At the start of the new year 2018, Dentsply Sirona, the market leader in the dental industry, can celebrate a double success with two high-quality imaging systems: In Bensheim, the 50,000th Orthophos was produced in December and the 50,000th Heliodent in early January. Both units stand for innovative X-ray imaging technologies that ensure the highest level of image quality.
The production of the 50,000th Heliodent Plus X-ray tube assembly is a historic milestone: The first Dentsply Sirona X-ray tube assembly was launched back in 1934 by Siemens-Reiniger-Werke (SRW). In the smallest X-ray unit in the world at that time, the X-ray beam was focused with pinpoint accuracy on the area for examination by a cone-shaped tube assembly. In 1955, SRW introduced the HELIODENT intraoral X-ray unit. Along with the name, the basic principle of the tube assembly has remained almost unchanged up to the present day. From 1978 onwards, Siemens produced the machine at the Bensheim site. Since then, more than 200,000 intraoral X-ray tube assemblies have left the Bensheim plant. The current model was presented to the dental industry in 2009, has been continually optimized since then, and was produced and delivered for the 50,000th time in January 2018.
With the Orthophos imaging system, which has received several awards for image quality and design, dentists can produce top-quality images in 2D and 3D mode at a low radiation dose. The platform it is based on was first marketed in 2004 and has been continually optimized. Since 2015, the Orthophos SL, the newest member of the Orthophos family, has been on the market setting new standards. At the end of December 2017, the 50,000th Orthophos left the Bensheim plant.
Continuous further development as a concept for success
"As a result of our decades of experience and our technical expertise, the Heliodent Plus is the optimal basis for intraoral X-rays. Its reliability, easy operation, and flexibility make the Heliodent Plus the perfect intraoral solution for every practice," says Dr. Stefan Hehn, Vice President Imaging Systems. "The constantly growing numbers produced since its introduction and high customer satisfaction with the system are proof of this."
"The Orthophos SL has also been continually optimized since its introduction in 2015," explains Jörg Haist, Head of Product Management Imaging Systems. "The SL 3D features a number of options for meeting all the imaging requirements of dentists ‒ different volume sizes, HD/SD/low dose modes, and intelligent and intuitive software that gets the maximum from the excellent images and can also link the images directly with treatment using the integrated treatment planning software."
Quality "Made in Germany"
"Our ultra-modern X-ray units such as the Heliodent Plus and Orthophos SL are developed and produced entirely in Bensheim," Hehn sums up. "We are proud to have had such a huge success with these two systems. This is proof of our strategy of investing in high-quality research and development with the needs of our customers in mind. We are pleased that we can continue to live up to our responsibility as the market leader and we are proud that our systems help dentists around the world make more reliable diagnoses that allow them to provide better and faster treatment.
