Astra Tech offers patient-specific abutments

Dental implant company Astra Tech announced that it is selling Atlantis-brand abutments for Straumann Bone Level 3.3, 4.1, and 4.8 diameter implants. Material options for this new interface include titanium and gold-shaded titanium (Atlantis GoldHue abutment). Atlantis abutments are designed and fabricated using Atlantis Virtual Abutment Design (VAD), a process that combines 3D optical scanning, software, and manufacturing methods to create patient-specific abutments. The abutments eliminate the need for hand

Align treats 1 million Invisalign patients

Align Technology has shipped its 1 millionth Invisalign case, the company announced. Wilmette, IL, orthodontist James Kohl, D.D.S., is treating the millionth patient, a 15-year-old high school freshman, with the new Invisalign Teen product. “This is a significant business milestone for us as it demonstrates continued, strong demand for Invisalign, which has evolved into a mainstream treatment option,” said Thomas Prescott, president and CEO of Align Technology, in a press

Despite economy, RTI Biologics financials up

While RTI Biologics saw its revenues increase year over year in the first quarter of 2009, the company’s dental business was negatively impacted by the economic downturn, the company announced. Even so, dental revenues for the quarter were $7.2 million, compared to $3.5 million for the same quarter a year ago. Total revenues were $38.6 million, compared to revenues of $29.9 million for the first quarter of 2008. “For the

Lincoln Dental increases coverage

The Lincoln DentalConnect PPO plan now offers dental implants and composite posterior fillings as optional benefit coverages with effective dates of April 1, 2009, or later, the company announced this week. The insurance plan, part of the Insurance Solutions division of Philadelphia-based Lincoln Financial Group, has also increased the number of providers in its network, the company said. It now includes more than 54,000 unique providers and over 95,000 provider

Milestone signs exclusive China distributor

Milestone Scientific has granted China National Medicines (doing business as Sinopharm) exclusive distribution and marketing rights for the STA (single tooth anesthesia) System in China, the company announced. Traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Sinopharm is China’s largest domestic manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of pharmaceuticals and importer of medical devices, and the country’s largest domestic distributor of dental anesthetic carpules to the Chinese dental industry, Milestone noted. According to Milestone,

Millennium: ADA position on lasers ‘inaccurate’

Millennium Dental Technologies is questioning the ADA’s position statement on the use of lasers in dentistry. In a press release issued April 29, the company said it considers the final document “inaccurate, misleading, and scientifically unsubstantiated,” especially as it relates to laser-assisted new attachment procedure, or the LANAP protocol, pioneered by Millennium. What is of special interest and concern to Millennium, the company said, is the focus the ADA gave

Nobel Biocare reports 45% drop in Q1 profit

Dental implant maker Nobel Biocare is blaming the economic downturn in certain key markets for a sharper-than-expected 45% drop in first-quarter net profit. The company reported a net profit of 18 million euros ($23 million) in the first three months of 2009, down from 32.90 million euros ($43.7 million) for the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter totaled 147 million euros ($195 million). Due to the elective

Straumann upbeat despite drop in revenues

Despite a 2% drop in revenues for the first quarter of 2009 due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc versus other European currencies, Straumann is maintaining a favorable outlook. Straumann reported revenues of 196 million Swiss francs ($171 million) for the quarter, compared to 200 million francs ($175 million) for the same quarter a year ago. The 4% negative impact of the currency market obscured 2% growth in the

Kettenbach markets scannable bite registration material

Kettenbach has released its Futar Scan bite registration material for use with CAD/CAM systems. Futar Scan is a scannable, addition-curing, polyvinyl siloxane bite registration material. It can be scanned by optical or laser systems without the necessary powder needed with some CAD/CAM systems, according to Kettenbach. Futar Scan stands out from other bite registration materials because of “its excellent optical properties, guaranteeing high recording quality and optimal image replication,” the

MacPractice launches endodontic version of its software

MacPractice, a developer of practice management and clinical applications for Macintosh computers, is launching MacPractice Endo, a specialized version for endodontists of its flagship product MacPractice DDS, at the American Association of Endodontists meeting in Orlando, FL, this week. MacPractice Endo includes specialized, customizable, clinical data entry forms for use in MacPractice EDR (electronic dental record), according to the company. Forms that are suitable for being sent to referring dentists

Dentist claims bleaching innovations

Evolve Dental Technologies is marketing a new version of the “deep bleaching” technique developed by Rod Kurthy, D.D.S., a dentist in Mission Viejo, CA. The system differs from competing products because of its tighter-fitting trays, more effective desensitizers, refrigeration and improved bleach formula, according to Dr. Kurthy. The close-fitting bleaching trays in the KöR Whitening Deep Bleaching System prevent leakage, Dr. Kurthy said when presenting his system at the Chicago

Chewing gum may raise math grades in teens

CHICAGO (Reuters), Apr 24 – In a study likely to make school janitors cringe, U.S. researchers said Wednesday that chewing gum may boost academic performance in teenagers. Many U.S. schools ban chewing gum because children often dispose of the sticky gum under chairs or tables. But a team led by Craig Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that students who chewed gum during math class had higher