Group Function: Introducing BufferPro with Julie Charlestein and Paul Mondock

[00:00:01] This is a production of the Very Dental Podcast Network.

[00:00:12] First, you take a group of very dental people. Then you add some interesting topics and a few microphones. Finally, add some laughs and collegial good cheer and you get the Group Function Podcast.

[00:00:24] Very Dental people, welcome to another episode of the Group Function Podcast, which means I have more than one guest with me.

[00:00:30] This is a very exciting episode for me. So, the first thing I want to do is introduce my guest host.

[00:00:37] And today I'm bringing on, the first one has been on the show, it's been a little while actually. Typically we would sit down with her at trade shows.

[00:00:44] This is Julie Charlestein from Premier Dental. Julie, how are you doing?

[00:00:47] Hi, great. Thank you, Dr. Mead. Very excited to be here.

[00:00:50] Yeah, it's nice to have you back. And this is the first time we have Paul Mondock from Septidont. Paul, how are you doing?

[00:00:55] I'm great. Nice to meet you.

[00:00:57] Yeah, so I'm going to, you guys are going to tell me a little bit about why you're, why you would be on the same podcast together in a second.

[00:01:03] But I just, I want to rave a little bit about, I love both your companies and I use, I use, there are products from your companies that I literally use multiple times a day, every day.

[00:01:13] So, Julie will not be surprised to hear that I am literally, since I started scanning instead of, instead of mostly polyvinyl impressions, I use Traxident like multiple times a day, every day.

[00:01:25] It's, it's, it is literally, I mean, it is the one, you know, my assistants, I, I sometimes throw them for a loop asking for something weird.

[00:01:33] But the one thing that they always have on the tray, if it's, if it's some kind of something I'm going to take an impression of, it's always Traxident.

[00:01:38] I use, I use your, your cord as well.

[00:01:40] But I honestly, a lot of times I can skip the cord with Traxident.

[00:01:44] So I love that stuff.

[00:01:45] So I'm a big, I've always been a big fan of Premiere.

[00:01:47] I use a lot of your stuff, but, but that stuff I literally use every day.

[00:01:49] And I use, I use this, the, the ones that fit the little compule ones, the little ones.

[00:01:54] I have used the tube, but I'm telling you what, the single use is just for my office.

[00:01:59] It's frigging perfect. Huge Premiere fan here.

[00:02:03] Thank you.

[00:02:03] Now, I've never actually talked to anyone from Septidon, but I'm also obsessed with something.

[00:02:07] You're going to be surprised to hear this.

[00:02:08] I have, I'll bet I have six or seven Periject syringes in my office.

[00:02:14] What do you think about that, Paul?

[00:02:16] Have you heard anyone obsessed with it like that before?

[00:02:18] Yeah, maybe not that much, but that's pretty good. I like it.

[00:02:23] Okay. So here's the thing.

[00:02:24] If I'm going to touch tissue at all, or if I'm going to place a rubber dam, I use, I use an extra short needle with the Periject.

[00:02:33] And the Periject is just a PDL syringe, but you know, the PDL syringes that you probably learned about in dental school literally look like a handgun.

[00:02:41] They create a bunch of pressure and it's awesome.

[00:02:43] Well, the Periject is, I call it the pencil.

[00:02:46] When I ask for the pencil, they know what I want because it's pencil shaped.

[00:02:48] And it's not nearly as intimidating to look at for the patient, but also it works like a charm.

[00:02:53] So I use it like anytime I want a numb tissue, I am a huge fan.

[00:02:56] So I literally, I have them all the time.

[00:02:58] I have them on almost every tray, huge fan.

[00:03:01] So you'll be, you know, when I heard you guys are starting to work together on a project, I thought that was very interesting because I've got like literally, you're on my tray already.

[00:03:11] Let's just say that.

[00:03:12] I'm curious what brought the two companies together?

[00:03:16] Who wants to start with that question?

[00:03:19] I'll chime in.

[00:03:20] We are so jazzed about this partnership and product and really the possibility and potential for the marketplace, really for the dentist and for the patient.

