ST. PAUL, Minn. – (Jan. 31, 2013) –3M ESPE has been named the most innovative company in the worldwide dental industry for the eighth consecutive year, based on new product approvals and international patents. The Anaheim Group, distributor of Dental Fax Weekly, published the finding in its 2012 Dental Industry Review.
The Dental Industry Review studies three factors in determining its “most innovative” honorees: FDA 510(k) new product clearances for the U.S. market, United States Patent Office dental industry patents, and dental patents from the European Patent Office and the World International Patent Office. 3M ESPE was recognized for 63 innovations in total during 2012. Additionally, in an examination of seven companies that have consistently ranked in the top 10 innovators since 2007, 3M ESPE far outranked the pack. The report cited 375 total innovations by 3M ESPE for the years 2007-2012, versus 213 for the second most innovative company.
The pace of innovation by 3M ESPE is made possible by the constant collaboration and cross-pollination of technologies across the many business units and corporate laboratories of 3M. For example, one of the technologies used in 3M™ ESPE™ Filtek ™ composite dental restoratives is also used in LCD screens to make them brighter, and may be used in the future to improve products as diverse as carbon monoxide filters and fuel cells. 3M is uniquely able to foster uncommon connections like these.
“3M ESPE is fortunate to be a part of a corporation whose culture is built upon sharing technology. We are honored by this recognition and are committed to applying our technologies to solve real-world problems in dentistry,” said Mark Farmer, president of 3M ESPE. “We also look forward to bringing more innovations to dentistry in 2013 and the years after.”
The Dental Industry Review recognized 3M ESPE for several new product introductions during 2012, citing the 3M™ True Definition Scanner, 3M™ ESPE™ RelyX™ Ultimate Adhesive Resin Cement and the 3M™ ESPE™ Retraction Capsule, among others.
3M ESPE is a dental product manufacturer that markets more than 2,000 dental products and services. 3M ESPE dental products are designed to help dental professionals improve their patients’ oral health care. The 3M Digital Oral Care Department, part of the 3M ESPE Division, aims to accelerate and strengthen 3M’s efforts to lead the digital transformation that is occurring in oral care. 3M Health Care, one of 3M’s five Business Groups, provides world-class innovative products and services to help health care professionals improve the practice and delivery of patient care in medical, oral care, drug delivery and health information markets. For more information on the complete 3M ESPE line of dental products, visit the 3M ESPE website at http://www.3MESPE.com or call the 3M ESPE Technical Hotline at 1-800-634-2249. Products are available for purchase through authorized 3M ESPE distributors.
3M, ESPE, Filtek and RelyX are trademarks of 3M or 3M Deutschland GmbH. Used under license in Canada. © 3M 2012. All rights reserved.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
