Company credits unique operating model as core to its success.

Pacific Dental Services® (PDS), one of the nation’s leading dental support organizations, today announced a key milestone in its growth journey. Cumulative revenues for calendar year 2021 exceeded $2 billion, marking yet another significant achievement in the privately held organization’s 27-year history.

PDS’ unique business model enables dentists to own their dental practice and empowers them to spend more time with patients and less time on the administrative responsibilities of running a practice. PDS calls this their Private Practice +® model. Because its supported dentists can leverage the operational support of the large business services organization, they have the freedom to focus exclusively on patient care while PDS remains focused on the business aspects of the practice.

Building upon this successful foundation, notable innovative technology implementations made to the business support platform in 2021 — particularly with the Epic® electronic health record system which integrates a patient’s medical and dental records and KaVo OP 3D™ cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) systems — fueled PDS’ unprecedented growth. Additionally, the organization remained focused on raising awareness on a national scale about the critical link between oral health and overall health – what PDS and its supported practices call the Mouth-Body Connection®.

Commenting on the milestone, Stephen E. Thorne IV, PDS Founder and CEO said, “Surpassing $2 billion in revenue in one calendar year is a benchmark that few privately held companies achieve. While we appreciate this moment, at PDS we are mindful that our success is not found in any aggregated number, but in the success of each individual dental practice, each owner dentist, and ultimately within each patient interaction. We know that the best clinicians don’t seek us out because of our size. They come to work alongside our supported owner dentists knowing that they will receive mentorship and training from the best dentists in the world. They will have access to the best tools, systems and technology available in the industry. They will thrive in an environment that helps them elevate their role as a healthcare professional – not only in assisting patients with their dental needs but truly improving their overall health.”

Other key milestones for Pacific Dental Services in 2021 include:

• First dental support organization in the world to implement Epic®, the most widely used comprehensive health records system, into supported practices. Through Epic, dental practices can easily exchange patient data with other health care providers for improved overall patient care.

• Implementing CBCT technology in 365 supported practices and using 3D imaging to help more patients with improved diagnoses, precise implant placements, and better clinical outcomes.

• Producing and placing 468,211 dental restorations (crowns, inlays/onlays, and veneers) in 2021 alone using CEREC® CAD/CAM technology.

• Launching a one-of-a-kind dental-medical practice in support of whole-body health with the opening of three practices in one – general dentistry, pediatric dentistry and medical care. The innovative, integrated approach offers patients a holistic strategy to managing their overall health care through a variety of services.

• Partnering with the American Diabetes Association® to increase awareness of the link between oral health and diabetes.

• Having a PDS executive serving on the CDC’s 10-person National Association for Chronic Disease Directors Medical-Dental Integration Steering Committee.

• First in the dental industry to offer free college tuition to its team members through its College Advancement Program.

• Partnered with Envista on a multi-year agreement to combine their independently developed machine learning capabilities into Envista’s sophisticated DTX Studio Clinic assisted intelligence (AI) software platform which PDS will deploy to its supported practices to bring the full benefits of AI-supported image sorting, interpretation, and analysis to its supported clinicians.

• Opening its 863rd supported dental practice nationwide and contracting with its 683rd owner dentist.

• First dental support organization to join an accountable care organization with a focus on improving the health of the diabetic population.

• Serving as a collaborative medical and dental care team on Harvard Medical School’s Teaming and Integrating for Smiles and Health (TISH) initiative focused on strengthening primary care and oral health partnerships.

• Launching a specialty dental support organization, Periodontics Health Group, in central Florida.

• Creating a quarterly digital magazine, Generations of Smiles, focused on educating patients on how they can use good oral hygiene practices to improve their overall health. 

● Lithoz GmbH, world market leaders in ceramic 3D printing, has recently entered production in their newest site in Vienna

● Their second production facility combines greatly increased capacity, efficient warehousing and a new level of quality management

● New year, new speed: Lithoz kickstarts vigorously into 2022 with the first customer shipment dispatched from their new XL production site.

