Every day, orthodontists and dental professionals are entrusted with the smiles of patients seeking to make them healthier and appear brighter. Smiles have the power to communicate success, a warm personality and attractiveness, yet many patients don’t seem to understand how they should have an active role in their oral health maintenance.

In December of 2010, Philips Holdings USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics (“Philips”), acquired Discus Dental, LLC. Discus Dental joins Philips Oral Healthcare, Inc. (“POHC”), makers of the Sonicare power toothbrush, as part of the Philips Oral Healthcare business. Now, Philips offers a full product portfolio of oral health and whitening solutions to dental professionals, combining the cutting-edge products and deep industry relationships of Discus Dental with the research-driven, design-oriented culture of Philips.



“Through broadening our product portfolio and engaging in ongoing product innovation, our goal is to make healthy smiles accessible and simple for patients and dental professionals,” says Frank McGillin, General Manager at Discus Dental. “Drawing from the two companies’ deep experience and strong product portfolios, we look forward to continued partnerships with our customers to improve their practices with easy-to-use, intuitive products that address specific patient needs.”

Behind the company

Formed in 1989, Discus Dental has been regarded as both the pioneer and world leader in teeth whitening, offering a variety of professional teeth whitening options. Nearly 4 million smiles have been improved by the company’s most popular chairside whitening treatment, Zoom, and dental professionals have benefited from the additional oral health product lines of the company. With bold marketing campaigns and a customer-centric business model, Discus Dental quickly grew to become one of the most trusted brands in dentistry.

In 2000, Philips emerged onto the oral health scene with the acquisition of Optiva Corporation, the creator and manufacturer of the Sonicare power toothbrush that is built on sonic technology and inspired by advanced tools used in dental practices. Since 2000, Sonicare has been called “the Rolls Royce of the power toothbrush market” by Forbes Global and has allowed millions of consumers to improve the appearance and overall health of their smiles.

Philips has continued to use its powerful research and development capabilities to improve the oral health space for more than 10 years, introducing new products for dental professionals and consumers to make oral healthcare accessible, simple, and intuitive. In 2010, the acquisition of Discus Dental by Philips solidified that commitment to overall oral health, with Discus Dental joining POHC in the Philips Oral Healthcare business.

Utilizing the strong product portfolios of Discus Dental and POHC, Philips Oral Healthcare enhances dental and orthodontic practices while also streamlining the ordering process.

Meeting consumer & professional needs

Patients are increasingly appearance-conscious and want to be in charge of their overall health and lifestyle. Philips equips orthodontists and dental professionals with in-office and take-home tools to empower patients to improve their oral health. Through sensible solutions and easy-to-use products, Philips makes healthy smiles accessible to everyone. Philips serves dental professionals with a comprehensive product portfolio and simplified, more intuitive solutions for professionals and consumers alike. Now, dental practices can find all of their whitening and oral hygiene products in one place—from impression materials and chairside whitening to the Sonicare power toothbrush. With a commitment to continued innovation and improvements in available oral health products, Philips tests all of its products with patients and ensures that every product provides a sensible solution to practice and patient needs.

Comprehensive oral health solutions

Dedicated to meeting the needs of patients and dental professionals, Philips provides a comprehensive line of products, from time-tested solutions like NiteWhite and Sonicare to just-released innovations like AirFloss.

Sonicare solutions

Since 1987, when the first Sonicare power toothbrush was created, Sonicare power toothbrushes have continually advanced to meet patient needs, while also improving their performance. The toothbrush initially ran on one mode and was only compatible with its signature all-white charging station. In 2011, the new Sonicare DiamondClean brush brought a new level of sophistication to the popular power toothbrush, offering whiter teeth, USB charging, and five brushing modes. The brushing modes allow patients to select the toothbrush cleaning style most appropriate for their teeth, including clean, white, polish, gum care, and sensitive.
Additionally, in 2011, Sonicare launched AirFloss, a first-of-its-kind device that cleans between teeth with a rapid burst of air and water droplets, eliminating the need for dental floss. Based on research that found that one out of every two Americans does not floss as often as they should, AirFloss was created to improve the flossing experience and simplify oral health for patients. In consumer testing, 86% of people found AirFloss easier to use than regular floss, and the product has shown to remove up to 99% more plaque between teeth than brushing alone.

Teeth whitening treatments

Designed to provide the safest teeth whitening with the best results, all Discus Dental whitening treatments are created for dental professionals. The entire Philips Zoom whitening line includes the chairside treatments Philips Zoom, BriteSmile and Dash, and the ever popular take-home options NiteWhite and DayWhite.

Philips Zoom, today’s most in-demand whitening treatment, is behind millions of bright, healthy smiles. In about an hour, Philips Zoom can whiten smiles up to eight shades, providing dramatic, immediate results. The Philips Zoom whitening lamp is key to the success of the treatment with proven results; in fact, clinical studies have shown that after 30 days, teeth remain 42% whiter after treatment with the lamp and Philips Zoom gel than with gel alone. Tested globally by patients and dental professionals, Philips Zoom is a simple and smart addition to a practice that gives patients the results that they want.

Oral hygiene

In addition to the Philips Sonicare line, Discus Dental offers a wide range of solutions for oral hygiene, including breath management, prophy materials, RX fluorides, sealants, and sensitivity relief. With products for patients and dental professionals, the Philips Oral Healthcare oral hygiene lines are designed to open up conversations in the dental office about how patients can contribute to their overall oral health between appointments.

Impressions and restoratives

With leading restorative brands like Nuance and Moxie and reliable impression materials under the Precision, Splash and PERFECtray names, Philips continues to innovate solutions to keep patients healthy and happy. Nuance, a revolutionary composite material that creates beautiful restorations with ease, was released in 2010. With an ergonomically advanced design, visible tick marks measuring the material remaining in the syringe and audible and tactile feedback for unit-dose applications, the Nuance system makes composite materials easy-to-use and provides optimal, realistic results for the patient.

Lasers

Innovation and research drive the Discus Dental laser products, with clinical data supporting the use of lasers to achieve the best results for soft-tissue procedures. All lasers within the portfolio are made to meet the highest quality standards, and laser training is provided to all dental professionals.   

Healthy smiles, happy practice

Philips is dedicated to helping orthodontic and dental practices achieve their goals and improve the smiles that are entrusted to them every day. The past 30 years have brought great change and improvement to orthodontics and dentistry. With a hand in many of those improvements and a dedication to ongoing innovation, the Philips brands are committed to creating healthy smiles and happy practices.

This information was provided by Philips Oral Healthcare