NIOM history

NIOM was established in 1972, as a joint Nordic institute located in Oslo. A programme for testing and certification of dental biomaterials on the Nordic market was established, and the first lists of certified materials were published in 1974. Products were tested every year, and the Nordic health authorities required, or strongly recommended, that dentists used NIOM certified products. In 1992, the laboratory obtained official accreditation for testing dental biomaterials. These testing and certification activities continued until 1998 when the European Medical Device Directive came into force, introducing a new, joint European regulatory scheme for the certification (CE marking) of medical and dental biomaterials and devices. Today, the Institute maintains its competency in the accredited testing of dental biomaterials, and promotes this activity with manufacturers and regulatory bodies.

On January 1st 2004, the CE-certification activity, formerly undertaken by NIOM, was handed over to a Norwegian-registered foundation named NIOM CERTIFICATION. This foundation changed its name to Nordic Dental Certification (NDC) and was in 2011 incorporated in the Norwegian certification organization Nemko. NIOM has thus no responsibility in certification of dental product. The provision of an accredited laboratory service to industry, health authorities and other parties remains one of NIOM core activities, and such test results can be used for certification purposes and to document product quality.