Research has established a clear association between a patient’s oral health and other systemic health conditions, referred to as the oral-systemic link. On a global scale, dental resources are not always readily available to support this approach for a lifetime of healthcare that specifically ties dental care to overall health.

To help supply holistic dental care on a global level, the Heartland Dental Foundation embarked on a humanitarian trip to a community in Choluteca, Honduras. Nine Heartland Dental supported doctors provided care through two clinic locations, performing 243 extractions, 73 fillings, 15 root canals, and 15 build-ups, totaling around $130,000 in dental care – for a community that otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.

To continuously find ways to simplify the business of dentistry through innovate technology and provide the best kind of service to their customers, Carestream Dental announced today its official partnership with Dental Whale®.

Jeremy Thomas, general manager of the Americas for Carestream Dental, confirmed that they have signed the partnership deal with Dental Whale to provide seamless integration with My Dental Whale® Platform—connecting their members to an online ecosystem delivering end-to-end digital practice solutions.

“This new partnership gives our mutual customers a convenient avenue to discover new products and services that will make running their practices easier,” Thomas said. “That means less stress around practice management, marketing and training and more focus on caring for patients.”

Russ Baker, equipment, service and supplies leader for Dental Whale, explained that they decided to partner with Carestream Dental since they are among the most reliable in the digital dental industry. Carestream Dental also shares the same goals as Dental Whale, with a mutual mission of creating breakthroughs in dental practice management through insight and innovation.

Carestream Dental offers a wide range of technological solutions that address everything from managing a practice to using AI to capture the perfect image to designing surgical guides and implants that lead to better patient outcomes.

Dental Whale, the leading practice solutions and learning provider in North America, currently serves more than 20,000 private and dental support organizations. Joe Cavaretta, chief executive officer, Dental Whale leader, said the partnership will “strengthen their customer base, which is expected to significantly increase in the coming years.”

Through My Dental Whale™ Platform, clinicians and office staff have full control of their practice by streamlining access to essential business and marketing services, supply and equipment ordering, masterclass training, data intelligence and now, through this new partnership with Carestream Dental, access to best-in-class imaging technology and cloud-based practice management solutions, as well as an expanded service support infrastructure.

The partnership will extend the services of Dental Whale Learning with a curriculum that will provide expert guidance in implementing a digital workflow into dental practices. Whether a customer is a new dentist, starting a new practice, is part of an existing practice or part of a group practice, this new course will leverage Carestream Dental’s digital imaging and cloud security experts to provide the most valuable training and revenue-generating education for practices.

Dental Whale is hosting Carestream Dental at their annual Business Immersion Summit in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 23-24, 2022, where they plan to formally launch the partnership. To join and learn more, visit Summit.DentalWhale.com. 

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the world’s largest provider of health care solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Condor Dental Research Company SA (Condor Dental), a dental distribution company that serves dental general practitioners, specialists, and laboratories in Switzerland. The transaction was announced on June 7, 2022.

Henry Schein acquired 100% of Condor Dental from MCCB II Holding, owned by Christèle Herreman. This transaction is expected to be neutral to Henry Schein’s 2022 diluted earnings per share and to be accretive thereafter. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Since 2004, Henry Schein has served the Swiss dental implant market through Camlog Biotechnologies GmbH, a Basel-based division of Henry Schein, Inc., a member of the Company’s Global Oral Reconstruction Group, and a global leader in dental implants, biomaterials, and oral reconstruction. The addition of Condor Dental will expand Henry Schein’s entry into the Swiss market for its dental distribution business.

“Our partnership comes at a time of growing demand for dental services in Switzerland and with the completion of our strategic investment in Condor Dental, we see a significant opportunity to help dental practitioners provide high-quality care as part of operating efficient and successful practices," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. “We at Henry Schein welcome our new Condor Dental colleagues and we look forward to bringing new products, services, and solutions to the Swiss dental community."

