ILT granted license to develop tooth-whitening laser

17 Jun 2002

The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a formal notice of allowance to Ion Laser Technology (ILT; Salt Lake City, UT) for a proprietary laser tooth-whitening process and for chemical whitening agents. A patent for the process is expected in due course. The dental procedure takes an average of two hours to perform and is currently conducted in 26 US states. The method employs a range of activating chemicals at varying strengths and is used with either argon or CO2 lasers. Several competitors may be in violation of the patent when it is issued. ILT received final Food and Drug Administration clearance in February 1996.