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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Kettenbach enters U.S. dental market

September 30, 2008 -- Kettenbach, a German producer of impression materials, will now sell its dental products direct to the U.S. dental market. The company's U.S. division is headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA.

To mark its entry into the U.S. dental market, Kettenbach has introduced its full line of Futar bite registration materials, including Futar D, the leading bite registration material in Germany, according to a company press release.

"Kettenbach has developed into a leading player in the global dental market within the impression material sector based on 60 years of experience," said Maribelle Velasco, vice president of sales, marketing, and operations for Kettenbach in the U.S.

The next product slated for direct sales in the U.S. is Silginat, a medium-bodied viscosity, polyvinyl siloxane impression material designed for a variety of indications, such as anatomical models, fabrication of temporary crown and bridges, orthodontic appliances, and case study models. Silginat will be introduced at the 2008 ADA meeting in San Antonio in October.

Hoya ConBio offers replacement fibers for DioDent

September 30, 2008 -- Hoya ConBio announced the availability of a replacement fiber for the original DioDent dental laser models. The new highly flexible fiber is designed to provide optimum performance for a variety of soft-tissue dental procedures, according to the company.

Bendable tips enable easy posterior access, and a nick and fleck cleaving delivers fast fiber preparation and an assured flat fiber tip, the company noted. The fiber kit includes a fiber spool and mount to add to the existing system that conveniently stores the fiber. The new handpiece locks the fiber in place securely, preventing the fiber from pulling out or pushing in. The fingertip jacket stripping eliminates the need for tools.

The fiber is available as a replacement for the DioDent, DioDent II, and LVIlase models, and is already featured on the next-generation DioDent Micro 980 soft-tissue laser.

Lack of antibiotics costs dentist $2.6 million

September 29, 2008 -- An Oklahoma dentist's decision not to pretreat a diabetic patient with antibiotics prior to extracting her abscessed tooth may cost him $2.6 million. That is the amount a Comanche County jury has awarded the husband of Linda Culberson, who died in January 2004 from an infection after Robert Morford, D.D.S., of Lawton, OK, pulled her tooth.

Mrs. Culberson, 58, went to Dr. Morford's office in April 2002 with "a chronically abscessed tooth," according to Ed Culberson's attorney, Mike Markey. Dr. Morford opted to pull the tooth but did not give Mrs. Culberson any antibiotics. She then developed a "life-threatening infection," according to Markey. The infection became so serious that she spent 20 months on life support and died in January 2004. Mr. Culberson filed his malpractice lawsuit later that year.

The key issue put before the jury was whether Culberson should have been given antibiotics prior to the extraction, Markey said -- especially because she had poorly controlled diabetes. The ADA recommends that dentists "consider systemic antibiotics for uncontrolled diabetic patients who have frequent infections or heal poorly," and numerous studies have found that infection is a risk for diabetic patients and can make it more difficult to control blood glucose levels. For example, a 2000 study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association concluded that, because insulin-dependent diabetics are particularly susceptible to infections, "antibiotic coverage for invasive dental procedures is recommended in patients with poorly controlled or uncontrolled diabetes" (JADA, March 2000, Vol. 131:3, pp. 366-374).

"The defendant's position was that the antibiotics weren't necessary, and our position was that they were, given her history of health problems," Markey said.

However, the jury found that Mr. Culberson was partly at fault because he did not adequately inform Dr. Morford of Mrs. Culberson's diabetes, Markey said. Culberson's lawsuit originally sought $4 million in damages.

"The jury found that there was some negligence on the part of the husband," Markey said. "One of the issues they raised is that he should have gotten her to the dentist sooner."

Michael Hill, Dr. Morford's attorney, told DrBicuspid.com that Dr. Morford met the standard of care in that removing the source of the infection -- the tooth -- was the appropriate treatment for the infection, and that antibiotics were not required.

"We did then, and do now, feel as though Dr. Morford met the standard of care," Hill said.

The verdict could be appealed, according to Markey. The court is already considering various post-trial motions, Hill said.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Tories say NHS dental bills rising alarmingly

By Reuters Health

August 14, 2008 -- LONDON (Reuters), Aug 14 - Patients are now paying an average of 35% more for their National Health Service (NHS) dental treatment than they were when Labour came to power in 1997, the Conservative Party said on Thursday.

In 1997/98, patients spent 389 million pounds on NHS treatment, but that had risen to 475 million pounds by 2006/7, the opposition party calculated.

In total, people have spent 4.5 billion pounds on NHS dental charges under Labour, Shadow Health Minister Mike Penning said.

Two million people in England lost access to an NHS dentist during this time, the Tories said, despite a pledge by then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999 that everyone would have access within two years.

"Labour's dental legacy is one of shameful failure," Penning said.

"Not only are people now paying 35% more when they see their NHS dentist, but Labour's botched policies mean that millions of hard-working families have completely lost access to affordable dental care."

