Premier Wins Dental Laser OK for Kids

Premier Laser Systems Inc. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration approved its dental laser for treating tooth decay in children, a dental industry first.

Colette Cozean, chief executive of Irvine-based Premier, said the approval allows the company to offer lasers as an alternative to the traditional drill in pediatric dental procedures.

“This is a way of treating the child without the trauma, misunderstanding and fear” associated with drills, she said.

The FDA’s approval of the same laser--Centauri Er:YAG-- for use in adults sent the company’s stock soaring last year, from around $6 to $16, in a matter of weeks.

But the Nasdaq suspended the trading of Premier shares in May of this year after they tumbled 60% following a series of problems that included a dispute with a distributor, the resignation of its auditor and the restatement of two years’ earnings.

Premier shares last traded May 22 at $4.19.

Cozean said she was sorry that Premier investors couldn’t enjoy an immediate “upside” that the most recent FDA approval offers. The company has worked to meet Nasdaq requirements in hopes that the exchange will permit trading in its stock to resume, she said.

The laser may catch on faster with pediatric dentists, who are “less conservative” and “more willing to embrace” laser technology, than it has among general dentists, Cozean said.

Cozean said that lasers have been slow to catch on in the field of dentistry. She estimated that less than 5% of 100,000 U.S. dentists use lasers for teeth or surrounding tissues. Only 2% of all U.S. dentists use various Premier lasers that have been made in the last two years, she said.

Cozean declined to say how many of the new Centauri lasers, which sell for $40,000 to $45,000 apiece, are now in use. They usually are leased by dentists rather than bought.

Dr. Richard Mungo, a USC professor of pediatric dentistry, has tried the new laser on 11- and 12-year-old patients. They felt “no pain” and consider lasers desirable because they’re high-tech, he said. The device makes a noise that sounds like popping popcorn, but the kids didn’t mind it, he said.

But the new laser is “not a panacea. Nobody is going to throw away their drills right now,” he said.

Mungo, a private practitioner, said he has no direct connection with Premier. Rather, he works with dental companies including Premier to provide continuing education classes to dentists.