W&H United Kingdom
W&H Dentalwerk wins National Innovation Award
Primea Advanced Air Turbine is a leap forward in the technology of dental treatment
Dental turbines are among the dentist’s most important instruments. The noise of them alone is enough to fill many patients with dread and anxiety when they go into a dental practice. W&H Dentalwerk Bürmoos GmbH has managed to find a solution to this problem. With the new Primea Advanced Air dental turbine generation, consistent rotation speeds, peak performance approximately 50% higher, shadow-free illumination of the treatment site and less noise when the turbine is running – are now achievable for the first time. Both dentist and patient benefit from this.
This innovation not only has a high level of economic potential, it also impressed the expert jury awarding the National State Prize. W&H was awarded the National State Prize for Innovation by Dr Margarete Schramböck of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs in the category of innovation on 22 March 2018 in the “Aula der Wissenschaften” in Vienna. “The award is for all the company’s employees. This innovation was a joint effort – from the initial idea, to its implementation and the finished product, plus so much more. Teamwork is firmly anchored at the core of W&H Dentalwerk Büromoos – a quality which makes me proud,” said W&H President Peter Malata.
The panel’s opinion – a lot of technical heart and a sensational team
“W&H has developed an adjustable pneumatic drive system, which opens up the possibility for revolutionized dental treatment. Future trips to the dentist will no longer come with the high frequency noise that we’re all so familiar with – visits will be much quieter. Dentists can now adapt each procedure to the individual patient. A lot of technical heart, brain power, funding and time have been invested in this product, alongside a sensational team, and the new system has been successfully patented. As a result, we believe that this will be something big – a product “Made in Austria”, that will take the world by storm, which we will hear a great deal about,” summarized panel judge and spokesperson Dr Martha Mühlberger, Vice Rector of Montanuniversität Leoben.
National State Prize for Innovation – Austria's highest national accolade for outstanding performance
The most innovative companies in Austria competed for the National State Prize this year. The award is presented by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and organised by Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws). The aim is to acknowledge excellent innovation among Austrian companies and to highlight their individual economic, general economic and social policy aspirations in public. Out of the total of 438 submissions to the state innovation competitions, 25 were submitted for the National State Prize for Innovation. An expert jury nominated six companies as finalists. The six nominations included W&H.
The W&H innovation – Primea Advanced Air
In the field of modern dentistry, W&H has developed the Primea Advanced Air Turbine, an innovative pneumatic drive system for dental turbines. “The global number of dentists is currently around 700,000. This shows that there is high potential for our technology,” explains W&H President Peter Malata. While in the past, the rotation speed and the power of the turbines could not be set the dentist can precisely adjust the new system for the specific dental treatment. The rotation speed of the bur can now be set precisely and as a result of electronic regulation remains constant even when the contact pressure is increasing during the treatment. A better top performance shortens treatment times, and sensitive fine preparations can be carried out largely without thermal damage or soft tissue injuries. Lower levels of noise while the instrument is running thanks to a decrease in idle speed, improve the experience for patients. The ring-shaped LED lights in the small instrument head give dentists the benefit of 100% shadow-free illumination at the treatment site.
“W&H has been a leader in the field of LED technology for dental handpieces for decades. The ring LED has been welcomed by the market from the start. With our innovative drive and lighting technology, we have significant unique selling points and a competitive advantage of several years,” explains Dr Wilhelm Brugger, member of the R&D Management Team. Peter Malata is also impressed by the technology: “We are really pleased with the National State Prize for Innovation and the associated recognition of what we have developed. With this innovation, we reached a milestone that opens up an entirely new dimension of minimally invasive, precise and atraumatic dental treatment,” says the W&H President.
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