IN D'Zone, Inc., an Indiana based company, Launches New Dental Product:
Toothche' - TLC Protector
TM

Father & son Dentists, David & Scott Morgan, D.D.S., invent Toothche'
A new mouth guard to help protect patients from post-anesthetic oral trauma.

INDIANAPOLIS - March 21, 2008 - Everybody has experienced the common problem of post-anesthetic trauma (accidental biting) to some degree after a dental appointment. Since your mouth is numb, the possibility exists of biting your tongue, lip or cheek, which adds insult to injury after your trip to the dentist.

Dealing with this challenge everyday in their Pediatric Dental practice gave the father and son team, David & Scott Morgan, D.D.S., the idea to develop a product to protect their patients from accidental biting. The dental subspecialty of Pediatric Dentistry focuses on children's dental needs from birth to 18 years of age. Children are especially at risk of biting themselves after treatment. The name Toothche' - TLC Protector serves double duty, as it reinforces the devices primary purpose of helping to protect the TLC (tongue, lip, and cheek) with a little extra TLC!

"It really hit home one day when a parent passed me a note while I was treating her daughter, Tiffany. The note said, 'Please don't let my daughter bite herself.' From that point on, I started investigating and discovered that there weren't any products available to guard against accidental biting, so my father and I decided to design one," explained Dr. Scott Morgan

After years of research and product development, Toothche' is ready for market. David R. Avery, D.D.S., M.S.D. and former Chairman and Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Indiana University has reviewed the product and supports its use. "The Morgans took their real-world challenge and developed a great product to help their patients. Not only are they going to help their patients, I think Toothche' could become a Standard of Care in the dental community."

Before the invention of Toothche', dentists would use folded-up cotton gauze or cotton rolls, which don't provide a barrier between the teeth and the oral soft tissues and are not effective in addressing the biting problem. In addition to being ineffective, saliva soaked cotton is messy and children do not like how it feels, which makes it difficult to keep in place.

In less than sixty seconds, Toothche' can be formed around the teeth as the patient bites down and is kept in place until the anesthetic wears off. It comes complete with a tether that can be used to attach the Toothche', via a clip, to the patient's clothing, so it will stay close and ready for reinsertion should it accidentally fall out of the patient's mouth or the patient needs to remove it. Toothche' is a brilliant, simple and cost effective solution that answers a longstanding dental problem.

"Probably the most common complication from the administration of local anesthetic to dental patients, and especially to children, occurs from bite injuries to a patient's tongue, lips or cheeks following dental treatment. After five years of research and development resulting in Toothche', the Morgans' oral guard device addresses this issue. Toothche' can prevent tissue damage and prolonged patient discomfort from bite injuries following local anesthesia", remarks Dr. David R. Avery.

Research shows that 13% of all patients (ages 2-18 years) experienced post-operative soft tissue trauma and further reveals the prevalence to be as high as 18-20% amongst certain (younger and less cooperative) pediatric patients. Patients greater than 12 years of age experience self-induced oral soft tissue trauma about 7% of the time. *

For a cost that is less than a cup of coffee per patient, Toothche' can become a standard part of a dentist's everyday treatment regimen, which should change these statistics dramatically for the better. Kids and adults alike will have safe-guarded their mouths from their own teeth and saved themselves from unnecessary trauma (known in the dental profession as 'post-anesthetic oral soft tissue injury' or 'cheek biting' trauma). En Garde against Bites!

* Bilateral versus unilateral mandibular block anesthesia in a pediatric population. College C., et. al. Pediatr. Dent. 2000 Nov-Dec;22(6):453-7.