|
| home > history |
Dentsply Trubyte History
Photo Credit: 1927, Display at Pennsylvania Hotel, New York
On June 23, 1899, a little more than half a year before the start of a new century, The Dentist's Supply
Company of New York was formally chartered by the state of New York.
Secretary of State John T. McDonough signed the papers in Albany. Within a month, The Dentist's Supply Company
of New York was serving dental retail outlets and manufacturing its first product, artificial teeth.
Called 20th Century Teeth, in honor of the coming century, these platinum pin teeth were considered
revolutionary. Made of porcelain using techniques developed and perfected by George Whitely, 20th Century
Teeth had platinum pins baked into the porcelain structure to hold them in place within the dental base. This
was hailed as a major improvement in the design and manufacture of teeth and dentures.
In typical dentures of that day, teeth broke off from the dental base when the pressure of chewing and biting
created internal stresses. After the anchors were baked into the teeth, pins were soldered to the anchors to
hold the teeth in place. The strength of 20th Century Teeth earned The Dentist's Supply Company a reputation
for high quality goods.
The Dentist's Supply Company of New York was off and running. A century later, the company founded on the
strength of one product is DENTSPLY International, a company that serves the world's dental needs.
In 1931, Trubyte introduced a revolutionary product line - "New Trubyte Teeth". New Trubyte Teeth masterfully
combined esthetics and pleasing appearance with function and performance. This 'harmony of form' earned Trubyte
a reputation for being the finest artificial teeth in the world. In this era, Trubyte was a true pioneer in
its field.
What elevated New Trubyte Teeth to the top of the category was simple recognition of the harmony that exists
between face form and tooth form. Face forms are square, tapered or ovoid. Teeth take the appropriate shape
of the face. So, when square teeth are selected for a square face of similar proportions, the result is
successful and visually pleasing because the teeth remain in harmony with the face.
What was true then is true now. Trubyte assumed a leadership position in 1931 and remains a leader today.
The company has never wavered from the course of innovation and quality and remains committed to providing
the finest dental products.
 
History Of DENTSPLY
Tooth Product Development
DENTSPLY has continuously produced quality artificial teeth for the dental profession and dental laboratory
industry since receiving its Charter from the State of New York in 1899. The Company's many tooth lines which
have earned world-wide acceptance are regarded as standards of the industry. It lists numerous "Firsts" among
its technological and scientific achievements. Some of these include:
Soldered-in-Pins: The Soldered-in-Pins and Split Ring Anchorage first incorporated
in Twentieth Century Porcelain Teeth resulted in a stronger attachment and stronger teeth. Almost every
manufacturer of porcelain teeth converted to some form of Soldered-in-Pins.
Millimeter Measures: DENTSPLY was the first to measure and publish the dimensions
of teeth in millimeters, enabling dentists to order teeth to precisely meet case requirements.
Mould Guides: DENTSPLY was the first, and for some years the only, manufacturer
to provide mould guides for the selection of teeth.
Anatomical Posteriors: In 1909, the introduction of Twentieth Century Anatomical
Posteriors marked the first improvement in posterior teeth in the history of dentistry.
Dental Economics: Not the least of DENTSPLY's contributions to the progress of
dentistry was bringing the discussion of dental economics out in the open through the writings and papers of
Dr. George Wood Clapp.
Trubyte Teeth: DENTSPLY was the only tooth manufacturer with sufficient
foresight and initiative to recognize the value and to undertake the labor and expense of developing the
epoch-making discoveries of Dr. J. Leon Williams and Professor Alfred Gysi which resulted in the introduction
of Trubyte Teeth in 1914. Trubyte teeth were the greatest innovation to prosthetic dentistry since the
discovery of vulcanite.
Anterior Teeth Shaded In The Set: The Company developed porcelain formulas and
manufacturing processes by which, for the first time, "shading in-the-set" could be reproduced in artificial
teeth, an aesthetic advantage that was exclusive to Trubyte Teeth for years.
Gysi Technique: DENTSPLY made it possible for Dr. Gysi to visit America and,
through his classes, made available to the dental profession the Gysi system of denture restoration, the only
system which has survived without any change in its fundamentals.
Articulators: The first scientific articulator capable of reproducing mandibular
movements, the Gysi Adaptable Articulator was distributed by DENTSPLY. This was followed by the first
articulator with fixed adjustments capable of reproducing average movement of the mandible, the Gysi Simplex
Articulator.
Pins: Gold-Clad pins for denture teeth were first used in DENTSPLY's Twentieth
Century Solila Teeth.
Color Research: As far as we know, DENTSPLY was the first tooth manufacturer
to undertake extensive scientific research in colors of natural teeth. Colors of teeth in the mouths of over
2500 patients were accurately analyzed with a spectrophotometer. New methods of blending were found necessary
which resulted in the Company's patenting the three-piece process for making teeth.
Tooth Casing: DENTSPLY was the first to card anterior 6's and posterior 8's
on individual casings and to exchange broken sets of 6's without extra charge for fill-ins.
