Oct. 1, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the largest distributor of healthcare products and services to office-based practitioners, is joining with the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) to provide dental students and faculty with remote access to select live-patient continuing education courses held at the 2009, 2010, and 2011 ADA Annual Session and World Marketplace Exhibition. This groundbreaking education project, which kicks off at the 150th ADA Annual Session in Hawaii September 30 - October 4, will allow pre- and post-doctoral dental students and dental school faculty to view state-of-the-art clinical procedures that may not be typically available to them. Dental schools will be encouraged to show the presentations in the classrooms for groups of students, allowing the group to interact with each other and discuss the procedure.

"The ADA Annual Session has always been a showcase for technology that is advancing the practice of dentistry--technology that includes not only the revolutionary CAD-CAM, digital X-ray, intra-oral imaging and dental laser products on the exhibition floor, but also this state-of-the-art educational program, which enables dental students across the United States to benefit from demonstrations of procedures performed in Hawaii," said Tim Sullivan, President of Henry Schein Dental, the U.S. Dental division of Henry Schein. "Henry Schein Dental shares the ADA's and ADEA's commitment to enhancing dental education, and believes that this program will enhance the sharing of best practices throughout the dental community, which ultimately will benefit dental patients."

Dental students and faculty will be able to log-on and view the live-patient courses in the Education in the Round format, beginning with a 20-30 minute presentation by the lecturer that reviews the procedure and the patient's history. The procedure is then performed and images are displayed on large flat-screen monitors via inter-oral and hand-held cameras. The courses held at the ADA Annual Session will be shown in real time and remain accessible for 30 days post-event for viewing. The live Web site will allow viewers to interact in the course by asking questions of the presenters, which will be posted in real time and answered by the doctors. In addition, students can interact with each other by posting real-time blogs on the Web site.

"The ADA is excited to work with the ADEA on this unique opportunity, and appreciates the support of Henry Schein," said ADA Executive Director Kathleen O'Loughlin, D.M.D., M.P.H.