SYRACUSE, NY-- With assistance from the NASA-funded Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP), entrepreneurial sisters Michelle Keib and Cindy Cooper received the clinical testing needed to market a sonic dental cleaning system on a major U.S. shopping channel.
SATOP provides free engineering assistance to small businesses with technical challenges through the expertise of the program's Alliance Partners - 50 aerospace companies and universities involved in the U.S. Space Program.
The sonic cleaning system discovered by Keib and Cooper is specifically designed for cleaning dental appliances such as dentures, retainers, partials and mouth guards. Dental apparatus are made of porous materials that contaminate over time due to a build up of calculus (a hardening of plaque).
"Not only do dirty dental appliances look unsightly, they can smell," said Cooper, who wore a retainer following a stint with adult braces.
After searching for something to effectively clean her retainer, Cooper found a product in Canada that really worked. "A couple of dentists had designed it for their patients, but they were not interested in trying to market it in the U.S.," said Keib.
Because the sonic cleaning system was so effective, the sisters decided they would create a name for the product - SonicBriteT - and try distributing it in the United States themselves.
"More than 85 million Americans wear a dental appliance of some kind," said Keib. "We knew there was a market for a product this amazing, we just needed to get it out there."
After a major TV shopping channel demanded slid proof that the product worked before they would air it, Michelle Keib decided to contact SATOP's Syracuse center and find out if the program had access to a resource that could help verify SonicBrite's effectiveness.
Unfortunately, no suitable Alliance Partners could be found.
"SATOP can't always find a solution for all our requestors," said Beth Bornick, SATOP New York director. "However, when we don't have an Alliance Partner who can help, we try to make a referral outside our Alliance."
Not the type to give up easily, Bornick contacted a friend in the dental industry who referred the project to the VA Medical Center in Bedford, MA. The colleague said the VA center would do the testing, and better yet, at no cost.
The testing process at the VA ended up being a win-win: not only did Keib and Cooper receive the positive clinical results they needed to move forward, but also the testing was conducted on the dentures of bedridden patients, who received sparkling clean appliances.
"They supplied us with a worst-case scenario and the SonicBrite worked brilliantly," said Keib.
While the sisters have a few more hurdles to jump, they feel that the tallest has been cleared. "Before we approached SATOP, we were going to have to pay $10,000 and wait six months for this testing," said Keib. "Beth really deserves the credit since it was her resourcefulness that allowed us to save time and money."
Now, the sisters are ready to go back to the network with their findings and hope to smile all the way to the bank. Said Keib, "We're just two entrepreneurial sisters that came together to create a company - it's the American way - and we couldn't have come this far without SATOP!"
