Industry News

Great Lakes Dental Technologies’ George Gauge Now Autoclavable
Great Lakes Dental Technologies recently announced that the George Gauge bite registration and mandibular repositioning device is now autoclavable.

The George Gauge is recommended for all mandibular repositioning appliances and allows clinicians to capture the protrusive bite registration and vertical opening without relying on the patient to achieve proper positioning. The device is designed to eliminate guesswork and available in 2-, 3- and 5mm sizes.

The George Gauge was developed more than 20 years ago by Peter T. George, DDS, an orthodontist who specialized in sleep breathing disorders. Great Lakes acquired ownership of the George Gauge in 2014.

For more information, contact Great Lakes product customer service at 800-828-7626 or visit greatlakesdentaltech.com.

CareCredit Partners with Lighthouse 360
CareCredit, a provider of health care products, and Lighthouse 360, a Henry Schein One brand patient communication software platform for dental practices, recently announced a partnership that includes Lighthouse 360 incorporating CareCredit financing education, data and credit products into its automated email communications.

When patients have an out-of-pocket investment for their dental care needs, cost can be a concern and barrier to treatment. To help overcome this challenge, Lighthouse 360 has updated its patient communications to include information about CareCredit financing—most notably adding this messaging to automated treatment plan reminder emails. The combination of consistent reminders about dental care with information about financing options should help dental teams alleviate patients’ cost concerns and encourage them to schedule and complete treatment.

Align Technology and Straumann Terminate Discussions Involving Potential Collaboration
Align Technology and Straumann Group have terminated discussions regarding a possible development and distribution agreement that was disclosed as part of the patent settlement agreement announced by the two companies in March.

As a result, Straumann will pay Align an additional $16 million in lieu of the development and distribution agreement.

The settlement between Align and Straumann brought an end to outstanding patent disputes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil, including those involving ClearCorrect, a subsidiary of Straumann. As part of this settlement, Align and Straumann signed a nonbinding letter of intent for a five-year global development and distribution agreement whereby Straumann would distribute 5,000 iTero Element scanners that would be fully integrated into the Straumann/Dental Wings CARES/DWOS workflow.

The parties reportedly also considered exploring the possibility of offering existing iTero users access to Straumann’s prosthetic and surgical planning workflows.