[00:03:32] So Premier is inspired solutions for daily dentistry, which means that we develop product that the oral health professional, the dentist and hygienist are using day in and day out on their trays.

[00:03:44] And SeptuDot makes pain-free dentistry possible.

[00:03:47] And that, those two things are what brought our companies together for this incredible new innovation, which is called BufferPro.

[00:03:55] So Premier developed this product called BufferPro, which is a new buffering delivery system.

[00:04:04] And we said, and you test it in the market and everything like that and all the science great and all the response is great.

[00:04:11] And we said, this is really going to be a game changer.

[00:04:15] This product is going to be a game changer.

[00:04:18] Who would be a really perfect partner to bring this to the market with?

[00:04:24] Premier is not in anesthetics.

[00:04:25] And we said, okay, we want to make sure that this product is being launched in the most effective with the greatest depth and breadth possible.

[00:04:34] And we said, you know, SeptuDot with that making pain-free dentistry possible, their leadership position.

[00:04:39] And also, you know, Paul and I go back a long time.

[00:04:45] We said, you know, this would be the perfect marriage to ensure that this product is getting the exposure and the usage that it should.

[00:04:57] Yeah.

[00:04:58] You know, this is maybe our first, but it's not our first try.

[00:05:03] We tried to get together to find some synergies between – we're close.

[00:05:09] We're close in terms of where our two companies are located.

[00:05:13] So we've known each other for quite some time.

[00:05:16] So we tried to get together to kind of find if we had any synergies.

[00:05:21] Ah, this might have been five years ago where we met together in your office, Julie.

[00:05:25] And so being the pain management leader, you know, the concept of buffering is kind of cool for us.

[00:05:36] We're excited by it.

[00:05:39] And we've tried to develop our own products over time.

[00:05:44] And so we had a couple of different attempts.

[00:05:47] We may have started in like 2008 with our first design.

[00:05:53] We couldn't move it forward.

[00:05:55] We started with a new brief, which is – I would say that our next brief is the product that actually Julie designed, Julie's team designed.

[00:06:05] And we couldn't get it to the finish line.

[00:06:08] And so when we saw the product that Julie's organization was bringing to market, we thought it was brilliant.

[00:06:20] It was brilliant.

[00:06:21] It was exactly what we would have hoped for in a buffering product.

[00:06:27] And so then it came down to can we find a path forward to work together.

[00:06:33] So I'm so happy we're able to do that and looking forward to the big things to come.

[00:06:39] All right.

[00:06:39] So I'm going to just jump in here.

[00:06:41] For listeners who are, you know, practitioners that give anesthesia, dentist, hygienist, that sort of thing, buffering is basically – I mean, I'll throw this to you guys.

[00:06:51] I have tried multiple buffering options on the market, and it never really stuck with me.

[00:06:57] And I'm going to tell you in a little while why the things that didn't really work for me.

[00:07:01] But why would someone want to buffer anesthesia?

[00:07:03] Who wants to jump on that one?

[00:07:05] Yeah.

[00:07:06] I'll take that one.

[00:07:07] That's more – I mean, we're the pain management experts.

[00:07:10] We like to think it's septodont.

[00:07:12] And so I'll cover that one.

[00:07:15] But, you know, buffering didn't begin in dentistry.

[00:07:19] It started probably in healthcare and was primarily due to when healthcare providers were injecting local anesthetics.

[00:07:30] The stinging and the burning was impacting the patient.

[00:07:33] So knowing that if you buffer it to a more neutral pH, you would eliminate that problem.

[00:07:42] Healthcare providers have been doing this for years and years.

[00:07:45] Dentists have started doing some of the buffering themselves and started as a DIY process.

[00:07:53] There are a couple of other products that have been introduced since that time.

[00:07:58] But still, DIY is probably the most used approach for buffering today.

[00:08:05] So dentists who are buying sodium bicarb, going from a vial to a cartridge, mixing the two together.

[00:08:11] And so that's the most popular way.

[00:08:15] But the reasons that it helps dentistry is that it helps in that same way that it does healthcare providers.

[00:08:22] It takes away that stinging or burning sensation when you're injecting a local anesthetic.

