The Company That Pioneered Horizontal Scan Bodies 

In the world of digital dentistry, horizontal-scan body systems for full-arch implants are everywhere these days. 

Every major company seems to be launching its own version, promising easier full-arch workflows and greater accuracy than traditional vertical-scan bodies. Even competing with traditional photogrammetry.

But here's what most people don't know: one company invented this technology back in 2020, faced massive industry pushback, and now watches as competitors flood the market with similar designs. Ouch.

I recently sat down with Julio Rojas, Director of Product Development at Osteon Medical, to discuss the journey from startup to pioneer, and what happens when you're first to market with a revolutionary idea that nobody believes in.

The Problem Nobody Thought Could Be Solved

Before 2020, full-arch implant workflows were a mess. Especially the digital workflows.

If you wanted accurate digital impressions for full-arch cases, you basically had two options: take traditional impressions and have a verification jig made, or invest in a photogrammetry system that costs upwards of $50,000. Neither option was ideal for most practices, especially for those who may do one or two cases a month.

Osteon Medical started as a specialized milling center back in 2009, actually launching from the university where founder Michael Tuckman was studying. Tuckman was a dental technician who worked with renowned technicians and helped labs across Australia. At some point, he realized that what he was doing on the bench could probably be automated, so he went back to university to pursue a mechanical engineering degree.

Julio Rojas was employee number two, brought on while completing his own master's in engineering. "He told me that he needed an engineer to help him out, and I thought that the idea he was getting off the ground was great," Julio told me.

As they established themselves as a milling center, they saw the problem firsthand. Julio explained: "We were trying to take advantage of intraoral technology, how accurate some of these intraoral scanners were getting, and how we were able to maintain that accuracy for full-arches."

The company had already proven they could deliver passive-fitting bars from analog models, achieving 10-20 micron accuracy using contact measure inspection machines. They wanted to make sure they didn't need any extra hardware - just accurate intraoral scanners and what became the NEXUS iOS kit.

The question was: could they replicate that analog accuracy using purely digital workflows?

The NEXUS iOS System - 30+ Iterations to Get It Right

Here's where things get interesting.

Osteon Medical didn't just throw together a horizontal scan body and call it a day. The company's DNA has always been about innovation - Michael empowered the team to embrace new technologies and stay ahead of the curve.

Julio's team went through more than 30 different design iterations, testing different strategies and approaches before landing on the final design.

Some of the features they developed:

• Tapered design - This wasn't just aesthetic. The taper meant clinicians didn't need to rotate the scanner as much to capture all the information, unlike vertical-scan bodies, which require constant repositioning around the implant to capture complete data.
• Tissue cutout around the cylinder - Without this feature, some intraoral scanner software would automatically delete the scan body from the data. This small detail was critical for compatibility.
• Variable cuff heights - Multi-unit abutments sit at different heights, so the kit needed options to bridge those gaps effectively and allow clinicians to arrange them properly.
• Features on top of the scan body - Each scan body in the kit is uniquely identifiable by the software, helping differentiate every single component.

Julio noted something fascinating: "It's funny how we see some of the competitors these days, because I can see some of our earlier designs that we basically disregarded for one reason or another. And slowly, everyone is moving to the same style, the same design."

They were certainly ahead of the curve, considering their first-generation kit was released in 2020. Crazy how they had a 4-year lead on the market. The Shining 3D Elite was what made horizontal scan bodies really mainstream and was released in 2024.

And here's something that still sets them apart - every NEXUS iOS kit has its own unique DME files. After manufacturing each scan body, they create a precision library specific to that exact kit. This isn't just a generic library - it's individualized for each unit to ensure maximum accuracy. Over-engineering or necessary?

The Two-Scan Strategy That Nobody Else Uses

When I first learned about Osteon's two-scan approach, I felt it was a bit much. Basically, you have to run two scans of the horizontal scan body scans. Once from left to right and the other right to left. Most systems ask for one scan, and you're done. Why complicate things?

But Julio explained the reasoning: "We noticed that in many tests we took, the start of the intraoral scan actually is the most accurate piece of the scan. And then slowly, slowly, along the arch, you start having discrepancies."

So they scan left-to-right, then right-to-left, and integrate both scans into one master file. This way, the beginning of each scan - the most accurate portion - covers different areas of the arch. The Nexus Analyzer software verifies both scans chairside, giving clinicians immediate confidence that their data is accurate enough to proceed: no waiting, no verification jigs, no second-guessing.

Launching During COVID - The Worst Possible Timing

The NEXUS iOS system was ready to launch at the 2020 Australian Dental Expo. The team had set up their booth, prepared their demonstrations, and were ready to show the world what they'd built.

