Premier Laser Gearing Up Distribution Drive

IRVINE — Premier Laser Systems Inc. said it plans to distribute its dental laser systems internationally under three-year, exclusive agreements signed with Pacific Rim-based companies and said it expects to install 25 to 30 of its innovative systems in the U.S. during the fiscal second quarter ending Sept. 30.

Premier Laser said production of the systems was slowed during May, June and July, partly because of heightened media attention after the Food and Drug Administration approved the systems, billed as a virtually painless method of working on cavities.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company had a total dental laser backlog of $3.4 million, of which $2.6 million represented orders for its Centauri laser system. Premier said it is still on target to make 100 Centauri systems in December, a level that the company said in June that it would reach by year end.

So far the company said it has installed “a handful” of Centauri systems in the U.S. The installation process is slowed, the company said, by the time needed to train its installers as well as the dentists who will be using the systems.