Dental Implants and Surfaces Patents: Leaders vs. Long Tail 2026
- Filings have cooled since the 2017 peak. 234 records that year against 164 at the 2022 midpoint and a partial 17 in the most recent year — a flattening curve, not a growing one.
- The named leaders have all gone quiet in the latest year. Nobel Biocare, Biomet 3i, Straumann, Zimmer Dental, Implant Innovations and Woodwelding all show 0 filings in the most recent year, several at -100% YoY.
- The core claim territory is narrow and crowded. 4,836 of 4,973 records sit in A61C alone, while additive manufacturing (62) and electrodeposition (36) carry only a fraction of that volume.
Filing growth compares 2021 (159 records) with 2024 (132) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 4,973 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 4,973 patent families filed against dental implants, implant abutments and implant surface treatment, filtered to documents that discuss osseointegration, surface roughness, primary stability, peri-implantitis or titanium-zirconia constructions. The core IPC classes are A61C8 (dentistry), A61L27 (materials for prostheses) and C23C4 (coating deposition), which together define the claim space around how an implant is shaped, coated and stabilised in bone.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, though the most recent year is necessarily undercounted: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 filings are still arriving in the record. The filing curve peaked in 2017 and has since flattened, which is a different signal than a technology in early growth.
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Where the filings sit, and where they're going
Two views matter here: the trend line, which shows momentum, and the IPC split, which shows where claim density has actually built up inside the broader dental-implant category.
A peak year already behind it
234 filings in 2017 fell to 164 by the 2022 midpoint and to a partial 17 in the latest year. Read the tail end cautiously given publication lag, but the multi-year decline from peak to midpoint is a real signal of a maturing, not expanding, filing pattern.
Concentrated in core dentistry, thin at the edges
A61C (dentistry & oral hygiene) accounts for 4,836 of 4,973 records — effectively the whole dataset. Adjacent classes are far thinner: A61L (sterilising, 533), A61B (surgery, 404), A61F (implants/prostheses, 263), A61K (medicinal preparations, 189), and notably B33Y (additive manufacturing, 62), C23C (coating deposition, 38) and C25D (electroplating, 36) — the surface-engineering and manufacturing-process side of the field is comparatively unclaimed.
Shares are the percentage of the 4,973 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Dental Implants and Surfaces with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about dental implants and surfaces and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe claims other filings build on
WO2013124260A3 — Dental implant assembly with custom-fit prosthesis interface
Filed by Natural Dental Implants AG, this family covers dental implant assemblies and custom prostheses designed per-patient to replace nonfunctional natural teeth. The claims centre on a transgingival interlock abutment with a prosthesis interface holding a custom three-dimensional surface shape that form-locks to an occlusally-facing prosthesis component, paired with a temporary primary-stability support device.Abstract condensed from the original filing text.
View full filing| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5782918A | Implant abutment system | 489 |
| 2 | US5527182A | Implant abutment systems, devices, and techniques | 430 |
| 3 | US6283753B1 | Implant abutment systems, devices, and techniques | 297 |
| 4 | US5904483A | Dental implant systems and methods | 281 |
| 5 | US7008226B2 | Implant, in particular a dental implant | 280 |
| 6 | US6419491B1 | Dental implant system with repeating microgeometric surface patterns | 280 |
| 7 | US5246370A | Dental implant method | 279 |
| 8 | US6921264B2 | Implant to be implanted in bone tissue or in bone tissue supplemented with bone substitute material | 270 |
| 9 | US5984681A | Dental implant and method of implanting | 263 |
| 10 | US5145372A | Anatomical restoration dental implant system with reinforced healing cap and abutment | 260 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they've had longer to accumulate citations inside this searched corpus — treat this as a map of influence, not of what's current.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once family counts, IPC splits and momentum are read together: a mature core, an idle leadership tier, and a genuinely thin manufacturing-process layer underneath the mechanical claims.
A curve past its peak
The 2017 high of 234 filings has not been approached since; the 2022 midpoint of 164 confirms a genuine decline rather than noise. New entrants filing broad mechanical-abutment claims now compete against a decade of prior art rather than an open field.
The historical leaders have stopped filing
Nobel Biocare, Biomet 3i, Straumann, Zimmer Dental, Implant Innovations and Woodwelding all show zero filings in the most recent year. That doesn't mean the technology is abandoned — it can mean consolidation of claim portfolios already filed, or a pause ahead of the next surface-treatment cycle.
Nearly the whole dataset sits in one subclass
A61C dominance means most filings address the implant/abutment mechanics rather than the surface chemistry or coating process. C23C (coating deposition, 38) and C25D (electroplating, 36) are comparatively open.