Then COVID shut everything down on launch day. "The day that we set up and we were going to launch and show everyone, the conference was closed, canceled," Julio told me. "It was a little bit disheartening."

They had to pivot immediately, learning how to present and convince people remotely through Zoom and Google Meet. Try explaining a revolutionary scanning system through a screen to skeptical dentists who'd been doing impressions the same way for decades.

The pushback was substantial. Julio didn't mince words about this: "You try to convince clinicians that have been doing a process for many years that here I come with a kit, and if you invest in this intraoral scanner with this kit, I can take digital impressions directly from the patient's mouth, but not just that, I can actually make a passive-fitting prosthesis with no models. No verification jigs... It was a pretty tough journey at the beginning."

The Accuracy Debate - What's "Good Enough" for Full-Arch?

This is where the conversation got really interesting.

I asked Julio frankly: What level of accuracy is actually acceptable for full-arch restorations? You'll get wildly different answers depending on who you ask - some say 20 microns, others say 50 microns, some papers claim 100 microns is fine.

Julio's response was refreshingly honest. Osteon targets 10-20 microns based on their contact inspection machine testing on models - that's what gives them passive fit. They consider up to 30 microns acceptable, which still falls within manufacturing tolerances. Anything showing a discrepancy of 100 microns or more is rejected outright.

"I have found articles online that say that a hundred microns is okay. Definitely, that's probably something that we will not allow to be manufactured here," Julio explained. "We know that maybe you will manufacture something today, and you won't see any issues. But we know that over time there could be breakages on the overlays and things like that, and you put at risk the prosthesis."

But here's the nuance most people miss: not all discrepancies are created equal.

"There's a difference between a radial discrepancy and an axial discrepancy," Julio explained. "It's not the same thing to have a big discrepancy on the Z-axis, which means the connection won't sit, versus having a discrepancy on X and Y, which, within certain tolerances, the multi-unit abutment can accommodate."

The Z-axis accuracy - that vertical seal between the prosthesis and the multi-unit abutment - needs to be within 10 microns. That's non-negotiable for passive fit. The radial X and Y measurements have slightly more tolerance.

Here's the practical test: "The clinician will be the one who decides when that procedure is delivered. If there is any tension, if difficulty engaging the screw, something is not right. And I think that when you try to force it, or you're trying to just make it work, that's probably not what you are expecting of that level of accuracy."

Watching the Market Catch Up (Finally)

Now here's where the story gets validating for Osteon, but also frustrating.

"The horizontal flags, as you can see now, one is being launched every week," Julio said. "Originally, when we first presented to the market, there were many people who told us that we were totally wrong. And it was not going to work."

Five years later, every major dental company is releasing horizontal scan body systems. The designs look remarkably similar to what Osteon pioneered - tapered profiles, strategic cutouts, multiple heights.

Julio was honestly expecting competition earlier. "Obviously, we hold the patent for the horizontal scan abutments, but we knew that it was coming. After a concept has been proven, you will definitely have people who follow it, and in a way, we feel validated."

When I asked how it feels to see all this competition capturing attention after their years of pioneering work, Julio was gracious: "There are a lot of good products out there, and we are happy that at the end of the day, the clinician has options to choose. We don't wanna just come here and say all the other systems are bad and we're the only ones there."

But he emphasized the importance of testing: "Everyone is gonna claim a lot of things on their website and say a lot of things. But at the end of the day, what is actually the level of acceptance and the quality that the clinician is after?"

The Photogrammetry Question 

I had to ask: are the days of traditional photogrammetry numbered?

Julio was diplomatic, but the writing seems to be on the wall. "I see a world where doctors actually use different systems, depending probably on each patient, and what are the challenges within their practice"

Photogrammetry has been around longer and has faced its own evolution. But when photogrammetry systems cost $50,000+ and horizontal-scanning body systems can achieve similar accuracy using scanners most practices already own, the value proposition becomes harder to justify.

He did point out something important, though: not all photogrammetry systems are created equal. Just because something uses photogrammetry doesn't automatically make it the gold standard.

"We've tested internally different photogrammetry systems. We've seen variation across systems. Some can get that accuracy consistently. And there are some others that, over time, you need to replace the flags because you start seeing a drop in accuracy. The arrangement of the photogrammetry system needs to be a certain way to get probably the best possible angle to get the best data available."

The same applies to horizontal scan body systems. There's a wide range of quality in the market now, and clinicians need to look beyond marketing claims to actual results.

