At the entrance to the vast production workshop, the huge glass roof with its natural skylight almost clashes amidst the hum of the machines. “We wanted a nice place. Just because we’re in a factory doesn’t mean it has to be ugly.”smiles Olivia Veran, before pointing to a large empty space. “It is here that the two new automated manufacturing lines for dental aligners will be installed, which will arrive in the coming months”explains the general manager of Biotech Dental, also a dental surgeon.
The Provencal group, based in Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), has invested 15 million euros in this brand new 3,500 square meter site, intended to become the flagship of its Smilers brand, which markets transparent dental trays. “We have gone from an average rate of 2,500 aligners per day to nearly 7,000. And we will further expand our production capacity to 17,500 aligners per day by the end of the year”specifies Philippe Veran, its president.
A few meters away, employees are busy processing the day’s orders, shaping dental appliances using a thermoformer from resin models fresh from the 3D printer installed next door. “Products are custom made for each patient based on treatment plans developed by our teams of orthodontists”he continues.
Invisible aligners
In the offices upstairs, these smile specialists determine, using software powered by artificial intelligence, the different movements of the teeth to be put in place to correct their alignment. Once amended and validated by the patient’s orthodontist or referring dentist, their projections are sent to production. “On average, a global treatment has 34 to 35 gutters per patient. Each gutter is worn for one to two weeks »explains Olivia Veran.
Tricolor champion of dental implants, the group, co-founded by Philippe Veran in 1987, took the turn of invisible aligners in 2013. At the time, the market was still locked by the patents held by the American Align Technology, which markets its aligners under the Invisalign brand to orthodontists around the world. Taking the risk, the entrepreneur still launches his own products. In order to avoid a head-on collision with the American giant, the Provençal first approaches only dentists, a market left aside by Align Technology. A profitable strategy: the latter now constitute almost 70% of its clientele.
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