Dentist’s New Tools Have Peers Smiling Entrepreneur’s Promising Firm Puts Money Where Your Mouth Is

Bob Larimer saw one of his “children” leave home Wednesday. And then he went to work for him.

As the director of the Bonner Business Center, Larimer has helped several entrepreneurs at the business incubator. Unicep, a dental equipment company, bid its birthplace goodbye Wednesday over cake and punch.

Larimer found the outfit so promising that he’s left his position to be the operations manager at Unicep’s new facility a few blocks away.

“It’s just a heckuva opportunity for me,” Larimer said. “They’ve got a great thing going here.”

Unicep and its more visible arm, American Dental Hygienics, have bitten into a fast-growing niche in dentistry. Founder Dr. John Snedden took 12 years of his experience fixing teeth in 1988 and started designing tools for dentists, who face tough rules on the cleanliness of the equipment they use.

Snedden saw early in the company’s history that dentists were facing increasing regulations.

“For every single thing that a dentist put in someone’s mouth, the government said that they had two choices: Sterilize it or dispose of it,” he said. Snedden designed a simple syringe with single dosages of the things dentists use, like the chemicals used to prepare teeth for fillings.

Dentists use the low-cost syringes and throw them out without wasting the costly chemicals used to make fillings bond to teeth, for example. “Unit dose” technology has taken off, he said.

What could become even more successful, Snedden said, is the teeth whitening system he’s designed. Using several treatments of carbamide peroxide, the system whitens anyone’s teeth, he said.

Over-the-counter whitening products can be harmful to teeth and gums, he said. Snedden’s whitening product is available only through dentists.

There’s a growing overseas market for teeth whitening, he said. European and Asian sales already make up about 15 percent of total sales of the whitener.

Unicep’s new 10,000-square-foot building gives the company room to expand. Snedden had been selling the products from his downtown Sandpoint office and manufacturing it at the business center.

“We just can’t wait to get everything under one roof,” he said.

He also anticipates providing more jobs. Snedden said his 13-employee company could easily employ 30 in 18 months.

“The secret of my success has been God’s good graces, good employees, my tenacity and the bank’s money,” Snedden said. “I think we’re going to do well.”