When I pushed him on whether he thinks photogrammetry will slowly die away, Julio suggested integration might be the future: "I've seen kind of integration within the systems - the horizontal flags and intraoral technology. I think that probably there's a world where that's moving in that direction, integrating the best of both worlds, and trying to get technology more accessible to people within a price range that can be accessible for everyone."

At the end of the day, everyone's chasing the same goal: getting the best data from the patient's mouth without impressions or verification jigs, making the process more repeatable, consistent, and ultimately better for the patient.

The Big Announcement - Opening the Ecosystem

Here's the news that caught my attention: Osteon Medical just launched Nexus Connect, opening its previously closed ecosystem to independent labs.

This is huge for practices like mine with in-house labs, as well as for labs around the world. I've tested their system at work, and the workflow is excellent, but I couldn't fully adopt it because I needed to use my own lab. Originally, the NEXUS iOS system was tied to Osteon's milling center - they wanted to maintain control of the entire process.

As Julio explained: "We couldn't just create the gauges and put them out there because we believed that if we had done that, there probably would've been a lot of noise basically against the system itself. People are trying not to mill the outcome a hundred percent, or not following the data, or not knowing how to actually use that data."

They also needed to develop the Nexus Prosthetics - their milled bar with monolithic overlay system - to prove that the aesthetics matched the technical accuracy. "No one really probably put that much attention to the fit if the teeth don't look acceptable," Julio noted.

But now, Nexus Connect changes everything.

It's a platform that gives labs complete control. They own the kits with no input from Osteon whatsoever. Labs get:

• An inbox to manage cases
• Cloud-based processing
• Access to the Nexus Analyzer for chairside verification
• The ability to grab the data and use it however they want
• Optional access to Osteon's milling and design services if needed

They've already done a soft launch with partnerships in the US and Australia.

I asked Julio if he wished they'd launched this earlier, given all the competition emerging. His response was candid: "Retrospectively, you would've done things a certain way. I think that our software team worked on this really hard just to try to get it to a level that was acceptable and didn't compromise quality."

He acknowledged the timing challenge: "Sometimes it's hard to get these things done as fast as you want it, but I think that at the end we got there."

Fair enough. But I can't help thinking that a year earlier might have changed the competitive landscape significantly. Especially before the launch of the Shining 3D Elite.

What This Means for Your Practice

The full-arch digital workflow landscape has changed dramatically in the past year. You now have multiple options for horizontal scan body systems, each with different features, accuracy claims, and price points.

Osteon Medical's story matters because they proved this technology works when nobody else believed it could. The two-scan verification strategy, unique DME files for each kit, focus on end-to-end accuracy from scan to milled prosthesis, and now the open Nexus Connect platform - these aren't just marketing features. They're solutions to real problems that emerged from years of clinical testing and thousands of cases.

That said, the market is evolving fast. Other companies are innovating too, bringing approaches like the IPG kit from Elite, Scan Ladder, and Apollo's PEEK-based system. Competition is good for innovation, and it's driving prices down while improving accuracy.

My advice? Don't assume one system is superior just because of the technology name or price point. Look at actual clinical results and consider the complete workflow from scan to final prosthesis, including the milling capabilities of whoever is manufacturing your prosthetics.

As Julio reminded me: "There's a big journey, and you need a partner to be able to maintain that and deliver quality."

The days of $50,000 photogrammetry systems being the only path to accurate full-arch digital workflows are over. Whether you choose Osteon's pioneering approach or one of the newer alternatives, the important thing is that digital full-arch workflows are finally accessible to more practices.

The Bottom Line

Julio and the Osteon team should be proud of what they've built. Being first with a revolutionary idea is incredibly hard, especially when you're fighting against established industry assumptions and expensive incumbent technologies.

They faced rejection, launched during a global pandemic, and watched competitors eventually copy their designs. But they proved the concept works, opened doors for the entire industry, and are now adapting their business model to stay competitive.

As Julio reflected on being first: "You learn the level of pushback that you're gonna get and the ability you have to develop to convince people that the idea that you have put forward actually is something based in reality. There's a lot of noise out there... but if it's not based on reality, at the end of the day, any user is gonna see through it."

If you want to hear the full conversation with Julio Rojas, check out Episode 1 of Season 4 of the Digital Dentistry Decoded podcast: "Osteon Medical - The Truth About Full-Arch Digital Workflows." We dive deep into the technical details, discuss the future of photogrammetry, talk honestly about what "good enough" accuracy really means for full-arch cases, and explore what it's like to be a pioneer watching the market validate your innovation years later.

Want to learn more about digital workflows and full-arch implantology? Check out iDD's course offerings, including Digital Implantology and Ultimate All-on-X courses.