Straumann: 70 years of implant science

Straumann was founded in 1954 in Basel, Switzerland by Dr Reinhard Straumann, an engineer and metallurgist. The company began with orthopaedic research into how metals interact with human bone, and moved into dental implantology in the 1970s in collaboration with Professor Andre Schroeder at the University of Bern. That collaboration produced the ITI (International Team for Implantology) research group, which remains the world's largest independent implant research network with over 20,000 members.

What sets Straumann apart from the hundreds of implant manufacturers now on the market is their depth of research. Over 900 peer-reviewed scientific publications support Straumann implant products. These are not manufacturer-funded white papers or marketing brochures. They are independent clinical studies published in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Clinical Oral Implants Research, and the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants.

More than 14 million Straumann implants have been placed in patients worldwide. That volume of real-world clinical use, tracked over decades, gives both clinicians and patients a level of confidence that newer or smaller brands simply cannot match.

SLActive surface: why healing is faster with Straumann

The surface of a dental implant is where the critical biological process of osseointegration occurs. Osseointegration is the direct fusion of living bone to the titanium implant surface, and the quality and speed of this fusion determines the success of the entire treatment.

Straumann's SLActive surface technology is the most advanced implant surface currently available. Understanding how it works requires a brief look at how conventional implant surfaces differ.

Conventional implant surfaces

Most dental implant manufacturers use a sand-blasted and acid-etched (SLA) surface. This process creates a rough micro-texture on the titanium that bone cells can grip onto. SLA surfaces work well and have been the industry standard for over 20 years. However, they are hydrophobic, meaning they repel fluids. When a conventional SLA implant is placed into bone, blood and proteins must overcome this hydrophobic barrier before bone cells can begin attaching. This passive process takes time, which is why conventional osseointegration requires six to twelve weeks.

How SLActive is different

Straumann's SLActive surface begins with the same sand-blasting and acid-etching process, but then undergoes a chemical modification step. The implant surface is conditioned in nitrogen gas and stored in a sodium chloride solution that preserves its chemical activity. This creates a surface that is hydrophilic — it actively attracts blood and proteins rather than repelling them.

The practical result is significant:

For patients, this means a shorter gap between implant surgery and the final crown, and a shorter overall treatment timeline from start to finish.

• Immediate blood contact: When a SLActive implant is placed into bone, blood and proteins coat the surface within seconds rather than the minutes or hours required for conventional surfaces.
• Faster bone cell attachment: The hydrophilic surface promotes rapid adhesion of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) to the implant surface.
• Accelerated new bone formation: Clinical studies show that new bone forms on the SLActive surface approximately twice as fast as on conventional SLA surfaces during the first four weeks.
• Reduced healing time: Osseointegration with SLActive takes three to four weeks compared with six to twelve weeks for conventional surfaces.

Roxolid: stronger than pure titanium

The standard material for dental implants has historically been grade 4 commercially pure (CP) titanium. CP titanium is biocompatible, corrosion-resistant, and well-tolerated by the body. However, it has a limitation: to achieve adequate structural strength, implants made from CP titanium need to be a certain minimum diameter.

This becomes a clinical problem when a patient has a narrow jaw ridge. In these situations, a standard-diameter implant may not fit without bone grafting, which adds cost, treatment time, and surgical complexity.

What Roxolid is

Roxolid is Straumann's proprietary alloy that combines approximately 85 per cent titanium with 15 per cent zirconium. The resulting material is roughly 50 per cent stronger than grade 4 CP titanium in terms of fatigue strength and tensile strength.

The clinical benefit is straightforward: because Roxolid is stronger, implants made from Roxolid can be manufactured with a narrower diameter while maintaining the same structural integrity as wider CP titanium implants. This means:

Roxolid has the same biocompatibility and osseointegration characteristics as pure titanium. It is not a compromise material; it is an engineered improvement that expands the range of patients who can receive implants without additional surgical procedures.

• Implants can be placed in narrower bone ridges that would otherwise require bone grafting before implant placement.
• Bone grafting may be reduced or eliminated entirely, saving the patient a separate surgical procedure, months of healing time, and potentially thousands of dollars.
• Less invasive placement in areas with limited space between adjacent teeth or anatomical structures.
• Reduced post-operative discomfort because a smaller-diameter preparation preserves more of the surrounding bone.

BLT and BLX: implant designs for every clinical situation

Straumann's current implant portfolio includes two primary implant designs, each optimised for different clinical scenarios.

