Procera AllCeram dental crowns now neutral in charging terms compared with metal crowns in Sweden
Procera® AllCeram dental crowns now neutral in charging terms compared with metal crowns in Sweden The RFV, the Swedish National Social Insurance Board, has now given its permission for dentists to debit their patients for Procera® AllCeram dental crowns as an additional cost - in other words, according to the same charging principles which apply to conventional dental crowns made of metal. The cost disadvantage to which Procera® has been subjected since the current dental care reimbursement system was introduced in October 1996 has thus been removed. Procera® AllCeram was launched in Sweden in 1995 and quickly captured a large share of the Swedish market for single dental crowns. Growth came to halt, however, when the new reimbursement system gave dentists greater earnings from treatment with traditional, so-called ceramic-fused-to-metal crowns. Growth in the sales of Procera® AllCeram in Sweden is now expected to increase. Outside Sweden, Procera® AllCeram is experiencing volume growth of around 300% compared with 1997. Göteborg, September 15, 1998 NOBEL BIOCARE AB For further information, please contact: Lars Henrikson, head of the Procera® business area, or Mikael Kromli, Chief Financial Officer, or Gunilla Ekholtz, Investor Relations Officer, Nobel Biocare AB, phone +46 31 81 88 00. Nobel Biocare is a Swedish listed company with a leading position on the world market for dental implants. Following the acquisition of the US implant company Steri-Oss, Nobel Biocare's global market share is around 40%. The company's new product line, Procera®, is a unique, patented CAD/CAM-based process for the industrial production of dental crowns made of ceramic and titanium. So far, this system has been launched in Northern Europe and North America. Nobel Biocare has more than 1,000 employees and turnover in 1997 totalled SEK 1,068 million for Nobel Biocare and some SEK 300 million (USD 40 million) for Steri-Oss. The company's headquarters are located in Göteborg, while production takes place in Sweden and the USA (Steri-Oss). Nobel Biocare has its own sales companies in some 20 countries. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/09/11/19990701BIT00410/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/09/11/19990701BIT00410/bit0002.pdf