Lithoz GmbH, world market leaders in the field of ceramic 3D printing, has recently dispatched the first shipment from their new second production site in Vienna, Austria.

With this being their fourth location worldwide after their headquarters in Vienna and bases in America and China, the company’s production capabilities have now greatly expanded and this new XL hub will make Lithoz’s logistic performance more efficient than ever.

Lithoz’s new central warehouse ensures a much quicker turnaround of orders thanks to a scalable production and expanded storage capacity for raw materials. A monitored production environment (comparable to ISO 8 clean room level) and a central quality assurance laboratory provide the best possible quality control throughout every step of the manufacture process.

The new centralized logistic hub and the investment into new infrastructure and expanded capacities is a key success factor of Lithoz’s growth strategy, providing faster and more professionalized quality management as well as scalable logistic chain processes.

Dr. Daniel Bomze, the project leader, looks forward to better supporting Lithoz customers worldwide from this new XL hub: “During the planning and implementation of this new production site, we focused on sustainability, scalability and reliability. We are ready and extremely well prepared for meeting the fast growing demand of our customers.”

A new look & feel for the future: Ivoclar Group underscores its move into a modern and even more customer-oriented age with a new logo and a visual identity that has been reduced to the essentials.

For the Ivoclar Group, one of the world's leading providers of integrated solutions for high-quality dental applications with a comprehensive product and system portfolio for dentists* and dental technicians*, values, convictions and a progressive, customer-oriented corporate culture are the basis of its strong brand. For almost 100 years, the company, headquartered in Schaan, Liechtenstein, has been shaping the dental market with its name, product innovations and industry-leading pioneering achievements. Working with dental professionals to give people around the world a healthy and beautiful smile is the company's stated mission. Already started in 2021, Ivoclar set new accents with targeted activities that are even more strongly focused on the needs of the customer. In order to visually underline the new departure into a customer-oriented, modern and innovative age, Ivoclar is starting the new year with a fresh appearance and an adapted logo. The most important change: the "Vivadent" in the brand name and logo has been dropped, as have some additional visual elements, so that in future the company's clear focus on the essentials will also be reflected in the logo.

The brand as a guiding principle

With its focus on putting people, partners and customers at the center of its activities, Ivoclar underpins its claim to make the workflows in the daily work of dental technicians and dentists easier and more efficient and likewise to make the patient experience as pleasant and personal as possible. The brand image is and remains a first point of contact with the company. This is precisely why it is so important that the brand's appearance also serves the function of a mission statement and reflects the innovative strength that is lived out. At Ivoclar, the external understand-ing of the brand rests on three supporting pillars:

Partnership & Customer

People, partners and customers are the focus of the daily actions and activities. The brand stands out with a straightforward design and consistent communication to the customer.

Innovation & Technology

Ivoclar stands for progress through technological innovation. This carries the company's mission: "Making People Smile". Innovation, progress and continuous research & development, based on the needs of customers, ensure the success of tomorrow in the long term. With innovative products and services, Ivoclar not only makes dental technicians' and dentists' workflows easier and more efficient, but also makes the patient experience shine positively.

Family & Friends

The Ivoclar Group is a family-owned company with heart and soul: reliability, transparency and communication at eye level are the basis of a good partnership – whether towards customers, employees or patients, who are all considered together as part of the Ivoclar family.

Focus on the essentials – the new look

Ivoclar already demonstrated a modern, fresh design approach last year with its new website, the appearance at its "The Live Experience Tour 2021" and in other communication areas. The reduction to the essentials, a lifestyle-oriented, emotional visual language that puts people in the foreground and, last but not least, the development and use of modern marketing tools pay directly into the mission "Making People Smile". It is only logical that the logo has now also been rede-signed. The most striking feature is the reduction of the brand name to its essential component: "Ivoclar Vivadent" becomes "Ivoclar". And even here, the consistent orientation towards the customer is evident, because many of Ivoclar's business partners have long since dispensed with the suffix "Vivadent" in their daily usage.

