Which country are Neodent implants from, and are they any good?

Neodent was founded in the early 1990s in the Brazilian city of Curitiba and for a long time was one of the most widely used implant brands in Latin America. In 2012 the Swiss Straumann Group became a shareholder in the company, and in the years that followed it took over the whole of it. Today Neodent is the brand of what Straumann calls its 'value segment': a system within the same group, positioned at a lower price than the products that carry Straumann's own name.

So the question of which country it is from has a two-layered answer. The product's origin and main production are in Brazil; the company that owns it and runs its quality system is based in Switzerland. Both are true, and neither is incomplete. After an acquisition, a brand's production sites can spread out over time, so checking the place of manufacture on the box in front of you gives a more definite answer than any general statement.

In terms of design, Neodent makes conventional two-piece implants: a body that goes into the bone and a top part screwed onto it. This is the most widely used implant design in the world. The advantage of having two pieces is that the top part can be changed later, which means corrections to angle and height can be made at the prosthesis stage. The price is a micron-scale gap where the two pieces join, and that gap is a weak point both for bacteria and for loosening.

As for whether it is any good: there are three criteria for judging an implant system, and Neodent meets all three. It has been on the market for a long time, there are published clinical follow-up data behind it, and its parts can be obtained. Once those three are in place, the difference between brands narrows to a far smaller range than patients imagine.

What really decides the outcome lies elsewhere. Whether an implant is still in your mouth ten years from now is decided, in this order, by: which bone it was placed in, at what angle and how many were used; how the bridge on top spreads the load; factors that affect healing, such as smoking and uncontrolled diabetes; and regular maintenance. The brand is on this list, but not at the top. The same Neodent implant will last for years in a well-planned mouth and be lost in a badly planned one.

One more note: the 72-hour protocol we use relies on a different class of implant, namely one-piece implants that anchor in the hard outer layer of the bone. This does not mean Neodent is bad; it is a different answer to a different question. Conventional two-piece systems are an entirely sensible choice when there is enough bone volume and there is time to wait.

The points below relate not to the brand name but to the conventional two-piece implant design. Neodent is one of the widely used examples of this class.

Five short questions. Each one has a clear answer, and not getting an answer is information in itself.

1. 1

   Which Neodent line, and what size?

   The brand is not a single product; there are different body designs and diameters. The answer should relate to the width and density of your bone.

2. 2

   Will I be given an implant card?

   Its brand, diameter, length, serial number and the area where it was placed. This document is part of your health record; years from now it may be the only information you have.

3. 3

   Can its barcode be checked in ÜTS?

   Medical devices put on the market in Turkey must be registered in the Product Tracking System (ÜTS). Whether a record exists can be checked using the number on the product's label.

4. 4

   How does the supply of top parts and screws work?

   When a screw comes loose or breaks, how long the part takes to arrive, whether the clinic keeps it in stock, and whether the work is covered by the treatment.

5. 5

   Why was this system judged suitable for me?

   The answer should relate to bone volume, the planned number of implants and how the load is spread. 'We always use this one' is a valid reason, but not enough on its own.

The points below determine how long an implant lasts more strongly than the brand name on it.

Some of the statements about this brand that circulate online are incomplete, and some are simply wrong.

These documents will be of no use to you in the first year. In the tenth year, they may be the only thing that is.

1. Ask for your implant card

   Brand, line, diameter, length, serial number and the area where it was placed. Most clinics give you this information on a ready-made card; if yours does not, asking for it is a normal request.

2. Keep the post-treatment X-ray

   The image taken straight after the procedure shows where your bone level was on that day. If a problem comes up later, it is the only document you can compare against.

3. Keep a digital copy

   Keep photos of the documents on your phone and in your email. They need to be within reach when you move to another city or in an emergency.

4. Have every repair recorded

   Every screw replaced and every top part renewed should go on the record. Built up over the years, this information makes every later procedure easier.

Neodent is positioned in the group's lower-priced range; in the total for a full-mouth plan, the difference is not as large as people think. The costs break down as follows:

Price per implant

Systems do differ, but in a plan with several units this is usually not the item that determines the total cost. The bridgework and the clinical work are often larger.

Bridgework and materials

The difference between zirconia, metal-ceramic and temporary acrylic covers a wider range than the price of the implant itself.

Preparatory procedures

If a graft, a sinus procedure or extractions are needed, these are separate items, and they come up often in conventional implant plans. They also add to the timescale.

Spare parts and repairs

With a widely used system, replacing a loose screw is a small job. A part that cannot be found can turn the same job into renewing the bridgework; this item does not appear on the bill, but it is the most expensive one.