Dental News - For mixing tips, Sulzer Mixpac is your trusted source

Fred Michmershuizen / DTA

Mon. 30 November 2015

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NEW YORK, N.Y., USA: Sulzer Mixpac AG is the manufacturer of trademarked MIXPAC mixing tips that are used in two-component dental applications, such as impressions and cements. MIXPAC tips — which are recognizable by their distinctive dome shape and various colors — are designed to minimize waste while providing consistent results. Importantly, the company is known for adhering to strict quality-control measures and rigid cleanliness and performance standards at its factory in Switzerland.

Speaking during an interview on the exhibit hall floor during the Greater New York Dental Meeting, Sulzer Mixpac representatives warned that unscrupulous suppliers have been infiltrating the market with unauthorized, inferior product.

These counterfeit mixing tips, which often come from China or Korea, might look the same, but they don’t have the same quality and performance, said Michael T. Murphy, a U.S. attorney who represents Sulzer Mixpac in various patent and trademark enforcement actions. To date, Sulzer has been successful in enforcing its trademark rights, securing court actions and effecting seizures of goods at the border by U.S. Customs officials.

The company wants dentists to steer clear of these knockoffs and only buy genuine Sulzer product from reputable dealers.

“We believe that a well-informed dentist, once they understand the differences between Sulzer’s genuine product and the counterfeit product, will not risk their reputation by buying the counterfeit,” Murphy said.

“After all, 50 cents to risk the dentist’s reputation and the patient’s health and perhaps have a procedure that is not fully effective is something that a well-informed dentist will never do,” Murphy said.

There are additional risks with counterfeit, said Hans-Peter Brack, a senior patent attorney representing Sulzer in Switzerland. “We are very careful with the plastics that we source at Sulzer Mixpac,” Brack said. “The problem with some of these counterfeits is, who knows where they are getting these plastics from and what types of additives might be in these plastics — potentially toxic additives that can leach out as the components are going through the mixer and be transported potentially into a patient’s mouth. So that’s an additional health risk, besides the lack of clean room and so forth.”

Daniel I. Hwang, a U.S. patent attorney representing Sulzer, said that the company has heard of dentists purchasing counterfeit product online. “We even heard of one guy buying these off a truck and then reselling to dentists on eBay,” Hwang said. “But there are proper channels to get these products, and that is definitely the safest way.”

“Use established distributors,” Hwang said. “Don’t just jump on eBay and put your patients at risk.”

The good news, according to the company, is that there are a number of steps dentists can take to be sure they are buying genuine MIXPAC mixers. First, look for the Mixpac quality seal and trademarked logo, which identifies the tip as being Swiss-made. Be sure to buy from a reputable source, and avoid bargain hunting online.

Murphy summarized: “We are winning the battle on the legal front, but we are also reaching out to the dentists, because we know that if we can reduce the demand from the dentist for these copycat products, that that’s when we will ultimately make sure that only original and safe products are available for the customer.”

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