"With our long-standing tradition, our pioneering achievements and our constant innovation, we can rely on a strong corporate brand as a foundation”, explains Diego Gabathuler, CEO of the Ivoclar Group. "Nevertheless, I am convinced that there is still a lot of unused potential for us here, which we want to fully exploit in the future. A clearly structured positioning, which is also expressed in the visual appearance, is particularly important with regard to a future-oriented alignment of the company, which leads to the innovation that places our customers and their patients at the center of our actions and activities. For us, this is not just a matter of giving our logo some tweaks. Rather, the new corporate identity with its clear, reduced and focused visual language represents everything that our brand understanding stands for."

The new Ivoclar logo and corporate design will be used globally in all communication channels from now on – where this has not yet been incorporated – and will also be gradually applied to brochures and other printed collateral. As a globally operating company, the main challenge is to adapt the logo in all countries and languages at the same time.

* For reasons of better readability, the language forms male, female and diverse (m/f/d) are not used simultaneously. All references to persons apply equally to all genders. 

DentalPost, the dental industry's premier and largest online and mobile job board, today released the all-new 2022 Dental Salary Survey Report for dental professionals and practices. Over 13,000 dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and dental practice front office team members responded to questions about salaries, compensation, bonuses, benefits and work conditions in their dental teams and offices. DentalPost has analyzed responses to publish the most comprehensive dental industry survey of its kind.

“So much has changed for the dental industry in the last year, and many dental professionals are wondering if the grass is greener on the other side,” said Tonya Lanthier, RDH, DentalPost Founder and CEO. “Our 2022 Dental Salary Survey Report, which is specific to each role, will help dental professionals and practices gauge competitive compensation and navigate career and hiring decisions.”

DentalPost’s annual salary survey provides the dental industry with the comprehensive data-driven content needed to make smart hiring and career decisions in today’s challenging and ever-changing dental employment market. This year, given the effects and impacts to dentistry from the pandemic and subsequent labor shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was expanded to provide even greater contextual data to better serve dental professionals, including:

● State-by-state income averages

● Average and median income by position, experience

● Type of employment and type of practice setting

● Bonus compensation based on structure and size

● Employee benefits comparing private and corporate dental practices

● Job turnover in the previous year

● Income satisfaction

● Dental staff raises in the last year

● Data around supplemental income, dental entrepreneurial side hustles/gigs

● Planned years to retirement

● A more detailed breakdown of niche roles within the dental front office team including new profiles for Dental Practice Managers and Dental Billing Specialists

● Practice workplace conditions, including schedules and clinical responsibilities

“With hiring and employee retention the number one challenge facing dental practices today, we also wanted to give practice owners more insight into what they can do to be more competitive when it comes to recruiting,” added Lanthier. “Practice owners who stay current on market rates will win the recruiting game and will be at less risk for employee turnover. In addition to this salary survey report, DentalPost will continue to provide ongoing data-driven guidance around some of the less tangible aspects of employee engagement, including satisfaction and sentiment.”

Detailed reports for each position are available on DentalPost.net, to include comprehensive salary, benefits and bonus data for Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Dental Assistants and Front Office team members, including two new sub roles within the front office team––the Dental Billing Specialist and Dental Practice Manager.

For more information, please visit https://www.dentalpost.net/salary-survey/ 

Envista Holdings Corporation and dental support organization Pacific Dental Services® (PDS) announce today the consummation of a multi-year year development partnership, created to harness the power of Assisted Intelligence (AI) in support of clinical image analysis across the dental market.

