LED Dental System Offers Cordless, Affordable Way to Help Detect Oral Cancer and Other Disease BURNABY, British Columbia, Jan. 6, 2011—LED Dental announced today that Henry Schein Dental will be the exclusive distributor of its revolutionary new VELscope Vx Enhanced Oral Assessment system in North America. Henry Schein Dental is the U.S. Dental business of Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners.
In 2006 LED Dental introduced the first generation VELscope system, which was the first to employ fluorescence visualization to help dental practitioners detect oral cancer and other forms of oral disease. The VELscope system was also the first to receive FDA and Health Canada clearance to help clinicians detect cancerous and precancerous lesions that might not be apparent to the naked eye, and to help surgeons determine the appropriate surgical margin when excision of abnormal tissue is indicated. Since then, over 6,000 VELscope systems around the world have been used to conduct over 10 million oral health exams, which is more than any other oral disease detection technology.
The VELscope Vx system is the latest and most advanced generation of VELscope technology. While retaining all of the capabilities of prior generations, its cordless design provides significantly greater portability and convenience. Moreover, a price of less than half the level of prior generations makes it feasible for many practices to have one in two or more operatories. In addition, a reimbursement code has been approved for this procedure, and is honored by many insurance companies.
"As the world leader in oral disease detection, it was our desire to partner with the world leader in dental distribution," said Peter Whitehead, founder and CEO of LED Dental. "We are committed to providing our customers the best possible training and service, and Henry Schein Dental offers an unmatched ability and determination to support that commitment."
According to Tim Sullivan, President, Henry Schein Dental, "We are committed to offering our dental customers the most technologically-advanced products available to enable them to provide the highest possible quality of care to patients. Being able to offer the VELscope Vx system exclusively throughout North America certainly furthers that commitment."
With Henry Schein Dental’s support, LED Dental will offer an extensive schedule of educational seminars for practices considering purchase of the VELscope Vx system, as well as training seminars for those who do purchase the system.
Due in large part to the growing impact of the sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus, or HPV, oral cancer is one of the few types of cancer that has not experienced a significant reduction in incidence over the past 50 years. As a result, many health experts recommend that all adults aged 18 and older receive an annual oral cancer exam, which can also detect non-cancerous forms of oral disease like viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Used as an adjunct to a conventional intra-oral and extra-oral exam, a VELscope Vx exam takes only two minutes and is completely non-invasive for patients.
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