Patterson Dental has launched an educational campaign to help protect dentists and their patients from purchasing or using potentially unsafe dental products. The initiative will largely be orchestrated through its new website, www.DentalSupplyIntegrity.com.
The website provides informational resources about the gray market, which typically sells dental supplies sold outside of established distribution channels at deeply discounted prices because of questionable practices such as selling recalled items. The site features information on how to identify these products, a video, infographic, frequently asked questions, and a white paper on the topic.
"Given the potential for dentists to unknowingly purchase counterfeit or dangerous products, we believe that it is important to raise awareness of this issue," stated Paul Guggenheim, president of Patterson Dental, in a release. "Dentists cannot be confident that products purchased through the gray market are genuine, safe, or that they have been handled appropriately."
In addition to improving industry awareness through the website, Patterson is working to ensure products distributed through its name brand are sourced directly from the manufacturer.
Patterson introduced the campaign and website at this week's Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting.