Independently, Envista and PDS have been investing in industry-leading work on AI support of clinical imaging. Together, through this ground-breaking partnership, they will deploy Envista's sophisticated DTX Studio Clinic software platform throughout all PDS-supported practices to immediately bring the benefits of AI-supported image sorting and interpretation to PDS-supported clinicians. In parallel, the two companies will leverage the clinical and operational expertise of PDS and the technical capabilities of Envista to collaborate in the development and deployment of further AI capabilities via DTX.  Envista and PDS aim to harness the power of data and machine learning to transform the ease with which dentists may use clinical imagery to diagnose, plan and treat dental pathologies.

Amir Aghdaei, Envista CEO, said: "PDS is a leader in leveraging diagnostic capabilities that can be developed and deployed to empower and support their clinicians and their patients. We have been particularly impressed with the agility of their internal innovation teams, including their own internal AI platform development activities. PDS' work-to-date on machine learning and imaging makes them far more than a customer; we see them as a true partner. Envista is proud to align with such a forward-thinking enterprise to implement the future of clinical diagnostics in dentistry."

Stephen E. Thorne, IV, PDS Founder and CEO, added: "Envista is continuously raising the bar in core dental technologies. We are excited to work with an organization as committed to innovation and inspired by our mission to build a digitally enabled, AI-powered ecosystem for our supported owner dentists and their patients. The practice of dentistry is transforming. We see and embrace the elevated role that dental professionals can and will play in their patients' oral and systemic health which will ultimately lead to better health outcomes and lower overall healthcare costs. This partnership is another bold step toward that future."

ABOUT PACIFIC DENTAL SERVICES

Founded in 1994, Pacific Dental Services (PDS) is one of the country's leading dental support organizations, providing supported autonomy that enables dentists to concentrate on clinical excellence and the highest levels of cost-effective comprehensive patient care. PDS originated the Private Practice+® model to enable dentists to focus on their passion: serving patients. PDS also pioneered the concept of Modern Dentistry so that dentists are equipped to combine advances in the latest technology with the best operational practices and procedures, highly skilled support staff and a commitment to ongoing training and education. PDS continues to grow, with more than 850 supported dental offices across the United States. PDS has been on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America 14 times. PDS supported dentists aim to be the provider of choice in all the markets they serve and to develop Patients for Life™. For more information, visit pacificdentalservices.com.

ABOUT ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION

Envista is a global family of more than 30 trusted dental brands, united by a shared purpose: to partner with professionals to improve lives.  Envista helps its customers deliver the best possible patient care through industry-leading dental consumables, solutions, technology, and services. Our comprehensive portfolio, including dental implants and treatment options, orthodontics, and digital imaging technologies, covers an estimated 90% of dentists' clinical needs for diagnosing, treating, and preventing dental conditions as well as improving the aesthetics of the human smile. Envista companies, including KaVo Kerr, Nobel Biocare, and Ormco, partner with dental professionals to help them deliver the best possible patient care. With a foundation comprised of the proven Envista Business System (EBS) methodology, an experienced leadership team, and a strong culture grounded in customer centricity, commitment to innovation, respect, continuous improvement, and leadership, Envista is well-equipped to meet the end-to-end needs of dental professionals worldwide. Envista is one of the largest global dental products companies, with significant market positions in some of the most attractive segments of the dental products industry. For more information, visit www.envistaco.com.

MouthWatch, LLC a leader in innovative teledentistry solutions and digital imaging devices, recently honored four pioneering teledentistry practitioners and programs by naming them as winners of the fifth annual Teledentistry Innovation Awards, affectionately known as the “Tellies”.

According to MouthWatch, LLC CEO and founder Brant Herman, “During the past year of recovery, we’ve seen a tremendous uptick in teledentistry innovation and adoption. Each of this year’s Tellie winners represent diverse types of teledentistry programs, but all are focused on improving access to care and patient outcomes.”

The purpose of the Tellie Awards is two-fold:

1) Recognize individual, forward-thinking dental providers who improving the state of oral and systemic health across the nation by actively using teledentistry.