Condor Dental is based in Vouvry, Switzerland, and was established in 1978. Sales for 2021 were approximately $18 million, the majority of which were from dental consumable merchandise, with further revenue from the design and customization of dental practices and dental laboratory installations. With the transaction closed, Condor Dental joins Henry Schein’s International Distribution Group, and the business will continue to be led by Yves Mailliard, Condor’s Chief Operating Officer.

“We are extremely pleased to complete our partnership with Henry Schein, a company that shares our commitment to providing our customers with the tools and solutions they need to deliver quality care to patients,” said Mr. Mailliard. “As part of the Henry Schein family, Condor Dental has several exciting opportunities to accelerate organic growth including geographic expansion, leveraging Henry Schein’s private-label products, and accelerating participation in the digitalization of dental practices. Along with expanding our customer base, we also look forward to increasing Condor Dental’s existing customer base while facilitating excellent patient care and improving practice profitability.”

“A highly regarded company that has been serving dental professionals for more than 40 years, Condor Dental nicely complements our European dental business,” said Andrea Albertini, President of Henry Schein’s International Distribution Group. “With the support of Henry Schein’s operational expertise, Condor Dental will be better resourced to strengthen its position in the marketplace and improve the level of services and solutions offered to dental practitioners.”

Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are the three countries represented at the 2022 Master Cup award ceremony. Christian von Bukowski, Sebastien Mioranza, and Vlad Atanasoaie (listed in alphabetical order) will discover their respective positions and receive more than $70,000 in prizes during the Panthera Dental’s 10th anniversary celebration on September 10.

Panthera Dental is proud to announce the three finalists of the 2022 Master Cup. Christian von Bukowski from Germany, Sebastien Mioranza from Switzerland, and Vlad Atanasoaie from the United Kingdom (in alphabetical order) will be at Panthera Dental’s 10th anniversary on September 10, where the great winner of the 2022 Master Cup will be announced.

These three finalists will be sharing more than CAD$70,000 in prizes offered by Panthera Dental and the competition partners: VITA, Amann Girrbach, Cendres+Métaux and LMT. Panthera’s Master Cup aims to find the most skilled dental technician, dentist or denturist by having the participants produce a complete dental prosthesis. The participants’ knowledge and skills, function and aesthetics were evaluated by judges Miles Reed Cone, Michael J. Tholey, Bernard Guggisberg, Ioulianos Moustakis (2020 Master Cup winner) and Jeffrey Dugre (replacing Phil Reddington).

“I join the judges and the entire Panthera team in personally congratulating participants Aron Hajdu, Björn Pfeiffer, Jenelle Tabaković, Julia Tymchyshyna and Thanasis Kalogeropoulos for their impressive work,” said Béatrice Robichaud, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Marketing and Customer Experience at Panthera Dental. “We will find out together who the big winner is on September 10, which makes the event all the more exciting! Good luck to the three finalists!”

Christian von Bukowski, Sebastien Mioranza, and Vlad Atanasoaie win a trip to Québec City, Canada to participate in Panthera’s 10th anniversary celebration. On the agenda for this unforgettable event: a unique visit of the 4.0 factory, appetizers and cocktails, animation, entertainment, surprises, not to mention meeting partners, industry experts and the entire Panthera team behind the last decade of success.

Meet the finalists and discover the winner in person: www.pantheradental.com/10th

All details and announcements about the Master Cup are available directly on Panthera’s website www.pantheradental.com/master-cup and social media: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Panthera thanks the valued sponsors: VITA, Amann Girrbach, Cendres+Métaux and LMT

About Panthera Master Cup

The Panthera Master Cup is a contest open to any dental technician, dentist or denturist who wants to compete with the best. Knowledge and skills are evaluated on a full upper and lower case involving implant bars. Each contestant must include documentation with their final submission. A jury composed of a group of experts in the field uses a predetermined criteria list to evaluate all cases and select the first three winners. For more information: www.pantheradental.com/master-cup

Ultradent Products, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of high-tech dental materials and equipment, is launching the newest extension to its popular Jiffy™ Polishers line—Jiffy™ One single-use polishers.

