Aug 5 (Reuters) - Henry Schein missed Wall

Street estimates for second-quarter profit and maintained its

annual forecast on Tuesday, due to softer demand for its dental

products in the United States.

Shares of the Melville, New York-based dental and medical

products distributor fell nearly 5% in premarket trading.

High interest rates and inflationary pressures have hurt

demand for non-urgent procedures such as orthodontic treatment

and higher-end restorative dental procedures.

The company said while its sales showed strong growth in

international markets, it recorded a slowdown in U.S. orders

beginning in May due to economic uncertainty from tariffs, but

sales returned to normal by the end of the quarter.

Henry Schein, which has seen declining revenue over the past

two years, has come under pressure from investors to diversify

its operations to better compete with larger distribution peers.

Private equity firm KKR in January took a 12% stake

in Henry Schein, becoming the largest non-index fund

shareholder, and reached a deal to add members to the company's

board.

Henry Schein reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted profit per share

forecast in the range of $4.80 and $4.94, and annual sales

growth of 2% to 4%.

"We expect 2025 to be the base year from which to grow and

achieve our previously provided long-term goal of high-single

digit to low-double digit earnings growth," CEO Stanley Bergman

said.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned profit per share of

$1.10 for the second quarter ended June 28, below analysts'

average estimate of $1.19, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Quarterly revenue came in at $3.24 billion, slightly above

estimates of $3.22 billion.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh

Kuber and Shinjini Ganguli)