Now entering its second decade, the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards are getting their own upgrade. The awards’ sponsor, Cellerant Consulting Group, has introduced an additional process for dental companies to nominate their innovative products and services for consideration.

Created in 2009 by Dr. Lou Shuman, the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards recognize and honor products and services that lead the way in dentistry. “Staying abreast of technology is a significant undertaking and an important responsibility,” says Dr. Shuman. “The Best of Class now occupies a unique and highly visible role in the dental community as an unbiased guide for important practice purchase decisions. Adding the open submission process to our existing year-round panel research will ensure that the Best of Class deliberations remain comprehensive.”

The awards process is currently based on the year-long research and evaluation efforts of its panel of dental technology experts. For the 2019 award, dental industry manufacturers and service providers can now nominate their technologies for consideration at www.cellerantconsulting.com. The simple process involves completing the Best of Class submission form online.

“With new technologies coming at a faster pace than ever, the open submission process assures that our panel will have maximum exposure to the most innovative products in dentistry,” said Dr. John Flucke.

For this year, the submission window will be open from November 2018 through February 1, 2019. The Best of Class panel members — Dr. Paul Feuerstein, Dr. John Flucke, Dr. Marty Jablow, Dr. Maragliano-Muniz, Dr. Chris Salierno, and Dr. Lou Shuman — have been evaluating technologies throughout the award year and will be voting at the 2019 Chicago Midwinter Meeting. In the fall, the winning technologies will be on display at the American Dental Association Annual Meeting. They are then recognized at an official VIP reception and awards ceremony.

About the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards

The Best of Class Technology Awards were launched in 2009 as a new concept to provide an unbiased, non-profit assessment of available technologies in the dental space. Through print and digital media coverage, the Best of Class message reaches the community of 150,000 dentists through multiple touch points — both print and online — educating them about the products. Honoree participation in the Technology Expo at the American Dental Association’s Annual Meeting offers face-to-face interaction with the companies as well as technology-centered education provided by members of the panel.

About Cellerant Consulting Group

Founded and led by CEO Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS, Cellerant provides strategic dental market insights, clinical expertise, implementation resources and support to accelerate growth for client dental companies. Cellerant services include new concept incubation, clinical product evaluation, product development, continuing education program development and CE sponsorship, strategic branding and marketing, online marketing, lead generation and dental media relations management. As an orthodontist and former owner of a 10-doctor multi-specialty private group practice, Dr. Shuman guides clients to offer products that engage dental customers and provide sustained differentiation. Cellerant operates under a unique model that merges leading voices in clinical product evaluation and strategic partner companies to provide a menu of services from one easily accessible network.

For more information about the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards, visit www.cellerantconsulting.com or email info@cellerantconsulting.com. 

Oral Health America (OHA) is proud to announce its 2019 Champion for Change Honoree. Dr. Larry Coffee, founder, President and CEO of the Dental Lifeline Network (DLN), will receive the award at OHA’s Champions for Change Gala on February 20, 2019.

Dr. Coffee created the Denver-based Dental Lifeline Network while in dental school, seeking a way to help his sister who was critically ill and unable to find care. DLN is a national nonprofit organization that provides access to dental care and education for people who cannot afford it and have a permanent disability, who are age 65 or older or who are medically fragile.

“OHA is excited to honor Dr. Coffee with this well-deserved award. Since retiring from DLN, he has actively advocated for Medicare to redefine the concept of ‘Medically Necessary,’ which would help millions of people who are currently delaying care,” said Beth Truett, President & CEO of OHA. “As part of our Medicare Coalition, Dr. Coffee is key to providing the experience and stories of people who desperately need this benefit. He is an esteemed colleague and a dear friend of OHA.”

Dr. Coffee is best known within the profession and the industry for DentaCheques, a program of the Dental Lifeline Network that has generated $330 million in dental treatment for 112,000 deserving patients in all 50 states. More than 15,000 dentists and 3,700 laboratories serve as DDS volunteers who provide care.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists and a recipient of the ADA’s Distinguished Service Award, the ADA/Colgate Palmolive Award for Outstanding Service to the public and profession, the Frederick McKay Award for Excellence in Preventive Dentistry from the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the Northwestern University Alumni Award of Merit.

