(2) International standardization of dental materials
In ISO/TC 106 (Dentistry), approximately 150 ISO standards have been developed. Some of the ISO standards
are referred to in technical regulations in various countries.
In Japan, there are 94 JISs corresponding to ISO/TC106 standards, of which 38 JISs (29 cases as attestation
base) are referred to in Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. In U.S., FDA has recognized 29 ISO/TC106 standards
for use in its marketing clearance of dental products. In Europe, the standards developed by ISO/TC106
are being simultaneously adopted as EN standards by European Committee for Standardization (CEN) under
the Vienna Agreement, and 88 of them are quoted as harmonized standards for European Medical Device
Directives (MDD).
Thus, international standardization is having a major impact on the regulatory framework for “dentistry” in
various countries. In recent years, Japan has been actively submitting NWIP to ISO/TC106 and undertaking as
secretariat. During fi scal year 2012, Japan’s proposal on dental magnetic attachments to attach dental prostheses
(dentures) was developed as ISO 13017.
Developed in Japan, they are used in a wide variety of applications, such as magnetic retention of dentures
and fi xing the upper structures of implants. Through the standard, Japanese magnetic dental attachments are
demonstrably high-quality, more compact and with more powerful magnetism than foreign products. This is
expected to make an important contribution to entry into international markets. Furthermore, fi rmly attached
dentures improve quality of life. Mastication is better, and being able to chew properly stimulates the brain.
Because the standard does not describe how to measure the magnetism of magnetic attachments, magnetism
cannot be accurately measured. We therefore explained to an international conference the need for
standardization of testing methods and measurement tools that enable simple measurement and have small
standard deviations. We immediately proposed revision of the standard.