The New York Times

Bausch & Lomb Inc. said yesterday that it had reached an agreement to buy the Dental Research Corporation, a privately held manufacturer of dental plaque removers, for $133 million.

The sale marks the entrance into the dental care market by Bausch & Lomb, which is already the country's dominant eye-care company, with sales of more than $840 million in 1987.

Removal of plaque, the primary cause of gum disease, is thought to be the fastest-growing portion of the $2.5 billion domestic oral care market. Dental Research, which is based in Tucker, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, said its Interplak device, similar in appearance to an electric toothbrush, accounts for more than half of all oral irrigators and electric toothbrushes being sold.

Bausch & Lomb, which is based in Rochester, said that Dental Research's current management would be retained, and it forecast sales of its new oral care products to be $90 million in 1989.

Bausch & Lomb's shares rose 50 cents yesterday, to $43.125, on the New York Stock Exchange.

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