POH: Passion for Prevention By Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, BS, Editorial Director, Hygienetown Magazine

My interview with Robert “Bob” Jones, President of POH started with a video tape (originally a film strip) from 1960 entitled: Secrets of the Little World. The short film is almost 50 years old, but the message is as accurate today as it was then. It relates the excitement of the mysteries of outer space with the amazing world of bacteria in the mouth. A dentist uses a microscope to show a teenager the startling world of bacteria living in her mouth. We think “biofilm” is a new term, but it was used in this video. Bob remembers watching this film as a kid. His father was a recognized prevention specialist who was invited to speak to dentists and hygienists all over the world.

Bob inherited his father’s passion for educating people about simple prevention strategies, specifically preserving natural oral health through personal oral hygiene and preventing dental disease before it occurs. His father, Robert G. Jones, DDS, began his dental practice in the 1950s and soon became frustrated with the crown and bridge, drill and fill repairs of the ravages of dental disease. He suffered along with his patients, not being able to prevent dental disease. Bob remembers his father complaining of being only a well-paid gold jeweler, and not a man of science and medicine. Dr. Jones’ search for answers took him to Charles C. Bass, MD, the retired dean of Tulane Medical School, who was researching the cause of dental disease and the potential for prevention. Dr. Jones studied with Dr. Bass and was an early connection for Dr. Bass to the dental community. Dr. Bass had determined that toothbrush bristles needed to be soft, end-rounded, and no larger than .007 inch in diameter. The end rounding of bristles is essential for avoiding tissue damage. He also set exacting specifications for multi-filament dental floss.

Dr. Jones and 12 dentists formed a group called the Society for the Preservation of Oral Health. Membership into the Society is by invitation only, and is still going strong. The ideals set forth by this group changed the mindset of a lot of the world’s dentists away from repair and toward prevention. Bob is still as passionate about prevention as his father and Dr. Bass were many years ago.

HT: What was it like, growing up the son of Dr. Jones – dental maverick and prevention advocate?

RJ: As you can imagine, Trisha, with all your speaking trips, Dad wasn’t home much. One year, he was gone every weekend but two. When he was home, he would invite learned men to our house, where many evenings were spent in discussions that sounded like arguments. As a child, it was magical for me to witness these imposing men of science and medicine being so committed, so passionate, so loud.

HT: What was your role in the prevention business?

RJ: My sister and I were guinea pigs. We grew up brushing and flossing, or as Mom called it, BAFing, our teeth every night. Sometimes dad would be challenged at his lectures, so he would say to us, “Show ’em your teeth.” My sixth-grade science fair project was on brushing and flossing.

HT: You met Dr. Bass. What was he like?

RJ: To me, a 10-year-old at the time, Dr. Bass was scary and intimidating. He had the same effect on students, I’m told. The laboratory smelled astringent. He put me in his exam chair to watch me floss. He said I was doing it right. Dad was relieved. Dr. Bass insisted that dentists spend three weeks studying with him if they wanted to learn his theory and technique. He was adamant about prevention, and wanted others to take it as seriously as he did. Not many dentists would take the time to learn from him. If ever a movie needs to be made, it should be about Bass. There is an excellent book titled Charles Bass and the Bass Method by Wayne Lott, DDS.

HT: Where did Dr. Bass get his brushes?

RJ: It is my understanding that Dr. Bass acquired suitable brushes off the shelf, and then had students carefully polish the bristles on a whetstone. Dentists who studied with Dr. Bass were allowed to order brushes and floss from him.

HT: When did your father begin making toothbrushes and dental floss?

RJ: The company started in 1961. Dad and his colleagues needed more brushes and floss than Dr. Bass could supply, so Dad tried to get several companies to make toothbrushes and floss to Dr. Bass’ specifications. None would do it for him, no market demand, added cost, etc. so he started POH on our dining room table. Today we manufacture all our toothbrushes and floss here in Tulsa. My grandparents used to assemble floss. Their schedule was: come to town, get supplies, play with grandkids, go home, make floss and then come back the next week.

