SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, May 28, 2015—In a joint development program, Heraeus Kulzer and Amann Girrbach have established the technical pre-conditions for the production of a full digital denture. This new license agreement permits reciprocal use by the two companies of their patented innovations.
Heraeus Kulzer, one of the leading global dental manufacturers, has joined forces with Vorarlberg, Austria-basedAmann Girrbach AG, a leading full-service provider of digital dental prosthetics, to smooth a path toward full digital dentures. Amann Girrbach has developed and patented a “Fabrication method for denture teeth,” while Heraeus Kulzer has created and manufactured the functional models for tooth blanks used in Amann Girrbach’s fabrication method. Heraeus Kulzer is also the owner of a European patent covering “Method and device for producing a dental prosthesis” that protects the entire digital process for the automated production of dentures.
The recently signed license agreement permits reciprocal use of the above patents by the two partners. The contractually protected methods and devices used in the digital production of a full denture are thus exclusively accessible to the two companies up to the expiration of the agreement. The license agreement also specifies exclusive use of the Heraeus Kulzer’s Pala teeth lines for the launch of the full digital denture.
“The protection provided by our patents makes it possible for our innovations to create value for our customers and our companies. The exclusive license agreement between Amann Girrbach and Heraeus Kulzer is the result of our close and productive partnership”, said Novica Savic, Head of the Dental Materials Division at Heraeus Kulzer. “This allows us to take an important step forward together in the production of full digital prosthetics, benefiting dental professionals and patients alike.”
Figure 1 below depicts Pala Mix & Match denture teeth in a special blank form secured in a retaining apparatus. The tooth blocks would then be milled based on a virtual denture model.
