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First law of dentistry: Any innovation that does not increase dentist margin, will not reach market. To expand on this argument. I think even medical health ca
by wjnc 1y ago
First law of dentistry: Any innovation that does not increase dentist margin, will not reach market.
To expand on this argument. I think even medical health care is more open to innovation that mainly benefits consumer health. Doctors are kind of oblivious of the cost of procedures. This has a host of other problems, but at least innovation and health outcomes are aligned (and less aligned with cost). Dentists are massively private equity owned where I live. Bottom line is everything. You notice that where you’re in the chair. Six minute procedures (the billing time) always take seven. Kids are state insured and always get upsold to whatever procedure is fashionable (or should I say: has the highest margin). I have a strong feeling innovations are swallowed up and shelved in this sector. It makes sense for the PE to kill innovation once you have a market cornered.
The only thing this anti market rant (not my usual spiel) does not have is an explanation for how PE coordinates the suppression of innovation. I should look into the owners of the parties that deliver the dentist supplies and machinery. That would be the best way to corner a market, by owning the supply chain as well.
- throwaway290 1y agoFluoride based toothpaste does not increase dentist margin though right? > toothpaste is usually self-administered haha very funny. this is a toothbrush, unless you have someone brush your teeth it is always self administered
- throawayonthe 1y agotoothpaste is usually self-administered haha
- amelius 1y agoThis could be an innovation: toothbrush with built-in toothpaste dispenser.
- Someone 1y agoAlready a product, typically/always marketed as a travel toothbrush.
- meindnoch 1y agoFrom 2011: https://techcrunch.com/2011/03/22/actually-a-good-idea-toothbrush-with-built-in-toothpaste/ https://techcrunch.com/2011/03/22/actually-a-good-idea-tooth...
- amelius 1y agoNice find. However, I'm using an electric toothbrush. And the dispensing could be more automatic.
- meindnoch 1y agoOk, then: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nest-brush-self-dispensing-electric-toothbrush#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nest-brush-self-dispensin...
- tdeck 1y agoI swear I had a toothbrush with a knob that dispensed toothpaste - AquaFresh I think - in the 1990s/early 2000s. But it's the kind of ephemeral product I can't find any record of.
- wjnc 1y agoFirst introduced in 1914! Suppressing a current practice is way harder than suppressing an innovation via buy-and-die.
- throwaway290 1y agoTrue.
- yanko 1y agoFluoride as ingredient is questionable for human heath despite of what the marketing spread
- OKRainbowKid 1y agoDo you have any reputable evidence that fluorinated toothpaste is harmful (assuming normal usage)?
- m101 1y agoThis is not exactly your point but, there is data for fluoride not being good for pregnant women. Because of how ubiquitous fluorinated toothpaste is the argument for adding it to water supplies is significantly reduced.
- throwaway290 1y agoI heard something about fluoride and gut, don't know if pseudoscience. Anyway benefit to teeth is more important
- ceejayoz 1y ago> Fluoride based toothpaste does not increase dentist margin though right? I mean, that's under attack now. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/g-s1-59452/hhs-rfk-fluoride-drinking-water-epa https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/g-s1-59452/hhs-rfk-fluoride-d... "The Department of Health and Human Services is directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make new recommendations on the addition of fluoride to U.S. water sources. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the fluoridation of water for a number of health problems."
- MyOutfitIsVague 1y agoI don't care for the current admin nor RFK Jr, but this is a bit disingenuous. Floride toothpaste and floridated drinking water are different things, and RFK hasn't said anything about attacking the former. This jab doesn't have anything to do with the discussion at hand.
- ceejayoz 1y agoFearmongering about fluoride is unlikely to stop at the water supply. RFK has already made moves in this direction: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-remove-fluoride-supplements-used-to-protect-kids-teeth https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-re... > The products targeted by the FDA are sometimes recommended for children and teens who are at increased risk of tooth decay or cavities because of low fluoride in their local drinking water. They usually require a prescription from a pediatrician or dentist. Fluoride-based tablets and lozenges are designed to be chewed or swallowed. Companies also sell drops for babies and infants. And other politicians: > Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into the marketing of fluoride toothpastes by Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble. A press release from his office described the companies’ promotions as “misleading, deceptive and dangerous.”