ABOUT ORAL HEALTH AMERICA (OHA)

Oral Health America’s mission is to change lives by connecting communities with resources to drive access to care, increase health literacy and advocate for policies that improve overall health through better oral health for all Americans, especially those most vulnerable. Through Smiles Across America®, which serves 477,000 children annually, the Wisdom Tooth Project®, which reaches tens of thousands of older adults, and the Campaign for Oral Health Equity, which prioritize oral health alongside other chronic diseases, OHA helps Americans of all ages to have a healthy mouth and to understand the importance of oral health for overall health. For more information about Oral Health America, please visit oralhealthamerica.org.

David Lesh, founder of Dale Dental and Concert Dental Labs, has announced the formation of 8&9 Dental Lab Consulting. Through this consulting firm, David will offer his help and support to labs of all sizes to get their lab “front and center” in the dental industry.

Flat-Priced, Affordable and Effective

Consulting programs are flat-priced and affordable and cover improving sales and marketing, profitability, finance, operations, HR, organizational structure, clinical results, and FDA compliance, as well as monthly coaching calls and more. A full list of David’s dental lab consulting programs is available at the company website at www.8and9Consulting.com.

When asked about pricing, Lesh said, “Pricing is affordable and discounted for smaller labs. I grew up watching my dad at the bench, building his dental lab. Years later, I started Dale Dental, and I felt like I was helping family when I worked with every one of our customers. I liked being part of other labs' success, and I want to be a contributor to other labs' success now through my personalized consulting with them.” In addition to a list of consulting services provided, the 8&9 website also features a monthly blog designed to help labs with common challenges Lesh sees them most regularly face.

If entering an elementary school clad in a crown and wings doesn’t guarantee that students will offer their undivided attention, then not much will.

Last month during a visit to two of Daniel J. Flood Elementary School’s autistic support classrooms in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Tooth Fairy Pat tested that theory with sparkling success. Known at the Benco Dental home office as Tooth Customer Service Specialist Pat Motyka, the Larksville resident spent a week designing fairy couture and preparing plans for her inaugural school visit.

The 10-year Benco Dental associate earned a warm reception.

“Initially, the kids were really excited just seeing how magical she looked,” said Sarah Reedy, kindergarten and first grade autistic support teacher. “Then they loved getting a turn to brush the doll’s teeth,” said Reedy referencing a plush toy puppy with oversized teeth that Tooth Fairy Pat used to demonstrate proper toothbrush technique.

Reedy’s students, along with second through fourth graders in Dora Sims’ classroom, took a shine to Tooth Fairy Pat, who read stories to the children while they worked on dental inspired coloring sheets she distributed.

“My favorite part was interacting with the children. It was an experience I will never forget,” said Motyka.

Although the Tooth Fairy usually delivers surprises to children in return for their baby teeth, Tooth Fairy Pat presented treats with no strings attached: a take-home package for each student complete with a dental kit, stickers and other surprises.

“You would never know it’s her first time as a Tooth Fairy,” said Reedy, of Motyka’s inaugural exhibition. “She did a great job.”

Benco Dental Tooth Fairy Pat Motyka reads to second through fourth grader students in Dora Sims’ autistic support classroom at Daniel J. Flood Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Shown, clockwise from top left: Jack McGreevy, teacher Dora Sims, Chloe Morgan, Tooth Fairy Pat Motyka, Anthony Sosa, and Nicholas Gulich. (Benco Dental/Jimmy Musto)

About Benco Dental

Benco Dental, headquartered in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is the largest privately-owned dental distributor in the United States, offering a full array of supplies, equipment and services to dentists across the nation. Founded in 1930 by Benjamin Cohen, the company has remained family-owned and focused on its unique mission to “deliver success, smile after smile.” Within the past 88 years, the company has grown from a single downtown location to a national network that includes five distribution centers, and three design showrooms. Those design showrooms, one at the company’s Pa. headquarters, one in Southern California, and one in Texas, feature North America’s largest selection of dental equipment and technology, as well as a hands-on dental design experience, to assist dentists in the planning and construction of a new office.

Benco, which has been named one of Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care and Biopharma for the past three years, one of the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women for the second consecutive year, and Pennsylvania’s Best Places to Work® for 12 of the past 14 years, is proud to feature a highly skilled team of more than 400 professionally trained sales representatives and over 300 factory-trained service technicians. For more information, visit benco.com or call 1.800.GO.BENCO

Members of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) now have unlimited access to the association’s most valuable resource—its members—through the MyAACD Network. The MyAACD Network is an online community and discussion forum exclusively for AACD members.

The new member benefit launched in August and has quickly become the place for members to network with each other virtually. Members can share clinical images and receive feedback from more than 5,000 members worldwide, ask for practice management advice, share timely articles, and learn more about their peers. 

