Implants in Swiss Precision
Interview with Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dr. Ihde Dental AG
"Long treatments and years of problems" - for Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dr. Ihde Dental AG, the conventional method of implantation for dental prostheses is not a sensible option. He has therefore developed a procedure that should ensure greater satisfaction among treatment providers and patients. The German company in Eching is part of a corporate group that is based in Switzerland and also produces there.
Wirtschaftsforum: Prof. Dr. Ihde, what was the idea behind founding your company?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: My father was a dental technician and founded the original company in 1954 in Berlin. Around 1987, it was moved to Switzerland and from there the German GmbH was established. The company was originally a mail-order company supplying dental technicians with consumables. When I took it over, we gradually renewed the product portfolio and entered into implantology. Thus, under our label, we produced and had implants manufactured. I then developed a revolutionary implantation procedure and the necessary products for it.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is the company's current setup?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: The corporate group includes four companies in Switzerland and the company in Germany. All together, they employ around 50 staff members. The production is located in Switzerland. In addition, we have training opportunities there, as we need to train our customers on our products. However, most of the training for our dealers in various countries takes place in Belgrade, Serbia. For this, we collaborate with the top professors there.
Wirtschaftsforum: How exactly did the development of your new process come about?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: The old method of implantation originated in the late 1980s in the USA. Since then, a lot of mischief has been done under the term 'implantation.' Implant forms have been sold that do not deliver what the marketing promises. No one has thought about the fact that an elaborate bone structure is required and that long-term inflammations often occur at the implants. I was fortunate to meet many colleagues on my travels who were interested in improving it. We work very closely together and have developed the method jointly. It is light years better than the old method and solves all the problems of conventional implantology.
Wirtschaftsforum: What makes your method different from the conventional method?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: The treatments are very successful and the duration of treatment is short. We can remove all teeth from a patient in one day and completely renew their dentition within three days. In my experience, many patients prefer to get rid of their teeth sooner rather than later because they suffer from them. Beyond a certain degree of decay, you simply have to remove them. German dentists, however, are instructed to preserve teeth as long as possible. We, on the other hand, free the patient from their teeth.
Wirtschaftsforum: Is the success of your method definitely proven?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: Of course. The old implants, which I refer to as provisional, often last only eight to ten years. We have evaluated our work over a period of about 12.5 years in a study and found that from the fourth year there has been no loss of chewing capacity.
Initially, one needs to make adjustments for the first few years, but afterwards the implant and the clinical results are stable. This is completely new in oral implantology.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are the costs compared to the conventional method?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: If, for instance, we give a cost estimate of 20,000 CHF, the patients usually have already received a quote from their dentist amounting to 50,000 CHF. Thus, private health insurers should actually be interested in our method. Nevertheless, they refuse to deviate from the old method because they are advised by the wrong people.
Wirtschaftsforum: What further developments do you wish for your company?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: Our primary goals are healthy growth and the extremely good training of our customers in our treatment method. Our training in the field of oral implantology is, without any doubt, the best and most comprehensive that one can receive today. We also want to further streamline our production, open up new markets, and find more distributors.
Wirtschaftsforum: One personal question to end: What is your personal motivation in all this?
Prof. Dr. Stefan Ihde: I want to help our method stand on its own as long as possible and thereby help the patients. When I meet course participants after four or five years, they report how satisfied they and their patients are. And the users of this method have become extremely well-known.