- elcritch 1y agoIt’s not fear mongering if fluoride actually does have negative effects. Well AMA just published a meta-analysis this year linking high fluoride level in drinking water to neurotoxicity in children and lower IQ. While there’s insufficient data to say it’s neurotoxic at the recommended levels it doesn’t seem unlikely. Rather it should be required to be proven safe first. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/com... > The NTP monograph concluded, with moderate confidence, that higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter, are associated with lower IQ in children. The NTP review was designed to evaluate total fluoride exposure from all sources and was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoridated drinking water alone. It is important to note that there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.
- breezeTrowel 1y agoDespite the headline, this is not a toothbrush. This is a "toothbrush-shaped ultrasound transducer". Mind you, I don't know why this wouldn't "increase dentist margin". This is an analysis tool that makes dentistry easier (just like dental X-rays).
- ErrorNoBrain 1y agothis is just a product that is easier to use? i dont see why it couldnt reach the market
- lofaszvanitt 1y agoI think most of the people do not even know how much calcium or other supplements they need on a daily or weekly basis to keep their teeth healthy.
- amelius 1y agoCan you point to the research?
- lofaszvanitt 1y agoReading comprehension? "I think..."
- nartho 1y agoIn your sentence, "I think" refers to people knowing what supplements they need to keep their teeth healthy. What @lofaszvanitt was asking was for more information about those needed supplements, not whether or not people knew about them
- lofaszvanitt 1y agothe quack geese told so, yeah
- jampekka 1y agoMy favorite conspiracy theory stuff are the multiple unused caries vaccine patents by the dental care industry.
- foolswisdom 1y agoDo you mind picking to some of these? I did a quick Google patents search but didn't find anything.
- jampekka 1y agoColgate Palmolive 1973: https://patents.google.com/patent/US3931398A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US3931398A/en Merck & Co 1979: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4287173A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US4287173A/en Lion Corp 1983: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4693888A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US4693888A/en In all likelihood these just didn't work, but the commercial interest to not have caries immunization is just too juicy not to theorize!
- eru 1y agoInteresting, all of the ones you cite are older than 20 years, so the patents should have long expired and should be free for anyone to bring to market?
- WalterBright 1y agoIn the 1970s it was all the rage that there were patents on 200 mpg carburetors, but the oil companies bought the patents in order to suppress those carburetors. I asked my dad about it (career Air Force). He laughed and said that gasoline consumption was a major logistics problem for the military. If there were 100 mpg carburetors, the military was going to use them, and to hell with any patent blockade. (Note all the problems the Germans had in WW2 when the US severely damaged their oil refineries.)
- 1970-01-01 1y agoI would not be too sure of this with current administration upheaval. The health system is broken in bad and good ways now. If you build it, it can succeed much to the chagrin of well paid dental 'experts'
- TheJoeMan 1y agoI understand the negative outlook, but consider that this invention, being less-invasive, could be a draw to some patients. With the saturation of dental offices, some are trying to position themselves as higher-end "spas" with gentle-touch services and/or for people with sensory issues. So it's not just margin, it can also be market-share oriented.
- infecto 1y agoI am a big believer in this. Dentistry is one of the largest grifts in modern medicine, I would put it up there with Chiropractors. Go see 5 dentists and you will get 5 wildly different opinions. I am certain there are good ones out there but it’s way too hard to evaluate. Unlike other areas of medicine it’s also one of those frustrating areas because there are interesting devices, pastes and tools that should be easy to purchase but are locked behind the gates of a prescription.
- cyberax 1y ago> Unlike other areas of medicine it’s also one of those frustrating areas because there are interesting devices, pastes and tools that should be easy to purchase but are locked behind the gates of a prescription. I have had a lot of dental work done, including 4 implants. But I don't remember a _single_ dental prescription-only item.
- Clamchop 1y agoI've had at least three prescription dental products: Fluoride lacquers (can cause fluorosis supposedly so not without risk), chlorhexidine antiseptic mouth rinse, 3M Clinpro 5000 toothpaste (high fluoride again). I've had only a quarter as many implants so I guess it just depends.
- infecto 1y agoSince you have never experienced it, it therefore does not exist. I have purchased specific pastes from Japan that are OTC there but not in the states, prescription only. I also use a dental appliance at night mid 4 figure costs, it’s 3d printed, the office uses a scanner to create the cad or equivalent to print. Very little hands on but huge margins. Very hard to to find a doctor using a brand I like and even then the dentist does little to nothing in the whole process.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]