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Team Smile 'Brite'

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NASA OUTREACH PROGRAM HELPS SISTER ENTREPRENEUR TEAM SMILE 'BRITE'
Posted: April 23, 2006
SYRACUSE, NY (April 21, 2006) - With assistance from the NASA-funded
Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP), entrepreneurial
sisters Michelle Keib and Cindy Cooper received the clinical testing
needed to market a sonic dental cleaning system on a major U.S. shopping
channel.

SATOP provides free engineering assistance to small businesses with
technical challenges through the expertise of the program's Alliance
Partners - 50 aerospace companies and universities involved in the U.S.
Space Program.

The sonic cleaning system discovered by Keib and Cooper is specifically
designed for cleaning dental appliances such as dentures, retainers,
partials and mouth guards. Dental apparatus are made of porous materials
that contaminate over time due to a build up of calculus (a hardening of
plaque). "Not only do dirty dental appliances look unsightly, they can
smell," said Cooper, who wore a retainer following a stint with adult
braces.

After searching for something to effectively clean her retainer, Cooper
found a product in Canada that really worked. "A couple of dentists had
designed it for their patients, but they were not interested in trying
to market it in the U.S." said Keib.

Because the sonic cleaning system was so effective, the sisters decided
they would create a name for the product - SonicBrite(tm) - and try
distributing it in the United States themselves. "More than 85 million
Americans wear a dental appliance of some kind," said Keib. "We knew
there was a market for a product this amazing, we just needed to get it
out there."

After a major TV shopping channel demanded slid proof that the product
worked before they would air it, Michelle Keib decided to contact
SATOP's Syracuse center and find out if the program had access to a
resource that could help verify SonicBrite's effectiveness.

Unfortunately, no suitable Alliance Partners could be found. "SATOP
can't always find a solution for all our requestors," said Beth Bornick,
SATOP New York director. "However, when we don't have an Alliance
Partner who can help, we try to make a referral outside our Alliance."

Not the type to give up easily, Bornick contacted a friend in the dental
industry who referred the project to the VA Medical Center in Bedford,
MA. The colleague said the VA center would do the testing, and better
yet, at no cost.

The testing process at the VA ended up being a win-win: not only did
Keib and Cooper receive the positive clinical results they needed to
move forward, but also the testing was conducted on the dentures of
bedridden patients, who received sparkling clean appliances. "They
supplied us with a worst-case scenario and the SonicBrite worked
brilliantly," said Keib.

While the sisters have a few more hurdles to jump, they feel that the
tallest has been cleared. "Before we approached SATOP, we were going to
have to pay $10,000 and wait six months for this testing," said Keib.
"Beth really deserves the credit since it was her resourcefulness that
allowed us to save time and money."

Now, the sisters are ready to go back to the network with their findings
and hope to smile all the way to the bank. Said Keib, "We're just two
entrepreneurial sisters that came together to create a company - it's
the American way - and we couldn't have come this far without SATOP!"
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