When the January 5 edition of The Wall Street Journal carried “Kodak Teeters on the Brink” as its headline, many wondered what effect Kodak’s Chapter 11 filing would have on the dental industry. The answer is none, according to Richard S. Hirschland, president of the dental systems business for Carestream Health, Inc.

“It really doesn’t affect our business,” said Hirschland, who led the Kodak dental business prior to joining Carestream Health in 2007, when the company took over the Kodak dental business. “Kodak and Carestream are two separate companies. Carestream has a licensing agreement to use the Kodak brand on some dental products, but there is no relationship between the companies other than that.”

Hirschland estimated that more than 1 million dentists around the world use Carestream products on a daily basis. Within its dental business, Carestream employs 1,300 people and has annual revenues of more than $500 million.

“Dentists and dental team members should know that it is business as usual for any dental products with the Kodak brand,” Hirschland continued. “Our customers can rest assured that Carestream is a strong, growing, and profitable company.”