Hmmm, do you have a roller block or are you retro-fitting this cam? As Brian said...if you have a late model dist, the gear is good. If not, you WILL need another one unless you want it to chew up nicely.
Yes, flat tappet cams are just cast pieces. Roller cams are made of billet steel. Although most roller cams now come with a cast gear pressed on the end of the cam so you can run your regular dist. gear. I just read an arcticle on this the other day, I will see if I can find the site!