Maurice Valen
Maurice Valen (born Vassilis Valentis; February 1, 1939) is a Greek-born American inventor, researcher, and entrepreneur known for his work in dental implantology, bioactive bone grafting materials, and implant design and biomechanics. He is the founder of Impladent Ltd., a dental products company associated with the development of the OsteoGen line of Synthetic Bioactive Resorbable bone graft materials.
Maurice Valen's career has included work in dental laboratory technology, surgical implant design, hydroxyapatite-coated dental implants, bone grafting products, and research concerning load-bearing forces in implant dentistry. His professional work has been connected with multiple implant systems and biomaterials, including Flexi-Cup, Hydroxi-Flex, LaminOss, PhysioLock, SuperSplint, TriStar, and OsteoGen products, including the OsteoGen Plug, Strips and Malleable Bone Block. He has more than 60 years of research and product-development experience, with 20 products and 25 patents associated with his work. He is the honored recipient of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry's Isaiah Lew Research Award for continued dedication to the advancement of implantology.
Early life and background
Maurice Valen was born in Greece on February 1, 1939, under the name Vassilis Valentis. His early life was shaped by the disruption and violence of the Second World War. In a published interview, Maurice described the loss of his father and extended family during the Nazi occupation of Greece, after which he and his mother survived by relocating and later rebuilding their lives in Athens.
After the war, his mother supported the family through work as a seamstress and nightclub singer. Valen later immigrated to the United States in 1955, arriving in New York City. He settled in Queens, where he attended Jamaica High School and studied engineering-related subjects. He also took English courses at Queens College after arriving in the United States, adding English to the languages he had already learned. Following three years of work during highschool, he was able to save $3,000 to give to his mother to help her open up a dress shop in Queens, NY.
Early career
In 1956, at the age of 17, Maurice had a patent idea featured in "Popular Mechanics" which led to a job opportunity working with Dr. Leonard Linkow, a prominent figure in dental implantology. Valen initially worked in Linkow's laboratory and later assisted with surgical procedures and implant-related design work. He worked with Linkow from 1956 to 1961, developed four patents for Linkow during that period, and served as a chairside surgical assistant for three years. His early technical training involved dental impressions, laboratory fabrication methods, and the design of implant components.
His work with Linkow included contributions to impression-taking methods and laboratory procedures before the widespread availability of modern rubber-base impression materials. One such method involved the use of copper bands and a dental tray filled with plaster of Paris to take impressions for multiple teeth at one time.
Maurice also worked extensively with porcelain systems, including methods intended to reduce shrinkage in multi-unit bridges. His experience with ceramic crystal sizes and material behavior later influenced his work on synthetic bioactive resorbable crystal grafting products.
Academic and research career
Maurice Valen held academic appointments as an adjunct professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and at New York University College of Dentistry. His research interests included implant biomechanics, hydroxyapatite materials, taking force registration in patients, and the relationship between implant design and physiologic load bearing for maximum implant support.
At UMDNJ, Maurice worked on force-registration research involving transducers and bite-force registrations. His CV also describes research with the Robert Schultz Orthopaedic Institute, the Orthopaedic Department at Joint Diseases Hospital, and the Hospital for Special Surgery Orthopaedic Division, including animal studies and material characterization of OsteoGen crystals by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. At NYU, he collaborated with researchers including Dr. Racquel LeGeros, whose work included X-ray diffraction studies of OsteoGen synthetic bioactive resorbable crystals. He also co-authored work with Dr. Allan Schulman concerning implant selection and predetermined success in implant treatment.
His professional writings and research emphasized the importance of implant load-bearing design, compressive forces within physiologic limits, implant surface characteristics, and the interaction between biomaterials and host bone. In 1994, he became the honored recipient of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry's Isaiah Lew Research Award for continued dedication to the advancement of implantology.
Impladent Ltd.
Impladent Ltd. was founded in the mid-1980s and developed dental implant and regenerative biomaterial products. The company received FDA clearance for OsteoGen synthetic bioactive resorbable bone graft crystals in 1984. Over time, Impladent expanded its product line to include bone grafting crystals, plugs, strips, malleable blocks, plates, and dental implant systems.
Impladent's development strategy has focused on regenerative products intended to be accessible to general dental practitioners as well as specialists. In a Dental Tribune interview, he described the company as product and customer focused, with an emphasis on simplified and cost-effective solutions for bone grafting and socket preservation.
