Gingival and periodontal health continues to shape how clinicians approach prevention, regeneration, and restorative treatment. Within the industry, there have been some recent product launches and updates that reflect a focus on visualizing gingival health.  

With new technologies designed to spot oral conditions, support tissue health, and keep patients engaged, clinicians have more tools than ever to support gingival health.

BioHorizons launches Prolifica for bone healing and regeneration 

What launched: BioHorizons has announced Prolifica allogeneic growth factor technology, a biomaterial designed to support bone healing and tissue regeneration.¹ 

Product category: Bone-regeneration biomaterial. 

Why it matters: Prolifica is a blend of naturally occurring allogeneic growth factors for use in bone grafting procedures, it contains 16 unique proteins to support different aspects of cell growth, division, and complex biological processes. The material is also designed to preserve a natural biphasic release of proteins and growth factors. 

Additional applications: There is a wide range of applications including standalone bone grafting procedures and bone grafting procedures in combination with autologous bone or other forms of allograft bone. 

What the company says: BioHorizons reports that Prolifica is an advanced allograft solution designed to support complex hard tissue regenerative procedures, which are becoming more common with the aging population.¹ 

Clinical perspective: Preservation of the natural hard- and soft-tissue architecture is fundamental to the long-term health and stability of both teeth and dental implants. Maintaining adequate bone volume and healthy soft-tissue contours not only support periodontal and peri-implant health, but also contributes to predictable esthetic outcomes, particularly in the anterior region. When regeneration is indicated, thoughtful case selection, sound surgical technique, and the use of high-quality bone-regenerative materials can help create a biologic foundation for long-term clinical success. 

What to evaluate: Clinicians should consider which types of cases the material is useful in and how in compares to other materials used in their practice.  

Kuraray expands KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED shade range  

What launched: Kuraray America has announced the availability of all 14 shades of KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED, including the newly available A2 and A3 shades.² 

Product category: Zirconia restorative material. 

Why it matters: With a complete shade range, clinicians can have more options to support posterior crown cases. When used with Dentsply Sirona's CEREC SpeedFire, the company reports that the material can be sintered in 9 minutes, supporting same-visit posterior crown workflows. 

Additional features: The complete shade range includes NW from the NORITAKE SHADE GUIDE and 13 shades from the VITA classical A1-D4 system. Clinicians can use the CEREC Move Tool to help position the restoration within the block's gradated layers for more esthetic results. 

Users can update their CEREC or inLab software to become compatible with the new shades. 

What the company says: According to Kuraray, the restorative material fits a fast-pace practice and still holds up in strength with a flexural strength of 1,023 MPa and high translucency. The company says the four gradated zirconia layers, enamel, transition layer 1, transition layer 2, and body/dentin, help clinicians fabricate natural tooth-colored restorations chairside without additional sintering time.² 

Clinical perspective: Zirconia has become a highly reliable restorative material, particularly in situations where restorative space is limited or where strength and durability are clinical priorities. Historically, conventional 3Y zirconia offered exceptional mechanical properties but presented esthetic limitations due to its relative opacity. Newer generations of zirconia are helping to bridge this gap, incorporating enhanced translucency and natural color gradients that allow clinicians to achieve a more lifelike appearance without abandoning the strength benefits associated with zirconia. Beyond its mechanical and esthetic advantages, zirconia demonstrates excellent biocompatibility with the surrounding soft tissues, supporting favorable gingival response, periodontal and peri-implant health, and the maintenance of natural soft-tissue contours. These advances continue to expand the clinical versatility of zirconia, making it an increasingly attractive option when strength, tissue compatibility, and esthetics must coexist. 

What to evaluate: Clinicians should consider how the material’s strength and translucency compare with other zirconia options and whether the expanded shade range improves the types of cases they treat. 

