We live and breathe innovation and customer focus. We have been doing so for 100 years.

Founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1923, our company has been domiciled in the Principality of Liechtenstein since the 1930s. We opened our first international subsidiary in Germany in 1954.


 

The innovative 1960s

We impressed customers with our invention of predosed, mechanically mixable tooth filling and cementation materials in capsules, and we launched a new generation of artificial teeth, which featured what is known as the “Pearl Effect”.

We started to expand our business activities in Europe and founded subsidiaries in France (1960), Italy (1962) and Austria (1966).

We cultivate a culture of learning: As early as in the 1950s, our dental lab specialists started offering our customers practical demonstrations on how to use our products.

The 1970s – a time of expansion

We continued to expand internationally by opening offices in Sweden and Spain (both in 1972), Australia (1975), the US and New Zealand (both in 1978) and Canada (1979).

We built new facilities in Bludenz (Austria), where we started manufacturing dental laboratory equipment.

 
The 1980s – growth in North America

In 1986 we acquired Williams Gold Refining Co., one of the most successful manufacturers of precious metal products for the dental industry.

The significance of the North American market continued to increase for our company. Our subsidiary in the US grew rapidly.

The 1990s – innovation and disruption

In 1991, we introduced the IPS Empress porcelain system:  The world’s first pressed ceramic revolutionized the dental industry.

The Tetric technology, which was launched on the market in the following year, ushered in a new era in tooth-coloured restorative materials

We took a bold step and ventured into the Asian market, where we opened a production facility in the Philippines (1993) and a subsidiary in China (1998). 


 

The 2000s – the resounding success of IPS e.max

The IPS e.max lithium disilicate glass-ceramic was introduced in 2005. Within a very short time, this material established itself as the benchmark for all dental glass-ceramics.

In 2017, Ivoclar acquired Kapanu, a company developing innovative digital solutions for the dental industry. IvoSmile, the consultation app based on augmented reality, was launched a year later.

Today, digital dentistry is one of our most significant growth drivers: Digital workflows involve intraoral scanners for digital impression taking as well as digital manufacturing equipment, such as milling and 3D printing machines.

 

We are also developing new solutions in the field of Augmented Reality and IoT, which will raise the work of dentists and dental and dental technicians to a whole new level.

Our product developments – the milestones

1952
Cross-linked resins for artificial teeth, C&B materials, denture base material are introduced
1953
New Vivodent-C ceramic tooth - the first ceramic tooth produced using a vacuum firing technique
1956
Achatit, the world’s first glass fibre reinforced silicate cement for anterior restorations, is launched
1965
A world's first: Silicap dental filling materials in predosed capsules for mechanical mixing
1974
Production of prosthetic materials in large-scale capsules begins: Ivocap, Algicap
1976
Programat P1 furnace is presented at the International Dental Show - IDS - in Düsseldorf
1977
Isosit – revolutionary dental material for crowns, bridges, artificial teeth and fillings – is introduced
1980
Heliomolar - an alternative for amalgam for the posterior region – becomes available
1991
Empress, the world’s first pressable ceramic, is introduced
1992
The Tetric technology is launched
2005
The IPS e.max lithium disilicate material system makes its debut on the market
2005
Field of application is expanded to include the CAD/CAM technique
2009
Phonares - the most advanced tooth line of former Ivoclar Vivadent - is introduced
2012
IvoBase System: denture base system featuring a fully automated polymerization procedure and high
2015
Programat P710: high-tech ceramic furnace featuring Bluetooth, WLAN and infrared technology as well
2017
Digital workflow for fixed and removable dental restorations and prosthetics is introduced
2020
Introduction of Ivotion, an innovative disc for the fabrication of monolithic digital complete dentures
Our offer today: integrated solutions consisting of intelligent systems, practice-oriented further training, well thought-out services and a lot of passion in customer advice.