2) Highlight the many ways that teledentistry is being successfully implemented across a broad spectrum of dental care including public health, private practice, and organizational settings.

The 2021 Teledentistry Innovation Awards winners were named in the following categories: Dental Education, Dentist/Specialist, Dental Hygiene, and Oral Health Program (non-profit or business). Here are the four Tellie Awards winners:

Winner Name and Organization: Dr. Shibani Sahni / Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Award Category: Dental Education

During the COVID pandemic, The Harvard School of Dental Medicine experienced a disruption in the treatment it provided to special needs school children and its on-site student curriculum. During the downtime, HSDM launched a teledentistry pilot program to establish continuity to its special need’s dental care program and to also expand the teaching modality for its students. The pilot was successful on both fronts and is in the process of being expanded.

Winner Name and Organization: Dr. Kwame Watson/Kare Mobile, Founder / Kare Mobile

Award Category: Dentist/Specialist

Dr. Watson pioneered the use of teledentistry to make mobile concierge dentistry more efficient, productive, and profitable. For four years Kare Mobile has been providing residents of the Louisville, KY area with patient centered, comprehensive mobile dentistry. In recent years, Kare Mobile has been expanding by offering mobile dentistry franchises across the county by establishing itself as the only Dental Support Organization (DSO) dedicated to mobile, concierge dentistry. The company gives back via its Non-Profit program, “On-Demand Kare'' which provides grants to providers who agree to serve in underserved communities and also funds treatment for uninsured procedures required by those experiencing financial hardship.

Winner Name and Organization: Michelle Vacha, RDH, BS /Community Dental Health

Award Category: Dental Hygiene

Michelle founded Community Dental Health (CDH) to increase access to care to underserved populations by sending hygienists into schools, nursing homes and rural communities in Colorado and to connect oral healthcare to overall healthcare. CDH hygienists perform exams using intraoral photos and x-rays and share with a dentist via teledentistry to provide the patient with a diagnosis and treatment plan. Currently CDH employs four hygienists, four dentists and several dental assistants, denture technicians, and supporting administrative staff. This teledentistry-powered program provides $1.5-million worth of oral care services each year.

Winner Name and Organization: Yogita Thakur, Chief Dental Officer /Ravenswood Dental Health Center

Award Category: Oral Health Program (non-profit of business)

In a 2012, a grant from San Mateo F5 and a partnership with The Arthur A. Dugoni Pacific School of Dentistry enabled Ravenswood Dental Health Center to pilot a teledentistry program called Virtual Dental Home. The program was based on the asynchronous (store and forward) principles of telehealth.

“We thank all the winners for participating in the 2021 Teledentistry Innovation Awards and for recognizing the full potential of teledentistry," said Herman.

To watch interviews of all of this year’s Teledentistry Innovation Awards, visit http://mwtch.co/2021. Nominations for next year’s Tellie Awards are currently being accepted online at http://teledentistryinnovationawards.com. Self-nominations are welcome. 

National Dentex Labs ("NDX"), the largest network of fully-owned dental labs in North America, announced today the acquisition of Biotech Dental Prosthetics located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Founded 24 years ago, Biotech Dental Prosthetics has grown to become one of the region's premier dental labs with an exceptional reputation for custom-made crowns, bridges and implant restorations. The lab will relocate to the NDX headquarters in Jupiter, Florida, with Biotech's president, Frank Lavonia, III, becoming the general manager of NDX's new, state-of-the-art dental lab. Biotech Dental Prosthetics becomes the fifth full-service dental lab in the NDX network in Florida, where the company continues to invest to serve the needs of the state's large and diverse dental market.

"As NDX continues to grow, I can think of no person better qualified than Frank to lead the laboratory services offered at our headquarters in Florida," said Tom Daulton, chief executive officer of NDX. "His expertise in crown and bridge is second to none in the industry, and we are equally impressed with him and his team's dedication to customized solutions and excellent customer service."

