DENTSPLY TULSA DENTAL SPECIALTIES:

A History of Innovation

The company's initial product, the Thermafil® Endodontic Obturator, was developed by Dr. Wm. Ben Johnson, a practicing endodontist in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the original device was a precisely measured and calibrated stainless steel carrier encased in alpha phase gutta percha. Dr. Johnson introduced the concept to the profession at the annual meeting of the American Association of Endodontists in 1988, and in September of that year Tulsa Dental Products was incorporated and licensed to sell Thermafil. In November, a national ad campaign had been launched and gave widespread exposure to this revolutionary endodontic obturation method. By 1989, Thermafil® was being introduced in more than 40 countries around the world.

Within only a year, TDP's reputation burgeoned. Tulsa Dental shipped its one millionth Thermafil® device in February of 1990, and that year the company also introduced its own endodontic sealer, ThermaSeal®, expressly designed for use with Thermafil® obturators.

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