Taking a bite out of diabetes

Posted on July 10, 2012 by jmichaeldunn

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, more than 13,000 young people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile-onset diabetes) in North America each year.  Diabetes is a chronic disease among children, and an estimated 151,000 North Americans under the age of 20 have it.  European studies have shown an increase in frequency of Type 1 diabetes, especially among young children.  A cure may be on the horizon, and an important element may come from an unexpected place – teeth.

In 2000 National Institutes of Health scientists reported isolating stem cells from dental pulp.  Simply put, stem cells are special cells that can develop into different types of cells in the body.  The body uses them to help it grow and repair itself.  Because of their abilities to regenerate, stem cells offer important potential for treating diseases like diabetes and heart disease.  A study published in Regenerative Medicine in 2009 suggested that insulin-producing stem cells could be found in the periodontal ligament.  The implications were very exciting.  Could a non-controversial source, dental tissue, be used to harvest stem cells for treatment of Type 1 diabetes?

A recent study published in the Journal of Dental Research indicates the answer may be “yes”.  Researchers were able to harvest stem cells from baby teeth extracted due to management of crowding issues.  They were then able to culture these dental stem cells in a manner to transform them into cells similar to those in the pancreas which secrete insulin.  For more on the study, click here.  The study represents a significant step forward in developing stem cell therapy for diabetes.  Namely, it may be possible to turn stem cells from teeth into insulin-producing beta cells.

This is big news.  For the last few years, Provia Labs has offered the Store-a-Tooth program.  This service allows dentists to help their patients store and preserve baby teeth and other extracted teeth (e.g. wisdom teeth) for potential use in future stem cell therapies.  Just imagine a patient being able to use their own banked dental tissue to help treat or cure diabetes.  Very cool stuff!  And with promising research such as the studies mentioned earlier, it may be close to becoming reality.

Now, Provia Labs is putting their money where their mouths are.  They recently launched the Store a Tooth, Find a Cure initiative to help raise funds for diabetes research.  Provia Labs will donate half of their proceeds from each new sale to leading diabetes research organizations.  Hopefully with additional research and fundraising programs such as this, we will soon realize a cure for diabetes.  And with the promise of using stem cells from dental tissue, we may soon be able to take a bite out of many other serious diseases and conditions.

Author’s Note:  I have no financial or commercial interest in the company and services mentioned in this article.  I simply like to learn and write about cool happenings and companies in dentistry.

Posted in Dental, Dental Technology, Products | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Enough

Posted on June 20, 2012 by jmichaeldunn

I’m going to take a diversion from my usual dental & marketing commentary and go down a personal road…Frost’s “the one less traveled by” and all that jazz.  This post and the experience from which it is written owes much to Leo Babauta and his ideas expressed on ZenHabits.

In November, 2011 I wrote about escaping your comfort zone.  Then a month later, I did just that, both figuratively and, I suppose, literally.  We hired movers, packed up our belongings, and drove 4 days across the country.  We moved from beautiful, green Tennessee to hot, arid Arizona.  We were a two car family, but since one of them was quite old we elected to sell it rather than pay to move it or drive it across the nation.  From nearly the first day in Arizona I was intent on buying a car to replace the one we had sold.  However, we had moving bills to pay and other associated hassles that necessitated putting a car purchase on the back burner.

One of those hassles was getting our phone/internet/cable TV activated in our new apartment.  For some reason, only one provider services our area.  And to make matters crazier, cable TV & internet wasn’t an option – only satellite (DirecTV) and DSL.  We hesitantly contacted DirecTV.  No, we didn’t want the premium package.  No, we didn’t care that the premium channels were free for the first month.  No, we just want a basic package.  And no, we don’t want to call back in a month to convert our “free” premium package to the basic package that we just want to buy today.  To our dismay and bewilderment, the company was simply unwilling to grant our simple request not to take their “free premium channels for the first month” offer.  And we were simply unwilling to go through more hassle after one month to call back and try to convert to what we wanted in the first place.  Then the first light bulb came on.  Why did we even need cable (or satellite) TV in the first place?  We quickly subscribed to Netflix and bought a video streaming box.  Just enough for our television habits.  It somehow felt just a little liberating.

One big hassle down, it soon became time to address our transportation “needs”.  Namely, it was time to get that second car.  However, as time passed, and for whatever reason – trying to unpack & learn a new town, the realities of the new job, the energy sapping heat – I lost interest in getting a second car.  Then the second light bulb switched on.  We didn’t NEED a second car.  I had assumed that one car was simply not enough.  But we were able (due among other things to the proximity of our apartment to the office) to get by just fine with one car.  To my surprise, all it takes is some simple planning and communication.  Now, almost overnight, we’re a one car family.  And for us one car is enough.

Now other bulbs are starting to light up.  We don’t need lots of stuff and more things.  We’re working now to pare down other possessions like furniture and clothes.  By removing excess stuff from our living space, we’re finding that we’re also removing excess clutter from our lives.  This is helping us to focus.  This is helping me to cut out the noise, understand what I really value, and pay attention to what is important.

And with little effort over a short period of time what I once may have considered to be not enough was revealed under closer scrutiny actually to be too much.  I look forward to narrowing it down to just enough.

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Getting “Hands-on” with Facebook

Posted on June 13, 2012 by jmichaeldunn

In a previous post I wrote of my admiration for Hu-Friedy’s Nevi campaign.  Recently, DentalEZ caught my eye with their  Get “Hands-on” with DentalEZ Facebook photo contest.  Basically the contest gives entrants a chance to win a handpiece starter kit and a trip to the ADA 2012 meeting.  It seems to be aimed at dental students (more on that in a minute).  Entrants submit their best “hands-on” photo, dental or non-dental.  The winners will be based on votes from the Facebook community at large.  Entries will be accepted through June 30, 2012.

What I like about this contest:

  • It’s a nice use of Facebook, a refreshing change of pace from the quest for more “likes” for “likes” sake.
  • The prize, a trip to ADA 2012 in San Francisco.  Many people think dental trade shows are dead, but they don’t have to be.  Our industry and the various associations can (and should) work together to bring greater value to the vendors, the associations, and the participating dental professionals.
  • It is geared towards the 3rd and 4th year dental student audience.  This is a social savvy audience.  Targeting this group also shows an interest in the long-term.  It represents an investment in future sales and brand awareness.
  • It is a nice way to add some human interest to a crowded product category.

And a few things I don’t like:

  • The way it is presented is a little confusing at first.  Is it only for students?  How are winners selected?  Granted, there is a robust set of official rules and regulations.
  • Where’s the integration?  I haven’t really seen anything about it on Twitter or LinkedIn.  Is there an accompanying print element?  PR?  I’m not sure, and I could just simply be out of the loop.  Also, there’s gotta be a Pinterest angle here since we’re talking about a photo contest.
  • It seems there is a missed opportunity to involve other products (Identafi comes to mind).

All nitpicking aside, this is a nice social campaign for dental.  Kudos to DentalEZ for trying it and sowing seeds for the future with the student audience.

What do you think?  Are there other campaigns we should be discussing?  I look forward to your feedback and insights.

Author’s Note:  I have no financial or commercial interest in the company and products mentioned in this article.  I simply like to learn and write about cool companies and cool marketing campaigns in dentistry.

Posted in Dental, Marketing, Social Media | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment