Centrix President Discusses How the Company Became a Prevention Leader!

The selection of prevention solutions for both in-office and at-home use is constantly expanding.  Prevention has not always been at the forefront of dentistry but today, it is easier to find prevention products and they are easier to use as well. Centrix as a company has played a role in shaping the landscape of modern prevention though its innovative products, such as FluoroDose fluoride varnish and Champ pit and fissure sealant, as well as our forward-thinking program, Prevention for Life. The newest addition to our prevention lineup is DraganBerry – a new, exciting flavor in our award-winning FluoroDose line. DraganBerry is a celebration of our founder, Dr. William B. Dragan and his many accomplishments in his 70 years in dentistry. 

While working on the development of the new DraganBerry flavor, the Centrix marketing team dove deep into the history of the Dragan family to learn more about the fascinating story of how one family’s quest for the American Dream led to innovations that made dentistry easier for dentists across the world. The Dragan family’s roots go back to a small village in southeastern Poland so when planning the launch of DraganBerry, we thought an official introduction in Poland at the Warsaw Dental Medica Show just made sense! William P. Dragan, Dr. Dragan’s son and Centrix’s current president traveled to Poland for this special event, which included an official ribbon cutting ceremony! During the show, a prominent Polish dental magazine, Twój Przegląd Stomatologiczny, interviewed William to get the inside scoop on the interesting history of Centrix and our efforts to make prevention easier. Check out the interview below! 

Polish Accent in Global Prevention Trends

Tell us about the prevention philosophy that influences Centrix’s growth and development. 

Above all, we believe that the future of dentistry is prevention, early detection and minimally invasive treatment. This really makes treatment easier for both the patient and the doctor. Dentists and hygienists should focus on prevention. The goal should be to increase the frequency of recare visits, which make it possible to provide preventive care and facilitate early detection and treatment of problems before more invasive intervention is necessary. 

We are a leader in the “prevention” category, with the most awarded fluoride varnish on the market. Centrix FluoroDose tastes delicious and provides excellent fluoride uptake, which is why it is well accepted by both patients and clinicians. By continuously educating the dental community about the advantages of fluoride varnish, we have become a leader in this landscape. We have adopted a far-reaching mass approach through seminars and webinars, as well as a more individualized approach, through one-on-one lunch and learns. We have an excellent product and we have worked hard to market and distribute it around the world. FluoroDose is part of our larger line of prevention and oral care products, which includes Champ pit & fissure sealant, and D/Sense Crystal and SilverSense SDF desensitizers, just to name a few. Unfortunately, some of these products are unavailable in Europe due to European medical device regulations, which impose onerous and unnecessary burdens on smaller companies trying to introduce innovations in the oral hygiene field. 

The development of Centrix as a company and its connection to Poland are very interesting. Please elaborate on this story for our readers.  

This is a very interesting story. My grandfather Vasyl Dragan was born in 1895 in Kłopotnica (Jasielsk district, Subcarpathian region) in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. My family lived in this village since the birth of my great-grandfather Nikolai Dragan, that is, since about 1790. Vasily Dragan was the last of the four brothers to emigrate to the United States.  He arrived in New York in 1913. My grandmother Maria Chomiak was born in 1890 and also immigrated to the United States around 1913. My dad, Basil William Dragan, was Vasyl and Maria’s son, and was born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. My father’s passion was engineering. When he reached college age, my grandfather told him that the only way to succeed in the US was to choose the right profession, namely: doctor, dentist or lawyer. His role model became his older cousin Vladimir, who practiced dentistry in the Polish immigrant community in Bridgeport. Dad, like his cousin, enrolled at dental school. He graduated in 1958. Dr. Basil William Dragan practiced dentistry first in the United States Air Force, and then in private practice, gaining experience and always thinking about how to make dentistry easier. The passion for engineering never died. In the 1960s, dental composites were introduced, but the companies producing them never thought about how to effectively and efficiently place these state-of-the-art materials in the cavity preps. Through creativity and trial and error, Dr. Dragan developed and patented the first CR (composite resin) syringe delivery system. Initially, he tried to sell his invention to large dental companies, but none were interested, so he decided to start his own company and sell it himself. This is how Centrix was born. Since its establishment in 1970, the small company has grown and become a leader in the field of dentistry around the world, always focusing on making dental treatment easier for those who practice on a daily basis.

Which patient groups are your fluoride products intended for?

Centrix believes in prevention for life. Our preventive products are for everyone – from children whose first tooth just erupted to senior patients – every stage of life.  Our goal is to help patients keep their natural teeth in their mouth all throughout their lifetime. We make sure that our products are effective and easy to use. For example, our patented unit-dose LolliTray packaging makes every fluoride varnish application much easier than competitor products. It allows the applicator to pop-up so you don’t have to dig in the well and you can easily wipe off any excess vanish on the angled well. The features that patients appreciate include great taste and smooth texture. We are constantly experimenting with exciting new flavors, such as DraganBerry to increase the appeal of our varnish.

Since the number of flavors of FluoroDose is expanding, can you tell us more about how the flavor selection affects the attractiveness of your offering? 

No one wants to have a product in their mouth with a bitter or unpleasant taste, especially one that will stick to your teeth for hours. We also understand that there is a huge variety of taste preferences. While it is impossible to please everyone, we continue to try to introduce great new flavors to the FluoroDose line! We also offer variety packs that include all our flavors so the dentist or hygienist can ask the patient: “Which flavor do you prefer?”. This engagement allows the patient to play a role in their own oral care.

The new FluoroDose flavor, DraganBerry, was named in honor of my father and commemorates his 90th birthday and his 70th anniversary as a dentist. The new flavor also references our Polish roots, specifically sweet baked goods with berries, which my family used to eat in Klopotnica – buns, cakes, doughnuts. My father, to this day, still eats berries every day for breakfast.

What innovations has Centrix brought to the world of dentistry?

Our mission from day one has been to make the work of dentists easier. To achieve this, you have to look at how something is done and imagine how the process can be improved. Our products were so innovative that they essentially created new categories. From the first CR Syringe and AccuDose tubes and plugs, which initiated the unit-dose category, to our disposable applicators, Benda Brush, which made obsolete the traditional applicators with handles that require cleaning and sterilization; to a combinations of delivery systems with materials that provide optimal performance, such as Tempit and Encore D/C MiniMix, which have greatly improved the temporization and restorative process. In all of these instances, we have taken the old way of doing things and replaced it with a better solution. And we are just getting started! We will continue to introduce more innovations that eliminate the old approach and make dentistry easier!

P.S. If you are a Polish-speaker, you can check out the original text here!

Try DraganBerry (or any of our other 5 delicious flavors) today so you and your patients can experience the FluoroDose difference!