ViziLite(R) Plus Oral Lesion Identification & Marking System Being Used by One of the Nation's Largest Private Dental Groups, A
April 11 2006 - 10:49AM
PR Newswire (US)
PHOENIX, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
announced that its ViziLite(R) Plus Oral Lesion Identification and
Marking System, the newest tool in the fight against oral disease,
is being used by the largest privately held retail dental practice
management group in the Northeast, Aspen Dental Management, Inc.
Aspen dentists in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are
using the product now; Aspen expects to offer ViziLite exams in all
of its 82 offices in seven states by late Spring. "Aspen Dental and
its affiliated dentists are committed to providing our patients
superior levels of dental care," said Robert A. Fontana, Aspen's
president and CEO. "We are extremely pleased to offer this latest
advance in early-detection oral screening, which raises our
standard of care to Aspen patients to yet another level.
ViziLite(R) Plus is an important tool, one that may help us save
patients' lives." "It is gratifying to know that dentists in the
respected Aspen Dental Management organization are embracing the
new ViziLite(R) Plus technology in their practices," said Jeff
Mazzarella, Vice President of Sales for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
"We're seeing a steady increase in adoption of ViziLite(R) Plus
exams around the country. With one American dying every hour from
oral cancer, it is critical that we all see a dentist at least once
a year, and get a thorough head and neck exam. ViziLite Plus
improves the ability to detect lesions early and early detection
saves lives." Oral cancer is among the most deadly cancer types in
the U.S., largely owing to the fact that roughly two-thirds of all
oral cancers are detected at advanced stage. There are some 30,000
new cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year, and 8,000 related
deaths. When oral cancer is detected early, survival rates are
about 80%; detected late, the survival rate falls to 20%. The
American Dental Association says that while most cases of oral
cancer affect people who use tobacco and/or drink heavily, more
than a quarter of oral cancers occur in people who do not smoke and
have no other risk factors. ViziLite Plus combines the oral
screening technology of ViziLite, an advanced chemiluminescent
light technology, with TBlue630, a marking system using Zila(R)
Tolonium Chloride (ZTC(TM)), the only patented pharmaceutical-grade
form of toluidine blue used in marking lesions identified during a
ViziLite examination. ViziLite Plus is indicated for use in
individuals at increased risk for oral cancer. If ViziLite reveals
an abnormality, TBlue630 may be used to mark suspicious lesions for
further evaluation. For more information about ViziLite Plus, visit
http://www.vizilite.com/. For more information about Aspen Dental
Management, visit http://www.apsendent.com/. About Aspen Dental
Management, Inc. Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is the
premier dental practice management firm in the Northeast, providing
leading-edge business, operational, marketing and laboratory
expertise to its affiliated dentists in 82 dental offices
throughout New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. This expertise
enables Aspen Dentists to grow professionally while they realize
optimum productivity and practice revenue. This collaborative
relationship allows dentists to focus on providing quality dental
care. Aspen Dentists serve the dental care needs of historically
under-served members of the community, by focusing on the forty
percent of the population with no regular dentist or pattern of
dental visits. In 2005, Aspen dentists received about 600,000
patient visits, including visits from over 90,000 new patients and
15,000 denture patients. ADMI expects more than 700,000 patient
visits in 2006. About Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Zila
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a division of Zila, Inc. headquartered in
Phoenix, is the marketer of products to promote oral health and
prevent oral disease, including ViziLite(R) Plus Oral Lesion
Identification and marking System and Peridex(R) prescription
periodontal rinse. This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These forward-looking statements are based largely on Zila's
expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by
inaccurate assumptions and are subject to various business risks
and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond
the Company's control. Therefore, actual results could differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. A
wide variety of factors could cause or contribute to such
differences and could adversely impact revenues, profitability,
cash flows and capital needs. There can be no assurance that the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release will, in
fact, transpire or prove to be accurate. For a more detailed
description of these and other cautionary factors that may affect
Zila's future results, please refer to Zila's Form 10-K for its
fiscal year ended July 31, 2005. DATASOURCE: Zila Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. CONTACT: Andrew Stevens, +1-602-266-6700, for Zila
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; or Public Relations, William Sklar of Sklar
& Associates, +1-520-299-2830, for Zila Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.vizilite.com/ http://www.apsendent.com/
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