[00:08:29] So that's first and foremost patient comfort, patient care.

[00:08:33] The next thing it does is that in neutralizing the pH to 7 or slightly above, what you're doing is you're speeding up the body's natural progression to start the anesthetic working.

[00:08:49] So the onset tends to be faster.

[00:08:52] And if you have a process in your practice where you're looking to gain efficiency, that could be taken advantage of in the office.

[00:09:03] But the other real thing, and there are studies out there concluding that buffered local anesthetics have a 2.29 times likelihood of achieving better successful anesthesia.

[00:09:17] You know, that's the other thing.

[00:09:19] So just better results in getting that patient numb is included in the mix.

[00:09:25] It's hard to argue with because, I mean, on some level, like there's certain anesthesia that's a no-brainer a lot of times, infiltration type on the upper, that sort of thing.

[00:09:34] But let's be honest, if you're blocking inferior alveolar nerve block, sometimes you miss those.

[00:09:39] Yeah.

[00:09:39] And sometimes it's an anatomic thing, but the reality is if this is going to help, it does make a lot of sense.

[00:09:46] And my understanding is it's faster, but it's also more profound, deeper anesthesia.

[00:09:52] So maybe you use less anesthesia perhaps, too, is what I've heard as well.

[00:09:56] Yeah.

[00:09:57] Could be the case.

[00:09:58] Could be the case.

[00:09:58] I'm not a big guy for less.

[00:10:00] I'll be perfectly honest, says the guy with the periject.

[00:10:03] I go heavy.

[00:10:04] My patients would vouch for that.

[00:10:05] I'm not going to lie about that.

[00:10:06] But, I mean, it could be an option for someone.

[00:10:08] So basically buffering makes anesthesia kind of better on a bunch of different levels.

[00:10:14] And we've talked about it a little bit on the show before.

[00:10:16] What's interesting is that the products, you did talk about some of the products that are on there before.

[00:10:21] I'm curious.

[00:10:23] I had some concerns about the products.

[00:10:26] A lot of it is bench stability on some level.

[00:10:28] It was, you know, and I think you guys, the product you're talking about here may solve some of these problems.

[00:10:35] So how is the new product called Buffer Pro, how is that going to be different from what's currently on the market?

[00:10:41] And how does that improve on and fix some of the problems that people might have with it?

[00:10:46] It is going to be so different and so simple that you are actually going to be amazed.

[00:10:54] I love it.

[00:10:55] I love it.

[00:10:55] You know, I'll use Paul's word.

[00:10:57] And I can say this because I personally, Julie Charlestyn, did not develop it.

[00:11:01] But the amazing team at Premier did.

[00:11:03] And it is brilliant.

[00:11:05] And one thing that you just touched on is stability.

[00:11:08] This is stable.

[00:11:11] So it is stable.

[00:11:13] It has a long shelf life.

[00:11:16] But the main things, it is single use.

[00:11:19] Yes.

[00:11:20] Yes.

[00:11:20] That's what I was hoping for.

[00:11:21] Right?

[00:11:22] Give me a high five, Dr. Meek.

[00:11:23] Yes.

[00:11:24] Absolutely.

[00:11:24] Absolutely.

[00:11:25] So it is single use.

[00:11:27] So there is no measurement.

[00:11:28] There are no pieces.

[00:11:31] There are no parts.

[00:11:32] There are no connectors.

[00:11:34] So not only is it single use, but it's also single unit packaged.

[00:11:38] So you open one delivery system and it's about, I mean, is it like even an inch big?

[00:11:47] It's an inch big.

[00:11:48] That's it.

[00:11:50] So single use, no connectors, no adapters, no mixing.

[00:11:56] Okay.

[00:11:57] Fresh every time because it's packaged individually.

[00:12:01] Yep.

[00:12:01] So you don't need to worry about, oh my God, did I, you know, how much of this do I have

[00:12:05] left from my, you know, the last patient or from last week?

[00:12:09] And is it still good?

[00:12:11] Because I, you know, I haven't been looking at it.

[00:12:14] Um, and it also is appropriate for all currently available anesthetics on the market.

[00:12:21] So it doesn't have to, you know, it can go in all of them.