Straumann BLT (Bone Level Tapered)

The BLT is Straumann's established workhorse implant. It features a tapered body that mimics the natural shape of a tooth root, which provides excellent primary stability in a wide range of bone types. The BLT is used for standard implant placements where the bone quality is adequate and there is sufficient healing time before the final restoration.

Key features of the BLT:

• Tapered body for self-cutting insertion and high initial stability
• CrossFit connection for a secure, predictable interface between implant and abutment
• Available in both Roxolid and CP titanium
• Available with SLActive or standard SLA surface
• Extensive long-term data from clinical use spanning over a decade

Straumann BLX (Bone Level X)

The BLX is Straumann's more recently developed design, specifically engineered for challenging clinical situations. It was designed from the ground up for immediate protocols, meaning cases where the implant is placed into a fresh extraction socket, where a temporary crown is attached on the same day as surgery, or both.

Key features of the BLX:

Your implant dentist at Pakenham Creek Family Dentist will select the appropriate implant design based on your bone quality, bone quantity, the location of the implant in the jaw, and the planned restoration type. Both designs are backed by Straumann's full component guarantee and global service network.

• More pronounced taper and deeper thread design for maximum primary stability, even in soft bone
• VeloDrill protocol that allows progressive under-preparation of the bone site to increase insertion torque
• Designed for immediate placement and immediate loading in appropriate cases
• TorcFit connection that provides a secure, audible click-fit when the abutment is seated
• Available in Roxolid with SLActive surface

Lifetime component guarantee and global serviceability

This is one of the most important but least discussed advantages of choosing Straumann, and it is a point that only becomes relevant years or decades after your implant is placed.

Straumann guarantees that prosthetic components for their implant systems will be available indefinitely. This means that if you need a replacement abutment screw, a new abutment, or any other component at any point in the future, the part will exist and can be ordered. This guarantee applies regardless of when the implant was originally placed.

Why this matters

A dental implant is designed to last 20 years, 30 years, or a lifetime. Over that span of time, you may change dentists, move to a different city or state, or travel overseas. If a component needs replacing, the dentist who services the implant needs to be able to identify the exact implant system, order the correct part, and fit it precisely.

With Straumann, this is straightforward because:

This global serviceability is something that smaller or regional implant manufacturers cannot offer. If a budget brand discontinues a product line, which happens regularly in the dental implant industry, the components for that implant may become unavailable. Patients are then left with an implant in their jaw that no dentist can service if a component fails.

• Comprehensive component catalogue: Every implant Straumann has ever manufactured has a corresponding set of prosthetic components that remain in production.
• Global presence: Straumann operates in over 100 countries. Any Straumann-trained dentist, anywhere in the world, can identify and service your implant.
• Digital records: Each Straumann implant has a unique lot number that is recorded in your dental file, enabling precise identification even decades later.

What you lose with cheaper implant systems

The Australian dental implant market includes hundreds of brands at a wide range of price points. A single Straumann implant typically costs more than a budget alternative, and patients reasonably ask what justifies the price difference. Here is what separates established, research-backed systems from lower-cost alternatives:

Limited long-term clinical evidence

Straumann has over 900 peer-reviewed publications and real-world clinical data spanning more than 40 years. Many budget implant brands have been on the market for five to ten years and have little or no independent published data. Dental implants are a long-term treatment, and a five-year track record does not tell you what will happen at ten, twenty, or thirty years.

Slower healing surfaces

The SLActive surface is proprietary to Straumann. Budget brands typically use basic SLA or machined surfaces that require longer osseointegration times, typically six to twelve weeks versus three to four weeks with SLActive. Longer healing means longer waiting for your final crown, more time on a soft diet, and a longer overall treatment timeline.

Weaker materials

Roxolid titanium-zirconium alloy is exclusive to Straumann. Budget brands use grade 4 CP titanium, which is adequate in standard situations but limits options when bone width is restricted. Without Roxolid, narrower implants compromise structural strength, and patients with narrow ridges may need bone grafting that could otherwise have been avoided.

Discontinued product lines

Small and mid-size implant manufacturers are frequently acquired, merged, or shut down. When a product line is discontinued, the components for those implants may become unavailable within a few years. Patients are left with an orphaned implant that is progressively harder to service. Straumann's market position and financial stability make discontinuation effectively impossible.

