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implants - international magazine of oral implantology

I industry report Per Aringskog and Agneta Broberg Jansson. _A dental implant system consistsofhundredsofcompo- nents.Itincludeseverythingfrom the highly advanced implant to simpletweezers.Foranoptimalfunc- tion of a system, all parts must inter- play.Theymustfittogetherlikecogwheels andcreateasmoothandwell-functioningto- tality. If just one cog is misaligned, the entire sys- tem will suffer. And this may cause unnecessary problems for the dental team and ultimately the patient. _Mission started Per Aringskog, R&D Director at DENTSPLY Im- plants, and his team were well aware of this. To start their development work, they had one of the most thoroughly documented dental implant sys- temsinthebusiness.Decadesofresearchinareasas diverse as mechanical loading and osseous integra- tion had created a product that functioned perfectly, with minimal bone loss and healthy soft tissue. With thisasafoundation,themissionnowwastocreatean implant system that was in every detail intuitive for the users. The set target was that the new ASTRA TECH Im- plantSystemEVshouldbetheuser- friendliest system on the market. Earlyon,theteamrealisedthatnomat- terhowmuchtheythoughtandtestedon their own, there would always be a gap be- tweenwhatworkedwellonpaperandinthelab- oratory compared to what worked in the every- day clinical reality. In the real world, one had to add unpredictable situations, users with differ- ent knowledge levels and the various needs of patients. _A smart solution The solution was obvious—let the users take partinthedevelopmentwork.Thatwayyougeta product that already at launch is tested and adaptedtotackletheunpredictable.Aproductthat has its origin where it will be used—the clinics. The solution is not unique, but it is smart and it works.Themethodoflettinguserstakepartinthede- velopment work exists in other businesses. In the software world they have worked with open source codeforalongtime.Somesoftwaredeveloperseven publish their software on the Internet. Users and other interested parties can then suggest improve- ments and further developments. In earlier develop- ment projects at the company, there have been smallerfocusgroupsinvolved.Thistimehowever,the team took the idea to a whole new level—a group of 47 clinicians that work with dental implants on an everyday basis was formed. They became known as ambassadors. “Theresponsetoourinitialcontactswasverypos- itive. Everyone we asked was enthusiastic about tak- ingpart,”saysAgnetaBrobergJansson,responsibleat GlobalProductManagementfortheASTRATECHIm- plant System at DENTSPLY Implants. How a modern implant system is developed Source_DENTSPLY Implants 30 I implants1_2015

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