»Welcome to your Universe« - Quality from one source, whether materials or technologies. Dental Direkt covers the entire (digital) workflow in the dental laboratory. In an interview with the owner and managing partner Gerhard de Boer we get to the bottom of the »DD-Universe«.

How did the Dental Direkt trip start?

dB: In 1997, almost 25 years ago, it all started in the cellar of my terraced house. I had founded a small trading company for dental products. My idea was to offer laboratories a cheap and transparent alternative in the selection of dental materials. During this time, I had to do a lot of persuading my first almost 300 customers (laughs).

What happened next?

dB: In 2000, my brother-in-law Uwe Greitens joined us. As a trained lawyer, he was responsible for the certification for us. In 2004, a business friend drew my attention to zirconium oxide with a remark: "Something is happening in the zirconium oxide sector".

»My idea was to offer laboratories a cheap and transparent alternative in the selection of dental materials.«

It soon became clear to us that if we want to survive in the competitive market, we have to map the entire vertical value chain. In 2008, we implemented this with our own production of zirconium oxide.

In publications of Dental Direkt one often reads the term »glass production«. What is meant by this term?

dB: I have seen many companies as supplier or visitor. I was often denied access to the production - company secret! I quickly realised that I was doing things differently. The idea behind the glass production is to let our customers and all interested parties have a look behind the scenes. We convey openness and create trust. The most important thing is the customer and transparency is a clear signal. Our quality need not hide.

And now you are applying the formula for success to the development of the new business field, implant prosthetics?

dB: I have always been at the forefront when it comes to economic and operational development. "What does he want now" - I have often heard this sentence in my professional life. But without future-oriented investments we will not be able to maintain the speed of the past years.

»The most important thing is the customer and transparency is a clear signal. Our quality need not hide.«

Over the last 20 years we have continuously invested in new products, machines, buildings and excellent personnel. Our Technology Center is my heart project, which we opened in 2014 with the intention of further developing the digital path in the dental industry and thus also our services.

Most important:

Replacement delivery
Reimbursement of costs of superstructures
Foreign Implant Guarantee
Coverage of treatment costs

What is the current status of implant prosthetics?

dB: We have been developing implant prosthetics for 3 years now. We are continuing to focus on the 'one-stop-shop principle' and our product range is now even more extensive. We have in mind that in prosthetics it is not the raw material but the know-how that represents the high investment. The development of our production and our team of dental engineers, master dental technicians, CNC cutting mechanics and technical draftsmen was the logical consequence. The fruit of our efforts is DD Solid Connect®, our system for implant prosthetics.

»Over the last 20 years we have continuously invested in new products, machines, buildings and excellent personnel.«

We always agreed that we should stand on several pillars. I think the new area will become a very important pillar in the next few years. We have become really well acquainted with the complex matter. We can map many processes in-house. This means that we will adapt the quality control and quality assurance that we have established and mastered in the zirconium oxide product area to the implant prosthetics product area. We measure every single element - optically and tactilely - from the screw, through the prefab to the titanium adhesive base.

Now Dental Direkt has launched DD Solid Protect®, a unique guarantee for the DD Solid Connect® implant components. What is so special?

dB: We have looked around to see what guarantees are available on the market. Often only the component is insured. In my opinion, this is an air number. Anyone who reads through the DD Solid Protect® insurance and guarantee conditions will see that we have much more to offer.

Anyone who is convinced of its quality can make such a guarantee.

A clear statement?

dB: Yes, we want to underline that this is something solid - not a castle in the air. We provide dentist, dental technician and patient with a basis of trust. If something really happens, the manufacturer should also be liable, and we do. In this way we create the basis for a successful entry into the implant prosthetics market.

In order to make quality of life possible, top performance must be anchored.

When developing our DD Solid Connect® System for implant prosthetics the focus was on making modern and future-oriented dental technology and medicine accessible to a large number of patients.

The DD Solid Connect® implant components Prefab, titanium adhesive base, scan body, analogue and screw are excellently coordinated and offer a perfect symbiosis with the original implant.

Conclusion: Absolutely precise, safe and reliable implant components for users and patients.