Innovating New Products Helps Dentist Keep Having Fun
June 1, 2017
Volume 13
,
Issue 6
,
June 2017
Page(s): p. 48
A career in dentistry was not initially in the plans for Todd E. Shatkin, DDS. His father, Samuel Shatkin, DDS, MD, was a plastic and maxillofacial surgeon, and when the son entered the University of Rochester, his plan was to go to medical school. The plan changed when he volunteered as a dental assistant during his second year in college, and found it to be fun. More than three decades later, Shatkin is still having fun practicing dentistry, and he is spreading that joy around the world by developing innovations to help not only his own practice but others as well.
“I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” Shatkin says. “I always think about how to make the dental profession more exciting and more fun, and better for our patients.”
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After graduating from Rochester, Shatkin wanted to study cosmetic and implant dentistry, but those subjects were not being taught much on the east coast at the time, so he headed across the country to the University of the Pacific. Upon obtaining his degree there, he moved back to western New York and focused on cosmetic and implant dentistry while working alongside his father and brother, both plastic surgeons, for approximately 20 years until his father passed away.
Shatkin was not content to simply innovate in his own practice, however. He manufactured and distributed teeth whitening products for approximately 15 years. He also owned and operated E Dental Mall during the dot-com boom in the late 1990s.
In 1999, Shatkin was introduced to the concept of mini implants after having used conventional implants for the previous 10 years. By 2003, he had applied for a patent on the use of mini implants for single- and multiple-tooth replacements, having developed a procedure to replace missing teeth in one or two visits. After applying for the patent, he worked on his own designs and concepts for mini implants, and in 2006 he partnered with Intra-Lock to manufacture and co-brand the Intra-Lock Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. implant system.
“The Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. mini implant system was the best venture of all,” he says. “It has become very successful for not only my dental practice and our Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. business, but also the thousands of dentists I have trained and given lectures to over the years. I really take a lot of pride in the fact that we change patients’ lives and change dentists’ lives at the same time.”
Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. mini implants now are sold all over the world. The products have been so successful, he says, because the word “mini” does not refer only to the implants’ size.
“These implants are minimally invasive and they require minimal office visits, minimal time for each appointment, minimal healing time, and minimal cost; plus, there is minimal discomfort afterward,” Shatkin says. “Patients love all these benefits because we live in a society in which everyone wants things faster, better, and cheaper.” Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. mini implants feature the largest variety of sizes and prosthetic options of any mini implant system on the market, Shatkin says. They are available in 10-, 11-, 13-, 15-, and 18-mm lengths, as well as 2.0-, 2.5, and 3.0-mm diameters, plus larger-diameter immediate-load implants. There is a 15° angled implant, and cementable abutments, both straight and angled. “We offer a whole variety of options so there is never a situation when a dentist cannot find what he or she needs for a patient,” Shatkin says.
The implants feature Osseon coating, a calcium phosphate surface coating that has been proven to increase osseointegration dramatically. “The immediate stabilization of the implant is a very important factor,” he says. “With Osseon coating, the success rate is greater because the implants integrate in 2 to 3 weeks instead of 3 to 4 months.”
When Shatkin first applied for the patent in 2003, his father stipulated that he would join the venture only if they could guarantee that every dentist would have the same success rate that they were experiencing. They would accomplish this by offering personal support through every step of the process, as well as having a full laboratory to manufacture surgical guides and other necessary products. “That sets Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. apart from any other implant company because no one else helps the dentist every step of the way,” Shatkin explains.
The next innovation from Shatkin F.I.R.S.T. is the Krystal Klear Aligner™, an invisible orthodontic product launched this spring. This series of aligners to straighten a patient’s teeth does not require any attachments on the teeth, and Shatkin says they are the clearest in the industry. “Patient satisfaction and compliance are very good,” he says. “We are very excited about this product.”
The fun continues for Shatkin, nearly 30 years after he graduated from dental school. Today, he loves dentistry as much as he did when he started and looks forward to continuing the legacy when his son joins him in practice.
For more information, contact:
Shatkin F.I.R.S.T.
888-474-2854
shatkinfirst.com
