SULCUS ONE 

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One Row and One Mission – Healthy Gingiva!

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After we distributed tens of thousands of specially-designed orthodontic toothbrushes - to orthodontists and their patients, in an effort to reduce the incidence of decalcification, (a.k.a. “White Spot Lesions”), around braces, our founder – Dr. Salvatore DeRicco, surmised that strategically modifying his patented and award-winning orthodontic SPOT LESS BRUSH , (www.SpotLessBrush.com), which includes just one single row of bristles, (in order to most effectively fit around and behind braces), might provide an improved toothbrush for the care of dental implants and one's gums. As such, he researched currently-available toothbrushes and the work and teachings of Dr. Charles C. Bass (1875-1975) – a physician who has been referred to as “The Father of Preventive Dentistry”, (in the Journal of the American Dental Association), and who determined the importance of sulcular brushing (i.e. brushing into the crevice under the gum line) – in the 1940’s and 50’s. Dr. DeRicco also inquired of hundreds of dental hygienists - regarding their patients’ experiences with existent dental implant hygiene aids, while he demonstrated his orthodontic toothbrushes to them, at numerous dental conferences. He concluded that the term “The Bass Technique” (of toothbrushing) has been routinely and seriously misused - to describe brushing at a 45 degree angle to the sulcus, with virtually any toothbrush; that would be analogous to a football player crossing the goal-line with any kind of ball in his hand, and expecting to be credited with a touchdown - nothing could be farther from the truth! The reality is that Dr. Bass not only prescribed the angle at which it was to be used, but specified every fine detail of his “Right Kind” toothbrush, to be used at that angle, in order for it to be effective. That included the number of rows and tufts, the strategic spacing of the rows and tufts, (so only one row of bristles could access the sulcus - without (an)other(s) interfering with that access), the flexibility of the bristles, and the need for them to all be end-rounded and polished - to prevent trauma to the gum tissues. Dr. Bass’s “Right Kind” toothbrush was specifically designed for both sulcular and occlusal (chewing surface) toothbrushing – in the pre-fluoridation era, when dental caries/cavities were even more rampant than periodontal/gum disease. Unfortunately, their multi-purpose nature – for brushing both target areas, complicated one’s ability to master their use for sulcular brushing; as such, Dr. Bass would only distribute his brushes to individuals or dentists who he personally instructed in their use. Since the subsequent widespread use of fluoridation has dramatically reduced the incidence of caries, and since so many serious and even life-threatening diseases have now been determined to be associated with periodontal disease – including the likes of heart, lung, liver, and kidney diseases, diabetes, tumors, and, more recently, Alzheimer’s disease, and COVID-19 infection, (which is 9 times more fatal, in victims of periodontal disease), it’s clear that the need to prevent periodontal disease is at least as critical as the need to prevent caries. Further, in the present era of ever-increasing utilization of dental implants - often in positions with challenging access, and/or with their being obstructed by the very prostheses/bridges they support, and with peri-implant disease incidence ranging from 10-80%, according to research, the importance of maintaining healthy gingiva has become greater than ever before!  As such, Dr. DeRicco developed the IMPLANTCLEAN BRUSH™ (now re-named: IMPLANTCLEAN THE  WUNDERBRUSH™ FOR IMPLANT DENTURES)  - in the spirit of Dr. Bass’s gingival efforts and intents, to most effectively and predictably brush under implant-supported dentures and bridges, including around the implants, themselves, thereby making it foolproof!  THE WUNDERBRUSH FOR GUMS™ - a more universal periodontal sulcus brush, has now followed, to finally enable foolproof sulcular brushing, in what we have named The Perfected Bass Technique.  Both brushes are designed with vertically-offset heads – to most effectively access all implants and sulci. Our motto is:

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“SULCUS ONE: One Row and One Mission – Healthy Gingiva!”