A Department of Health spokesman disputed the statistics saying they were "misleading and did not compare like with like." He said numbers of NHS patients were up by 500,000.

He also said they did not take into account inflation.

"The number of adults registered with an NHS dentist has actually increased by over half a million if you compare the two years leading up to March 1997 to the two years leading up to March 2006," he said.

"Our reforms and total investment of over 2 billion pounds in NHS dentistry is allowing new NHS dental practices to expand and open with dental companies as well as individual dentists bidding to provide more NHS dental services around the country."

He added: "In 1996/97, patient charges were 29% of total dental expenditure where as in 2006/07 this had fallen to 21%."

Last Updated: 2008-08-14 12:00:16 -0400 (Reuters Health)

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Dental product suppliers defy gravity

By Kathy Kincade, Editor in Chief

August 13, 2008 -- Halfway through 2008, the U.S. dental equipment business is surprisingly robust.

In fact, despite concerns over the past several months that higher prices and consumer cutbacks were certain to impact the dental business, two of the biggest suppliers --Henry Schein and Dentsply International -- reported record sales and earnings for the second quarter of 2008 (end-June 30). And they are not alone.

“We recorded another quarter of double-digit growth in equipment sales and service revenues.”
— Stanley Bergman, chair and CEO of Henry Schein

Henry Schein reported record overall sales of $1.6 billion for the quarter, with the Dental Group contributing $660 million, up 10% over the second quarter of 2007. This includes an 11% increase in dental equipment sales, according to the company.

"Our Dental Group continues to gain market share in consumable merchandise and in equipment," stated Stanley Bergman, chair and CEO, in a company press release. "We recorded another quarter of double-digit growth in equipment sales and service revenues, highlighted by gains in high-tech products, including acceleration in sales of the E4D CAD/CAM product."

However, the economy did have a negative impact on certain cosmetic and high-end procedures and products, as well as those that are not covered by insurance, company chief financial officer Steven Paladino told Reuters.

Dentsply also reported record sales and earnings for the quarter. Net sales increased 17% to $595 million, up from $507 million for the same quarter in 2007. Net income for the quarter was $79 million, up from $68 million a year ago. The company credits revenue increases in its implant and endodontic businesses for much of this growth; each of these segments saw a 20% increase in quarterly sales year over year

"Our businesses are growing rapidly in many international markets, allowing us to make expanded investments in research and development, as well as in sales force expansion in markets with high growth potential," stated Bret Wise, chairman and CEO of Dentsply, in a press release.

Given its access to the European market, it's not surprising that Swiss supplierStraumann is also experiencing strong growth these days. Straumann reported revenues of $380 million for the quarter, up more than 20% over the previous year's quarter ($324 million). Net profits also rose, from $87 million in the second quarter of 2007 to $93 million in the second quarter of 2008. According to a press release, Europe accounts for nearly two-thirds of Straumann's revenues, and the company is currently experiencing double-digit growth in all key European countries.

Sirona Dental Systems also reported double-digit growth and expects this trend to continue for the rest of the year. The company recorded revenues of $187 million for the quarter, a 19% increase over the same quarter a year ago, with double-digit increases in all of its business segments (treatment centers, CAD/CAM systems, and imaging systems). Net income for the quarter was $6.7 million, compared to $2 million for the same quarter in 2007.

"Growth outside the U.S. is stronger for some of these companies," Jeffrey Johnson, an analyst with Robert W. Baird who specializes in medical and dental technology companies, told DrBicuspid.com in an e-mail. "This trend is partially driven by the faster economic growth seen outside the U.S. and the greater growth opportunities that developing dental markets provide, plus the fact that the U.S. consumer trends have been more sluggish than non-U.S. consumer trends over the past couple of quarters."

As a result, Johnson has revised his position of three months ago, when he lowered the projected stock prices on three major suppliers: Dentsply, Henry Schein, and Patterson Dental (read more). Then, Dentsply stock was valued at around $40; now Johnson has bumped the price target to $44. Similarly, Henry Schein stock was valued at just below $55; today, Johnson has set the price target at $66. Even Sirona has a healthy $32 per share target, according to Johnson.

Not every dental equipment provider is faring quite so well, however. While Biolase Technology appears to be turning things around -- net revenues for the quarter were up slightly from the same quarter a year ago, $18.7 million versus $18.2 million, and net income is back in the black at $648,000 for the quarter (compared to a loss of $2.6 million in the second quarter of 2007) -- the company said Waterlase sales declined 7% due to "weaker international performance," according to a press release.

And although Align Technology, producers of Invisalign, reported record revenues of $80 million for the quarter (up from $77 million in the same quarter a year ago), net profit was just $4 million, compared to a net profit of $13.6 million in the second quarter of 2007.

"As consumer spending has continued to soften, so has our outlook for revenue growth," stated Thomas Prescott, president and CEO, in a press release. As a result, the company is initiating cost-saving measures, he added -- including a workforce reduction of approximately 40 people.