Which country are BEGO implants from?

BEGO was founded in 1890 by Wilhelm Herbst, a dentist from Bremen. The company's name comes from its first business: Bremer Goldschlägerei Wilhelm Herbst, that is, Wilhelm Herbst's gold-beating workshop in Bremen. Herbst is known for producing filling gold using a rotary method. The company is still headquartered in Bremen today; in 1994 it moved to a new facility built in the city's university technology park, and its address is on a street named after its founder.

For a long time, implants were not the company's main business. BEGO grew as a firm producing precious and non-precious metal alloys, ceramics and casting equipment for dental laboratories. Today the group rests on three pillars: the alloys and laboratory equipment side, BEGO Medical, which handles digital manufacturing, and the implant company, BEGO Implant Systems. The manufacturer states that it supplies products to more than a hundred countries.

The brand's best-known contribution outside implants is in digital manufacturing. BEGO states that it is the co-developer and patent holder, in dentistry, of selective laser melting (SLM), a method in which metal powder is melted layer by layer with a laser to produce crowns, bridge frameworks and partial denture frameworks. Today the company also offers CAD/CAM and 3D printing solutions. So a dental technician may know the BEGO name from alloys, and an implant dentist from Semados.

The implant side was set up as a separate company in 1990. For a time this company was called BEGO Semados; today it goes by the name BEGO Implant Systems. It is part of the family-owned BEGO group and has been in the hands of the Weiss family in Bremen since it was founded. The products are developed and manufactured at the headquarters in Bremen; the manufacturer states that all of its implants are developed and made in Germany. Semados products are available in more than fifty countries.

That is why the phrase 'German BEGO' holds up in terms of origin, place of manufacture and ownership alike. There is no need for a two-layered answer, as there is with brands whose owner is based in another country. The brand also has its own organisation in Turkey, which means there is a concrete point of contact when you ask about the supply of parts.

Semados is not a single implant but a family. The manufacturer's current range includes these lines: RSX Pro CC and SCX CC, with a deep conical connection; the tapered, self-tapping RS/RSX; SC/SCX; RI, with a tapered base, for special situations; and the tissue-level S implants, which move the joint between the implant and the prosthesis away from the bone. The lines with CC in their name use the deep conical connection BEGO has recently introduced, which has an 8-degree internal cone.

The practical upshot is this: because there are different connection designs within the same brand, knowing 'I have BEGO' is not enough for a repair. Even the point where the implant meets the prosthesis sits in a different place on a tissue-level implant than on one with a deep conical connection. For another dentist to be able to order the right part years later, the full name of the line, the diameter and the length should be on record.

The factual answer to 'is it any good' is that it is a system whose S implants have been on the market since 1993 and which has published clinical data behind it. For example, in a randomised study at the University of Seville in which a total of 106 implants of four different Semados designs were placed in 20 patients, no significant difference in bone loss or implant stability was found between the designs at one-year follow-up. Short studies like this compare designs; on their own, they say nothing about how long implants last.

Even so, the brand is the smaller half of the question. Whether an implant stays in your mouth over the years is more strongly determined by the planning, how the load is spread, factors such as smoking and uncontrolled diabetes, and regular maintenance. The Semados lines are conventional implants that sit inside the bone; the implant used in our protocol of fixed teeth in 72 hours with the Ihde method belongs to a different class: a one-piece corticobasal implant that anchors in the hard outer layer of the jaw.

The criteria below look at the conventional implant design that the Semados lines belong to; you can ask about all of them at your consultation, and the answers can be checked.

They are all short questions. Clear answers show that there is a reason behind the choice of brand.

1. 1

   Which Semados line?

   RSX Pro CC, SCX CC, RS/RSX, SC/SCX, RI or S. It should be possible to explain the answer in terms of the width, height and density of your bone.

2. 2

   What type of connection?

   A deep conical connection, or tissue level? The top parts are chosen to match this connection, and every later repair depends on it too.

3. 3

   How will the top parts and the prosthesis be made?

   The manufacturer's own parts or compatible third-party parts, and which material? You should be told what type of part is used, and it should be put on record.

4. 4

   Can I see the barcode on the label?

   Medical devices put on the market in Turkey must be registered in the Product Tracking System (ÜTS). The number on the label shows the product's manufacturer and its registration directly.

5. 5

   How does supply work when a part is needed?

   Is it in stock at the clinic, and if not, how many days does it take to arrive? The manufacturer having a point of contact in Turkey makes it easier to give a concrete answer.

When the first four points below are in place, the difference between brands narrows; when they are not, no country's name rescues the outcome.

This brand's long history has led to a few misleading shortcuts online.

Years from now, these small documents can cut another dentist's work from hours to minutes.

1. An implant card with the name of the line

   The card should say more than just 'BEGO': it should give the full name of the Semados line, the diameter, length and lot number. If anything is missing, ask the clinic that carried out the treatment to complete it.

2. The barcode and ÜTS number

   The barcode on the product label carries the number that identifies the implant in ÜTS. Keep a copy of it together with your card.

3. The X-ray from the first day

   It shows where your bone level was on the day the implant was placed. This is the starting point that an X-ray taken years later will be compared against.

4. Details of the restoration on top

   The type of top part used and the material of the prosthesis. This makes it easier to find the right replacement during a repair and to renew the prosthesis to the same specification.

It is natural for an imported system to affect the quote; but the items that determine the total are often not the implant itself:

The unit cost of the implant

There can be a difference between imported and locally made systems because of shipping and distribution. In a plan with several units, this difference is a small part of the total.

The chosen line and top parts

Lines with a deep conical connection, tissue-level implants and the top parts that go with them can differ in cost. Check which line is written in the quote.

The prosthesis and laboratory work

In most plans, the material and manufacturing method of the bridgework account for a larger share than the implant body. This is also usually the item that should not be cut back on.

Preparation and later repairs

A graft, a sinus procedure or extractions are separate items. The cost of repairs over the years depends largely on how easily parts can be obtained.