Committed to Health

Sunstar Butler is dedicated to solving the problems hygienists and patients encounter in their efforts to achieve optimal oral health and therefore overall health. From the beginning, as the John O. Butler Co., the company was dedicated to oral health. Founder Dr. John O. Butler, a periodontist/educator in Chicago, developed a two-row, 12-tuft, wide-handled toothbrush that could actually reach the back teeth. Until Dr. Butler’s 1923 design, bulky toothbrushes of that day didn’t reach all the teeth. Dr. Butler’s innovation made him a pioneer of modern preventive dental care.

Today, Sunstar Butler continues its commitment to oral health through research, education and new product development. The company’s goal is to solve frustrating oral hygiene problems encountered by hygienists in practice and the general population at home. Sunstar Butler is on the forefront of educating clinicians and consumers about how improving oral health improves overall health.

I was recently invited to tour the Sunstar Butler offices and factory in Chicago and to meet Mike Bava, president of the company. Mike guided me through the factory, introducing me to the people responsible for product manufacturing and showing me how Sunstar Butler’s products are made. It was fascinating, especially watching in slow motion as toothbrush bristles are inserted into each tuft. I have a deeper respect for the people and the systems behind the products after seeing the precision and technology involved. Mike is proud of the company he’s been part of for the past 20 years. He connects with his employees in the factory. Not only does he know hundreds of employees by name, he meets with them on a regular basis to show his appreciation and to ask for their input and ideas. President Bava knows the company, its goals, its heritage and its history.

HT: Sunstar, John O. Butler and GUM. How do these three names all fit together?

MB: As you know, John O. Butler was the original company name. It was founded by Dr. Butler, a leader in the field of preventive dentistry. In 1949, Dr. Butler sold his company to a group that soon after expanded into both retail and international markets. In 1988, Sunstar Inc., a leading Japanese manufacturer of consumer health and oral care products, purchased the company. This merged two companies that shared the same dedication to oral health. In 2003, we began using the combined Sunstar Butler name.

Right now, Sunstar Butler sells over 200 dental products under the two brand names, Butler and GUM. Butler branded products focus on in-office, professional-use items, such as our recently introduced Butler NuCare Prophy Paste, prophy angles, and an expanding line of operatory products. The GUM brand features the industry’s most complete line of consumer oral hygiene products including a broad array of toothbrushes, flosses, innovative interdental cleaners, pain management products and more.

HT: I think many of us remember the John O. Butler Company and its innovations in toothbrushes. What drove those advancements?

MB: Back in the 1920s, toothbrushes were developed more for their looks, than how effectively they worked. From the very beginning, we’ve believed in the importance of professionally designed and developed products to ensure their clinical efficacy. Solving problems for clinicians and consumers is our goal.

HT: This early work happened before Dr. Bass developed the Bass Toothbrushing Technique. Correct?

MB: Yes, Trisha. Dr. Bass began his work at least 20 years after Dr. Butler opened his company. Dr. Bass showed that oral hygiene was related to dental caries and periodontal disease. He developed the Right Kind toothbrush and gave Butler exclusive rights to market it. The Right Kind toothbrush is still made and marketed by our company today. In fact, Dr. Bass’ theories served as the basis for the GUM Technique toothbrush. The unique handle design helps ensure the user holds the brush at the recommended 45 degree angle.

HT: Sunstar Butler has quite a heritage. I’ve always liked the GUM brand printed on the Sunstar Butler brushes; I believe it reminds people to aim the bristles into the gum tissue. Now you have a brush designed to help ensure proper brushing technique, which solves a problem faced by hygienists everyday. What drives these solutions?

MB: It is our dedication to oral health that fuels the research and product development activities. Commitment to this heritage is what also motivates us to educate consumers about the link between oral and overall health. This commitment is expressed in our motto, Healthy Gums. Healthy Life.

HT: I remember attending a Sunstar sponsored symposium on the perio-systemic link at the University of North Carolina in 1997. It was an exciting program presenting new research on the link between periodontal disease and systemic disease. Was this program the first of its kind on this topic?

