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Judge Rules in Patent Lawsuit Against Discus Dental

Lawsuit Moving Forward on Claims Regarding Three Patents

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- (Nasdaq: BSML) -- BriteSmile, Inc. today announced that a Federal District Court Judge in San Francisco has issued a ruling that clears the way for BriteSmile to proceed with its claims of infringement involving the three patents in its lawsuit against Discus Dental. The ruling provided the definitive legal pronouncement as to the scope of the three patents. The lawsuit will now proceed on BriteSmile's charges of patent infringement by Discus Dental of U.S. Patent Numbers 6,343,933; 6,514,543; and 6,536,628 based on both the sale and the use of Discus Dental's Zoom!, Nite White, Day White and Excel products.

"We believe based on the recent ruling from Judge White that BriteSmile has valid patents that are being infringed by Discus. We look forward to the next steps of completing our discovery and bringing our proof to a jury," said Nhat Ngo, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for BriteSmile. Following discovery, BriteSmile will move for summary judgment to ask the judge to rule in its favor without the need for a trial.

"What is particularly alarming is that public statements made recently by Discus Dental amount to a gross mischaracterization of the facts of the case in an obvious attempt to confuse the dental community and market participants. In fact, Judge White's recent ruling was highly favorable to BriteSmile, providing a ruling on the scope of the remaining patents that leads to the inevitable conclusion that these patents are not only valid, but infringed by Discus," said Mr. Ngo.

BriteSmile brought suit against Discus Dental in Federal District Court in San Francisco, California in 2002 charging Discus Dental with unfair business practices and tortious interference under California state law, including targeting dentists with illusory and illegal marketing incentives.

A second suit followed shortly thereafter seeking an injunction and damages for infringement by Discus Dental of key patents owned by BriteSmile involving its proprietary light-activated teeth whitening technology using peroxide and photosensitizer compositions and patents involving a two component whitening gel.

BriteSmile's complaint was amended in 2003 by adding Salim Nathoo, BriteSmile's former Medical Director, as a defendant. The amendment states that Discus Dental paid Nathoo $2.5 million over less than a two-year period for "consulting" services, which included divulging BriteSmile's trade secrets. The lawsuit alleges further that in December 2002, a third party informed BriteSmile of Nathoo's activities, and that when confronted by BriteSmile, Nathoo admitted receiving $2.5 million from Discus Dental.

About BriteSmile:

BriteSmile has developed and manufactures the most advanced teeth whitening technology available, as well as manages state-of-the-art BriteSmile Professional Teeth Whitening Centers. BriteSmile was the first company to patent blue light technology to safely and efficiently whiten teeth. This proprietary system continues to be the only patented in-office blue light treatment available on the market. BriteSmile Centers are currently operating in Beverly Hills, Irvine, Palo Alto, Walnut Creek and La Jolla, CA; Houston, TX; Denver, CO; Boston, MA; Boca Raton, FL; Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Chicago and Schaumburg, IL; and, Phoenix, AZ. In addition to BriteSmile Centers, the Company has established more than 5,000 Associated Centers. Of the BriteSmile Associated Centers, more than 2,000 are located outside of the United States, in more than 75 countries. BriteSmile is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol BSML. For more information about BriteSmile's procedure, call 1-800-BRITESMILE or visit the Company's Website at http://www.britesmile.com .

SOURCE BriteSmile, Inc.

05/20/2005
CONTACT: Chris Edwards of BriteSmile, Inc., +1-925-279-2921; or Kevin Lamb of Coyne Public Relations, +1-973-316-1665, for BriteSmile, Inc.
Web site: http://www.britesmile.com