Professional Courtesy: Earning Your Vote by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi

Why Townie feedback is so important in the TCAs (and beyond)

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, editorial director, Dentaltown magazine

This issue of Dentaltown includes several pages of featured products as a precursor to the Townie Choice Awards ballot release later this summer. Your participation in this annual exercise is appreciated, and critical to the goal of a representative accounting of the favorite products among Townies. This is also a natural opportunity to reflect on the evolution of a product coming to market.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting many fine dental companies over the past 20 years. In some cases, I’m there to learn about the newest and most advanced products available to dental consumers; other times, I’m there with a select group of dentists providing feedback on concepts or early prototypes. I think most of you would be very surprised to know the inner workings of getting a product to market.

The time spent to develop a product still shocks me at times. Companies must protect their ideas for years as they navigate the process from idea to final product. Many times, the prototypes that I’ve seen are still two years from final release. While the products may seem finished, there are many decisions that still must be made. There may be manufacturing issues to be solved, and of course there’s a need to design packaging and marketing materials … and the product needs a name.

Many people are involved in this process from start to finish and the pressure to be successful is present when that product hits the market. The cost of failure is high, considering the time and people involved with bringing a product to market. This is where you come into the picture: It’s your experience with the product and the comments you share online that can make a product successful. Some products have suffered greatly because users did not follow the directions properly. I mention this because this is one area of development that’s critical. Writing instructions for use sounds like a boring job, but the IFU is a critical document that must balance details with clear communication so the instructions are not ambiguous. The companies that do the best job in this area provide more than just a package insert written in 10 languages; they provide a card with stepwise illustrations of the procedure and various indications.

The FDA must be included in any discussion of product development. While a government organization seems like a speed bump in comparison to the rest of the process, it is often the FDA that provides the biggest hurdles and delays before launch. If you refer back to my column in April or have a look at my Twitter feed in March, you’ll see a number of finished products that were on display at the IDS meeting. For some, it will take an additional two years to navigate the regulatory steps required to sell a product in the United States. Safety and efficacy are critical for medical and dental products, but there are still many times that the process simply ignores logic and imposes bureaucracy in its place.

When you’re presented with the opportunity to complete your TCA ballot, please take the time to cast a vote. Your voice matters, and the many people involved with the development of that product need to know they did a great job. The great products with the biggest market share will usually win, but there have been many examples over the years of a great product with enough passionate fans to earn victory. Every product that receives votes has a user base willing to say, “This product works for me and I think it’s the best in this category.” Thank you so much for sharing your product feedback throughout the year and for taking the time to vote in this annual event.

You can share feedback on the digital version of this article at dentaltown.com or send me an email: tom@dentaltown.com. I’m on Twitter @ddsTom.