SOUTH BEND, Ind., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Heraeus Kulzer, LLC, the worldwide leader in dental esthetics, announced that its Venus White line of teeth whitening systems made its largest annual donation ever to breast cancer research in 2011.  For the third consecutive year, a portion of the proceeds from sales of Venus White was donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Funds generated in 2011 brought Venus White's three-year total contribution to over to $120,000.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization to increase mammography rates, the death rate from breast cancer has declined since the organization's founding in 1985. There is still much work to be done, however:  the National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2011 over 231,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and that almost 40,000 women will die of the disease.

"Our company has a proud tradition of philanthropic support, and breast cancer awareness is one of the causes that is nearest and dearest to our hearts," said Amy Holmes, Heraeus Product Manager for Venus White.  "Directly or indirectly, breast cancer affects virtually everyone, including our employees, the dental practices and laboratories that use our products, and their patients.  We are passionate about helping to transform lives at Heraeus, and one way we do this is through our ongoing support of breast cancer research."

The Venus White line includes three levels of patient-friendly teeth whitening systems sold through dental practices:

• Venus White Max: an in-office whitening system for brilliant results in about an hour.
• Venus White Pro: a high-performance take-home whitening system for use with custom trays.
• Venus White Ultra: an entry-level and recently improved take-home whitening system composed of disposable pre-filled whitening trays that offers unique practice building opportunities.

Venus White is the only brand to offer three levels of whitening through a national network of dental distributors and has quickly become the #1 selling whitening brand through distributors.

About Heraeus

Heraeus, the precious metals and technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company with 160 years of tradition. Our fields of competence include precious metals, materials, and technologies, sensors, biomaterials, and medical products, as well as dental products, quartz glass, and specialty light sources. With product revenues of euro 4.1 billion and precious metal trading revenues of euro 17.9 billion, as well as more than 12,900 employees in over 120 subsidiaries worldwide, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets.  

SOURCE Heraeus