“One of the most rewarding outcomes since the launch of the MyAACD Network has been seeing newer members and less experienced clinicians post cases to the forum with questions and get responses from AACD Accredited Members and Accredited Fellows and even Past Presidents,” said Dana Murn, AACD Membership Manager. “With the MyAACD Network, our members don’t have to wait for an annual scientific session to interact with each other. The online community removes all of the barriers between members, so they can benefit from each other’s experience and expertise daily.” The conversations taking place range from asking for recommendations for equipment such as microscopes, questions about specific materials and techniques, and questions about how to treatment plan specific cases. Members can share photos of cases within their posts and, when responding, can respond to the group or to the individual. 

The MyAACD Network is powered by Higher Logic, an industry leader in cloud-based community platforms. Organizations worldwide use Higher Logic to bring people all together, by giving their community a home where they can interact, share ideas, answer questions and stay connected. The MyAACD Network consists of discussion spaces to collaborate and discuss hot topics, ask questions and provide answers and a resource library, where members can upload documents others would find useful such as sample contracts and forms. 

The addition of the MyAACD Network to its member benefits is in line with the AACD’s mission to serve as a user-friendly and inviting forum for the creative exchange of knowledge and ideas. To see what’s being discussed in the MyAACD Network, visit https://network.aacd.com/home or visit www.aacd.com/join to become an AACD member and start your own conversation thread in the MyAACD Network.

Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMD), announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Omnia S.p.A. ("Omnia"), an Italian-based market leader in dental surgical consumables solutions.

Omnia's business consists of a wide-ranging portfolio of sutures, irrigation tubing and customized dental surgical procedure kits, with a focus on procedure room set-up and cross-contamination prevention. Its products are used across multiple dental surgical procedures, including maxillofacial surgery, periodontics and prosthodontics, and general practices.

The total purchase price is $31.9 million in cash and stock consideration, consisting of $26.1 million in upfront payment and $5.8 million of consideration in the form of an earnout based on the achievement of certain performance-based targets.¹

For the last twelve months period ending July 31, 2018, Omnia generated revenues of $18.9 million.² Cantel anticipates the acquisition to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2019 and beyond, and accretive to GAAP earnings per share in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2020 and beyond.

"Expanding our leadership in international markets remains a key priority for Cantel. This transaction in particular represents a milestone as it enables us to significantly expand Cantel Dental's presence in the European infection prevention market," said Jorgen Hansen, President and CEO. "Combining Omnia's high-quality product portfolio and commercial infrastructure with Cantel's existing dental solutions in Europe will enable us to provide more comprehensive offerings to our customers. It also will create the scale and infrastructure needed to position us well for future growth of our Dental business globally."

"Omnia's comprehensive product lines of high-quality, innovative infection prevention and surgical solutions will be a strong addition to our growing dental portfolio," said Gary Steinberg, President of Cantel's Dental division. "We believe Omnia's existing sales channels and focus on specialty dentistry will better equip us to service an additional segment of the dental market where maintaining aseptic procedures is critical."

Subject to customary closing conditions, Cantel expects the transaction to close in the beginning of February 2019.

About Cantel

Cantel Medical is a leading global company dedicated to delivering innovative infection prevention products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers which improve outcomes, enhance safety and help save lives. Our products include specialized medical device reprocessing systems for endoscopy and renal dialysis, advanced water purification equipment, sterilants, disinfectants and cleaners, sterility assurance monitoring products for hospitals and dental clinics, disposable infection control products primarily for dental and GI endoscopy markets, dialysate concentrates, hollow fiber membrane filtration and separation products. Additionally, we provide technical service for our products.

For further information, visit the Cantel website at www.cantelmedical.com.

About Omnia S.p.A.

Omnia is a leading manufacturer and distributor of custom procedure kits, sutures and irrigation line systems, with a special focus on the set-up of the operating room and the prevention of cross-contamination. Omnia has a solid history of developing, manufacturing and selling innovative sterile and disposable surgical products. These products are specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of dental surgery.

For further information, visit the Omnia website at www.omniaspa.eu.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the risks detailed in Cantel's filings and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are only predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected or anticipated.

1. Assumes USD/EUR Fx rate of 1.13 as of 10/30/18.

2. Assumes average historical USD/EUR Fx rate of 1.19 for last twelve months period ending 7/31/18.

SOURCE Cantel Medical Corp. 

November 12th, 2018--DentalEZ Integrated Solutions is proud to present True Caries Teeth from Columbia Dentoform, available November 19, 2018.