[00:12:25] It works with all of them.

[00:12:26] Cool.

[00:12:26] What?

[00:12:27] It works with all of them.

[00:12:28] That's the important.

[00:12:29] Works with all of them.

[00:12:30] Works with all of them.

[00:12:31] And, um, it's also a single step.

[00:12:34] So not only single use, not only single package, it's a single step.

[00:12:38] This one little delivery mechanism that is an inch long, big, just goes on the front of

[00:12:44] the cartridge.

[00:12:45] And there you go.

[00:12:46] No, when I first saw the product is just like, wow, this, this is the perfect design for, uh,

[00:12:54] buffering.

[00:12:54] Um, if you, if you had to, to create a brief for what would be the perfect delivery system

[00:13:00] look like, this is it.

[00:13:03] Um, and so we're, we're, we're excited.

[00:13:06] We're just so excited.

[00:13:07] I, uh, we were, uh, we were talking most recently when we spoke, uh, I said, ah, we can't wait.

[00:13:13] We can't wait to get this product to market.

[00:13:14] So we're, we're a couple months away, but we're, we're pumped.

[00:13:19] That's really cool.

[00:13:20] So hopefully we'll win on the podcast.

[00:13:22] I want to, I will, we'll keep following up with it.

[00:13:24] But one of the funny things that I noticed, so I have used, I think I've used all the

[00:13:29] commercially available systems, uh, and I, and then none of them stuck with me.

[00:13:32] Part of it was, okay.

[00:13:33] So you, once you, in one of them, once you, once you puncture the, the cartridge of, of

[00:13:38] bicarbonate, the timer starts.

[00:13:40] Yeah.

[00:13:40] So, so, you know, God help you if you open one of those on Thursday afternoon, cause you're

[00:13:46] done.

[00:13:46] That's it.

[00:13:46] You used one and you're not going to, you know, if you're not back, back in the office

[00:13:49] till Monday, you're probably going to run.

[00:13:50] And the other thing is, is like, I, I mean, there were some weird.

[00:13:55] To get your, the bang out of your buck, there's some weird incentives there for, you know,

[00:13:59] do you, do you use this for, I, it was, it was weird cause you didn't.

[00:14:02] So maybe you just want to use it in certain, certain techniques.

[00:14:06] Let's, let's say you're very confident.

[00:14:07] You're not worrying about, uh, you know, because you've used a, you use septicane in upper

[00:14:12] infiltrations.

[00:14:13] And you're like, I don't, I don't feel like I necessarily need the, the, the deeper profound

[00:14:17] anesthesia, but boy, in a block I want to use.

[00:14:19] So literally you're picking and choosing when you use it because it's a single use thing.

[00:14:23] You're not worried about, Oh my God.

[00:14:24] Do I, am I going to have enough to do this or whatever, which is really smart, smart move.

[00:14:28] And then clinicians can use it the way they find necessary.

[00:14:31] They can use it for every single injection.

[00:14:32] They can use it for certain injections.

[00:14:34] I get to, it sounds way more flexible than the current systems.

[00:14:38] I love that about it.

[00:14:39] And also it sounds like it'll work with whatever kind of syringe you want to use.

[00:14:43] Is that right?

[00:14:44] Absolutely.

[00:14:45] You know, I love the, the versatility as well.

[00:14:48] I mean, you have a sensitive patient, right?

[00:14:50] For sure, or a handicapped patient who's more sensitive to burning sensations and things like

[00:14:57] that.

[00:14:58] You can choose to use it just on a, uh, uh, use by use basis.

[00:15:03] Or I think what happened, what will happen is people will experiment a little bit with

[00:15:07] it.

[00:15:08] They'll start using it on particular cases and then realize, why am I just using it on just

[00:15:13] these few cases?

[00:15:15] I'm going to, I'm going to buffer most of the anesthetic cartridges that I use.

[00:15:19] Okay.

[00:15:20] So everyone's sort of been looking at buffering and saying, okay, we want to come up with

[00:15:23] the perfect solution.

[00:15:24] And, and even Paul mentioned earlier, Septodont's kind of been working on, on and off for a while

[00:15:28] on this.