"I'm honored to have served our dental community for more than three decades, beginning in my father's dental lab in 1987, gaining expertise that has shaped my values and skills throughout my career," said Lavonia. "It's a dream come true to now combine two generations of experience with the nationwide resources of NDX. Our shared commitment to providing superior dental prosthetics and personalized customer service sets us apart. Combined with a brand-new, modern lab in Jupiter, my team and I are excited for this opportunity and can't wait to get to work."

About National Dentex Labs 

National Dentex Labs ("NDX") is a leading provider of dental prosthetics and restorative dentistry products. Using the most advanced dental restoration techniques and technologies, NDX offers dentures, crowns & bridges, implants, surgical guides, appliances, and orthodontics, as well as headache and sleep therapy products. Since 2015, NDX has aggressively expanded its national footprint to meet the demands of a rapidly changing marketplace and deliver best-in-class restorative solutions to dentists, specialists and DSOs throughout North America. With a network of more than 60 full-service labs across the US, NDX is committed to providing top quality products and highly personalized service. The company employs nearly 4,000 dental professionals dedicated to serving tens of thousands of dentists and specialists and making NDX the dental lab of choice for their practices. For more information, visit www.nationaldentex.com.

Most recently Chief Clinical Officer at Dentsply Sirona, Dr. Dolan brings over 35 years of experience in dentistry and clinical education with a distinguished academic career 

Overjet (www.overjet.ai), the global leader in dental AI, today announced that Dr. Teresa Dolan has joined as Chief Dental Officer. Dr. Dolan joins Overjet from Dentsply Sirona, the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, where she served as Clinical Officer for over eight years.

With more than 35 years of experience in dentistry and clinical education, Dr. Dolan’s expertise spans clinical dental practice and research. Dr. Dolan joined Dentsply Sirona after a distinguished academic career serving as professor and dean of the University of Florida College of Dentistry from 2003 until 2013. At Dentsply Sirona, Dr. Dolan led the global Clinical Affairs function, supporting new product development and overseeing the largest global clinical education program sponsored by the dental industry.

Dr. Dolan is recognized for her contributions to dental public health, geriatric dentistry, and diversity and women in dentistry. Dr. Dolan also currently serves as President-elect of the Santa Fe Group, the action-oriented think tank dedicated to improving lives through oral health. For over 25 years, the Group has been an ardent advocate for critical issues in dentistry, such as dental education reform and improved primary care access. In 2019, Dolan received the Innovator Award for Excellence in the Dental Industry by Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Fund, Inc. for her achievements in global clinical education.

“I have had great admiration for Dr. Dolan and it’s an absolute honor to have her join Overjet,” said Wardah Inam, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of Overjet. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Dolan on board to help lead Overjet’s rapid growth in dental AI with dental clinicians. We look forward to Dr. Dolan leading Overjet’s clinical team and driving strategic partnerships.”

“AI is going to transform the future of dentistry, and Overjet is at the forefront of this transformation leading with technology that will become the new standard of care for dentistry,” said Dr. Teresa Dolan, Chief Dental Officer of Overjet. “Wardah and I both share the same passion in improving oral health for all. It’s an honor to be part of Overjet’s journey and I look forward to helping lead the Overjet team in its next chapter of growth.”

Dr. Dolan will be taking over as Chief Dental Officer from Dr. Robert Faiella, who has served as the Chief Dental Officer of Overjet for nearly two years. Dr. Faiella will continue to serve in an advisory role to Overjet as Dr. Dolan takes over the day-to-day responsibilities.

“We want to thank Dr. Faiella for his invaluable contributions to the Overjet team,” said Inam. “During his time at Overjet, he led the charge on the company’s important clinical initiatives that have been pivotal to driving Overjet’s success and rapid growth and adoption in the dental industry.”

Last month, Overjet announced its Series B financing of $42.5 million, bringing the total financing raised to date to nearly $80 million and catapulting the firm to a $425 million valuation. Dr. Dolan’s addition represents the first of several key hires as Overjet expands its leadership team to support the company’s growth velocity in operations, hiring and development of next-generation dental AI technology that advances patient care. 

