By Romona Paden, Entrepreneur Examiner, July 4, 2011
When the Calcium Therapy Institute formally organized in the late 1970’s, a clear up trend in high tech pervaded the dental profession. The founding dentists of CTI, based in Omaha, Neb., decidedly went against the grain in their use of a body nutrient to restore and retain patients’ oral health.
Mark Manhart and Tom Steg’s years of practice with calcium, and their continual learning of new applications for it, puts them at the forefront of modern natural medicine. The dental industry as whole continues its decades-long tendency toward more invasive techniques and an emphasis on cosmetic applications, which results in an industry where professionals are adept at performing procedures. On the other hand, calcium therapy centers on patients’ oral health, particularly addressing cysts, gingivitis and other infections. In other words, Manhart says, calcium therapy makes room for the practice of dentistry.
The distinction between procedure and practice is key, Manhart says. “There is a difference between the two.”
The oral component of calcium therapy consists of four products, each of which delivers calcium or a combination of calcium and zinc to teeth, gums, and oral bone and tissue. Included here is a toothbrush where bristles are treated with zinc and a calcium strip on the plastic handle behind the bristles, an oral calcium rinse, and calcium chips that are placed between teeth to heal gums and reduce gingivitis pockets. Each of these costs $6. The most expensive item are carpules–cotton roles treated with zinc—which act as an intensive treatment to address infection, strengthen teeth and reduce stain. A package of these is $20.
But with decades of calcium research under their belts, Manhart and Steg continue to find to new applications of the magic mineral. Besides oral use, the dentists have developed calcium therapies for use on the skin, which they say address dryness, sun burns, acne, and a number of other epidermal issues.
Manhart explains the benefits of calcium center on cellular need for the mineral, which isn’t produced by the body. By creating a format and delivery system for calcium to reach particular areas, cells and tissues are able to rid toxins and generate healthy states.
Read more about CTI’s online business at the InnovationStories blog.
At least part of Manhart’s success in the development and use of his calcium therapy products is his keen diagnostic abilities where he detects issues quickly and accurately. He says it’s a skill he developed in the early 1960’s during a stint in the Air Force where he was based in Alaska. During this time, he saw soldier patients before they deployed to Vietnam. With exam / diagnosis time topping at two minutes, Manhart says the pressure was on.
The rule of the time was, “If you see something, you better figure it out right quick,” he says.
On returning to civilian life in 1965, Manhart set up private practice in Omaha. At the time, the dental industry used calcium in some applications, but formal research exploring its potential was lacking.
As a young professional, Manhart began piecing together disparate research performed by others in the field. For example, data from research conducted in the 1940’s and 1950’s reports some success with zinc treatments. While the mineral is complimentary to calcium, straight zinc was ultimately shown to be too harsh a treatment on teeth and oral tissue.
Other slivers of insight trickled in as well – much of it from successes achieved with his patients over his years in private practice. By 1973, Manhart’s confidence in calcium therapy as a dental staple was entrenched.
The industry as a whole, however, wasn’t with him. Instead, dentists and industry trade group the American Dental Association, became enamored with whiz-bang gadgetry that heralded a conscious move toward more invasive / more expensive procedures. To medical historians, industrial moves away from healing research and into procedural fixes likely signals dentistry’s rooting into the healthcare industrial complex.
The irony of the procedural advancements from the 1970’s through today is that the patient health element of dentistry has become of secondary concern. Manhart says patient health is largely trumped by an industry atmosphere looking for high-tech fixes to symptoms, not solutions to underlying problems.
Manhart says it’s clear to him much of the industry has turned its back on patient-centered care and actively demonstrates this as its intention.
“The U.S. hasn’t contributed any significant research in the last 60 years,” he says.
At least part of the problem can be explained in a demographic breakdown of dental professionals. In the United States, 80 percent of dentists are men. Globally, only 20 percent of dentists are men. The feminine element of healing, then, is submissive domestically.
Illustrating his point, Manhart says he’s come across nothing but resistance to calcium therapy in terms of taking the therapies to mainstream dentistry. Dental schools and industry associations disregard his calcium research, something he attributes to the therapy hitting out-of-harmony notes both politically and financially.
While the onus of finding noninvasive dental help is left to consumers in the United States, international dental docs embrace the therapy. Countries with research on CTI’s radar include Brazil, Spain, France, and India.
In an effort to share research, Manhart says CTI has developed a series of eight videos designed to train dentists on the use of calcium, which can be used from diagnosis to maintenance.