DrBicuspid.com Business & Industry Insider

Dear Business & Industry Insider,

A legal dispute is heating up between 3M and Ivoclar Vivadent over a U.S. patent covering polymer-based restoratives materials that was issued to Ivoclar in 1999.

On November 30, 3M filed a lawsuit against Ivoclar Vivadent in what 3M said was an attempt to protect itself from being sued by Ivoclar for patent infringement. One day later, Ivoclar did just that.

Click here to read details about the litigation and what each company claims the other did to spark it.

In other Business & Industry Community news, three business filed a lawsuit on November 16 against the Connecticut State Dental Commission claiming the commission illegally shut them down because they offered teeth-whitening services at lower prices than dental offices.

And in related news, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners' appeal of a July ruling that the board's efforts to block nondentists from providing teeth-whitening services constitute an illegal anticompetitive conspiracy.

In other business news, American Dental Partners (ADP) has agreed to be acquired and taken private by JLL Partners, a private equity investment firm, for $398 million. But some are questioning whether the company did enough to obtain the best price possible for ADP shareholders. Read more.

And the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Claims has recommended that Procter & Gamble (P&G) discontinue advertising claims for Crest Sensitivity Treatment & Protection Toothpaste that promise "relief within minutes" after one of P&G's competitors brought to the council's attention. Read more.

Finally, several new products caught our attention recently:

• Sesame Communications is expanding its cloud-based products and services with Sesame 24-7, a new patient connection system that provides search optimization, online marketing, patient portals, and practice metrics tools for dental practices.
• PracticeBooster, founded by a dentist with more than 20 years of experience in dental insurance coding strategies, has launched a secure, Web-based service that gives dental professionals 24/7 access to information about dental codes and billing.
• A new option is available for helping patients recover from everything from oral surgery to a nasty cheek bite. The PerioPatch hydrogel barrier features an adhesive that keeps it where it is placed in the mouth -- and speeds up the healing process, according to the manufacturer.