New Department of Health guidelines requiring NHS dentists to install the latest de-contamination equipment by December 2009 will mean they have the facilities to offer additional high-value services to their patients.

While some dentists are concerned about the cost of installing and equipping the Local Decontamination Units (LDUs), the new facilities will meet the strict hygiene requirements of the dental implant industry and give dentists the opportunity to offer dental implant surgery, in many cases for the first time.

Iain Forster, Managing Director of South Korean dental implant company DIO Corporation, said, “Lots of dentists are worried about the levels of investment needed for these LDUs, and it is after all going to come at a significant cost to them. But as in all things, change brings opportunities and for those with a positive attitude the rewards are waiting to be claimed.”

For many dentists, dental implants have in the past appeared to be an unaffordable service partly due to the high-cost of meeting the stringent decontamination requirements and also the cost of the implants themselves.

Forster is confident that dentists will see the new regulations as an opportunity to expand their practices and has positioned his business to take advantage of the expected rise in the UK’s dental implant market.

He explains, “Due to the competitive nature of the South East Asian market, prices are low and quality is at least equivalent, if not higher, than that available from the well established UK vendors. Along side this, we provide first-class support and we’ll be working hard to help dentists enter this very lucrative area of the dental profession.”