One of Impladent's most recognized product categories is the OsteoGen family of Synthetic Bioactive Resorbable bone graft materials. Originally FDA cleared as OsteoTape in 2009, Maurice and his son, Andrew Valen, introduced the OsteoGen Bone Grafting Plug in 2014. The OsteoGen Plug is a combination of OsteoGen Graft and bovine achilles tendon collagen designed specifically for socket preservation without the need for a separate membrane. Together with the OsteoGen Strips and Blocks, these products have been used in dental regenerative procedures including socket preservation, ridge maintenance, and implant-related grafting.
Innovations and products
Maurice Valen has been associated with several implant and biomaterial systems developed over the course of his career. These include:
- Flexi-Cup implant, a three-dimensional blade implant intended to improve bone support through its geometric design.
- Hydroxi-Flex implant, described in Valen's materials as an early plasma-spray coated hydroxyapatite dental implant.
- LaminOss implant system, designed to increase metal-to-bone support in a compressive mode.
- PhysioLock implant system, developed around principles of osteocompression and controlled load-bearing support having 2.5x more bone support for the ability to laminate bone due to surgical cassette instrumentation by implant design.
- OsteoGen synthetic bioactive resorbable grafting materials, including crystals, hydrophilic clusters, dense pellets, plugs, strips, malleable bone blocks, and plates for dental regenerative procedures.
- TriStar screw system, a screw system for bone fixation that may also be used as tenting screws in various surgical techniques.
- SuperSplint, a chair-side immediate implant splinting system with associated instrumentation and prosthetic components.
- OsteoXcel®, fluorapatite coated bioactive calcium phosphate crystal and crystal cluster bone graft.
Maurice Valen's work has frequently focused on the concept that implant design should support favorable distribution of functional forces. His approach emphasized compressive load-bearing areas, controlled osteotomy preparation, and the interaction of implant geometry with surrounding bone.
Family and company contributions
Maurice worked together with his wife, Virginia Valen, and son Gregory Valen on the long-term growth and development of Impladent Ltd. As part of the family-run nature of the company, Virginia Valen greatly contributed to the management and growth of the business while supporting its work in dental implants and regenerative materials.
Maurice's son, Andrew Valen, joined Impladent Ltd. in 2012 and contributed to the company's growth and product-development efforts. In Valen's published interview, he credited Andrew's involvement and knowledge with helping expedite the development of new products. Andrew's role has included supporting the evolution of Impladent's regenerative product line and helping advance new product initiatives.
Maurice is the proud father of five children: Edward, Gregory, Andrew, Jeffrey and Nancy. Throughout his life and long career, the Valen family has remained a central pillar of his journey, providing a foundation of support as he balanced his passion for innovation with his role as a family patriarch.
Artistic interests
Beyond dentistry and biomaterials, Maurice has had a long-standing interest in art. He began oil painting as a child and later created paintings and sculpture. In the 1960s, he created a fresco at the Belleclaire Hotel in New York and exhibited work at a Fifth Avenue gallery. According to his interview, he sold several paintings and sculptures to help fund his early research laboratory.
Selected publications and memberships
Maurice has authored publications in the Journal of Oral Implantology and many other dental research venues on topics including the relationship between endosteal implant design and function, implant selection protocols, LaminOss and PhysioLock immediate-load implants, osteocompression, synthetic bioactive resorbable grafts, and ion release from experimental fluoride-containing bone graft materials.
His professional memberships have included the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, the International Congress of Oral Implantology, the Academy of Osseointegration, the ANSI/ADA Committee for Standardization of Dental Implants, the American Society for Testing and Materials panel on hydroxyapatite materials, the Society for Biomaterials, the International Association for Dental Research, and the Academy of Dental Materials.
Curriculum vitae
The following is the latest supplied curriculum vitae for Maurice Valen. A PDF copy is available here: Download Maurice Valen CV.
References
- Dental Tribune USA. “Impladent has always been a product- and customer-focused company.” Interview with Maurice Valen. https://us.dental-tribune.com/news/impladent-has-always-been-a-product-and-customer-focused-company/
- Curriculum vitae of Maurice Valen, Adjunct Assistant Professor. Privately supplied document, updated November 9, 2021.
- Biographical interview materials supplied by the Valen family.