[00:15:29] And then Premier comes up with this really cool delivery system.

[00:15:32] And, and so the question that I have is when it is available, what, who am I going to order

[00:15:37] it from?

[00:15:37] Like if I go, if I go into the catalog, where, what will I be looking for?

[00:15:40] Am I going to look for Septodont or am I going to look for Premier?

[00:15:43] Um, you're going to be ordering it from Septodont.

[00:15:46] Um, the product is co-branded because when you have the power,

[00:15:50] power of two such strong, well-known brands of Septodont and Premier, that is definitely

[00:15:57] something that you want to capitalize and reinforce.

[00:15:59] Um, so the sales will be made for Septodont, through Septodont.

[00:16:03] The product will be co-branded and, um, everyone will be talking about it.

[00:16:08] Yeah.

[00:16:09] Oh yeah.

[00:16:09] And we sell through distribution.

[00:16:11] So you would, you would just order the buffer.

[00:16:15] You'll order it where you're already ordering it.

[00:16:16] That's, that's a big deal too.

[00:16:18] Like that's a big deal too.

[00:16:19] Sometimes it's one of these things where you, you want it, you don't want to have to change

[00:16:21] too much of what you're doing with ordering.

[00:16:23] So if you're ordering, if you're already ordering your anesthetic products from someplace,

[00:16:26] you'll be able to order this as well.

[00:16:27] And I'll tell you that one of the beautiful things about the product, it's, it's so simple.

[00:16:32] It's, it's one SKU.

[00:16:33] It's a, it's a box of 25 individuals sterilized packaged buffer pros.

[00:16:40] And so it's not like you, you have to decide which, which product you're going to order.

[00:16:46] It's just one product that is available at the buffer pro box at 25.

[00:16:51] It's a, it's an, it's an elegant solution.

[00:16:55] When I, when I showed it, um, for the first time to, to Septodont, that was what they said.

[00:17:00] They're like, this is a very elegant solution.

[00:17:02] The simplicity is, is, um, it's, it's, it's somewhat unbelievable because of everything

[00:17:10] that you've seen in the marketplace as we were developing this also.

[00:17:13] We're like, oh, whoa.

[00:17:15] Um, so it's, it's, it's, it's very simple, very streamlined.

[00:17:20] That's really cool.

[00:17:21] Like, like the idea of taking what we know that works, because we do know that the buffering,

[00:17:27] there's advantages.

[00:17:28] I literally just had in my Facebook group, uh, listeners that are in the Facebook group

[00:17:33] will know this.

[00:17:33] I asked a question about it and I, I mean, in a half an hour, I had probably 20 answers

[00:17:37] of people who are, who like it.

[00:17:39] Some of them are doing it, uh, you know, with, with their own bicarbonate.

[00:17:43] Some of them have some of the systems and all this stuff, but there are, you know, you

[00:17:47] guys have basically taken something that works and made it more simple and more elegant.

[00:17:52] And I love that.

[00:17:52] I think that, I think that's going to go over pretty big.

[00:17:54] Yeah.

[00:17:54] I think not only are we going to help the DIY guys that are dentists that exist out in

[00:17:59] the world today, but we're going to bring buffering to a whole new network of healthcare

[00:18:05] providers.

[00:18:06] You guys, this was really interesting.

[00:18:08] And I believe that the listeners will find this sort of wetting their appetite a little

[00:18:12] bit.

[00:18:12] And like I said, so probably early next year, we'll be talking more.

[00:18:15] We're going to get on some KOLs who have had a chance to use it at that point, hopefully

[00:18:19] on the show so we can talk more about it.

[00:18:20] But, uh, and you know, if you have any questions or comments, maybe we can talk about it in

[00:18:24] the Facebook group.

[00:18:24] I'll let you guys know if we have any great questions from the listeners once, once you

[00:18:28] can, once we can dig into this stuff.

[00:18:30] This is very good.

[00:18:30] I really appreciate you guys being on.

[00:18:32] This was very cool.

[00:18:32] Thank you.

[00:18:33] Thank you.

[00:18:34] Thank you.