Straumann: Implanting knowledge is vital!

In this year’s series of interviews for the EFP Partner newsletter, the EFP is looking at the link between lifestyle, nutrition, and oral health synergies and systemic health, which is now hardly disputed. From diabetes to cardiovascular problems, what goes on in the mouth does matter for the rest of the body. So, how are the EFP and its partners dealing with this?

In this interview we talk to Dr George Raeber, who heads up the Global R&D and Innovation for the Straumann Group.

Straumann is a company making implants and doing research and development into new implements and strategies. It is not directly patient facing. However, it is acutely aware of the growing body of evidence that links oral and systemic health.

“For me this is obvious because the mouth is not separate from the body,” says Dr Raeber, adding that “there are now multiple very relevant examples that have been proven by science.”

It isn’t just that bad oral health can contribute to poorer systemic health, which, while certainly true, is not the whole picture.

“There is a consensus that puts a bidirectional relationship particularly between periodontal disease and diabetes.” He adds: “Diabetes affects periodontal health and vice versa, this is why it is such an important vicious circle.”

So important does Dr Raeber feel this connection to be that he believes periodontal screening should become much more part of integrated diabetic care.

Whilst there is no conclusive evidence on some other comorbidities, Dr Raeber believes that there is good scientific evidence to suggest that chronic inflammation in the mouth could lead to bacteria crossing into organs such as the heart or brain causing them problems too. “The biology actually makes sense” he opines.

Remember, Straumann doesn’t deal directly with the public, so its education function is aimed at the professionals that use its products. It is less about diet and lifestyle, more about products and science.

Data and evidence

“We’re in a B2B business, so our customers are dental professionals. We need to provide data and evidence; we help with summarising the science and providing those summaries to doctors.” 

Dr Raeber is head of research and development and innovation, so how important is it to make sure things are advancing so that new equipment can detect things about oral health that might help patients in terms of systemic health?

“It’s a very good question with no simple answer!” However, he soon starts providing answers as to what needs to be done. “We need to look at what the problems are today that need to be solved. Our main target is enabling our dental professionals with the innovations that we’re providing to people, for example, with comorbidities. They’re not just missing a tooth, they might have diabetes, they might be smokers.”

He goes on: “They actually might have had cancer treatment or are on bisphosphonates. With this their healing capabilities are, for example, reduced. How can we provide safe and reliable treatment with our innovations to those patients who will most likely benefit most from those kinds of treatments?”

One of the answers to that is in having partnerships with interval-imaging companies where the software, along with AI, is providing interesting outcomes in terms of detecting very early signs of oral disease. Getting that new information to doctors and telling them what to do with it in terms of reparative work—but more importantly, perhaps, regenerative work—is key. Prevention through early detection is vital.

However, even with early detection and better monitoring not every tooth can be saved, whatever the cause.  Implants will always be necessary and thus peri-implantitis can appear.  George Raeber accepts that much can and has to be done to obviate this where possible.

Maintaining implants

“There is some heavy lifting on the innovation side that we are doing on the maintenance side. Not only the maintenance of our implants, but the maintenance of the entire implant body that is out there. You know almost 50 million implants are placed globally every year, and the complications need to be taken very seriously.”

This is all very well but what does that actually mean? What is Straumann doing practically?

“We have a limited possibility to completely prevent”, he admits, “but there are a number of things we are doing. First of all, you need to educate people to place implants correctly and to restore them properly. That makes a huge difference.”

Dr Raeber is proud of what Straumann is doing. It is working with the ITI, the international team for implantology, on education. Together in 2025 they ran 7,000 education events reaching 270,000 clinicians. 

Dr Raeber says the training is comprehensive. “We teach how to place implants. A lot of these courses are also hands-on. We teach them modern implantology, digital workflows, digital planning that help to place the implants in the right position. So, this is where it all starts.”

Going forward, George Raeber believes there will be miniaturization of smart sensors connected to smartphones, which might measure things in the saliva and blood in the mouth. There is lots to look forward to.

One last thought he has though is the bit of systemic health you may not have thought about: mental health.

How many missing teeth are there in the world? “Twenty to thirty billion, so there are a lot of missing teeth!” exclaims Doctor Raeber. Only 7% of people who could afford treatment are getting it. “You know from those people, 220 million versus 16 million, most of them are getting no treatment. This means they are losing vital bone and soft tissue. If they would actually get treated, implants would maintain over a longer lifespan.”

Having no teeth or few teeth, or blackened teeth hurts people. They feel self-conscious, don’t want to smile, won’t go out.

Lifestyle and diet have undoubtedly contributed to many of those tooth losses, but proper dental treatment, and access to implants where necessary, can change all that. So, yes, physical systemic health and oral health are connected, but so too is mental health and surely that deserves parity of esteem!