Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

Today AEEDC Dubai 2014

science & practice12 AEEDC Dubai 2014 In a recent statement, US-based provider of dental and medical lasers BIOLASE announced that health care fund Camber Capital Management in Boston in the USA has purchased US$5 million of the company’s common stock. DTI had the opportunity to speak with CEO FedericoPignatelliaboutwhatthis means for the company, mistakes ofthepastandthereasonsthatthe company’s WaterLase technology has the potential to revolutionise dental surgery. DTI: Mr Pignatelli, your com- pany seems to have been strug- gling recently, according to some analysts. What is your company’s position right now, andwhatdoestherecentsaleof shares to Camber Capital mean for your business? Federico Pignatelli: The con- fusionarisesfromthefactthatwe grew 40 to 50 per cent a year for two years and in 2013 our growth hassloweddownto“only”15to20 per cent. We believe that BIO- LASE will grow strongly in the years to come. We just needed to raise our capital with a few mil- lion dollars in order to improve our balance sheet. This capital raise, combined with our US$8 million Comerica Bank credit line, will give us enough capital to continue our plan of business ex- pansion. Also, as we approach the fourth quarterweseenetincomeandpos- itive cash flow returning and we are expecting this positive devel- opment to continue in 2014. So we feel very positively about where BIOLASE is right now. So have the recent restructur- ing measures paid off? Yes, they have paid off hand- somely, but there is more to do. I admit that in the past there have been some unhappy customers, but in our defence the company back then was managed by en- tirely different people and was locked into an exclusive global dis- tribution agreement with Henry Schein. In the new BIOLASE, customers are the number one pri- ority and we do what it takes to take care of them. What people need to realise is that BIOLASE is a cutting-edge technology company with a new technology that is potentially go- ing to radically transform the way dental surgery is performed and practised. As a new step in inform- ing the marketplace about Water- Lase, we have recently embarked on a social media and press cam- paign to reach out to millions of patients to educate them about the many advantages of being treated with BIOLASE’s technology. We are glad to have Dr Fred Moll, the co-founder of Intuitive Surgical, who values our technol- ogy such that he joined our board ofdirectorsrecently.Heisalegend in the medical field because with his company he transformed the way surgery is approached throughtheuseofrobotics.Thanks to a visionary like him, today tens of thousands of patients with can- cer can be treated in a much more precise way than ever before. We believe BIOLASE has a tech- nologythatissoadvancedandrev- olutionary that the company could becomethenextIntuitiveSurgical. That is because with WaterLase technologywecantransformsurgi- cal dentistry for hundreds of thou- sands of dental practices around the world, while providing better and safer care for patients. Why do you think lasers and particularly WaterLase will be the technology of choice in den- tistry for the future? If you think about it, dentistry has not really changed very much since the dental drill was invented by the Egyptians 7,000 years ago. The principle of removing tissue by mechanical rotation has re- mained the same since that time, with the only major change in the past 70 years being the attach- ment of a high-speed engine. With WaterLase technology, we are able to make use of the most basic ele- ment of human tissue, water. The humanbodyinitsentiretyconsists of 60 per cent water, so water can be found in almost all tissue. Den- tine, for example, has 20 per cent water in it. By energising water molecules with a laser, tissue can becutwithoutpain,heat,abrasion, vibration, or the risk of microfrac- tures. At the same time, it is also much more precise. Clinically, this is much better dentistry. Furthermore, there is no need for any anaesthetic for the patient; 99 per cent of patients can be treated without using Novocaine. How wonderful is that? On top of that, laser energy kills bacteria, viruses and fungus, and that pro- vides another advantage for den- tists, since it is almost impossible and certainly very costly to have surgical instrumentation like den- tal burs and endodontic files fully sterilised,andtoocostlytousenew instrumentation for every patient to be treated. With all these advantages, why doesitseemthatthetechnology has not been adopted widely by dentists yet? That is not exactly true. Since theintroductionofWaterLasetech- nology 15 years ago, we have sold over10,000unitsworldwide,6,000 of which were in the USA alone. The main challenge however is ed- ucation. Dentists need to be better educated about the return on in- vestment and the system’s exten- siveclinicaladvantagesincompar- ison with conventional dentistry. Infact,onlytwoandahalfyears ago, WaterLase technology for the veryfirsttimebrokethespeedbar- rier, which means that it now cuts as fast as a conventional dental drill, sometimes even faster. Fur- thermore, it allows impressive treatment and cutting of soft tis- sue, which is something a dental drill cannot do. These additional options mean that dentists no longer need to refer patients to a specialist for these tasks, thereby boosting revenue in the practice. Where do you see the technol- ogyinthenextfivetotenyears? In contrast with other market- leading systems or technologies, suchasSirona’sCEREC,WaterLase is protected by over 100 patents, which will allows us to protect our competitive advantage. The adop- tion cycle of new technologies is growing increasingly shorter and more advanced technologies like WaterLase will rapidly find their way into dental practices. Dentists that do not upgrade their practices will likely begin to lose patients, become uncompetitive and lag be- hind. You cannot fight technology; you cannot fight innovation. If you do, you are doomed to be left out of the market. We regularly ask patients whether they would like to be treated by a conventional dentist or high-tech dentist, and almost 100 per cent of patients would like tobetreatedbyahigh-techdentist. Therefore, we believe that Water- Lase will be part of most dental practices in the near future. Thankyouverymuchforthein- terview. Biolase could become the next Intuitive Surgical An interview with the company’s CEO Federico Pignatelli Dental Tribune International The World’s Largest News and Educational Network in Dentistry www.dental-tribune.com AD Federico Pignatelli

Overview