Orthodontist Bites Off Solution to Teeth-Pulling Problem

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

In today's story, an orthodontist sets out to invent a modern alternative to the age-old practice of pulling teeth. This one is a slow burn. It kind of reminds me of the guy who built a boat in a backpack, which was episode 257 ago, also featured in the new book 100 Side Hustles. It takes that guy a number of years to produce the backpacking boat he'd imagined for so long, but thanks to his day job, he's able to keep his dream afloat. So let's go back to the orthodontist. As you'll hear, his dream is to rework how impacted

teeth are adjusted. I'll explain what impacted teeth are if you're not familiar. Get ready to sink your teeth into this episode, or should I say brace yourself. This bite-soft solution to teeth pulling problem is coming right up in just 30 seconds. For the past 16 years, Grant Coleman has worked as an orthodontist. Between all the procedures

he's performed, the teeth he's cleaned, and the times he's told his patients to floss, he started to notice that some of the ways he did things seemed a little old-school. We're not talking about the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors old-school, but old-school nonetheless. Grant was particularly concerned with the way that they fixed impacted teeth. Impacted teeth are teeth that are stuck in the gums, and it was Grant's job to get those teeth to come out. It can be a slow, painful process that typically involves attaching a gold chain to the tooth and pulling it down little by little over a series of appointments.

Grant felt that it was best to leave the gold chains to Mr. T, pocket watches, and grandma's articles. Surely, he thought the dental industry was ready for something new. So leading on his experience performing this procedure over and over, Grant started tinkering around with objects lying around the office to create a new version of this antique gold chain. His prototype was a nickel titanium coil that could continuously pull the tooth down without multiple appointments.

With this shiny new device in hand, Grant started to use it on the next few patients with impacted teeth, presumably with their permission, although I don't actually have information on that, but we're going to trust the process. He was amazed with the results. Not only did his invention look better than that infamous gold chain, it also moved the tooth way faster than anything he had seen before. Grant then sent his product to a friend in the industry for him to try out, too, and the results were the same. The invention worked.

Over the next five years, Grant kept using the device and making tweaks to the design. Although his prototype worked, he hoped to improve it even further, both in its function and for the comfort of the patient. After many experiments, he was confident he had created a truly solid design. Time after time it worked better than anything else he had ever seen. And he didn't know anyone else who had made anything like it. Soon he was having thoughts of producing his invention

on a large scale and selling it to orthodontists all across the country. Not only did he have a great new tool to use at work, he had also stumbled across a major business opportunity. But before he decided to spring into action, Grant wanted to make sure that no one else had a patent on his idea. After scheduling an appointment with a patent attorney, together they completed a search. Now, Grant could have actually performed this search himself, but he chose to hire someone who knew the drill instead, just to ensure that he didn't miss anything. Luckily, the

result was positive. He had no cavities. Also, no one else had made anything like this device before. From there, Grant began another long journey to get approved for an official patent. Had he bitten off more than he could chew? Not really, that was just a good line to include

in the story. The patent process was like pulling teeth at times, but it also gave him plenty of time to polish up other aspects of the business. He met with an engineer who used his expertise to help improve the design even further. That engineer also introduced him to a medical device manufacturing company, and he worked with a group to get his first professionally made version of the product. Grant also brought on a graphic designer who helped him with the name of his product, which he decided to call the Isoglade Spring. That designer then made a logo and a website for

him. Finally, in November 2018, Grant was officially approved and he received US patent number 10123855. It was a long and arduous journey, but it was all worth it because Grant was secure in knowing that he was the one who would profit off his invention. He can now sell his product without having to worry about competitors. After getting the Isoglade Spring FDA approved, he officially launched his online store in May of 2019. Now, it's really early days in

this project. We're actually recording this in early July 2019, but he's already bringing in around $3,000 to $4,000 a month, most of which he's reinvesting back into the company. Although the product isn't making him a ton of money just yet, it's making his full-time job easier by decreasing the time he needs to spend with each impacted tooth patient. He's also got his family involved with a whole room in the house dedicated to the Isoglade Spring. Grant says that in an ideal world, the business will grow substantially in the next few years.

For his part, he plans to reach out to local orthodontic groups, attend trade shows and amp up his social media presence. He also says that for him, it's a marathon, not a sprint. He knows that he's got a great idea and that all of his work will pay off in the end. All right. Well, like I said, this is kind of a slow moving project, but it's one of those things that has real potential to scale eventually. And of course, now he's got that

patent, so he feels protected. He's also kept his day job performing orthodontic work the entire time. We got some advice from him as well. Grant says that when it comes to side hustles, look for ways to improve the job you are currently in. By choosing a hustle that involves your day job, you might be more aware of what that audience needs. This kind of reminds me of

a story we featured a couple of times, the teacher tote bag. Teachers who make a tote bag, they make one tote bag to rule them all. I've actually been telling that story on book tour because it's these two teachers that ended up doing fabulously well, make more than $100,000 their first year, because they understand that teachers have a need to carry a lot of stuff to school. And so they found a way to improve the lives of their fellow teachers. And of course, they've now got this great business as well. Grant mentioned also

that you likely have a network of people in your field that can provide valuable feedback on your idea, or even be a future customer. So that's certainly true for him with the ice wicklade spring is orthodontic invention. And also for those teachers, they've got teachers they could get feedback on and teachers who could also be future customers. So that could be helpful to somebody out there look for a way to improve the job you're currently in. And of course, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's

show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/917. That's for episode 917. We'll be back tomorrow with a weekly recap. Much more is on the way. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle

School.