Products from Columbia Dentoform have been used to train dental students around the world for generations. In continuing that tradition, Columbia Dentoform is now offering a significant advancement in the teaching of caries identification and removal with True Caries Teeth. Unlike painted caries, the True Caries Teeth have a sticky, rubbery feel, providing a very tactical sensation and response for the student which allows for removal by a curette.

“These teaching aids are developed to feel virtually identical to what actual soft caries feels like because they are lifelike and scoop-able,” noted Carlos Martinez, International & Special Markets Sales Director for DentalEZ. “True Caries Teeth provide a realistic and superior learning scenario with cutting-edge technology for the advancement of dental health, thereby readying students to face the challenges that come with clinical work.”

For more information about True Caries Teeth, visit www.columbiadentoform.com or contact your local DentalEZ sales rep.

About DentalEZ

DentalEZ Integrated Solutions is committed to providing real solutions to everyday challenges in oral healthcare by uniquely combining innovation focused on simplification and efficiency in value-based products and outstanding customer service and support. DentalEZ manufactures a full line of products and well-known brands, including StarDental®, DentalEZ® Equipment, RAMVAC®, NevinLabs™, and Columbia Dentoform®. For more information, please visit www.dentalez.com. 

CareCredit, a leading patient financing company, is expanding its educational library with the addition of a new audio program Building a Healthy Patient-Practice Partnership featuring Cathy Jameson, PhD, Founder of Jameson Management and Carrie Webber, Owner and Chief Communications Officer. This educational audio program is available free to dentists and teams who accept CareCredit.

In the new audio program, Dr. Cathy Jameson and Carrie Webber discuss how to build a practice based on true partnership, where patients are more engaged, more apt to accept recommended care, and more likely to refer friends and family. The audio program also features these two leading dental communicators role-playing key patient conversations and then breaking them down to provide the psychology behind the words.

“We believe practices that really understand and embrace the relationship factor with their patient family are going to have the greatest impact for the practice and for their patients,” explained Carrie Webber. “We want to be able to develop these levels of trust and understanding with our patient base so that they can get to a greater state of health. When we partner with our patients and help them be in a place where they feel safe and heard, we can ultimately help them find ways that they can say ‘yes’ to the treatment they want or need.”

CareCredit’s educational library features leading practice educators sharing insights on key practice management issues. “CareCredit continues to be committed to helping dentists and teams by connecting them to practical solutions from industry experts on topics such as overhead management, attracting new patients, and increasing referrals,” said Bete Johnson, Senior Vice President of Business Development, CareCredit. Practices that currently accept the CareCredit healthcare credit card can request a copy of this complimentary audio program by contacting their Practice Development Team at 800-859-9975, option 1, then 6. Practices that have yet to add CareCredit as a financing solution can call 800-300-3046, option 5, to request their complimentary copy.

About Dr. Cathy Jameson

Cathy Jameson, PhD, has been an international expert on practice management and marketing for more than 25 years. Leveraging her background in education, psychology, and management, she worked alongside her husband, John H. Jameson, DDS, in his practice to implement advanced communications and management techniques. Cathy is an acclaimed speaker, best-selling author, and highly-respected coach, consultant, and communicator.

About Carrie Webber

Carrie Webber has more than 15 years’ experience in marketing, public relations, and corporate communications. At Jameson Management, Carrie facilitates the development of relevant and timely products and services for clients – helping them attract more new patients, deliver an exceptional patient experience, and develop advanced verbal, non-verbal, and written communications skills.

About CareCredit®

For more than 30 years CareCredit, from Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF), has helped millions of people pay for needed and desired care and health expenses. CareCredit is a health, wellness and personal care credit card accepted through a national network of more than 200,000 healthcare provider locations and select health-focused retailers. For more information on CareCredit, call 800-300-3046 or visit www.carecredit.com. For more information about Synchrony Financial visit www.synchronyfinancial.com.

An accomplished leader in pharmaceutical distribution on an international level shares his commitment to the customer-first philosophy as a new member of the senior leadership team at Benco Dental. Tom Hart joined the nation’s largest privately-owned dental distributor earlier this year as Chief Operations Officer, and in his new role assumed responsibility for customer operations, which encompasses distribution operations and the company’s service dispatch and equipment coordination.

Prior to his time at Benco, Hart spent 14 years at McKesson Corporation, one of the world's largest medical supply distribution companies. There he held a variety of leadership roles, most recently as VP of Specialty Distribution Operations. During his tenure at McKesson, he channeled a passion for protecting the nation from a very difficult flu that claimed several lives and worked with the Center for Disease Control to deliver two major programs: CDC Vaccines for Children and the H1N1 nationwide vaccines distribution. Hart and his wife Rhonda have relocated their family, including two of their six children, from Memphis to Northeastern Pennsylvania.

