Ultradent Corporate Profile

History of Ultradent

Ultradent Products, Inc., began when one forward-thinking dentist, Dr. Dan Fischer, set out to create dental products more effective than those that were currently available. Dissatisfied with many dental options, Dr. Fischer hoped to develop better products that were not only advanced for their time but would also set future industry standards.

It all began in 1974, when, upon graduating from Loma Linda University

and starting his own dental practice in the Salt Lake Valley, Dr. Fischer noticed a dire need for more rapid, profound hemostasis. At the time, no products existed on the market that predictably controlled bleeding and sulcular fluid, which made getting accurate impressions and the overall practice of high-quality operative dentistry a challenge. Experimenting with various chemistries after-hours and often drawing his own blood to test their hemostatic effects, Dr. Fischer discovered a solution that, when combined with his innovative scrubbing technique, achieved rapid, profound hemostasis every time. This product, known as Astringedent^®, is now considered Ultradent’s flagship product. In order to share it with the industry, Dr. Fischer founded Ultradent in 1978. 

What began as a family-only business quickly grew as word of Ultradent’s groundbreaking, high-quality products spread. In 35 short years, the company expanded from a small home operation to the 220,000-square-foot facility in South Jordan, Utah, that Ultradent calls home today. Ultradent’s headquarters houses 1,100 employees and continues to expand, breaking ground last fall on a 10,000-square-foot building to create space for increased molding and manufacturing. 

One of the most vertically integrated dental companies in the world, Ultradent manufactures over 90% of its products (which includes over 500 materials, devices, and instruments) at its Utah campus. Instead of saving on production costs through outsourcing, which many U.S. manufacturers do, Dr. Fischer firmly believes in the opposite. He says, “The more one outsources, the more one ships production, or R&D, or other aspects to other parts of the world, the more one loses touch with what has made them who they are.” Ultradent exports approximately 70% of its products internationally to countries in nearly every continent in the world. 

Ultradent currently holds dozens of patents and trademarks on unique products, application device materials, and techniques. Ultradent’s product family now includes world-class adhesives, composites, tooth whitening systems, and endodontic products that are used by clinicians around the world, including dental professionals in large group practices, dental and veterinary labs, private practices, government agencies, and universities. Over the last decade, Ultradent expanded its reach to orthodontics, serving as the parent company for Opal Orthodontics. Also headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Opal Orthodontics houses its own on-site orthodontic clinic. 

A minimally invasive philosophy

Dr. Fischer has said, “Respecting and preserving our patients’ dentate throughout their life: this should be among our principal responsibilities. I believe to my bootstraps in respecting human tissues to the ultimate degree, in preserving mineral mother dentin, and in respecting supporting tissues as well. It comes down to first and foremost, remembering the fabulous human behind that oral cavity.” He goes on, “The more I cut the tooth, the more I weaken the tooth, and the more of the tooth I cut, and the more times I cut, the sooner I will kill the tooth. Trauma to the tooth is additive, even over decades!” 

Ultradent strives to offer the latest and greatest in technology, and Dr. Fischer’s passion for a minimally invasive approach to dentistry has and will continue to guide the development of every new product created in the future. It was this very approach that led to the creation of Ultradent’s extensive line of endodontic products available to clinicians today. 

Ultradent endodontics

Endo-Eze^® AET classic stainless steel files,

Ultradent’s extensive line of endodontic products and solutions, were born out the necessity for a successful endodontic protocol that met the minimally invasive philosophy that Dr. Fischer so passion-ately advocates. The result: the Endo-Eze Anatomic Endodontic Technology (AET) technique. Because of the 30° reciprocating motion of the handpiece, the system produces less-invasive root canal therapies, as the combination of motion and files proved able to better follow the natural canal anatomy. This stands in contrast to the popular rotary NiTi systems, which are not designed to replicate the naturally formed canal, but to prepare the canal in a round, conical shape. By following the natural canal shape, the files minimize excess removal of healthy tooth structure. 

Ultradent offered a number of endodontic products before introducing AET and has created a number of market-leading devices and chemistries since its introduction. A few of these are outlined here:

NaviTip^®

In the year 2000, Ultradent introduced NaviTip — the very first endodontic tip capable of delivering irrigants to just about any part of the root canal system. Today, with the world’s smallest and most technologically sophisticated cannula for irrigation and delivery, NaviTip remains unsurpassed in its performance. 

NaviTip features a unique rigidity at the handle of the tip, making it strong enough to be introduced as deep as needed in the canal. And the annealed and rounded tip end gives it the ability to navigate down the tiny intricate curvatures of any canal of any tooth. 

Available in four lengths (17 mm, 21 mm, 25 mm, and 27 mm), three gauges (29 ga, 30 ga, and 31 ga), and even with a flocked end to help clean debris or product out of a canal, NaviTip is available in an option to suit any need a clinician may have. The NaviTip even has a version with sideport openings that deliver irrigants toward the canal walls rather than toward the apex, which minimizes the risk of expressing strong chemistries past the apex.

Endo-Eze^®
Arios^™
and
Endo-Eze
AET
TiLOS^™

Building on the success of the AET files, Ultradent developed the Endo-Eze TiLOS system with several well-respected American and international specialists. This very simple technique uses both stainless steel and NiTi files in combination with traditional hand files. If the clinician prefers, the TiLOS system can be used without traditional hand files as well. The award-winning TiLOS system is available in convenient, autoclavable, preconfigured patient kits as well as refills. The simplest is the RediPack, which contains the files needed to treat about 90% of endodontic cases. The TiLOS technique still uses a reciprocating handpiece, which provides a “milling” rather than “drilling” motion. Experience has shown that a milling motion reduces the amount of file separation that occurs. And of course, the TiLOS instruments and technique follow the minimally invasive Ultradent philosophy that the company has been built on.

More and more clinicians are discovering Ultradent’s Engine Pack, which contains three engine-driven files. This preconfigured kit is perfect for the preflaring of canals — something every clinician does, but often requires gathering the necessary files from different kits to do so. The Engine Pack contains all the files needed for this preflaring procedure, it’s autoclavable, very economical, and it can be integrated into any technique currently being taught today.

The pulse of the endodontists

For many years, Ultradent has developed and provided endodontic equipment such as files, delivery tips, irrigants, handpieces, sealer, and gutta percha with the goal of simplifying and elevating the quality of endodontic outcomes. By maintaining close relationships with top endodontic researchers at several domestic and international universities, as well as by keeping several highly skilled dentists on staff, Ultradent continues to keep a finger on the pulse of this important and rapidly growing area of dentistry. Ultradent proudly offers the latest and most cutting-edge metals, file types, and technologies, while continually working to refine and work toward less-invasive endodontic solutions and protocol. To learn more about the endodontic products mentioned or the wide array of additional endodontic solutions provided by Ultradent, please visit ultradent.com, or call 800-552-5512.

This information was provided by Ultradent.