For clinicians looking for a disposable, easy-to-use polishing system that delivers beautiful, natural shine on dental composite with minimal patient chair time, Ultradent’s new Jiffy One single-use polishers check every box without compromising end-result quality. With Jiffy One polishers, dentists reduce the chance of cross-contamination, while also eliminating the worry of accidentally throwing out expensive multi-use polishers.

The Jiffy One single-use polishing system can be used on patients in one or two steps—with dentists starting with the medium grit polisher for a beautiful finish, with the added option of following up with the fine grit polisher for extra luster. The system is available in cups, points, and disks to best fit clinician and patient needs.

Click here to learn more about or purchase Ultradent’s new Jiffy One single-use polishers.

exocad, an Align Technology, Inc. company, will host its third exocad Insights on October 3–4, 2022. The global event will take place at the Palma Congress Center in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Around 800 dental technicians and dentists from around the world are expected on site, as well as more than 40 strategic partner companies who will showcase the latest digital technologies. Novica Savic, Chief Commercial Officer at exocad, shares a preview of the two-day event that is dedicated to digital dentistry for labs and practices.

“Learn. Connect. Enjoy.” Can you explain the motto behind exocad Insights 2022?

“Learn,” stands for intensive training. “Connect,” means networking in person and on site with the global exocad community—that includes registrants from 24 countries to date. “Enjoy,” reminds us that we also want to enjoy our two days together and have a good time at our evening event.

Who are you targeting with the Insights 2022 event?

The event is aimed at dental technicians and dentists who already work digitally in their practices and laboratories or are planning to enter the digital world. The program offers interesting topics for both groups. Guest speakers include leading digital experts from the laboratory and clinical environments, including internationally renowned digital smile design specialist Dr. Christian Coachman from Brazil.

Speaking of topics, what will be discussed on the main stage?

Industry trailblazers will give participants tips on how to use digital tools to achieve better esthetic treatment results for patients and how to work even more productively. They’ll demonstrate various ways to collaborate—explaining how laboratories and practices can work seamlessly with each other thanks to modern digital tools. Among the cases presented, participants will see complex cases involving orthodontic, restorative and esthetic aspects.

At Insights, lab owners and dentists will share how they’ve evolved workflows in their labs or practices with digital technologies. They’ll also discuss how labs are bringing dentists with them on the digital journey.

Participating partner companies will also offer sessions. What will those involve?

We’ll have 11 different partner sessions, each lasting 30 minutes. Visitors can decide which sessions they’d like to attend while at the event. This way participants can choose the topics most relevant to their practices or labs. Our experience from the first two Insights events has shown us that this "circuit training" is very well received because it allows participants to take away a variety of new impressions and ideas in a very short amount of time.

What do the participants learn at the exocad software sessions?

At this year’s Insights, there will again be new software releases to present. That means the topic for our software sessions on Tuesday has been decided. Based on typical lab and practice cases, users will learn about the new features of the release and hear helpful tips on how to get the most out of the software. The clinical sessions will be geared toward dentists, and we’ll have laboratory sessions for dental technicians.

We’ll also have three software stations at the exhibition where our application specialists will be available to answer individual questions and give concrete tips to the participants.

Why is it worth investing in an exocad Insights ticket?

The ticket price includes almost everything: presentations, demo sessions, food and drinks throughout the event, and the evening event with dinner and live music on Monday evening. Over two days, participants will receive many new ideas on how to advance their labs or practices using digital technologies. They’ll discover new ways to make workflows more productive and learn how to improve treatment results to benefit patients.

For more information on exocad Insights and to register, please visit: exocad.com/insights2022

Tip for dentists: "This year, dentists receive up to 12 continuing education credits* at exocad Insights."

*Continuing education points are available for Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE and United Kingdom. 

The US FDA-cleared release offers edentulous case planning and design of surgical guides

exocad, an Align Technology, Inc. company, and a leading dental CAD/CAM software provider, today announced that exoplan 3.0 Galway, the latest version of its implant planning software, is now U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)- cleared and available for use in the United States. The new release supports the planning of edentulous cases, including the design of surgical guides.