The patented molecule, a methacrylate-functionalized calcium phosphate, shatters the ceiling for bio-interactive materials in dentistry and ushers in new generation of highly esthetic bioactive materials

Pulpdent, a leading dental researcher and manufacturer, has been awarded two patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a stabilized calcium phosphate molecule. When placed in a dental composite, the bioactive molecule facilitates tooth remineralization, promotes hydroxyapatite formation, and performs at the highest levels of esthetic dentistry. The discovery has the potential to impact millions of patients worldwide by significantly improving the outcomes of dental restorative procedures.

The patented molecule, a methacrylate-functionalized calcium phosphate (MCP), exists in a highly-active, transitional state at the molecular level. When placed in a dental restorative material in the oral environment, MCP is capable of transferring calcium, phosphate, and fluoride from saliva to tooth structure, and creating a scaffold for mineral precipitation, apatite formation, and biomineralization. Unlike any bioactive material introduced to date, it also allows for uncompromised, esthetic anterior restorations.

“The advent of Pulpdent’s two MCP patents represents the culmination of decades of research by our science team,” says Pulpdent Vice President Don Berk. “The behavior of the MCP molecule was discovered in an effort to push dentistry to a new era of restorative possibilities—one characterized by materials that actively promote tooth health while also meeting the esthetic demands of smile-zone dentistry. By introducing MCP to the marketplace and to dental professionals across the world, we’ve taken an incredible leap to fulfill our mission of fundamentally improving dental care.”

Pulpdent’s MCP molecule will be marketed under the trade name Crysta. It will be immediately available in many of Pulpdent’s restorative products, including ACTIVA Presto, ACTIVA Pronto, and Lime-Lite Enhanced.

“Our research and development team has already begun studying the use of Crysta MCP technology in our extensive product portfolio,” says Pulpdent President Fred Berk. “We expect Crysta to quickly become a cornerstone of Pulpdent’s market success and a key differentiator in establishing standards for restorative treatment. We are at the beginning of the Crysta MCP story, and the next 10 years will see this technology shape dental practices and touch the lives of millions of dental patients in a very real way. We see the MCP patents as a once-in-a-generation development that can enhance the practice of dentistry and the longevity of tooth-color composite restorations.”

Currently, ACTIVA Presto and ACTIVA Pronto, the recently introduced, first-ever universal light-cure esthetic bioactive composites, and Lime-Lite Enhanced, Pulpdent’s market-leading cavity liner, contain MCP. The company plans to introduce MCP to additional materials, including both new and legacy Pulpdent products.

MCP’s remineralization properties resemble those that occur in natural dental tissues. Dental restorative materials containing MCP stimulate hydroxyapatite formation and become “sealed” to healthy tooth structure. As a result, restorations with MCP act as a deterrent against secondary caries, a well-known cause of dental restoration failure.

Both in vivo and in vitro research by Pulpdent demonstrated MCP’s novel ability to create nucleation sites for hydroxyapatite formation. Hydroxyapatite precipitation on the surfaces of composites was evaluated using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).

Pulpdent’s original research, which includes the achievement of MCP-containing materials that produce optimal esthetics (tooth shade matching) and flexural strength, was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Polymers. The article, titled “Experimental Dental Composites Containing a Novel Methacrylate-Functionalized Calcium Phosphate Component: Evaluation of Bioactivity and Physical Properties,” was authored by MCP inventors Sunny Skaria and Kenneth J. Berk. It may be found at https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/13/2095.

Pulpdent pioneered the introduction of esthetic bioactive dental materials in 2013 with the introduction of ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE, which will continue to be a leading restorative material for the company. MCP technology works in concert with the mechanism that drives ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE and other ACTIVA products. The bioactive ACTIVA line currently includes ACTIVA BioACTIVE-CEMENT, ACTIVA BioACTIVE Base/Liner, ACTIVA Kids BioACTIVE-RESOTRATIVE, ACTIVA Presto, and ACTIVA Pronto.

