Reprinted from ADA News. Original Publish Date: January 7, 2019
Dallas — For more than 20 years, Dr. Lorin Berland spent time outside of his Dallas practice developing products to help denture wearers. But it took some help from the ADA — and a bicycle accident — to officially launch his company, Dr. B Dental Solutions.
One July morning in 2016, Dr. Berland was out for his routine morning ride when he struck a pothole, breaking his hand in seven places and injuring his knee and back.
Having already found some success with Dr. B Dental Solutions, the accident gave him the push he needed to sell his practice and make the company his full-time endeavor.
These days, Dr. Berland may be as busy as he has ever been. His line of Dr. B Dental Solutions products are sold online and in retail stores, including Navarro Discount Pharmacies, a division of CVS. With the help of his son, J.P., who helps manage the business, the company continues to expand and develop new products aimed at helping denture wearers and anyone who uses a removable oral appliance, including fixed implant full arch bridges.
Dr. Berland said a highlight of his more than 40-year membership with the ADA came in 2016 when two of his products, Adhesadent Denture Adhesive and Cleanadent Wipes, were awarded the ADA Seal of Acceptance. His Cleanadent Paste earned the Seal in 2018.
"The ADA Seal of Acceptance is the gold standard for evaluating the safety and efficacy of dental products," he said. "It cannot be bought, only earned after the careful consideration process. Having the Seal on my products is very important to me and, I hope, to the people I want to reach."
When the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs' accepts products to receive the Seal, it means the products' manufacturers have met clinical and/or ADA laboratory requirements, in addition to ADA and American National Standards Institute-approved dental standards, when applicable, said Jamie Spomer, Ph.D., director of the ADA Seal of Acceptance program.
Dr. Berland, a graduate of the now-closed Loyola University School of Dentistry in Chicago, said he became interested in dentures and cosmetic dentistry as a boy surrounded by grandparents with bad teeth.
"They all had dental problems," he said. "My grandmother used to corner me in private, show me her remaining teeth and the partial dentures and say, 'Lorin, if you were a dentist I would still have all my teeth!'"
The message made an impression, motivating a teenaged Dr. Berland to find a job at a dental lab in Chicago. He started out mopping floors, he said, but gained the trust of technicians who let him help out with making molds. After three years of part-time work there, he mentored with a Chicago dentist, again working frequently with dentures.
"Working with denture patients is when I really fell in love with dentures, seeing firsthand what a huge difference new dentures can make for someone," he said.
Following his general practice residency, Dr. Berland opened his Dallas practice, specializing in cosmetic dentistry including, yes, dentures. His drive for innovation ever present, he launched the Lorin Library Smile Style Guide, a tool to help patients understand their options for the appearance of their smile. He was also an early adopter of the spa dentistry concept, which he helped develop as part of his goal to bring greater comfort to patients in a dental setting, he said.
As a clinician spending so much time with denture wearers, he heard regular complaints about dry mouth, the messiness of denture adhesives and the problem of chronic infections due to the prevalence of pathogens that colonize on oral appliances, he said.
Looking to ease some of his patients' difficulties, Dr. Berland said he started tinkering with adhesive formulas, whipping up concoctions at home. Not a denture wearer himself, he worked with willing patients, local labs and fellow dentists to help develop them.
Realizing he would need some guidance to meet regulatory requirements and market the products broadly, he remembers sitting at his desk one day in 2012 and wondering where to turn for answers.
"Sitting there on my desk was a copy of the The Journal of the American Dental Association. I thought, 'Why don't I just call them?"
A now-retired staff member with the ADA Science Institute took his call and "in less than five minutes, he knew right where to send me," said Dr. Berland. "That was when things really changed. The dream started forming into reality."
Dr. B Dental Solutions was born and fours years later — the year of the bike accident — the first of his products launched and earned the Seal.
Today, five products from his line are available, and more are in the works, including a soft toothbrush designed for use on dentures and gums. He is seeking the ADA Seal of Acceptance for all of them.
"All of the products I have developed came as a result of listening to my patients," he said.
"This is just the beginning," he said, adding that being able to bring comfort and peace of mind to patients through his products is his essential goal. "In practice I could only help one person at a time; now I can help many people every day."
For more information about Dr. B Dental Solutions or to review his products, visit DrBDentalSolutions.com. For more information about the ADA Seal Program, including a complete list of products with the Seal, visit ADA.org/Seal.
← Older post Newer post →