“We are excited to announce the release of exoplan 3.0 Galway in the United States and enthused about the new possibilities it presents our users to enter the world of guided surgery,” said Tillmann Steinbrecher, exocad CEO. “exoplan 3.0 Galway provides dental practices and laboratories with a digital implant planning workflow that offers an open collaboration and maximum flexibility.”

exoplan 3.0 Galway is a powerful and efficient software package for virtual implant planning. Customized surgical guides can be designed using the Guide Creator software module and then produced in a laboratory, dental practice, or an external production center.

With 40 new features, as well as enhancements to over 60 existing functionalities, the Galway release represents a major advancement in guided surgery through improved integration with DentalCAD, exocad's dental CAD software.

“As the world’s premier supplier of dental CAD software, we provide our customers with the ideal symbiosis of prosthetic and implant planning,” said Larry Bodony, President, exocad America, Inc. “We enable our software users to achieve predictable results in a cost- and time-efficient manner, which can help drive greater customer satisfaction.”

Key features of exoplan 3.0 Galway include:

• Planning of edentulous cases and design of the respective surgical guides, including necessary tools such as dual scan protocol, anchor pin placement, and fixation guide

• Surgical and fixation guides that can be freely designed or based on a prosthesis scan

• New tools to speed up the entire planning process

• Improved implant selection dialog

• Automatic panoramic curve detection

• More implant libraries, now with over 378 implant systems and 6,572 implants from more than 59 manufacturers

• Virtual tooth extraction on optical scans

• Clearly marked sinus cavity imaging and the ability to check if implants are intruding upon the sinus cavity

exocad names its releases after current EU “European Capitals of Culture” and selected the Irish city of Galway for this release.

Additional information is available at exocad.com/exoplan 

Members of the U.S. House and Senate Sent Letters to the Federal Administration Advocating for Greater Access to Dental Care Under Medicare

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — applauded members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for urging the Administration to expand access to medically necessary dental care under the Medicare program.

In letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Senators and Representatives stressed the need to expand coverage of medically necessary oral and dental health services to improve the health of Americans enrolled in Medicare and reduce medical costs for the program.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health President and CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan issued the following statement:

“We commend these members of Congress for recognizing that oral health care is essential. Expanding medically necessary dental coverage under Medicare would greatly improve access to oral health coverage for millions of eligible seniors and people with disabilities.

Dental care is unaffordable and inaccessible for so many, leaving millions of people without the care they need to manage chronic illness and maintain quality of life. Right now, too many Medicare beneficiaries — including a disproportionate number of people of color, Indigenous communities, and rural Americans — have been left without basic oral health care and the impact on their physical and mental well-being is profound.

Strengthening Medicare by including dental coverage would represent a giant step toward improving health equity, access, and outcomes for seniors and people with disabilities. We will continue to work with lawmakers and our other partners to advocate for dental care to be covered by Medicare because it’s a commonsense solution to the many barriers that millions of people, including older adults, face when accessing health care.”

Additional research and facts about oral health and Medicare:

· Poor oral health is directly linked to conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illness, and even Alzheimer’s — all diseases that particularly impact our older citizens and put them at greater risk of COVID-19.

· Of the 60 million Medicare beneficiaries, more than two-thirds don’t have any dental coverage at all.

· Nearly half of all Medicare patients haven’t visited a dentist within the past year. That number is closer to 70 percent for Black, Hispanic, and lower-income Medicare beneficiaries.

· One in five rural seniors hasn’t seen a dentist in the past five years.

· One study estimated $63.5 billion in medical savings over 10 years simply by providing dental and periodontal treatment through Medicare.

· Older adults delayed dental care more than any other health care during the pandemic.

Read the full House and Senate letters.  

New surgical guides from the company's Digital Treatment Planning (DTP) service enable safe, efficient implant placement for fully edentulous patients.

Glidewell is now offering tissue- and bone-supported surgical guides to help dentists optimize implant positioning for cases where a fixed or removable implant restoration is planned. Further strengthening the company's position as a comprehensive implant solutions provider, the Digital Treatment Planning (DTP) line extension provides prosthetically driven implant positioning and a smooth, predictable surgical procedure for fully edentulous patients.

