Kavo Dental Corporation
Lake Zurich, Illinois
INTERVIEWEE:
Robert E. Joyce, MBA, President, KaVo Dental Corporation
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QUESTION NO. 1
Inside Dentistry (ID): The dental industry and the oral health care arena have been changing rapidly within the past 5 to 10 years. What do you see as the most significant of those changes?
Bob Joyce (BJ): Changes in technology have really revolutionized the dental industry over the past 5 to 10 years. Historically, KaVo has always been known for its constant innovation and we are committed to trying to improve the dental experience—both for the patient and for the dentist—but technology has enabled us to do even more in recent years. Worldwide, we have filed more than 1,700 patents in dental medicine and technology, and the majority of these new innovations have been developed as a direct result of the needs of our customers.
We are focused on employing new technologies that not only offer patient care and comfort, but also supply dentists with improved ergonomic benefit and actually increase workflow in the office. Recent technology has allowed us to reduce or eliminate pain for the patient and offer additional efficiency to the dentist and their staff. It is this dedication to maximum comfort for the patients during treatment as well as precise, safe, and economical work on the part of the dentists that has truly been advanced through new research and technology.
QUESTION NO. 2
ID: In what ways—both internally and in dealing with the broader oral healthcare marketplace—has your company responded to these changes?
BJ: Improved technology has really allowed us to offer top-notch products that the market demands. These are designed to best enable the dentist to deliver the optimal benefit to the patient. Two areas that best demonstrate the application of this new technology are our DIAGNOdent products as well as our electric handpieces.
The DIAGNOdent Pen offers the mobility of a hand-held instrument, enhancing this high-tech system of detecting caries. A laser detection aid that penetrates below the tooth’s surface to identify and quantify caries lesions, the DIAGNOdent Pen enables patients and dentists to view a numeric valuation of the caries, aiding in diagnosis and facilitating the decision for treatment.
KaVo has been the worldwide leader in electric motors and handpieces for over 20 years and continues to set the standard in this category. Our lightweight handpieces are available in both high-speed and low-speed, and are created to diminish noise level while improving access and reducing user fatigue. These offerings create smooth, precise preparations and better restorative results. Individual products include GENTLEsilence 6500B, PROPHYwiz, and our line of air-driven low speeds. Additionally, the new ELECTROtorque is an all-in-one solution for high-speed, low-speed, and torque-control rotary, even allowing for endodontic procedures.
QUESTION NO. 3
ID: What do you see as your biggest responsibility to the marketplace and why does your choice rank as your first priority?
BJ: KaVo is committed not only to the dentist and his or her staff, but to the patients whom they serve. Creating safe instruments that can help to accelerate diagnosis and lead to improved treatment will obviously improve patient care, but it is also important to positively impact their experience while in the office by reducing noise levels. For the dentist and his or her staff, we want to help them perform their jobs to the best of their ability. To do so, we are focused on designing ergonomically friendly equipment and helping to improve workflow within the office.
QUESTION NO. 4
ID: How has the extreme makeover influenced or changed the landscape of dentistry in the past few years?
BJ: In many ways, the makeover trend has become a real enabler for many dentists to provide additional value-added services and to invest in other areas of their practices. While cosmetic purposes are more and more becoming the reason for someone to enter a dental office, once there, it creates an important opportunity to improve oral health. Additionally, the incremental revenue opportunity for dentists can be significant and important to fund the ability to invest in new technology, such as caries detection with the DIAGNOdent product.
