DIO, which is celebrating its 32nd anniversary, has been pursuing the implant business over the last 18 years. DIO has been expanding through not only the domestic, but also the overseas market continuously, and entered the digital area since 2010. As a result, the digital dentistry of DIO was successful in achieving groundbreaking conversion into a ‘company specializing in digital dentistry’ through launching of ‘DIOnavi.’, a digitalized surgical guide system, in 2014.

DIOnavi., completed through numerous trials and errors, succeeded in producing the ideal and best combination of CT data and oral scan data, that is, capable of increasing the accuracy. As a result, DIOnavi. secured approximately 600 users within 2 years of launching its surgical guide system that considered both the occlusion and stress dispersion of the patients.

Since then, DIOnavi. exceeded 200,000 mark in the accumulated number of implant placed within 4 years of launching in 2018 and recorded more than 400,000 implant placed by the end of last year.

An interested party of DIO stated that, “DIOnavi. is continuing on with its reputation as the representative digital guide system used most extensively in Korea since its launching in 2014. After having reached the 100,000 implant placement mark in 2017, it has exceeded 200,000 mark in the accumulated number of implant placements in October 2018,” and that, “it is a growth that exceeded the performances achieved in 3 previous years within a year.”

According to DIO, DIOnavi. appears to have surpassed the 400,000 implant placement mark last year. DIO explained that 300,000 mark in the accumulated number of implant placed was recorded on the basis of the guides produced and supplied by DIO and, if the numbers directly produced by the individual dental clinics and hospitals are to be included, 400,000 mark in the accumulated number of implant placed would have easily surpassed by the end of last year.

DIO, having firmly established its status as the leading company in digital dentistry lead by DIOnavi., has succeeded in entering the premium market in the USA with flying colors.

DIO drew the attention of the industry by not only taking over the ‘WHITECAP INSTITUTE’, an educational institution specializing in implant situated in the State of Utah in the USA, last year but also entering into long-term supply contract for ‘Full Digital Solutions’ such as DIOnavi.,for 5 years valued at US$ 50 million (approximately 60 billion Won) with network dental group that owns 9 large-scale dental hospitals in the USA.

The supply contract with large-scale network dental group in the USA is a proof that the innovative technological capabilities of DIO are drawing the attention of the dental industry in the USA, which has the largest dental market in the world. DIO is anticipating that this will act as a catalyst in securing the vantage point for further expansion in the USA market in the coming years.

Mr. Jinbaek Kim, the CEO of DIO, disclosed that, “we were able to achieve tangible performances by directly aiming at the premium dental market in the USA on the foundation of our globally leading digital technology and powerful sales network,” and that, “more than 300% growth is expected for the sales revenues of our corporation in the USA and we look forward to even further growth on the basis of such business model.”

He also added that, “DIO is focusing on differentiated sales strategies centered-around bold investment for personnel resources to cultivate ‘DIOnavi.’ specialists and large-scale network dental clinics,” and that, “we shall unsparingly provide support to continually secure vantage point in the premium market in the USA.”

DIO, is providing other tools for more accurate and stable execution of implant treatments. In addition to DIOnavi, the ‘UV Activator2’ was completed on the foundation of the same digitalized technology and it led to the result of being able to take a step closer to the realization of the ‘ideal implant treatment’ that DIO conceptualized.

An interested party of DIO stated that, “we have been focusing on and researching titanium surface processing for long time with the volition to undergo ‘innovation’ rather than ‘evolution’ in order to achieve improvement of biological functions of titanium surface,” and that, “UV Activator2 created by adding innovation upon innovation achieved sensational responses of the industry from the initial stage of launching with the entire advanced reservation sales quantity being sold out prior to the mass production of the product.”

Sandblasted with large girt and Acid Etched (SLA), which is being evaluated as the most ideal implant surface processing technology thus far, results in biological aging that interferes with the adhesion of the bone and implant due to attachment of organic substances to the implant such as hydrocarbon in the air, etc. as time passes after the surface processing.

Professor Ogawa et. al of UCLA, USA have been researching the phenomenon of the implant surface converting from hydrophobic to hydrophilic in nature through irradiation with UV ray. It has been reported through diversified research results that elevating the BIC rate to the ideal level can achieve increase in the initial fixation capabilities and extend osseointegration.

The issue at hand was how to achieve the most effective UV irradiation since the effects of UV irradiation will disappear if the irradiated implant is exposed to air for prescribed period of time. Therefore, it was possible to create ‘UV Activator2’ as the result of research and development under the concept of executing UV irradiation immediately prior to placing the implant into the patient.

In the case of the early model, the implant had to be irradiated with UV for about 15~20 minutes, which acted as a disadvantage of not being able to readily cope with the situation of having to replace implant urgently under actual clinical situations.

An interested party of DIO emphasized that, “although the existing 20 minutes of UV irradiation time was acknowledged as a remarkable technological feat, we put a lot of efforts to reduce the UV irradiation time in order to apply it more usefully and conveniently in actual clinical situations,” and that, “as the result, we can confidently state that UV Activator2 is a phenomenal result that transcends innovation with UV irradiation time of only 20 seconds.”

DIO, which has been emphasizing ‘Innovation upon innovation’ on the foundation of digitalization technology, will be opening the ‘Innovation R&D Center’ in the Magok District in Seoul next month. Entire digital research and development personnel as well as all the relevant financial resources will be concentrated in the Innovation R&D Center with 1 underground floor and 7 above ground floors constructed on a land area of 1,389㎡.

An interested party of DIO stated that, “Innovation R&D Center is expected to achieve synergic effect in technology innovation by gathering more than 100 research and development personnel including the ‘Auto Merging & Planning’ system development team that grafts digital big data and AI technology as well as the research team that strengthens the connectivity of digital dental treatment on the foundation of digitalization technology.”

Mr. Jinbaek Kim, the CEO, disclosed that, “it is possible to anticipate collaboration and innovation effects of the Innovation R&D Center of DIO since a wide range of new ideas can be delivered and exchanged more easily through gathering of all the outstanding personnel of the company in one location,” and added that, “it will become the bridgehead for expansion of the next-generation digital dentistry business as the core axis of research and development of new technologies that the dental industry currently wants and needs.”