Periodontist forms interdental brush buyers' club

A Long Island, NY, periodontist has partnered with numerous interdental brush manufacturers to establish the Interdental Brush Buyers' Club (IBBC).

Formed by periodontist Paul Crane, DMD, the club utilizes software designed to provide dental professionals with a continuous supply of free interdental brush samples while encouraging the use of interdental brushes by patients through education, incentives, and availability at a discounted price.

Through partnerships with brush manufacturers including Sunstar Americas' Proxabrush GUM brand, Piksters, TePe, and StaiNo, the club offers a dentist- and patient-friendly Web store. Automatic shipments are encouraged so patients won't have to remember to buy them. Prescription pads are provided, making it easy to find the exact size and brand recommended by their dental professional on the club's website.

By recommending their patients to the IBBC website, dentists accumulate credits equaling 7% of their referred patient purchases. The shopping cart software links the patient with the referring doctor by the doctor's telephone number. Dentists can then log on to their secure personalized login page and trade their credits from referred patient purchases for office samples. They also have access to details of their patients' transactions to evaluate compliance. Credit and referral histories are clearly documented.

The IBBC allows manufacturers a no-cost opportunity to expand their marketing base and advertise to dentists and their patients. The website promotes participating brands with links to company information and enables distribution of their samples to dental offices, at no additional cost to the manufacturer.