Welcome to our recap of Day 3 at the International Dental Show (IDS) - the world's leading trade fair for the dental industry.
We've been extremely busy documenting everything during the event. You can read our previous recaps below.
I spent a lot of the third day lecturing with Medit and Formlabs, so unfortunately I couldn't get around to everything I wanted to today.
If you're at IDS and have any suggestions on what I should check out, let me know in the comments down below!
Arcreal Scanner
We met with the team at Arcreal, who are in the process of developing an intraoral scanner that's expected to release around November.
The team have managed to secure an investment of close to 5 million USD, which is extremely impressive.
You might be thinking that with all the intraoral scanners on the market right now, is there really room for a newcomer?
Funnily enough, the market share of intraoral scanners in developed countries is around 20-30%, and is much less in emerging markets.
There's still quite a lot market share left, and there are tonnes of investors and private equity firms interested in moving into the digital dentistry space.
Keep an eye on this company, I have a feeling they'll be making waves in the future.
Dentbird Solutions
I found the Dentbird Solutions booth really interesting. They're a company who offer automated CAD solutions to dentists, and promise to help dentists save time, increase productivity and boost your revenue (because you can spend more time on offering more treatment to more patients).
They use artificial intelligence to design crowns, you just upload a scan and then the AI can help you create a perfect crown for your patient. The data is uploaded to the cloud, where you can access it wherever you want, with unlimited connected devices.
Interestingly, there's no subscription fees or any start-up costs. You just pay for whatever design you choose to export.
Ray
Ray is a Korean company established in 2004. They have been dedicated to making innovative x-ray imaging and digital dentistry solutions. They have introduced their state-of-the-art imaging solutions to customers in over 70 countries. Ray’s latest products include a CBCT, intraoral scanner, intraoral sensor, software solutions, 3D printer, and of course, the RAYFace facial scanner.
Earlier this year, we reviewed the RAYFace and really liked it, 3D facial scanners are on the rise in dentistry, and it looks like RAY will be pushing the RAYFace really hard.
The market for 3D facial scanners is really heating up, during IDS we checked out Shining 3D's MetiSmile facial scanner as well. These companies are clearly seeing that 3D facial scanners will be a profitable niche in digital dentistry for years to come, so perhaps we will start to notice some price decreases similar to the intraoral scanner market.
Ray IOS2
Ray will be releasing another intraoral scanner - the Ray IOS2. They've completely revamped their software and hardware, and it looks to be a pretty good scanner from when I tested it.
It's fast, but every intraoral scanner is fast these days. What's really separating scanners is the software - the technological ceiling of scanner speed has been reached.
Ray Mill C
We also got to take a look at Ray's new milling machine - the Ray Mill C. There aren't many details out on this yet, but we'll keep you updated when you know more.
Straumann
Straumann have had a huge IDS, they've announced a heap of new releases.
- Straumann Falcon - A navigation system that helps surgeons during dental procedures,
- Smilecloud - A smile design and collaboration platform that allows clinicians to design virtual mock-up smiles for patients.
- Virtuo Vivo - Straumann has also launched new software for its Virtuo Vivo intraoral scanner, which will improve the speed and accuracy of digital impression-taking.
- ClearCorrect - The company's orthodontic brand, has launched its first mobile app and collaboration tools to support the treatment of more complex cases.
Heimerle + Meule - FilaPrintM
Heimerle + Meule has been selling Eldy Plus materials for milling for over four years, and now they've created a 3D desktop printer.
Here are some key points worth noting:
- Drive belt enables efficient 24/7 printing without a break.
- Integrated camera for optical control from the workplace or from home (through a cloud solution).
- Really quiet printer.
- Temperature can be set variably for each printing process.
- Two print heads enable two-color prints in one work step (pink/tooth-colored).
- Vibrations and movements of the FilaPrintM do not affect the print result.
- Homogeneous surface structure.
Graphy
We saw a new 3D printer clear aligner resin. Seeing all these resins have made me wonder if this material can properly penetrate the market, or if thermoform will continue to dominate the space.