Detailing: The Company was the first tooth manufacturer to organize a group
of dentists, technicians, and laymen to call upon dentists and laboratories everywhere. Its value in helping
dealers build and maintain their tooth business is immeasurable.
Fluorescence: Recognizing the importance of fluorescence in natural teeth,
DENTSPLY incorporated it in artificial teeth in 1939. As a result New Hue and other teeth manufactured by
the company at that time, and since, have a natural controlled fluorescence which gives them their vital
appearance under all lighting conditions.
Trubyte New Hue Vitality Scale: In 1947, the Company introduced a system of
New Hue shades which gave dentists, for the first time, a guide to shade selection for edentulous patients.
This new shade selection system relating to the diminishing brilliance that occurs in natural teeth,
illustrated that as patients grew older, their teeth became darker with advanced age. The New Hue Shade
Vitality Scale was divided into six brilliance groups for patients of various ages.
Plastic Teeth: First introduced in the DENTSPLY line in 1947 with Trubyte
Acrylic Teeth. At that time all acrylic teeth had certain shortcomings. DENTSPLY worked diligently to
overcome these and introduced an improved Dentron formula in 1951 followed by Biotone in 1955.
Bioform Vacuum Fired Teeth: Introduced in 1950 by DENTSPLY, Bioform Teeth were
the very first successfully produced vacuum fired porcelain teeth. This revolutionary new process produced
the strongest, densest porcelain teeth in the world.
New Bioform Moulds were also introduced. These were actual reproductions of attractive natural teeth rather
than artists renderings of what teeth should look like. These moulds were the result of extensive studies of
natural teeth originated by Dr. J. Leon Williams and later expanded upon by Dr. Milus House.
Bioblend Teeth: In 1960, the Company introduced Bioblend Teeth. As the result
of a three year study in seven leading dental schools, the colors for Bioblend Teeth were those found to
appear most frequently in natural tooth color. Inserts of color are hand placed at various depths within each
tooth to break up the monotonous, artificial straight line effect found in most conventional artificial teeth.
Seven to nine different porcelains are used to create these most nat-ural effects.
Bioblend Blend Selector: As a companion product for Bioblend Teeth, the Company
developed the unique Trubyte Bioblend Blend Selector. This invaluable prosthetic aid for easy selection of
colors features a three tooth blend tab con-sisting of a central to match centrals, a lateral to match laterals
and a cuspid to match cuspids, in each of 12 Blends. All other shade guides are limited to a single central
shade guide tooth for each shade.
IPN Tooth Material: In 1981, DENTSPLY created a new tooth material that raised
plastic teeth to new levels of physical and aesthetic excellence. IPN stands for inter-penetrating polymer
network. It means that the tooth material is not just cross-linked like conventional plastic teeth, but doubly
interlocked. The result is a dramatic improvement in physical properties most important to denture wearers-high
wear resistance and excellent retention of surface luster.
IPN Guarantee: Initially introduced in 1987 as a direct result of the exceptional
durability of IPN material, the DENTSPLY 10-Year Guarantee applies to all Trubyte IPN Anteriors and Posteriors.
This includes Portrait IPN Anteriors, Bioblend IPN Anteriors, Bioform IPN Anteriors, Portrait IPN Posteriors,
Bioform IPN Posteriors, and BioStabil IPN Posteriors. These are the first and only teeth available to dentistry
that are "guaranteed against excessive wear, break-age or discoloration for a period of ten years of normal use."
Bioform Color Ordered Shade Guide: An important advancement in shade accuracy
and convenience. A tool to select the most appropriate tooth shade for both porcelain and plastic denture
teeth, plastic or porcelain fused-to-metal fixed restorations, as well as all-ceramic restorations, such as
Dicor crowns, veneers inlays and onlays. Two arrangements of the Shade Guide are available in plastic and
porcelain. These unique color ordered groupings are based on the highly regarded Munsell Color Notations,
identifying each Bioform Shade by HUE (or color), CHRO-MA (or saturation), and VALUE (or brilliance), thus
allowing for precise determination of true color composition of each Bioform Shade.
SLM Tooth Material: In 1992, a new tooth material was created by DENTSPLY to
provide the ultimate in wear resis-tance. SLM (Sustained Life Material) combines IPN material with ultra-high
molecular weight polyethylene to create a material 25% more wear resistant than IPN.
Trublend SLM Shade Guide: Contoured to fit the dentists hand and simplify shade
selection, the Trublend SLM Shade guide contains 24 shades in 3 color groups.
SLM Guarantee: Since Trublend SLM Denture Teeth are 25% more wear resistant
than IPN teeth, a new warranty against excessive wear, breakage, or discoloration through normal use was
created for the "clinical" life of the denture.
Portrait IPN Shade Guide: Portrait IPN Denture Teeth were developed in 1995 after 2 years of development
and testing to create the world's finest aesthetic denture tooth. The shade guide includes 27 of the world's
most poplar shades, combining 16 Vita ®, 8 Bioform
® shades plus three enhanced white shades - PW2, PW4 and PW7.
(Vita is a trademark of Vita Zahnfabrik GmbH.)
Click here for Trubyte Brand Development
|
|
