Zolar brings soft-tissue lasers to U.S. dental market

Zolar Technology has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for the Photon and Photon Plus soft-tissue diode lasers. Zolar has already sold thousands of lasers worldwide and is now bringing its technology the U.S. market, the company noted in a press release. The new Photon (3 W of power, 810-nm wavelength) offers 21 adjustable/customizable treatment programs and four custom programs. The Photon Plus (10 W of power, 980-nm wavelength)

Orthodontics firms unveil new branding

Appliance Therapy Group (ATG) and Space Maintainers Laboratories have rebranded under the name SML. The new brand encompasses Space Maintainers Laboratories, ATG, Success Essentials, SMILE Foundation, Second Opinion, Orthopix, and the professional support group known as ATPA. As part of the rebrand, SML has developed a more easily navigable website to help customers better understand each of the brand’s products and services. Space Maintainers Laboratories was founded in 1957 by

Equity firm acquires dental implant company

Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has acquired Zest Anchors, a California-based manufacturer of overdenture abutment solutions. Zest’s Locator Attachment product line is compatible with more than 350 implant products and is distributed in more than 45 countries, the companies noted in a press release. Zest most recently introduced the Locator Overdenture Implant System, a narrow diameter implant system exclusively designed for overdenture treatment. Terms of the transaction were

Mouthwash users break world record

On June 25, more than 1,100 consumers set the new world record for the most people using mouthwash simultaneously when they swished with Colgate-Palmolive Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash in New York’s Times Square. A total of 1,142 participants, along with TV host and actress Stacy Keibler, simultaneously swished to break the record. The event also supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation, according to the World Record Academy. To celebrate the launch of

Colgate partners with Hispanic Dental Association

Colgate-Palmolive is partnering with the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) to launch Colgate’s 2013 Oral Health Month campaign, which began July 1. This annual campaign is designed to help educate Hispanic-American families about the importance of proper oral care through this year’s theme, the company noted in a press release. In partnership with the HDA, Colgate’s Oral Health Month will help reach Hispanic communities by delivering bilingual oral health education resources

DDS Lab sponsors athletes with mouthguards

DDS Lab has begun sponsoring several up-and-coming mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes who will each wear custom-fit Fierce mouthguards during their matches. A goal of the sponsorship is to build awareness about the importance of wearing a properly fitted mouthguard, the company stated. Beginning this summer, DDS Lab will sponsor MMA fighters Christopher Varner, Jeff Smith, Ashley English, Aaron Bicking, Darrell Horcher, and Clark Young. Upcoming fights will be nationally

Dog helps kids understand craniofacial abnormalities

Lentil, a French Bulldog puppy with a cleft lip and cleft palate, is raising awareness about the condition in humans, according to a CNN article. Lentil is the only surviving puppy of a litter that all had facial defects, the article notes. Lentil’s owners in New Jersey turned the dog over to the French Bulldog Rescue Network of Philadelphia who tended to him with around-the-clock care. He could not eat

DentaQuest awards $370K grant to NCOHF

The DentaQuest Foundation has awarded a $369,500 grant to the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy (NCOHF) that will support the America’s ToothFairy Youth Mentoring Initiative and the expansion of Students United for America’s ToothFairy chapters. Utilizing established youth organizations and networks, the initiative will build on NCOHF partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Association of School Nurses. The America’s ToothFairy Youth Mentoring

White blood cells aid cancer progression

White blood cells play a role in activating cancer cells and facilitating their spread to secondary tumors, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (July 1, 2013). Researchers from McGill University and the University of Calgary used both cultured cells and mouse models of cancer to show there is a relationship between infection and metastasis. Web-like neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are produced by white blood cells

U.K. men have higher esophageal cancer risk than women

Men are almost three times more likely to get esophageal cancer than women, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK. This difference seems to be caused by one particular type of esophageal cancer — adenocarcinoma — which is linked to obesity and long-term acid heartburn or indigestion. Esophageal cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the U.K., the organization noted in a press release. The latest figures show

Triodent unveils next-generation matrix system

Triodent has introduced the V4 ClearMetal matrix system, featuring the ClearMetal matrix with microwindows. ClearMetal is the only transparent matrix with the advantages of metal malleability, the company noted in a press release. Hundreds of microscopic resin-filled windows allow light to pass through the stainless steel, so composite in a class II restoration can be cured laterally and interproximally as well as occlusally, while leaving no imprint on the composite.

Not all coated toothbrushes are created equal

Coating toothbrush bristles with chlorhexidine appears to reduce concentrations of some harmful oral bacteria more than coating them with silver nanoparticles. A study presented at the International Association for Dental Research’s 2013 annual meeting found that chlorhexidine-coated toothbrushes (Butler GUM) reduced concentrations of Streptococcus mutans by 99.8% 16 hours after the toothbrushes were immersed for three minutes in a microbe-containing suspension. The silver nanoparticle-coated toothbrushes (Mouth Watchers) reduced the bugs’