MB: Actually Trisha, the UNC Symposium wasn’t the first. In 1986, Sunstar sponsored a much larger periodontal disease symposium in Japan. It was here that the mouth-body connection was first discussed, when Sunstar’s chairman, and CEO H. Kaneda, presented his belief about the potential links between oral and general health.

It was from that symposium and succeeding work that the UNC Symposium was developed. This symposium provided a forum for discussing research and theories among dental/medical professionals, focused on the emerging topic of the perio-systemic link.

In 2002, Mr. Kaneda and Sunstar again sponsored a Global Symposium in Geneva, Switzerland which brought together researchers from around the world to discuss the most recent research advances concerning the oral health, systemic health link.

The Sunstar Company has long been interested in the oral-systemic health link, its implications for new product development and its application to daily oral hygiene. Today, Chairman Kaneda and the entire worldwide company are committed to developing products that lead to better oral health and consequently better overall health.

HT: I see the Sunstar Butler commitment in sponsorship of the perio-systemic link conferences and in the innovative new designs for interproximal cleaning tools. Your focus is definitely expanded beyond the toothbrush. What does Sunstar Butler envision for the future of oral health?

MB: The future for oral care is very bright. Awareness of the importance of good oral hygiene will continue to increase worldwide as new products solve more problems and achieving optimal oral health becomes easier and more convenient. Sunstar Butler will be there for dental hygienists and consumers.

HT: Hygienists around the world are educating people about the importance of good oral health and its impact on general health. The Sunstar Butler commitment to problem solving and researching the oral-systemic link makes our jobs easier. Thank you.

For more information on Sunstar Butler and its family of products go online to www.sunstarbutler.com.

Have a new product idea for dental hygiene?
Share it with Donna Radjenovich, RDH
Manager of New Product & Business Development for Sunstar Butler

HT: Donna, your position with Sunstar Butler as the Manager of New Product and Business Development sounds exciting. Tell me about your work.

DR: I’m involved with exploring and creating new product ideas and bringing them to fruition. It’s a team effort, and I work with various departments within the company. New ideas are screened to determine if such a product already exists and if not, can the idea be turned into something that really works. It’s exciting, challenging and always interesting.

HT: Besides your dental hygiene background, what else do you need to be effective in product development?

DR: It really helps to be a problem solver, who is interested in lots of different things. New product development requires that I look beyond what we already have to see the potential for new ideas. It’s about identifying problems and solving them for both hygienists and consumers.

HT: Can you give me some idea of what hygienists can expect in the future from Sunstar Butler?

DR: New technology will drive the products of the future. We’ve addressed the tough interdental cleaning problems with the Proxabrush and Go-Betweens. We’ve created a less abrasive prophy paste that addresses the problem of sensitivity with NuCare prophy paste. Next month we will introduce an alcohol-free chlorhexidine rinse that just received FDA clearance. We will continue to solve the problems encountered by hygienists and consumers with high quality, innovative products. Hygienists are an integral part of dental practices and the main conduit of oral care information to patients. I want them to know we are here to help them achieve optimum oral health for themselves and their patients.

HT: Do you receive many ideas from would-be inventors?

DR: You would be amazed at the number of ideas we receive! To handle them, we have a formal review process.

HT: How long does it take to develop a product from initial idea to putting it in stores?

DR: As you might expect Trisha, product development varies considerably. If it’s a simple product improvement, it could be on the shelves in less than a year. On the other hand, if it’s an antimicrobial with health claims that require FDA approval, it can take several years.

HT: I know we have some very clever Townies who might have ideas for you. What should they do?

DR: They can submit their ideas directly to my e-mail for review at donna.radjenovich@sunstar.com. Inventors should also be pursuing the patent process, which can now be done online at www.uspto.gov. An online patent search can tell them if someone already holds a patent for their idea. It’s a good place to start.

HT: Donna, I’m excited to know a registered dental hygienist is working on new product development. It sounds like you and Sunstar Butler will be solving more problems in the near future. Thank you for your contributions to oral health.