways, the design team had to start from zero — rethinking the engineering but keeping the core goals the same: durability, ability to stand up to frequent autoclave steril- ization and delivery of as much torque as possible. The result, Gochoel said, is an industry game changer. Growing global interest “The S-Max Pico has been capturing a lot of of attention at the major dental meetings,” Gochoel said. “We’ve been taking a lot of orders from dentists who don’t even feel the need to test it in the operatory first.” One surprise for NSK has been the level of interest from pediatric den- tists across the world — quickly elevat- ing the product from being a specific response to Asian market demand to being a specialty product piquing in- terest in every market across the globe. At the other end of the spectrum, NSK also has recently launched a line of premium hand- pieces that incorporate its micro-production technology while also setting a new benchmark for du- rability and performance. According to NSK, the Ti-Max Z series handpiec- es perform at a remarkably low noise level with virtually no vibration — two requests the company had frequently heard from clinicians looking for few- er distractions and increased patient comfort. “The two products together definitely announce NSK as a key player in the industry, one who knows how to listen to customers and quickly get finely crafted, durable products to market based on that input,” Gochoel said. More innovations expected As the company increases its pres- ence in the North American market, with high-visibility booths at the big- ger trade shows and a growing distri- bution system, it’s hearing more from customers in the U.S. and Canada. “We’re getting a lot of of feedback,” Go- choel said. “It’s all about making den- tists more productive. Coming up with improvements that make dentists’ lives easier — and make their patients more comfortable.” NSK engineers already are looking into some new ideas based on multiple inquiries the NSK team has been receiv- ing from customers. A big part of the reason NSK is able to move so quickly on customer feedback is that virtually all of its research, development, de- sign, manufacturing and testing is ac- complished in house. That doesn’t just mean assembling the final devices; it means building the vast majority of the parts that go into those devices. More than 17,000 individual parts go into the production of NSK handpieces, and close to 90 percent of those parts are built and tested in-house by NSK. 'Expect perfection' This total-control approach to its prod- ucts is what enables the company to use the slogan, “Expect perfection.” Gochoel said the company approaches each new product with the goal of cre- ating the perfect handpiece. The result is that the company keeps setting the bar for itself higher — while removing limits on what its customers are able to imagine. NSK expands North American presence, creates handpieces in-house in response to requests from dentists By Robert Selleck Managing Editor The S-Max Pico from NSK, with the world’s smallest head and neck size, owes its existence to dentists asking NSK for a better device to use with patients with smaller mouths. Now, the handpiece is also being praised by pediatric dentists. Photos below show various size comparisons between the S-Max Pico and a standard-sized device. Photos/Provided by NSK Dental