Venus® White recognized as top product in industry

SOUTH BEND, IN (August 1, 2009) - Venus White, a high performance take-home whitening system, was recently named one of the Top Products of 2009 by Dentistry Today. Launched just one year ago, Venus White is the first consumer product manufactured by Heraeus and is a complementary addition to the Venus Smile esthetic system.

This year marks the 23rd anniversary of Dentistry Today’s Top 100 products award. Selected on the basis of reader response, these products represent what’s new and innovative in the dental industry today.

Venus White is available in 16% and 22% strengths, contains potassium nitrate to minimize sensitivity associated with bleaching and is mint-flavored for ultimate patient comfort. In addition to its clinical attributes, Venus White is unique to the industry in that a portion of the sales from of every order of Venus White is donated to breast cancer research. And most recently, visitors to the Venus White page on both www.SmileByVenus.com and www.MyVenusSmile.com can now show their support by donating to breast cancer research as well. By clicking on the breast cancer ribbon icon, supporters will be directed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation website.

Venus White has also been designated an “Editor’s Choice” product by Dental Products Report. “Editor’s Choice” products are chosen based on innovation and their perceived impact on improving patient care and practice efficiency.

“We are thrilled with the way that consumers, dentists and industry leaders have responded to Venus White,” said Chris Holden, President of Heraeus. “It is an honor to be recognized by two of dentistry’s most long-standing and reputable sources.”

About Venus
The premier esthetic and practice building solution. Venus epitomizes the most powerful components of health, beauty and wellness including increased confidence, self-esteem and the pure feeling of elation to be gained through a beautiful smile.

Now for the first time, superior esthetic restorations for all cosmetic procedures can be achieved simply - and with the highest in esthetic and natural-looking results.

The Venus Smile system provides a solution for every component of esthetic and functional dentistry and is the only brand to offer a fully integrated line of direct and indirect products combined with a complete practice management system.

About Heraeus
Heraeus has distinguished itself for more than 150 years as a worldwide leader in precious metals and materials technology for a variety of industries.

The Heraeus mission is to transform lives through cutting-edge product solutions, technologies and partnerships. The family of Heraeus operating companies employs over 11,000 people worldwide with annual revenues exceeding $15 billion.

Innovation is long-standing pillar of the Heraeus growth strategy and we continually strive to improve our current products, while at the same time investing heavily in new research that paves the way for tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our success is measured by how well we help our clients prosper and solve their challenges through the use of our technology and products.

About Heraeus Dental
The Heraeus Dental Group provides dental professionals, laboratories, and patients with the ultimate in esthetic dental solutions. Heraeus empowers dental professionals to provide the most natural-looking, highly-esthetic restorations while respecting a healthy and conservative approach to clinical dentistry. Some signature Heraeus brands include:

• Venus® • iBond® • Flexitime® • Gluma® • Ivory® • Agfa®