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Corporate Profile: 3M ESPE by Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

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Did you know that at any given time in your day, you are always 15 feet or less from a 3M product? Just more proof of how much of an incredible product developer and innovation leader 3M ESPE is in the dental profession. We’ve all heard stories about the science and research that goes into the development of every product at 3M – and in 2011, a handful of Townies visited 3M’s headquarters in Minnesota for a firsthand look at the company’s processes (Author’s note: Search for “Townie Pilgrimage to 3M ESPE” on Dentaltown.com to check out the message board following that trip). For 24 years, Keith Haig has worked with 3M ESPE in various degrees – from sales to global operations to professional relations – and is currently the company’s director of marketing. Haig is a familiar face on the message boards of Dentaltown.com as well, and he recently spent time with Dentaltown Magazine to discuss 3M’s processes, corporate strategy and the pride the company takes in working with dentists in developing new game-changing products and technologies.

Keith, 3M is synonymous with “innovation” – as evidenced by many industry accolades and a notable reputation for bringing new, reliable products and technologies to the profession over the years. What does 3M do to keep up this momentum?
Haig: Innovation is truly ingrained into the culture at 3M. We share information on materials and markets across divisions within the company, and we encourage cross-pollination to develop new products. For the seventh year in a row, we’ve been named the most innovative company in the worldwide dental industry by the Dental Industry Review, which is conducted by The Anaheim Group. The criteria for this designation include our FDA 510(k) new product clearances for the U.S. market, United States Patent Office dental industry patents and dental patents from the European Patent Office and the World International Patent Office. Not surprisingly, an incredible amount of work goes into our patents and new products, and we could not accomplish this without our dedicated team of scientists who are working every day to respond to dentists’ needs around the world.

Tell me about 3M’s product development process from start to finish. How do other divisions in 3M affect the development of 3M ESPE dental products?
Haig: Cross-pollination is a major driver of product development at 3M. For example, while many dental offices utilize our Pentamix Mixing Unit to mix impression materials, the same technology is also applied in auto-body repair shops, where we have developed a very similar machine to mix fillers for automobile body work. Additionally, the nano-technology that is applied in our Filtek brand restoratives is used across the company in a diverse range of applications, including in fishing rods. 3M has 45 core technologies, from abrasives to weathering, which we use across divisions. These technologies have come to be known as our “candy store,” and we work to give our scientists time to learn about areas outside of their immediate expertise, and to collaborate on new projects. With this technology foundation, we can come up with better solutions for our customers’ needs in dentistry.

3M is a global company. How much input is there from clinicians from other countries? What sort of undertaking must 3M undergo to launch a product internationally?
Haig: Wherever we operate, we work to gather customer feedback, so clinicians in other countries certainly do have a voice in the products we develop. Because dentistry is different around the world, we often adapt products to fit the needs of a particular region. One major advantage of being a global company is that we have the infrastructure to be responsive and serve customers well in multiple regions of the world. We have laboratories in more than 30 countries, and more than 20 global locations for our Customer Innovation Centers.

What is your corporate strategy? Your mission?
Haig: 3M ESPE is committed to improving dental care and to finding easier and better solutions for patients. We also strive to ensure that our products consistently live up to their promises, because we are committed to the highest possible standards in dentistry. We work to deliver practical and ingenious solutions that make a difference in dental practices, because we share a mutual commitment with our customers to improve dental care for patients worldwide.

Corporate-culture-wise, what sets 3M ESPE apart from any other competitor in dentistry?
Haig: Just as I’ve previously discussed how 3M encourages cross-pollination among its scientists, collaboration is also a regular theme for our other employees. Our marketing and sales staff, as well as members of division management, have great access to the resources and brainpower of their counterparts in other divisions. This helps us share ideas, best practices and programs throughout the company, which can then be adapted to fit each division.

How can a dentist get involved in beta testing or helping 3M with the development of products?
Haig: We have a Council of Innovative Dentistry, on which dentists serve limited terms to help us test products and new concepts. Because the members of this council change frequently, we actually often turn to resources like Dentaltown to seek out new voices in the dental community. Several members of our council came to us after having first caught our attention with their insightful posts on Dentaltown.com.

We are also occasionally approached directly by dentist inventors who are interested in selling their ideas to 3M ESPE. In the majority of these cases nothing comes to fruition. However, if a dentist has gone through the patent process for his or her invention and it aligns with our core competencies and growth strategy, there is the possibility that it can become a 3M ESPE product.

You’ve recently developed some new materials – a retraction paste, bulk-fill flowable and the “Chairside Trifecta.” What can you tell us about them?
Haig: What we’re calling the Chairside Trifecta is actually three new products: 3M ESPE RelyX Ultimate Adhesive Resin Cement, 3M ESPE Scotchbond Universal Adhesive and 3M ESPE Lava Ultimate CAD/CAM Restorative. RelyX Ultimate cement and Scotchbond Universal adhesive are 100 percent compatible and offer optimal performance when used in combination. The cement has an integrated dark cure activator that activates the dark cure function of the adhesive, which eliminates the need for an additional activator. Scotchbond Universal adhesive also functions as a silane agent for glass ceramics, as well as a zirconia and metal primer. With fewer components and fewer working steps, these products give dentists easier handling and less risk of errors. They are ideal for placing restorations made with our new Lava Ultimate CAD/CAM restorative, which is a fast and tough milling material that can be used with either a chairside CAD/CAM system or ordered through the dentist’s laboratory. This material lets dentists use a fast, no-firing process that helps maximize productivity. The whole combination of products is ideal for CEREC and E4D users.