Filing strategy still centres on US and Europe
WIPO/PCT (606), Austria (239), Australia (224) and Israel (212) trail well behind the two lead jurisdictions, suggesting most applicants are optimising for the two largest implant markets first and expanding selectively.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to dental implants and surfaces, with the prior art for and against each one.
A concentrated top tier, now dormant
Co-assignee pairings and momentum data both point to a field where a small set of names built the foundational claims and collaboration network, then largely stopped filing in the most recent year.
Collaboration is narrow and individual-linked
The strongest co-assignee relationships pair corporate assignees with named individual inventors — Nobel Biocare with Hurson, and Zimmer Dental with both Salama-named inventors — rather than broad corporate joint ventures.
Historical leaders show no recent activity
Nobel Biocare, Biomet 3i, Straumann, Zimmer Dental, Implant Innovations and Woodwelding each report zero filings in the latest year, with the first two at -100% YoY. A new entrant should verify whether this reflects genuine withdrawal or a filing gap awaiting publication.
Foundational abutment patents still anchor the field
The most-cited records in this corpus are all implant-abutment system patents from the 1990s and early 2000s, meaning current filers are working atop a well-established mechanical prior art base rather than an open one.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nobel Biocare | 0 | -100% |
| Biomet 3i, LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Straumann Holding AG | 0 | — |
| Zimmer Dental Inc. | 0 | — |
| Implant Innovations, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Woodwelding SA | 0 | — |
| ZIPPRICH HOLGER | 0 | — |
| Nobel Biocare AB (Sweden) | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The trend and assignee data point to specific questions worth running deeper before committing a filing strategy in this space.
Check whether leader dormancy is real
Zero latest-year filings across six major assignees could reflect genuine withdrawal or simply publication lag. Cross-check against each assignee's most recent published applications before assuming the field is open.
Explore assignee filings in Eureka →Map the surface-treatment sub-branches
C23C and C25D carry far fewer filings than A61C. Before filing a coating or electrodeposition claim, run a focused search across those two classes specifically rather than the whole dental-implant category.
Run a focused IPC search in Eureka →Trace citations back from the foundational abutment patents
The most-cited records are two decades old. Following their citation trees forward identifies which recent filings have already built on that mechanical base, and where a design-around is still needed.
Trace citation trees in Eureka →Common questions on dental implant patents
This dataset's ranking is led by a small group of established implant manufacturers whose names recur across both the top-cited records and the co-assignee network, including Nobel Biocare, Straumann, Zimmer Dental and Biomet 3i. However, all of these named leaders show zero filings in the most recent year, so current-year leadership may differ from historical leadership. Anyone assessing ownership should look at both the cumulative family count and the recent-year momentum figures rather than one alone.
No, not by this filing trend: 2017 was the peak year at 234 filings, dropping to 164 by 2022 and to a partial 17 in the latest year. Some of that recent drop is publication lag, since filings typically take about 18 months to appear in the record, but the multi-year decline from 2017 to 2022 predates that lag and reflects a genuine slowdown in new filing activity. That pattern is more consistent with a mature, claim-dense field than an emerging one.
The clearest gaps sit outside the core A61C dentistry classification, which holds 4,836 of the 4,973 records in this dataset. Additive manufacturing of implant surfaces (B33Y) carries only 62 records, coating deposition (C23C) just 38, and electroplating/electroforming (C25D) only 36 — all far thinner than the mechanical abutment and prosthesis claims that dominate the field. A first claim targeting a specific coating deposition process or 3D-printed surface texture for peri-implantitis resistance would face materially less crowded prior art than a general abutment mechanism claim.
WO2013124260A3, filed by Natural Dental Implants AG, covers a dental implant assembly built around a transgingival interlock abutment with a custom three-dimensional prosthesis interface that form-locks to an occlusally-facing prosthesis component, plus a temporary primary-stability support device used during healing. The claims are notable for tying the abutment interface geometry to patient-specific manufacturing rather than a generic taper or thread fit. Anyone designing a custom-fit abutment system should review this family closely, since it anchors much of the custom-interface claim territory in this corpus.
The United States leads with 1,510 records, followed by the European Patent Office at 1,075 and the WIPO/PCT route at 606. Austria, Australia and Israel each show notably fewer filings (239, 224 and 212 respectively), suggesting most applicants prioritise the US and European markets before deciding whether to extend coverage further. A company benchmarking freedom-to-operate should weight its search accordingly, starting with US and EPO records before moving to the smaller jurisdictions.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.