Extensive independent research has validated the significance of bioactive restorative materials and their positive effect on patient outcomes. The field of bioactive research in dentistry continues to expand as methods of observing bioactivity and measuring bioactive-assisted outcomes becomes more highly developed.

By definition, bioactive dental materials stimulate the natural remineralization process that helps protect teeth against caries. Bioactive restoratives also actively promote a bonded layer of apatite between the tooth and restoration. Pulpdent’s bioactive dental materials are acknowledged by the US Food and Drug Administration as meeting requirements to be termed “bioactive.”

For more information on Crysta, visit https://pulpdent.com/crysta. For more information on ACTIVA Presto, visit https://pulpdent.com/pulpdent-products/activa-presto. 

Chemical technology allows for first-ever universal light-cure bioactive restorative with smile zone esthetics, also facilitates intimate hydroxyapatite bond between tooth and composite

Pulpdent, a leading dental researcher and manufacturer, is pleased to announce that its newly patented Crysta MCP technology is available immediately in ACTIVA Presto, the company’s new universal light-cure bioactive restorative. Crysta allows ACTIVA Presto to actively promote the health of restored teeth while also meeting the highest esthetic standards of restorative dentistry—a first for dental material science.

“ACTIVA Presto and Crysta have the potential to impact millions of patients worldwide by significantly improving the outcomes of dental restorative procedures while also meeting today’s esthetic demands,” says Pulpdent Executive Manager Lew Berk. “We are thrilled to introduce this technology and shatter the ceiling for what’s possible in dental restorative materials.”

Crysta is the trade name for methacrylate-functionalized calcium phosphate (MCP), a bioactive molecule developed over the course of six years by the Pulpdent research team. When placed in a dental composite, Crysta facilitates a hydroxyapatite bridge between tooth and composite. It also enables top-tier esthetics, which lets dentists use bioactive composites in the smile zone without compromise.

“We realized that active dental materials were the future and began investing heavily in bioactive dental research more than 20 years ago,” says Pulpdent President Fred Berk. “It has taken many breakthroughs to achieve a light-cure material with bioactive properties that works exactly the way dentists expect. A great many hurdles have been unequivocally overcome with the advent of Crysta and ACTIVA Presto, which solve the challenges that have impeded bioactive restorative materials from universal use in the marketplace to this point.”

Crysta, which facilitates tooth remineralization through the transfer and precipitation of calcium, fluoride, and phosphate, is the second major breakthrough by the Pulpdent research team in the realm of bio-interactive dental material research. The first breakthrough came in 2013 with the release of dual-cure ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE, the first durable, esthetic, bioactive restorative suitable for both dentin and enamel replacement.

While ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE continues to be widely used in posterior restorations, Crysta-containing ACTIVA Presto has multiple shades and can be freely used in the anterior and posterior. Moreover, both ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE and ACTIVA Presto can be used together, giving dentists powerful new ways to restore teeth and protect patients against secondary caries.

By definition, bioactive dental materials stimulate the natural remineralization process that helps protect teeth against caries. Bioactive restoratives also actively promote a bonded layer of apatite between the tooth and restoration. Pulpdent’s bioactive dental materials are acknowledged by the US Food and Drug Administration as meeting requirements to be termed “bioactive.”

ACTIVA Presto is the first bioactive, light-cure, universal restorative. It has unique stackable handling, making it a restorative material without a peer. ACTIVA Presto also benefits from Pulpdent’s proprietary rubberized resin and moisture-friendly technology, which ensure durability and worry-free placement.

For more information on Crysta, visit https://pulpdent.com/crysta. For more information on ACTIVA Presto, visit https://pulpdent.com/pulpdent-products/activa-presto.