Sybron Dental Specialties Enters Nanocomposite Market With Premise - New Product

Sybron Dental Specialties, Inc. announced today that its Kerr Corporation subsidiary has entered the fast growing market for nanocomposite restoratives with the introduction of Premise(TM), a dental composite restorative having significant technological advancements over competing products. Developed with nano technology that results in easier, higher quality aesthetic restorations, Premise is a tooth-colored restorative material that replicates the natural form and function of a tooth.

Premise offers dentists four key advantages:

• Up to 45% less shrinkage than other brands
• Easy, sustained polish that provides superior lustre retention over time
• Excellent handling that allows for easier placement and contouring
• Universal applicability for both posterior and anterior teeth

"We believe Premise will become one of our best selling individual products as it gains traction in the marketplace," said Steven Semmelmayer, President of Kerr Corporation. "Premise sets a new industry standard for combining aesthetics, ease of placement, durability, and long-term polish in one restorative material. Furthermore, our market research indicates that dentists place a premium on a composite's ability to shrink less during curing. Premise offers the lowest shrinkage of any universal composite on the market today. The initial response from influential clinicians that have tested Premise has been very positive, and we believe their endorsement will be valuable in attracting dentists to this new product. We have historically maintained a top 3 market position in the dental composite category, and with our entry into the fastest growing segment of the composite market, we believe we are well positioned to increase our market share in the years ahead."

Premise is being shipped to Kerr's distribution partners during March and will be available to dentists by the end of the month. Sybron expects the initial sales of Premise will contribute approximately $1 million in revenue to the Company's second quarter of fiscal 2004.

Posted 30^th March 2004