Dentozone

#From Illuminated Mouth Openers to Suction Innovation

After attending the IDS 2007 Exhibition in Germany, we realized that suction was one of the most critical challenges in modern dental practice.
Determined to find a better solution, we began full-scale development in 2008.

When people think of DENTOZONE, the first word that comes to mind is “water.” Since the early days of the “cola tank” system, we have dedicated ourselves to developing automated solutions that deliver clean, chemical-free, and safe dental water.

“No Chemical, No Biofilm, No Bacteria.”
This principle is not only our philosophy but also the core value that has guided DENTOZONE in solving the challenges of dental water hygiene.
So, when people hear that DENTOZONE has developed a suction system, they are often surprised.
But we are more than a company that simply assembles and sells equipment —we are a research-driven innovator dedicated to solving the everyday challenges of dental practice through science and technology.
Just as we overcame the issue of waterborne contamination, we believed that the suction problem, too, could be solved —with persistence, engineering, and innovation.

# Every DENTOZONE Innovation Is Born Through Trial and Discovery

Each DENTOZONE innovation is the result of countless trials, failures, and refinements.

he story of the 99 Suction Block began—quite unexpectedly—with the development of an illuminated mouth opener.
After attending the IDS exhibitions in Germany in 2003 and 2005, we recognized both the importance of proper lighting in dental treatment and the limitations of existing lighting systems.
That led to a simple yet powerful question:“What if we could illuminate directly inside the mouth?”
From this idea, the development of our first illuminated mouth-opening device began in 2005.

# TIPSBITE

What we realized in the field was clear: beyond illumination, suction is an even more essential and fundamental element of dental treatment.

When saliva and water are not removed promptly during a procedure, patients experience discomfort, dentists are forced to pause treatment, and dental hygienists are burdened with repetitive and strenuous suction work.

To solve this issue, in 2009, DENTOZONE developed TIPSBITE, a device that combined intraoral illumination and suction in one system.

This tongue-mounted suction device was exported to the United States and more than 100 units were supplied for use by the U.S. military. However, its complex operation limited broader adoption.

Meanwhile, the Portable eBite (also known as eBite1),which was born from the same development process, achieved remarkable success — selling tens of thousands of units worldwide, including over 10,000 units in Japan alone.

Soon after, dental professionals began requesting a model with an added suction function. In response, we developed a Suction Connector based on the existing TIPS and Biteblock structure, and commercialized it as the Suction Kit. This device enabled easy suction functionality when paired with the Portable eBite, and it continues to be one of DENTOZONE’s key product lines today.

# A New Design Challenge

The development of our suction device entered a new phase.

DENTOZONE shifted its focus toward a simpler, more streamlined block structure to solve suction more efficiently, while exploring various designs that integrated suction directly into the mouth prop.

Starting in 2018, we experimented with multiple prototypes — including duckbill-shaped wings, protruding suction inlets, and multi-channel suction pathways.

However, despite countless trials, none could achieve the powerful suction performance we had envisioned.

# Discovering the Breakthrough

The real breakthrough came in September 2019, sparked by the advice of a close dentist friend of mine:

“Suction must occur beneath the tongue and along the gums.”

Inspired by that insight,

we designed a new structure featuring wing-shaped extensions that wrap around the teeth,

a seal-like barrier, and a silicone suction port —a configuration that allowed far more effective saliva removal.

This concept evolved through multiple prototypes — Version 3.0 and 3.1 —refined over more than ten internal test cycles. Every detail — from suction hole placement and silicone hardness to the precise shape of each projection — was carefully optimized. The result was an original suction mechanism inspired by the principle of an octopus’s suction cup, leading to the birth of the first Suction Block prototype in 2020.

# The Completion of a 16-Year Journey

Even after years of development, the early models still showed variations in performance depending on the clinician’s treatment posture and the patient’s mouth opening depth.

To overcome this, we initiated a final round of design refinements — redesigning the suction inlet and precisely calibrating the suction-cup structure to ensure consistent performance in any clinical environment.

At last, we achieved it —a device capable of delivering highly consistent, high-efficiency suction in any clinical setting.

That achievement became the final version of the 99 Suction Block, unveiled for the first time at the IDS 2025 exhibition in Germany, where it received an enthusiastic response from clinicians and distributors alike. It continued to draw major attention and praise at Korean domestic exhibitions such as SIDEX and DV World.

Today, the 99 Suction Block holds patents and design registrations in the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, and Korea, and is produced under strict CE MDR and ISO 13485 quality management systems.