Industry News

Ultradent Products Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Ultradent Products, a family-owned, international dental supply and manufacturing company, is celebrating 40 years in the dental industry.

Forty years ago, Dr. Dan Fischer, a young dentist who had recently graduated from Loma Linda University, wanted to create a product that would act as a solution to a common problem dentists face—achieving predictable, rapid and profound hemostasis in the mouth. He began experimenting with different chemistries after-hours at his small dental practice in Salt Lake City, and by 1978, he had invented and patented Ultradent’s first product, the hemostatic Astringedent. That same year, he founded Ultradent Products.

As business grew, Ultradent expanded from its first headquarters, a 40-by-60-foot metal hay barn on Fischer’s property, to its South Jordan, Utah, headquarters, which encompasses more than 460,000 square feet. The company has gone from one offering to more than 1,600 dental products worldwide, and has offices and subsidiaries in Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. Ultradent researches, designs, manufactures, packages and ships 95 percent of what it sells in its South Jordan facility. It also exports 70 percent of its products to more than 100 countries.

Beyond the dental community, Ultradent supports and donates products to humanitarian efforts locally, nationally and internationally, including the Crown Council and Sealants for Smiles. The company founded and sponsors its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Diversity Foundation, an outreach program committed to preventing hate crimes and intolerance. The foundation is currently helping support more than 50 students in their efforts to pursue higher education at the college and graduate level.

For more information, visit ultradent.com or call 800-552-5512.

NuSmile Launches Pediatric Dentistry Locator Website
NuSmile, a provider of pediatric aesthetic restorative dental products, recently launched its “I Love My NuSmile” program. Through its website, this new program helps parents understand the best restorative dental options available for their child and provides a locator feature to find providers with nearby dental practices that offer NuSmile’s aesthetic pediatric crowns.

Mike Loessberg, NuSmile director of sales, North America, says the website will help parents grasp the pros and cons of differing restorative options for their children, with photographs showing treatment outcomes of each. He noted that this consumer-focused approach has been successful in the orthodontic clear aligner market and should also work well with parents who are looking to find the best restorative treatment options for their child.

Diane Johnson Krueger, NuSmile founder and CEO, thinks dentists will appreciate the solution as much as parents will, saying that the company will make a significant investment in advertising that draws parents to the website.

For more information about the new program, visit ilovemynusmile.com. For more information about NuSmile, visit nusmile.com.

Young Innovations Acquires Mydent International
Young Innovations, a global manufacturer and distributor of dental supplies and equipment, has acquired Mydent International. Launched in 1985, Mydent is a supplier of infection control products, disposables, preventives, impression material systems, rotary instruments and restoratives in more than 45 countries.

Andrew Jones, vice president of corporate development at Young Innovations, says the acquisition complements the company’s infection control, preventive and restorative brand, and product portfolio, and aligns well with its commercial strategy.

Andy Parker, Mydent founder and CEO, says Young Innovations is the best partner to allow sustained growth of the Defend brand. Parker will serve in an advisory role for a transitional period. There will be no immediate changes to ordering and service procedures for customers or vendors.