DrBicuspid.com Business & Industry Insider

Dear Business & Industry Insider,

A federal lawsuit filed last week against Aspen Dental Management and the private equity firm that controls it claims Aspen is illegally operating dental clinics across the U.S. by violating laws that require the clinics to be owned by dentists.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 11 patients in 11 states, but their lawyers are seeking class-action status that could cover tens of thousands of current and former patients. Click here to read more, and here to join the lively Forum discussion related to this story.

Meanwhile, the recently announced investment by Henry Schein in Exan -- makers of the axiUm practice management and electronic dental record (EDR) systems used at more than 40 U.S. dental schools -- raises some interesting possibilities for the advancement of EDRs and electronic health records in general, according to Dr. Titus Schleyer, director of the Center for Dental Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh. Read more.

On the new product front, a hands-free system that combines a blue light-emitting diode (LED) device with a proprietary mouthpiece and a specially formulated gel is one of the latest additions to the booming at-home teeth-whitening market.

And Nasseo, a California start-up launched in April, is looking to make titanium implants accessible to prospective patients whose medical conditions undermine their ability to support dental implants. After winning a recent entrepreneur challenge, the company is using the prize to embark on the complex regulatory process necessary to bring its innovation to market.

In other Business & Industry Community news, the 3M ESPE booth at the recent ADA Annual Session was abuzz after the company announced the first mill partner -- D4D -- and channel distribution partner -- Henry Schein -- for its new True Definition digital impression system.

Also at the ADA meeting, Dr. Gordon Christensen was true to form during a panel discussion entitled "Controversies in Dental Implantology," taking the major implant makers to task for high costs and calling for implantology integration into dental school curricula.

Meanwhile, DenMat has entered into a long-term exclusive agreement with LED Medical Diagnostics/LED Dental as the exclusive global distributor for the VELscope Vx, including all sales and marketing, while Henry Schein is now the exclusive global distributor of the Identafi oral cancer screening device, a product of DentalEZ's StarDental division.

Finally, Align Technology has reached a mutual agreement with Straumann to terminate their distribution agreements for iTero intraoral scanners in Europe and North America, effective December 31, 2012.