Our new retraction product is the 3M ESPE Retraction Capsule, which is a new avenue in the impression category. Compared to a cord, the retraction capsule can cut up to half the time from the retraction procedure. The capsule has an extra fine tip that fits directly into the sulcus to apply astringent retraction paste. We think dentists will respond very enthusiastically to its convenience.

Finally, 3M ESPE Filtek Bulk Fill Flowable Restorative completes our best-selling line of composites. With this bulk-fill product, we’re bringing high strength and wear resistance to bulk-fill liner/base procedures. We’re happy to continue improving an already amazing product line with this introduction.

You are also introducing some new digital technologies this year. Tell us more about them.
Haig: We are continuing to innovate in digital dentistry, and we are thrilled with the initial success of Lava Ultimate CAD/CAM restorative. In addition to this, we will also soon launch Lava Plus, our new high translucency zirconia that can be used for both monolithic and full-coverage crowns. To continue increasing dentists’ experience with our digital technologies, last year we undertook a project to donate Lava Chairside Oral Scanner COS units to selected dental schools across the country, and we’ve been thrilled with the enthusiastic response from students at these schools. We are excited to help integrate digital dentistry into dental school curricula. Finally, we are continuing to develop new applications for the Lava C.O.S., which is reflected in our partnerships with Biomet 3i and Straumann.

What sort of support can 3M ESPE customers expect if they have a question or concern about a product?
Haig: We take a lot of pride in our Customer Care Center, where our representatives are well informed enough to answer 95 percent of customers’ questions without elevating the call. We know that support is a vital part of any of our product offerings, and we do everything we can to address questions and concerns.

Tell us more about your updated Web site. How do you obtain feedback from your customers? What do you do with that information?
Haig: Our new Web site is built on a platform that makes it cleaner, easier to navigate and more focused on the information our Web visitors need most. We wanted it to feel closer to a consumer Web site, to give visitors a more natural way to browse information, contact us and search for products. Additionally, we have added the ability for customers to review and rate our products right on our site (think your favorite online retail site)! An opportunity for customers to give immediate feedback about products they use is a great way to increase peer-to-peer interaction, and a great way for us to make sure we’re mindful of product performance. We hope Townies will come out in force to rate the products that have won a lot of Townie Choice Awards over the years!

Of course, this new Web site is just one way we get feedback from customers, but we also rely on sites like Dentaltown.com, as well as our sales reps and Council of Innovative Dentistry members, to help keep us informed of what dentists think of our products.

What do you do to make your customers feel at ease?
Haig: We feel the most important thing we can do to help dental professionals feel at ease is to provide them with high quality products that perform as promised. When dentists don’t have to wonder if a cement will hold or if a crown will break, they can feel confident and proud in the service they are providing for patients.

What do you find most appealing about working with dentists?
Haig: It’s a great honor to work with a group of professionals with such high standards and a commitment to excellence. As we’ve discussed, our product innovations come in response to feedback from dentists, and the responses we receive reflect an attention to detail and a passion for the work that is very inspiring.

What interactions do you have with dentists on a daily basis?
Haig: I regularly participate with our Customer Care line mentioned earlier to ensure that I have the “pulse” of the customer. I am also frequently in the field with our sales force calling on dentists, and of course, I visit Dentaltown.com and answer comments on my own blog, 3M Dental Insights – 3MESPE.wordpress.com.

Townies have come up to Minnesota to visit with your team a couple times. How have those visits impacted your company and your products?
Haig: We appreciate that the Dentaltown.com message boards are a place where dentists can feel comfortable giving their honest opinions and speaking among their peers, so we do not typically engage in the discussions there. However, we do like to engage with Townies, and we do this through inviting select groups to visit us at 3M. By inviting the moderators and thought leaders of the message boards to our facility, we can hear their voices directly. During these visits, we solicit feedback and give them an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with our new products. The feedback we receive is invaluable in helping us refine our concepts and give dentists the most useful tools; and in return these individuals are able to bring back answers to questions about 3M ESPE and its products to the Dentaltown community.

What are you most proud of at 3M ESPE?
Haig: Our culture of collaboration is a true distinguishing feature. Not only do we collaborate internally, but externally as well, listening closely to the needs of dental professionals and developing the tools that will best meet those needs.

Why should a dentist use 3M ESPE products?
Haig: Dentists should use our products because of our commitment to quality and innovation. We conduct blind biannual research on the dental profession, and data gathered from these studies indicates that 3M ESPE has a level of differentiation from other companies because professionals recognize and trust our brand. Dentists know they can count on our products, and they have seen us make consistent improvements over the years to already great products, such as our Filtek line of restoratives. Our high quality standards motivate us to make great products better, so that we can be the go-to partner for dentists.

3M ESPE recently celebrated 10 years as a combined company – what did you do to celebrate, and what can dentists expect to see from you in the next 10 years?
Haig: We took this opportunity to thank our staff internally for a great decade together and to get excited for what lies ahead. We plan to continue innovating with our core materials. While we are a materials science company first, we are striving toward the integration of our core and digital portfolios and we will work to continue to advance digital dentistry. We are still the only company to bring technology together with materials science. We hope that after 10 more years, we’ll be celebrating our 17th consecutive win as the most innovative company in the dental industry.

For more information about 3M ESPE, visit www.3mespe.com or call 800-634-2249.
Dentaltown Magazine
April 2024
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