Glidewell's DTP service leverages the expertise of the most technologically advanced dental lab in the U.S. to aid clinicians in determining where implants should be placed to maximize safety, avoid vital anatomical structures, save chair time, minimize surgical trauma for the patient, and ensure a predictable restorative outcome.

"With our new service for fully edentulous cases, we use advanced 3D treatment planning software to produce surgical guides that position implants in the optimal location needed to support the desired restoration, be that an implant-supported overdenture or the BruxZir® Implant Prosthesis," said Ilan Sapir, manager of the Digital Treatment Planning department.

The DTP service is available for all major guided implant systems and is a key element of Glidewell Implant Solutions, which provides dentists with everything they need to succeed in implant dentistry, from live and online continuing education, to dental implants, to cutting-edge restorations. This "implant to crown" approach is exemplified by the company's comprehensive implant warranty that guarantees the Hahn™ Tapered Implant as well as custom abutments and BruxZir restorations produced by Glidewell for the life of the patient.

The expanded offerings available through Glidewell DTP also include an addition for tooth-supported guides. For cases where immediate loading is planned, a customized provisional crown can be added to the case for delivery on the day of surgery. Designed in collaboration with the experienced laboratory technicians in Glidewell's implant lab, the immediate provisional helps contour the gingival tissue for an optimal emergence profile when the case is restored. This service is available for the Hahn Tapered Implant now and will be expanded to all major implant systems later this year.

"Our goal has always been to make high-quality dental care available to as many patients as possible," said Glidewell Founder and President Jim Glidewell, CDT. "Many dentists who choose to place implants for their patients follow this same philosophy, and we support them through education and innovative but cost-effective surgical and restorative solutions. The fully edentulous have the most to gain from implant treatment, and our new full-arch surgical guides will help more dentists place implants with the confidence they need to provide care for this important patient population."

Future line extensions for full-arch cases will feature bundled options for the Hahn Tapered Implant System that include implants, healing abutments, impression copings or scan bodies, and the final fixed or removable implant prosthesis. Hahn bundles are already available for single- or multiple-implant cases where a tooth-supported guided is prescribed, and the company continues to offer 20% off restorative lab fees to dentists who restore their Hahn implant cases at Glidewell.

For more information on Glidewell's DTP service and surgical guides, visit glidewell.com/dtp or call 866-497-3692.

New online evaluation determines the financial and organizational health of dental practices and steps they can take to become even more profitable

Productive Dentist Academy (PDA), the nation’s leading dental business consulting and marketing firm, has created the Investment Grade Practice™ Online Assessment, an online dental practice evaluation that helps dentists achieve the dental practice of their dreams.

“Dentists deserve a well-functioning dental practice that allows them the freedom to enjoy a rich lifestyle today, while building value for tomorrow,” says Dr. Victoria Peterson, co-founder & CEO of PDA. “Without the right tools, guidance, or support, leading becomes drastically more draining than it needs to be. Dentists who take the IGP™ Assessment will know immediately which areas they need to focus on first, so they can optimize their practices and enjoy dentistry again.”

After dentists take the IGP™ Assessment, they can schedule a one-on-one consultation with one of PDA’s Investment Grade Practice™ coaches who can provide proven methods of expert guidance to help dentists become confident they are on the right track to achieve the success they deserve.

“The number one impediment for growth in a practice is a lack of clarity,” says PDA Client Success Manager Brent Hogan. “We created the IGP™ practice assessment to help doctors understand the most important areas in the practice on which to focus, so they can identify and remove impediments, while they position the practice for 2X to 3X growth.”

“Once dentists take the IGP™ Assessment, they can optimize their practices in the key areas of leadership, driving change and quality patient attraction,” says Dr. Peterson. “Implementing IGP™ principles brings peace of mind to the practice owner, transforms the team into patient advocates, creates unparalleled patient experiences, builds great team culture and competitive compensation, prepares the practice to be sold at any time for top dollar, and creates continuity and profit after a sale.”

Interested dentists can take the IGP™ Assessment here: https://productivedentist.com/igp-assessment/