Cambridge, MA, June 9, 2004---For the third consecutive year, Harris Communications won a prestigious Publicity Club of New England Bell Ringer Award for best national press release.

At a ceremony last night in Cambridge, MA, Harris was honored for a press release headlined "Rotational Oscillational Toothbrushes Best at Releasing Plaque, Gingivitis, According to Major Independent Review. "

The release was sent in January 2003 on behalf of The Forsyth Center for Evidence-based Dentistry and The Cochrane Collaboration--two nonprofit research organizations seeking to improve the quality of evidence used in dentistry.

The release, by company founder and president Anita M. Harris, described the results of a 37-year restrospective review of clinical trial results by the Cochrane Collaboration Oral Health Group, which is based in Manchester, England. The results were announced at a conference on evidence-based dentistry held in January, 2003, at The Forsyth Institute, in Boston.

The release garnered attention in at least 165 news outlets worldwide. It educated the public about about the best evidence on tooth brushing methods; led to industry initiatives to improve product testing methods; and resulted in $2M in financing for the Forsyth Center and for a demonstration project providing 1200 Massachusetts children with free preventive dental care.

Earlier this year, Harris Communications won an international Communicator Award of Distinction for the release.

In 2003, the company won a "Bell" for a national press release on a Forsyth team's success in bioengineering a mammalian tooth crown. The previous year, Harris Communications received the award for a national press release about Forsyth scientists' quest to produce a vaccine for dental cavities and, with Forsyth, won a Publicity Club of New England Merit Citation for a community service campaign.

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