BioHorizons Dental Implants
Most implant manufacturers compete on how well the implant bonds to bone. BioHorizons built its reputation on a different problem: getting the gum tissue to seal against the implant. That is an unusual engineering goal, and it is backed by a real body of research, most of which the company funded.
At a glance
- Signature technology
- Laser-Lok laser-machined microchannels
- Implant surface
- RBT, resorbable blast texturing
- Core family
- The Tapered range, in several connection styles
- Price tier
- Mid to upper-mid
- Evidence base
- Substantial, but heavily manufacturer-funded
- Best known for
- Soft-tissue attachment and crestal bone preservation
Who BioHorizons is
BioHorizons was founded in 1994 in Birmingham, Alabama. It has competed by concentrating on one specific technical problem rather than trying to match larger rivals across the whole range.
Its ownership is worth knowing. Henry Schein took an initial stake in 2013 and completed a full acquisition in 2018, and since 2016 BioHorizons and Camlog have operated together under Henry Schein's Global Oral Reconstruction Group. The two brands are marketed jointly and share technical publishing channels. They remain separate implant systems with incompatible components, but they are not competitors in the way their separate branding implies.
That problem is crestal bone loss, the slow retreat of bone from around the top of an implant over the years after it is placed. A small amount is normal and expected. Too much exposes the implant, invites bacteria, and eventually threatens the implant's survival. BioHorizons' answer is a surface treatment called Laser-Lok, and the company has spent more than twenty-five years researching it.
What Laser-Lok actually is
Here is the biology that makes this interesting. A natural tooth is not simply wedged into bone, it is held by fibres that run from the bone and gum directly into the tooth's root surface, forming a living seal. A conventional dental implant has nothing equivalent. Bone fuses to it, but the gum tissue above merely rests against smooth metal. Over time the gum's outer layer tends to creep downward along that smooth surface, and the bone behind it recedes.
Laser-Lok is a band of circumferential grooves cut into the implant collar by laser ablation, precisely sized at the scale of individual cells. BioHorizons' research reports that connective tissue fibres physically attach into these channels rather than sliding past them, producing what the company calls a biologic seal.
Nearly every implant surface on the market is grit-blasted, acid-etched, or both. Those processes create a random roughness that varies from point to point. Laser ablation instead produces a deliberately repeating, uniform structure at a controlled size. Whether that translates into better long-term outcomes for you is a separate question, but as engineering, it is a real departure from what everyone else does, not a marketing rebrand of the same process.
BioHorizons' clinical overview cites a prospective, controlled, multi-centre study in which Laser-Lok implants placed alongside identical implants with a conventional surface showed, at 37 months, 70 % less bone loss, a difference of 1.35 mm. A retrospective private-practice study following implants for up to three years reported bone loss limited to 0.46 mm. A university-based overdenture study reported 63 % less bone loss than a named competitor implant. The company also applies Laser-Lok to abutments, and reports that combining Laser-Lok abutments, implants and platform switching regenerated crestal bone.
The study designs cited are good ones, prospective, controlled and multi-centre is the right way to test this, and comparing against an otherwise identical implant is a well-constructed comparison. Two cautions, though. First, this research is substantially funded and promoted by the manufacturer, and the head-to-head comparison against a named competitor appears in BioHorizons' own sales literature. Independent replication carries more weight than either. Second, a 1.35 mm difference in bone level at three years is meaningful to a researcher but may or may not change whether your implant is still healthy in twenty years. Bone loss is driven heavily by smoking, gum disease, diabetes and cleaning habits, factors that will affect your outcome far more than the collar design.
The BioHorizons system lineup
BioHorizons organises almost its entire range under the Tapered name, differentiated by connection type and by specialised geometry.
Tapered Pro Conical
The current flagship. Combines the tapered body for primary stability with a conical connection and a Laser-Lok collar.
Tapered Pro
The tapered body and Laser-Lok collar on BioHorizons' established internal connection.
Tapered Internal
The long-serving workhorse line, with a large installed base and colour-coded platform system.
Tapered Short
Short implants for sites where bone height is limited, often an alternative to grafting or a sinus lift.
Tapered Tissue Level
A tissue-level design placing the restorative joint above the bone, in the gum.
Tapered PTG
A further variant in the Tapered family, documented in its own surgical catalogue and manual.
Practical considerations for patients in Canada
Cost. Generally quoted below Straumann and Nobel Biocare while sitting above the value tier.
Availability. BioHorizons maintains a direct Canadian office rather than relying solely on third-party distribution, which is a positive signal for long-term component supply. Note, however, that BioHorizons states Laser-Lok is not available in every country, so if the soft-tissue technology is the specific reason you are choosing this system, confirm with your dentist that the implant being ordered for you actually carries the Laser-Lok collar.
Corporate backing. Henry Schein ownership materially reduces the parts-availability risk that would otherwise attach to a company of BioHorizons' size. Henry Schein is one of the largest dental distributors in the world.
Who it may suit particularly. If you have a history of gum disease or previous bone loss around an implant, the soft-tissue rationale behind Laser-Lok is at least directly relevant to your situation. That is a conversation to have with your dentist rather than a decision to make from a brochure.
Questions worth asking your dentist
- Which Tapered system are you using, and which connection type does it have?
- Does the implant you are placing have the Laser-Lok collar, or only the standard surface?
- Are you also using Laser-Lok abutments, or just the implant?
- Given my gum health history, does the soft-tissue argument apply to my case?
- How readily can you obtain replacement components for this system in Canada?
- Will you record the system, platform and reference number for me in writing?
Frequently asked questions
What is Laser-Lok?
Laser-Lok is a band of microscopic grooves cut into the implant collar by laser. The grooves are sized so that gum connective tissue fibres can physically attach to the metal, rather than merely resting against it. BioHorizons states this creates a biological seal that protects the bone underneath.
Does Laser-Lok actually reduce bone loss?
BioHorizons cites a 37-month prospective controlled multi-centre study reporting 70 percent less bone loss than identical implants without the surface. The study design is sound, but the research is largely manufacturer-funded, so the finding is best treated as promising rather than settled.
Is BioHorizons available in Canada?
Yes. BioHorizons is distributed in Canada, though it is placed less widely than Straumann or Nobel Biocare, which is worth considering for long-term parts availability.
References
- BioHorizons. Laser-Lok Microchannels: Clinical Overview. Manufacturer document ML0606 Rev J.
- BioHorizons. Key Technological Features of the Tapered Pro Conical System. Manufacturer document ML0187.
- BioHorizons. Tapered Family Catalog & Manual. Manufacturer document L02024 Rev H.
- Nevins M, Nevins ML, Camelo M, et al. Human histologic evidence of a connective tissue attachment to a dental implant. Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2008;28(2):111–21.
Technical detail on this page was compiled from BioHorizons' publicly available product literature. Studies described are those cited by the manufacturer in that literature and are identified as such; readers should note that manufacturer-cited research is not equivalent to independent replication. DentalImplantInfo.ca is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by BioHorizons. BioHorizons, Laser-Lok and Tapered Pro are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for identification and educational purposes.