BASEL, Switzerland: This week, a German court prohibited a cut-price dental implant company from claiming that its products are hydrophilic. Global dental implant manufacturer Straumann prompted the decision after having proved in laboratory tests that the claims were spurious.
Prior to the judgment, German medentis medical falsely claimed that its ICX-templant implants had a hydrophilic surface, similar to those produced by Straumann. When Straumann conducted a number of tests to verify the claims, the company’s experts found that the products were in fact hydrophobic, that is their contact angle is clearly greater than 90 degrees.
According to a number of preclinical and clinical trials, the hydrophilic properties of Straumann’s SLActive implants enhance osseointegration and therefore reduce healing times significantly, compared with implants without hydrophilicity, the company stated.
Dentists and patients have been misled by the product claims, as medentis’s implants do not offer hydrophilicity, which promotes healing and faster osseointegration, providing stability when an implant is placed, said Dr René Willi, Executive Vice-President of Straumann’s surgical unit. He added that the court’s decision sends an important message to implant manufacturers. It demonstrates that the company is determined to take action against product copiers on behalf of patients, he said.
