Planmeca signs record-breaking contracts

Finnish dental equipment manufacturer Planmeca delivers three fully digital teaching environments to King Saud University College of Dentistry and the National Guard of Saudi Arabia Health Affairs as part of an extensive local health care development and investment to education.

This substantial delivery agreement includes a turnkey solution with more than 1,000 dental units, simulation units, 2D and 3D X-ray systems combined with an innovative software platform, which seamlessly incorporates the devices and partner solutions into a high-tech, attractive learning concept. A similar solution with 127 dental units and a complete imaging and teaching system will also be delivered to the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio.

Planmeca's unique solution for dental universities has been adopted by numerous leading dental universities around the world. "Planmeca's sales growth in 2012 is more than 30%, excluding these university agreements. Our success proves that universities appreciate Planmeca's technology leadership and customer-focused product design. We are delighted to be working with these prestigious institutions. Planmeca's competitive advantage has been achieved by considerable investments in in-house R&D, cooperation with leading academic research groups and strong commercial partners," says Mr Heikki Kyostila, President of Planmeca Oy.

Unique linkage of dental equipment and software

The success of Planmeca's university solution is based on the capability to network digital dental equipment and software. This offers completely new possibilities for educational, research and clinic operation purposes and benefits all user groups in the university clinic. The networked Planmeca digital dental units, X-ray devices and software are perfectly integrated and automatically register all user activities. This provides interactive teaching methods for the clinical faculty and an inspiring learning environment with electronic curriculum for the students. The unique dental unit concept supports seamless transition from pre-clinical simulation training to clinical training and actual patient treatment.

Planmeca's advanced software for clinic management provides significant cost and time savings and allows easy software upgrades for future functionalities. Furthermore, networked equipment with remote monitoring possibilities brings real-time information for the technical staff, which ensures smooth clinic operation. User-specific settings for instrument adjustments or treatment positions can easily be transferred from a dental unit to another.

Innovative clean-tech infection control system

One of the key competitive advantages of the Planmeca university solution is the state-of-the art centralized infection control system. The solution automates infection control procedures and provides unique quality-assurance to guarantee patient safety. The advanced water system is chemical-free and generates significant cost, labor and energy savings. This clean-tech solution is an outcome of Planmeca's decade-long research cooperation with leading academics specialized in infection control and biofilm removal.

Strong commitment to high-quality dental education

The government of Saudi Arabia has given high priority to health care services development. With these projects, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education is investing in the new facilities of the Female dental college and builds a new dental hospital on the male college campus. At the same time, the National Guard of Saudi Arabia invests in top level teaching environment for the educational and research purposes of the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences College of Dentistry.

In co-operation with its local distributor Care Ltd., Planmeca delivers the complete digital university installations including 990 Planmeca Compact i and Planmeca Sovereign dental units and 100 simulation units as well as a complete imaging system consisting of 19 Planmeca ProMax 3D dental X-ray units, 345 Planmeca ProX digital intraoral imaging systems all interconnected with Planmeca Romexis software. The installations will be completed in fall 2012.

King Saud University and College of Dentistry

King Saud University is a public university located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with almost 38,000 degree students. As it was founded as Riyadh University in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz, it was the first university in the kingdom not dedicated to religious subjects. In 1982 it was renamed to King Saud University.

College of Dentistry of King Saud University was the first university-based dental training institution in the Arabian Gulf. College of Dentistry campus' new facilities include two buildings, of which one is allocated to the female dental students and the other a dental hospital. For more information, see http://dent.ksu.edu.sa

King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and College of Dentistry

The university was established under the umbrella of the National Guard and the Ministry of Higher Education. It is one of the most modern universities in the region and the Arab world, specializing in health sciences. The College of Dentistry in Riyadh has five departments: Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Science, Preventive Dental Science Department, Restorative Dental Science, Prosthetic Dental Science Department and Dental Auxiliary. For more information, see www.ksau-hs.edu.sa

Planmeca Oy

Planmeca Oy, established in 1971, designs and manufactures a full line of high technology dental equipment, including dental care units, panoramic and intraoral X-ray units and digital imaging products. Planmeca Oy, the parent company of the Finnish Planmeca Group, is strongly committed to R&D. The company is the U.S. market leader in dental imaging and one of the world's leading manufacturers in dental technology.

Planmeca is the largest privately owned company in the field and the third largest dental equipment manufacturer in Europe. 98% of Planmeca's production is exported to over 100 countries. The Group's estimated turnover for 2012 is approximately EUR 750 million with over 2,400 employees.