From day one, Hart has been reaffirming the Benco Dental customer-focus philosophy among the company’s distribution team across the U.S. and thinking beyond the box. He’s been gaining fresh perspectives from dental practice owners during co-travels in the field, connecting with the people behind the packages that Benco delivers and in the process, achieving the shared goal of an improved patient experience.

Within his first six months at Benco, Hart championed an Idea Tank contest in the spirit of ABC’s Shark Tank, that aims to inspire associates to share their visions for new processes, business solutions and customer experience enhancements. This same spirit of fun and friendly-competition fueled a home office fundraiser earlier this year to benefit a Christmas in July food drive hosted by the United Way of Wyoming Valley. Benco’s inaugural Pie-the-Manager contest garnered sweet results: $1095 raised in three days by Benco’s Customer Operations team.

For more information, visit benco.com or call 1.800.GO.BENCO.

Benco Chief Operations Officer Tom Hart inspires a spirit of fun and friendly competition among his team, in the name of community support. During a Pie-the-Manager contest at the home office this summer, Hart’s direct reports Tony Smigelski, Director of Inventory Control and Returns (shown) and Lisa Fuller, Director Contact Center at Benco, demonstrated good sportsmanship to benefit the United Way of Wyoming Valley’s Christmas in July food drive. Michelle Lees (shown) won pie-throwing rights in a raffle to raise funds for the cause.

About Benco Dental

Benco Dental, headquartered in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is the largest privately-owned dental distributor in the United States, offering a full array of supplies, equipment and services to dentists across the nation. Founded in 1930 by Benjamin Cohen, the company has remained family-owned and focused on its unique mission to “deliver success, smile after smile.” Within the past 88 years, the company has grown from a single downtown location to a national network that includes five distribution centers, and three design showrooms. Those design showrooms, one at the company’s Pa. headquarters, one in Southern California, and one in Texas, feature North America’s largest selection of dental equipment and technology, as well as a hands-on dental design experience, to assist dentists in the planning and construction of a new office.

Benco, which has been named one of Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care and Biopharma for the past three years, one of the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women for the second consecutive year, and Pennsylvania’s Best Places to Work® for 12 of the past 14 years, is proud to feature a highly skilled team of more than 400 professionally trained sales representatives and over 300 factory-trained service technicians. For more information, visit benco.com or call 1.800.GO.BENCO.

Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMD), a leading global company dedicated to delivering innovative infection prevention products, services, and solutions, announced today that it has broken ground on a multimillion dollar expansion effort at its Rush, New York facility to provide employees with more space and capacity to support the significant growth of the Company.

The newly expanded facility, located at 6789 West Henrietta Rd. in Rush, NY, will have the capacity for approximately 350 employees, and the Company anticipates this expansion will create a significant number of new jobs for the community.

“Our team has doubled in size over the past few years as we have experienced significant growth in our Dental and Alternate Care Division,” stated Gary Steinberg, President, Dental division. “The expansion of our facility will allow us to keep pace with our growth while meeting the continued needs of our business. This milestone further demonstrates our commitment to our team while driving operational efficiencies to better serve our customers around the world.”

“We are excited to begin construction to expand our facility, and want to express our deep gratitude to the city and county officials who supported our efforts and partnered with us to make the vision for this project a reality,” said Scott Thome, Senior Vice President, Operations for Cantel. “We look forward to expanding our facility and believe that this investment will provide tremendous value to the community through the creation of jobs, helping fuel additional economic development in Rush and Henrietta.”

Cantel purchased land in Rush earlier this year and now plans to start construction of a 100,000-square-foot addition to its existing manufacturing and distribution center. Once the expansion is complete, the total building is expected to be 137,000 square feet. Cantel anticipates the facility will be available for use in fall 2019.

About Cantel

Cantel is a leading global company dedicated to delivering innovative infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers which improve outcomes, enhance safety and help save lives. Our products include specialized medical device reprocessing systems for endoscopy and renal dialysis, advanced water purification equipment, sterilants, disinfectants and cleaners, sterility assurance monitoring products for hospitals and dental clinics, disposable infection control products primarily for dental and GI endoscopy markets, dialysate concentrates, hollow fiber membrane filtration and separation products. Additionally, we provide technical service for our products.

For further information, visit the Cantel website at www.cantelmedical.com