HT: I know many dental hygienists remember the little round container of POH floss they used in school. Why doesn’t anyone else make floss like yours?

RJ: Good question. The “engineered yarn” raw materials are out there, but nylon is difficult to extrude into tiny filaments, challenging to get the necessary twist in the floss, and also hard to keep on spools. We have custom machinery to wind the floss, and we assemble them by hand. Sometimes I hear “Your floss shreds on my teeth.” I always want to say, “Your teeth shred our floss. ” As a diagnostic, the cosmetic and aesthetic people love it. We market the floss because patients need it to disrupt and disorganize plaque.

HT: Are there differences between toothbrush bristles?

RJ: Sure. Thickness, the effective length of the bristle, the material. Nylon for POH brushes comes from Dupont and no other company. Quality is worth the higher cost, no compromise. Other nylon may be cheaper, but does not take a polish as well, and that is not for us.

HT: How can I tell the quality of toothbrush bristles?

RJ: It’s simple for one to test the nylon. Put a toothbrush, bristles up, under a book over night. The next morning, run it under water then see if the bristles rebound, ever. They should, if high-quality nylon is used. Look at a bristle tip under magnification. Are the bristles round and polished? Do you see what appears to be a sharp edge, or a fishhook, at the tip of the bristle? Micro-trauma from nylon is possible, which is one reason Bass insisted on this aspect.

HT: Bob, how did you get started in the business?

RJ: Other than as test subject? My first job was putting floss containers into cases, so I learned to count to 144 when the other kids were counting to 10. POH has always been a part of my life, on and off. I started full time in 1991, when my Mom asked me to “learn the books.” She was corporate secretary and bookkeeper. My wife, Terry, is the corporate secretary today.

HT: Percept black floss is a great way to show people how to wrap the floss around the tooth and to show plaque being cleaned off the tooth surface. Do you have any new products in the works?

RJ: Toothbrushes and dental floss are our thing. My commitment is to keep prevention simple and cost effective. Dr. Bass’ specifications are pretty tight, so not a lot of fluff is possible. Besides, if a patient doesn’t possess the knowledge needed to properly clean his or her teeth, a toothbrush is not going to do it for them.

HT: POH is a small company that has been around a long time, but other companies’ monthly advertising budgets are more than your yearly gross sales. How do you handle the pressure of the big companies?

RJ: Our competition is visible only through a microscope. Our competition is the disease process. Our mission is to help people clean and keep their teeth. My goal is to continue getting the message out, that dental disease is preventable.

HT: What is your message for dental hygienists?

RJ: Hygienists are at the front in a long battle that humanity has been fighting since way before recorded history. The fight against sickness, against pain, against suffering. The knowledge of personal oral hygiene they possess is paramount. Hygienists are the ones dealing with the frustrations of poor oral hygiene. I admire them in their daily battles in the good fight. Dental hygienists are professionals. As such, what do you profess? What is your message to your patients? The irritation of a grain of sand in an oyster leads to a pearl, a thing of great beauty. My dad dealt with patient non-compliance by putting a piece of irritation in that patient’s life. He would explain the reasons for personal oral hygiene, even going so far as to take a culture and let the patient actually see the life going on in their own mouth.

Dad was known to tell non-compliant patients, “You have exhausted my professional skills, and have refused my direction. I feel it would be unethical to continue to treat you, and take your money. Go find another dentist.” Patients would invariably beg for another chance. They knew he was serious, and that their health was first in his mind. Our logo is in the shape of the keystone of an arch. It represents the importance of personal oral hygiene as the keystone of oral health. All other parts of the arch, whether it be in-office treatment, good nutrition, genetics, what have you, all will eventually fail without personal oral hygiene.

HT: POH has made a significant contribution to oral health, and in keeping the focus on the core values of prevention. Your dad and Dr. Bass believed in the value of personal oral hygiene and you’ve taken up where they left off, making sure the prevention legacy continues. Thank you, Bob.