Brothers Manufacture World’s First Fully Digital Made Dentures
KELOWNA – If a smile is worth a thousand words then brothers Steve and George Cowburn of Perfit have created volumes of books.
Their goal was to produce a pair of dentures entirely by technology, and they accomplished that in 2016 by manufacturing the world’s first fully digitally made set of dentures. Within 2 hours, a patient’s mouth was 3D scanned, a restoration was digitally designed, milled and delivered to the patient.
George Cowburn, co-owner of Perfit, Oliver Eberle, Bethany Jonas and Steve Cowburn co-owner, at the inaugural Trade Show held in Kelowna
Denture making had been cumbersome, requiring several dental visits and several weeks to complete the process of making a new pair. The process required models, wax carvings and fittings, and with all these steps, there was a high margin of error.
Steve & George knew there had to be an easier way. While the crown and bridge sector in North America was making headway with a 3-D scanning process, technology in Europe was much more progressive, so the brothers partnered with overseas companies to bring their idea to fruition. This meant dentures could be replaced in a matter of hours, versus up to five weeks.
“We partnered with companies that were half way there and helped pull together all the information to produce our product,” said Steve.
It represented years of hard work, countless grant applications, hours of networking and raising over $2- million in funding. According to Steve, the National Research Council was their biggest supporter as well the Accelerate Okanagan. Producing the product as promised opened up a whole new world and garnered a lot of attention.
George has been a denturist since 2003 and brother Steve joined him in 2007 after a career with EPCOR. His degree in commerce was the perfect addition to George’s growing business, as they began Canadian Denture & Implant Centres, which grew to four locations in Calgary and over $2M in annual revenue.
Seeing the great opportunities in Kelowna, they sold their business in 2015 and moved out west to Kelowna. It was the perfect location to start a technology business and enjoy milder winters.
According to the 2017 Economic Impact Study done by Accelerate Okanagan and Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, the results showed a 24 per cent increase in technology business in the Kelowna area from 2013, employing a total of 12,474 workers. In 2017, there were 693 tech businesses in the Okanagan so Kelowna was a good choice.
Digital Denture directly after milling – ready for bonding & finishing
The Perfit product is unique in that it is fully digital, meaning it is made from 100 per cent digital inputs (such as a 3D scanner), designed using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and milled or 3D printed using Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). In some cases, impressions no longer have to be performed or scanned, as images are captured in comfort with intra-oral scanning, meaning no more choking on impression material at the back of a patient’s mouth.
The technology is now being used throughout Canada, through their recent partnership with one of the largest denture clinics in Canada.
“The Perfit system saves time, manpower and cost. It is a win, win for any denturist,” Steve says. While implants are viewed by many to be superior, their starting cost is about $25,000, according to Cowburn. A set of dentures costs in the neighbourhood of $1,600 to $2,500. This technology also applies to full-mouth dental implants.
Dentures produced by Perfit are stronger because they are monolithic (one material), so teeth don’t chip off and dentures don’t break as often.
The process uses a 3-D scan, which allows for a greater degree of accuracy. The scan is captured by a program that allows a 3-D Printer to produce a set of dentures in a matter of a hours – or less. Perfit has six patents that help with the workflow of the procedure and help with better capture of patient data.
“The material we use is stronger and the dentures are more accurate with the technology. Our milling machines are more than 100 times more accurate than a human hair.” said Steve.
In order to promote their product, the Cowburns held a sold out International Digital Denture Study Club in November, 2019, which Kelowna’s Innovation Centre with denturists and was attended by 130 guests. They’re planning to make it a regular event.
“Today 99.9 per cent of dentures are still hand-made. The industry is hungry for digital advantages to keep up with the increase in demand generated by baby boomers.” Steve told Accelerate Okanagan.
Perfit is currently a semi-finalist in the Angel Summit, an investor-led program providing investment opportunities to businesses who get to do a Dragon’s Den type presentation. Perfit has passed the initial screening and quarter finals round and are now in the semi-finals. Perfit has also been recognized as a finalist in the Business Excellence Awards for the last 2 years and top 40 under 40.