Which country are Zimmer implants from?

The story has two branches. The first is Zimmer: the company was founded on 2 May 1927 by Justin O. Zimmer in the town of Warsaw in the US state of Indiana, and grew as an orthopaedics company. It entered the dental implant market not with an invention of its own but through an acquisition. In October 2003 Zimmer completed its exchange offer for the Swiss-based Centerpulse AG; Zimmer's announcement describes Centerpulse as a company serving the joint, spine and dental implant markets. This Swiss link is one source of the confusion over whether Zimmer is Swiss or American.

The second branch is Biomet 3i. Implant Innovations, 3i for short, was a dental implant company founded in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Indiana-based orthopaedics company Biomet bought 3i in 1999; a Medtech Insight report dated 6 September 1999 puts the value of the deal at 175 million dollars. From then on the brand was known as Biomet 3i.

The two branches came together in 2015. Zimmer and Biomet announced on 24 June 2015 that they had completed a 13.35 billion dollar merger, and the company took the name Zimmer Biomet. Zimmer's dental implants and Biomet 3i's implants thus came under the same roof; but they did not become a single system, and continued to exist as separate lines.

The split that really matters came on 1 March 2022. Zimmer Biomet floated its dental and spine division as a separate company called ZimVie; 80.3 per cent of the shares were distributed to Zimmer Biomet shareholders, and ZimVie began trading on Nasdaq. Since this split, dental implants have been ZimVie's business, not Zimmer Biomet's.

ZimVie did not stay a two-part business for long either. On 1 April 2024 it sold its spine business to H.I.G. Capital and carried on as a dental-only company. On 20 July 2025 it signed a sale agreement with ARCHIMED, which invests only in the healthcare sector. The deal was completed on 20 October 2025: shareholders were paid 19 dollars in cash per share, and ZimVie shares ceased trading on Nasdaq. ZimVie is today a private company.

So where is the implant made? According to ZimVie's 2024 annual report, the company has two main manufacturing facilities: one at the same site as its head office in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and one in Valencia, Spain. The same report says the company sells its products in around 50 countries and has a physical presence in around 20. That is why the 'Warsaw factory' information is out of date for dental implants; Warsaw is Zimmer Biomet's orthopaedics headquarters.

The line names carry both roots. Tapered Screw-Vent (TSV), TSX and Trabecular Metal belong to the family that comes from Zimmer's dental branch; T3, T3 Pro and OSSEOTITE belong to the family that comes from the Biomet 3i branch. The manufacturer describes TSV as having a friction-fit internal hex connection; T3 and T3 Pro are referred to on the manufacturer's pages with the Certain connection, and the same family also has an external hex catalogue. Because there is more than one connection type within the same company, knowing 'I have Zimmer' is not enough for a repair.

When reading manufacturer data, it helps to look at where they come from. ZimVie writes that TSV has been in clinical use for more than 25 years and that more than six million have been sold; the same page reports an average survival of 98.7 per cent across a total of 1,553 TSV MTX implants compiled from 14 sources; across the studies this rate ranges from 95.1 to 100 per cent, with follow-up of between 3 and 120 months (an average of 36.4 months). These are data the manufacturer has selected and presented on its own page. They should be read together with independent, long-term studies; whether a figure turns into a result in your mouth is decided by planning, load distribution and maintenance.

The Zimmer and Biomet 3i lines are conventional two-piece implants: a body that goes into the inner part of the bone and a part connected on top of it. 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. These two classes give different answers to the same question; which one suits you becomes clear from a CBCT scan.

The criteria below do not depend on the name of the company; they look at the conventional two-piece implant design and can be discussed at your consultation.

They are short questions; but their answers put on record today information that will be useful to you even if the company's name changes again.

1. 1

   Which family and which line?

   Tapered Screw-Vent, TSX, Trabecular Metal, T3 or T3 Pro. It should be possible to explain the choice in terms of the width, height and density of your bone.

2. 2

   What type of connection?

   TSV is referred to with a friction-fit internal hex connection, and the T3 family with the Certain or an external hex connection. The choice of top part, and every repair, depend on this answer.

3. 3

   If there is immediate loading, will the anchorage be measured?

   The manufacturer ties immediate loading to good initial anchorage. You can ask for the insertion torque or stability measurement to be written into your 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. It is normal to see the name ZimVie on the box now.

5. 5

   Where do parts come from, and how long do they take?

   Ask whether the clinic has parts in stock and, if not, who supplies them and how many days it takes. After the changes of ownership, this answer should be based on up-to-date information.

If the first four points below are in place, the difference between brands narrows; if they are not, no long-established name makes up for the gap.

When a merger, a split and a sale come one after another, old information circulates online as if it were new.

Nobody asks for these documents today; but years from now, in another dentist's chair, they will be the first thing you are asked for.

1. An implant card with the name of the line

   The card should say more than just 'Zimmer': it should give the line name, such as TSV or T3, together with the diameter, length and lot number. If anything is missing, ask the clinic that carried out the treatment to complete it.

2. The measured values

   If immediate loading was carried out, the insertion torque or stability values. If a problem is being discussed later, these are the only record showing the initial anchorage.

3. A copy of the barcode

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

4. The X-ray from the first day

   The X-ray that shows where your bone level was at the start. Only with it can any change be read when it is compared with an X-ray taken years later.

Neither the implant's country nor the company's history explains the difference in a quote on its own. The total is made up of these items:

Choice of line and body

Within the same company, the lines can differ in cost. Check which line is written in the quote; the phrase 'Zimmer implant' is not enough on its own.

Top parts

Ready-made parts, patient-specific parts or parts for a multi-unit prosthesis make more difference than the implant body in most plans.

The prosthesis and laboratory work

In full-mouth plans, the material and workmanship of the bridgework make up most of the total. This is the last place where savings should be made.

Preparatory procedures and later maintenance

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