digoDent
What is digoDent ?
Therapeutic supplement to improve gum health. Lab proven technology to combat side effect of common drugs prescribed to treat serious disease.
What is DIGO, Drug Induced Gingival Overgrowth
DIGO is a side effect of commonly prescribed drugs such as anti-hypertensive CCBs, anti-convulsants and immuno-suppressants. About 20 million patients, 6% of the U.S. population, are currently prescribed those medications and are at risk of DIGO. About 1 million patients in the U.S. are currently afflicted with DIGO.
DIGO causes both physical and psychological problems. Gingival overgrowth is where the gums grow due to fibrosis, it can completely cover the teeth, interfering with chewing and speaking. Overgrowth of the front teeth is common in hypertensive and transplant patients which can displace and destroy affected teeth. Overgrown tissue creates pockets that are difficult to reach with brushing or flossing, leading to plaque buildup, infection, cavities, periodontal disease, halitosis and systemic infections. DIGO can also lead to depression, anxiety, fear, and pain, especially when it causes aesthetic problems on the front teeth.
Current Solutions
Scaling, root planning, gingivectomy and periodontal flap surgery are procedures that are currently used to treat DIGO. However, those surgical approaches have limited efficacy as the DIGO can reoccur within months or even weeks. At this time there are no drugs to treat or cure DIGO.
Statistics show that complete scaling for DIGO costs about $900 per treatment and requires an average of four times per year. Gingivectomies typically cost between $500 and $1500 and they too are temporary solutions.
Our Approach
We have developed an alternative approach to treat DIGO. Our benchtop protocol has successfully demonstrated proof of principle and efficacy. We are now working on increasing throughput by developing a sustainable, cost-effective, FDA compliant process to generate quality products for human clinical applications.
The first product to market, digoDent, has shown significant efficacy in lab tests to actively combat DIGO. All materials used in digoDent are FDA-cleared. Our approach provides a unique intellectual niche in compounding formulation and process, involving proprietary knowledge and methods that are patent pending.