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MEDICAL
Vale, Georges Sara An Australian pioneer in the application of advanced manufacturing processes and digital technology in the dental industry, Georges Sara passed away late last year, but in the company he founded, Stoneglass Industries, he leaves a remarkable legacy. Georges Sara began his professional life as a dental technician, but from the very start he was interested in finding ways to use new technologies and innovations in order to improve dentistry by making life easier and the outcomes better, for dentists and for patients. In 1991 he saw a lecture in which it was forecast that a new generation of ceramics was set to radically transform dental practices. The technologies required hadn’t quite matured at that point, but Georges kept the information in the back of his head, and gradually he began formulating a plan: to revolutionise dentistry through the use of state-of-the-art milling technology, CAD-CAM software and advanced materials. By 1999, Georges was ready to take the first step in bringing his plan to fruition. He acquired his first CNC milling machine and got to work researching how the technology could be used to produce crowns, bridges and other restorations for dental implants, using the then-rare ceramic zirconia. While dental laboratories at the time had to send orders for dental restorations overseas, Georges’ vision was to bring the process into Australia, producing the restorations locally. Initially, he encountered some resistance, struggling to win backing as both the dental establishment and the Federal Government expressed scepticism about Georges’s ideas. Instead, however, support came from an unexpected source, the local manufacturing community, and it was Australian manufacturers – with some early assistance from Greg Chalker of AMTIL – who would help to steer him towards the right machinery, software and overseas suppliers that he would need to realise his vision. “Dad’s achievements and successes are proof that dedication, passion, and a ‘can-do’ attitude can lead to extraordinary things,” says his daughter Jessica Mitri. Georges formally launched his company, Stoneglass Industries, in 2005, and from the start it was emphatically a family enterprise, with his wife Sayde, son Lewis, and Jessica, all involved from day one.
Stoneglass specialises in the production of custom dental implants using state-of-the-art CNC milling technology
As well as producing customised dental restorations from its base in Homebush, NSW, the company also developed its own turnkey dental manufacturing system that was succesfully implemented in the USA and Europe. Research & development was a core part of the business, with Stoneglass devoting significant time and effort into investigating new materials and dental appliances, and manufacturing processes. From initially milling zirconia, the company progressed to titanium and cobalt chrome restorations for implant dentistry. Stoneglass also made further developments in manufacturing restorations from advanced polymers and ceramics, such as Peek and lithium disilicate. Alongside its manufacturing activities, Stoneglass also created its own specialised dental CAD software. Developed with consultation and testing with dentists, dental specialists and the University of Sydney, Prosthetic Design Centre (PDC) is a suite of CAD tools that enable a large variety of dental restorations to be planned and designed by the dental specialist. While its development was a major investment – and a big risk – for Stoneglass, PDC proved to be another success for Georges and his company. In the US in particular it found a strong market in the education sector, where it was taken up first by Columbia University, and subsequently by Rutgers University. Pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students today use PDC for simulation and pre-clinical exercises, and for working on patient cases. Soon Georges would be regularly travelling to the US, to teach the next generation of dental practitioners about the PDC system. Today Stoneglass operates an office in New York to service its US clients, but its Homebush facility remains the heart of the business, with all R&D, design and manufacturing taking place there. Sayde and Jessica remain closely involved in the running of the business. Meanwhile the company continues to innovate, both in the form of new products such as the DentaBite Occlusal Splint, and in its adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes such as digital scanning/reverse engineering and 3D printing, as well as in the continued advancement in CNC milling technology.
Georges Sara, 1964-2020.
AMT AUG/SEP 2021
In the last few years, Georges brought his interest and expertise to bear on a new area of focus, maxillofacial surgery, researching ways that his company’s technologies could be applied in reconstructive surgery for patients whose jaws had been ravaged by cancer. As Jessica explains, the work became a passion for him.
