23 May 2014—Dental system developer Convergent Dental (Natick, Mass., U.S.A.) announced this week the selection of contract manufacturer Cogmedix (Worcester, Mass., U.S.A.) as the manufacturer of the Solea dental laser system, the first-ever computer-aided CO2 laser dental system cleared by the FDA for hard and soft tissue ablation. The Solea system operates without the noise or vibration of a dental drill and will eliminate anesthesia (and needles) in 95 percent of procedures.
The Solea CO2 laser source was developed by laser manufacturer Coherent (Sana Clara, Calif., U.S.A.). While typical CO2 lasers operate at 10.6 µm, Convergent and Coherent designed the Solea source to lase at 9.3 µm, using the 18O isotope to match the absorption wavelength of dentin and tooth enamel.
Privately held Convergent Dental secured $8 million in an oversubscribed funding round in April led by Long River Ventures along with individual investors. The funding allows the company to expand product development, sales and marketing, and client services in anticipation of Solea hitting the market in the latter half of 2014.