Philips introduces next generation electric toothbrush  

What launched: Philips introduced the Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 Prestige. According to the company, the toothbrush uses SenseIQ technology designed to adapt to individual brushing habits. It provides real-time coverage feedback to identify missed areas and a 12-segment mouth map to highlight areas that need more attention.³

Product category:  Electric toothbrush  

Additional features: Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 Prestige includes smart pressure feedback, scrubbing detection, and personalized coaching through the Sonicare App. According to Philips, the DiamondClean 9900 Prestige removes up to 2,000% more plaque and delivers up to 1500% healthier gums in Clean mode after six weeks when compared to a manual toothbrush.³ 

What the company says: Sonicare has offered coverage feedback on past lines of brushes. What’s new about this model is that the feedback is given directly on the toothbrush via a light indicator, instead of through syncing to an app. Philips says this will help users take better advantage of the coverage feedback because they don’t need to access another device.   

Philips Sonicare’s new research examines how multitasking and busy nighttime routines may affect brushing habits among American adults. In a May 2026 survey of 1,000 American adults conducted by Wakefield Research, 47% of respondents said they sometimes rush through brushing, while 66% said they believe they miss certain teeth or areas.3 

Philips states that these findings informed technologies designed to support more thorough brushing during busy routines by reducing friction for the user.  

Clinical perspective: Patients are increasingly approaching health care as informed consumers, seeking products that provide not only convenience, but also meaningful feedback and support for healthier daily habits. The Sonicare 9900 Prestige is designed to provide that type of guidance, helping patients improve brushing technique and more consistently disrupt biofilm to support gingival and periodontal health. Its value extends beyond simply cleaning teeth; effective daily plaque control is an important component of maintaining oral health, and oral inflammation has well-established associations with several systemic conditions. By combining advanced technology with real-time feedback and personalized coaching, this toothbrush can help patients become more engaged participants in both their oral health and overall wellness. 

What to evaluate: Clinicians should consider whether the technology upgrades are offering a meaningful benefit over other electric toothbrushes and if the patient would benefit from real-time brushing feedback.

Align Oral Health Suite adds X-ray and gumline visualization 

What launched: Align Technology has expanded its Align Oral Health Suite with a new multi-modal diagnostic integration of Align X-ray Insights and a new gumline visualization tool to help clinicians explain oral health conditions and treatment recommendations to patients.⁴

Product category: Digital diagnostic. 

Additional features: By being AI-powered, clinicians can identify more oral health conditions such as interproximal cavities or potential gum recession. There is also the integration of iTero Lumina scan with gumlines viewing tool, being able to map out more teeth positions and gingival architecture. 

What the company says: According to Align, the expansion of Align Oral Health Suite will support more efficient restorative and ortho-restorative workflows and lead to practice growth.⁴

Clinical perspective: Effective patient education and meaningful monitoring of clinical changes are difficult to achieve without visual technology. Intraoral scanning has evolved well beyond its original role in restorative and orthodontic workflows and is now a valuable tool for diagnosis, patient communication, and longitudinal monitoring. By capturing subtle changes in tooth position, wear, soft-tissue contours, and periodontal volume over time, clinicians can identify developing concerns earlier, make more precise recommendations, and clearly demonstrate those changes to patients. This enhanced visualization supports more informed decision-making, earlier intervention, and stronger patient understanding and engagement. 

What to evaluate: Clinicians should consider how adding visualization and AI-powered diagnostic tools would fit into their current workflow and whether the technology provides useful information beyond conventional diagnostics. 

References  

1. BioHorizons. BioHorizons releases Prolifica™ allogeneic growth factor technology for advanced promotion of bone healing & regeneration. August 26, 2026.

2. Kuraray America, Inc. Kuraray announces full 14-shade availability for KATANA™ Zirconia ONE SPEED. July 1, 2026

3. Philips Sonicare. Distracted brushing: Why busy bedtime routines may be getting in the way of a thorough clean. Press release. 2026. 

4. Align Technology. Align Technology announces new innovations to advance Invisalign® treatment planning and enhance patient engagement through its integrated Align™ Digital Platform. July 23, 2026. https://investor.aligntech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/align-technology-announces-new-innovations-advance-invisalignr 

Clinical input from Pamela Maragliano, DMD, Editor in Chief