Manufacturing tolerances

The precision of the connection between the implant body and the abutment is critical. A poor fit allows micro-movement and bacterial infiltration at the connection, which can lead to screw loosening, abutment fracture, or peri-implant bone loss over time. Straumann manufactures all components to tolerances measured in microns, with automated quality control at every stage. Budget manufacturers may not achieve the same consistency.

No global service network

If you move interstate or overseas, a Straumann implant can be serviced by any of the thousands of Straumann-trained dentists globally. A budget brand implant placed in Pakenham may be unrecognisable to a dentist in Brisbane, Perth, London, or Auckland.

99.6 per cent: what the survival data actually shows

When we say Straumann implants have a 99.6 per cent ten-year survival rate, this figure comes from peer-reviewed longitudinal studies published in indexed scientific journals. It is not a manufacturer warranty claim.

To put this in perspective:

By comparison, budget implant brands with only five to ten years on the market report survival rates based on much shorter follow-up periods. A five-year survival rate of 95 per cent does not predict what happens at ten or twenty years because many failure modes, particularly peri-implantitis and component fatigue, take years to manifest.

• Out of every 1,000 Straumann implants placed, approximately 996 are still functioning perfectly after ten years.
• The small number of failures (roughly four per thousand) are overwhelmingly attributable to patient factors such as uncontrolled diabetes, heavy smoking, or poor oral hygiene rather than implant design or material failure.
• Many Straumann implants placed in the 1980s and 1990s are still functioning today, giving the system a real-world track record exceeding 40 years.

Why our team chose Straumann over every other system

The implant team at Pakenham Creek Family Dentist evaluated multiple implant systems before committing to Straumann exclusively. The decision came down to five factors:

Using a single, premium system exclusively also means our team develops deep expertise with that system rather than spreading experience across multiple brands. Every implant we place uses the same components, the same surgical protocol, and the same restorative workflow. This consistency improves precision and reduces the chance of error.

• Evidence: No other system has as much published, peer-reviewed clinical data. When we place an implant, we want to know with the highest possible confidence what the outcome will be at 10, 20, and 30 years. Straumann is the only system that gives us that data.
• Healing speed: SLActive surface technology means our patients heal faster. A three to four week osseointegration period versus six to twelve weeks is a meaningful difference in treatment time and patient comfort.
• Versatility: Between BLT and BLX designs, Roxolid material, and the full range of prosthetic components, Straumann covers every clinical scenario we encounter, from straightforward single-tooth replacements to complex full-arch rehabilitations.
• Patient protection: The lifetime component guarantee and global service network mean our patients are never left with an orphaned implant. This is a commitment we make to every patient at the time of treatment.
• Training and support: Straumann provides extensive continuing education, clinical support, and access to the ITI research network. This keeps our team at the leading edge of implant technique and evidence.

What this means for you as a patient

Choosing a dentist who uses Straumann implants gives you several practical advantages:

• Faster treatment: SLActive surface reduces your healing time, which means a shorter gap between surgery and your final crown or bridge.
• Fewer additional procedures: Roxolid material allows narrower implants in tight spaces, potentially avoiding bone grafting.
• Higher predictability: A 99.6 per cent ten-year survival rate, backed by 900-plus peer-reviewed publications, means your implant is overwhelmingly likely to succeed and last for decades.
• Lifetime serviceability: Replacement components will always be available, and any Straumann-trained dentist worldwide can service your implant.
• Immediate loading options: The BLX implant design allows same-day temporary teeth in appropriate cases, so you never have to leave the practice with a visible gap.
• Confidence: You are receiving the same implant system used in university hospitals, specialist clinics, and centres of excellence globally. It is not an unproven or untested product.

Payment options at Pakenham Creek Family Dentist

We understand that dental implants are a significant investment. To make Straumann implant treatment accessible, Pakenham Creek Family Dentist offers the following payment options:

A full written treatment plan with itemised costs is always provided before any implant treatment begins. No surprises, no hidden fees.

• HICAPS: On-the-spot claiming with all major Australian private health funds. Your rebate is deducted at the point of payment so you only pay the gap.
• Afterpay: Split your payment into four interest-free fortnightly instalments.
• Zip Pay: Flexible interest-free payment plans for eligible patients.
• SuperCare: Access your superannuation to pay for dental implant treatment. SuperCare facilitates early release of super for dental procedures on compassionate or financial hardship grounds.
• NDP (National Dental Plan): Interest-free payment plans with no deposit for eligible patients.