Swiss dental chain aims for A+ dentistry

With 39 dental practices, Zahnarztzentrum.ch is the largest dental service provider in Switzerland, offering dental care for nearly 180,000 patients every year. By the end of 2022, the practice count will grow with one more clinic – and the expansion plans do not end there.

Since 2016, the Zahnarztzentrum.ch has been managed by Dr Christian Spliethoff, who originally came to the company as a dentist in 2009. A few years later, after having managed a dental practice in Solothurn and opening another one in Zug, he became the COO of Zahnarztzentrum.ch and joined its management board.

Today, even in his current role as the CEO, Dr Spliethoff occasionally performs dental treatments. However, most of his time is spent on making sure the dental practices around the country are spending their energy and time on offering a high level of dental care. This has been the fundamental principle for Zahnarztzentrum.ch for nearly 20 years now.

“We want to be big and good, and we want to be known for doing A+ dentistry,” Dr Spliethoff explains. “Our quality control procedures ensure our patients always receive and benefit from high-quality dental treatments. Our philosophy is to do good dentistry, nothing else.”

The Swiss recipe for high-quality dental treatments? Enough time for dentists to concentrate on each individual patient – as well as state-of-the-art dental equipment.

Each Zahnarztzentrum.ch practice, such as Burgdorf, has a unique and inviting design.

Planmeca ProMax® 3D Classic CBCT unit at the Bahnhof SBB II practice in Bern.

Patients and dental staff appreciate Planmeca dental units

The dental practices of Zahnarztzentrum.ch are currently equipped with close to 230 Planmeca dental units and Planmeca ProX™ intraoral imaging devices. Additionally, there are 33 Planmeca ProOne® panoramic X-ray devices and seven Planmeca ProMax® 3D Classic CBCT units in the clinics. Three more Planmeca ProMax 3D Classic imaging devices and 25 Planmeca Compact™ i Classic dental care units will be installed soon.

The Zahnarztzentrum.ch practices have been using Planmeca dental units ever since the clinic chain was founded in 2003. For Dr Spliethoff, joining the company in 2009 also meant an introduction to Planmeca, but it did not take long to get used to working with Planmeca dental units. Thanks to the extremely comfortable Ultra Relax™ memory foam upholstery, the dental units have convinced the patients as well.

“We get lots of good feedback from our dentists and our patients that the units are very comfortable and functional. They are simply easy to work with,” Dr Spliethoff tells.

While Planmeca ProOne panoramic X-ray devices are commonly used in the dental check-ups to examine the dental anatomy, CBCT imaging is used for more complicated clinical cases in which more detailed information is required. At Zahnarztzentrum.ch practices, 3D images are usually captured for example to view and analyse the position of the mandibular nerve, the external sinus floor elevation, cysts and bone defects.

Zahnarztzentrum.ch Fribourg and Rapperswil are among the practices testing out balanced instrument arms.

From hanging tubes to balanced instruments

Planmeca’s local distributor in Switzerland, Kaladent, has helped Zahnarztzentrum.ch keep the dental equipment up and running – and implement new features and innovations in the dental practices.

Indeed, the practice chain has not been afraid of trying out unconventional technologies. A good example is the bold decision to try out balanced instrument arms, although most dental professionals in German-speaking countries are used to working with hanging tube instruments only.

However, since balanced arms enhance ergonomics and minimise strain on shoulders and arms, Zahnarztzentrum.ch is now evaluating if their dentists can get used to the new kind of delivery. Currently, already 32 of the Planmeca units are equipped with balanced instruments, as are the new ones in the pipeline.

Ergonomics and efficient workflows are deeply rooted in Planmeca’s design philosophy. But so is patient comfort, too. Improving the patient experience even further is a future focus area for Zahnarztzentrum.ch as well.

“I think there are possibilities for more WOW,” Dr Spliethoff believes.
 

Dr Christian Spliethoff

Copy: Mari Suominen
Images 1–5: Courtesy of Zahnarztzentrum.ch
Image 6: Dino Azinur