Your mouth is not Las Vegas – what happens there doesn’t stay there!
Today, it is crystal clear that oral health is linked directly to overall systemic health. Dentistry, therefore, has a huge opportunity to lead and positively impact the nation’s healthcare.
There are two primary diseases in dentistry: periodontal disease and caries disease (tooth decay). Few people know that dental caries is the world’s most prevalent chronic disease. The challenge is that, when found late, decay leads to cavities and a restorative “tooth death spiral”.
Dental clinics rely heavily on X-ray radiographs, but these can contribute to the problem. Every dental professional knows that even a slight shadow on a radiograph signals that the decay is already more advanced. Radiographs are also less effective at detecting decay on occlusal (biting) surfaces, where 65% of cavities occur. By the time a shadow appears, the predominant recommendation is surgical treatment, or left to Watch & Wait with an admonishment to “brush & floss better,” which then frequently still progresses to cavities, a Band-Aid fix even under the best conditions. Dental sensitivity is also highly prevalent, affecting 74% of the population. Treatments wear off quickly, without addressing the root cause.
New AI tools are advancing the detection of interproximal decay (in between teeth), but this is unfortunately leading to invasive overtreatment. Dentistry simply can’t drill itself out of the worldwide caries prevalence problem. Let’s be honest, the profession has been doing that since 3,000 BC! Caries impacts more than 96% of Americans, yet many people dread dental check-ups due to the often invasive and uncomfortable nature of traditional treatments.
There is a better way for the modern dental clinic, by adopting a practice model that excites both dentists and their patients. With hundreds of millions of Americans skipping dental visits, GreenMark believes this approach offers the opportunity for dental practices to thrive while improving public health.
Meet the doctors
Meet Dr. Steven Bloembergen, PhD, Chairman and CEO, and founder of GreenMark, Dr. Nathan Jones, MSc, PhD, VP Technology, and Dr. Wendy Bloembergen, MD, MS, FRCP(C), VP Clinical Affairs.
Dr. Steven Bloembergen founded GreenMark Biomedical Inc. in Michigan in 2016 after several other successful ventures. He founded EcoSynthetix Inc. in Lansing, MI, in 1996, a company that has since grown into a global corporation. He and his team built manufacturing capacity for starch nanoparticles of well over 200 million lbs per year at production sites in the U.S. and Europe for high-volume packaging. The company held its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2011 (TSX: ECO.TO) and was Canada’s largest IPO in the Cleantech sector, raising over $100 million on the TSX.
Steven is the inventor of over 25 patent families related to biomaterials. In partnership with the University of Michigan (U-M), GreenMark expanded upon this proprietary technology by developing and applying unique processes to create a range of targeted diagnostic and treatment products.
At U-M, Dr. Nathan Jones conducted his PhD research based on EcoSynthetix’ nanotechnology, and Steven served as the external thesis committee member for his PhD program, which focused on medical and dental applications of the bioresorbable nanoparticle technology that led to multiple dental product innovations. The two have been working together since 2009.
Upon receiving his PhD degree, Nathan joined GreenMark to develop this globally patented dental technology further and now serves as Vice President Technology.
Steven’s spouse, Dr. Wendy Bloembergen, MD, MS, Vice President Clinical Affairs, is a physician who specialized in Nephrology and subsequently obtained a degree in Clinical Research Design & Statistical Analysis from U-M. She has provided a medical “presence,” contributing to clinically-related functions including product market fit, product development targets, competition technology assessment, regulatory, clinical study protocols, safety oversight, reimbursement, and clinical publication strategy.
Prior to GreenMark, Wendy consulted for a VC firm as a medical analyst. Before this, she maintained an academic position at U-M, and before that, completed her medical internship in Canada’s first Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics with Dr. David Sackett and Dr. Gordon Guyatt, professors of epidemiology, biostatistics, and medicine. Dr. Sackett is the celebrated father of evidence-based medicine, which, after 30 years, is beginning to gain momentum in dentistry.
The combination of their diverse backgrounds and extensive experience created a powerful talent pool, crucial for addressing the global oral health crisis. They also credit their expert advisors and collaborators for their contributions.
The Perfect Storm
Dental cavities result from acid produced by plaque bacteria dissolving tooth enamel. Bacteria in the mouth feed on dietary sugars, producing acids that cause demineralization of the enamel. Although the enamel surface of the early lesion remains intact longer due to fluoride exposure, the enamel subsurface gradually becomes increasingly porous until it collapses to form a hole or cavity. As these cavities deepen, bacteria and acid reach the softer dentin and eventually the inner pulp, leading to inflammation, nerve damage, pain, and potentially a serious tooth infection.
GreenMark’s CrystLCare™ Biorestorative, Fluoride-Free product was designed for targeted remineralization of early-stage caries lesions in enamel. It also works exceptionally well for sensitivity treatment. GreenMark, they note, has the only bioavailable and targeted delivery of calcium & phosphate ions, which reform enamel minerals in the subsurface of teeth exactly where needed.
GreenMark Biomedical is revolutionizing dental care with innovative, patient-friendly solutions designed to transform the dental experience.1 Biomimetics, targeted delivery, and noninvasive care are at the core of its products, making painless natural repair possible.
Steven explained, “Once there’s a hole in the tooth, it’s too late. We’re all about early diagnosis and preventive & regenerative treatment before a cavity forms.”
The GreenMark technology is backed by robust science, patented globally, and published in several leading peer-reviewed journals. Using tiny (sub-micron) bioresorbable starch particles, GreenMark’s platform is designed and proven to target the subsurface of teeth to restore enamel mineral. The technology is built on robust science, powered by three additional NIH grants this year. The work has been supported from 2018 to 2025 by $4.0 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), via their NIDCR dental division and the MPWRM Regenerative Medicine Resource Center at U-M, Pittsburgh McGowan, and Wyss at Harvard University dental schools.2 The center collaborates closely with dental schools at the University of Southern California, University of California LA/SF/Davis/Berkeley institutions, and Stanford University.
Fig. 1: Tiny Targeted Starch Particles to Address Universal Problems in Dentistry
Their lightbulb idea (Fig. 1) was to design a magnet-like attraction to deliver bioavailable enamel minerals into the complex porous subsurface of caries lesions. To explain this, Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of an early caries lesion, viewed under polarized light. Under these conditions, dense areas within the tooth show up as light blue, while more porous tooth structures show up as a darker shade, and hence dentin shows up purple, and an early-stage caries lesion as a brownish-black. While the surface remains intact, tiny micropores in the enamel surface allow acid from sugary foods to seep in.
Fig. 2: Treatment of Early-Stage Caries
GreenMark’s research with its U-M collaborators proved that early-stage caries leaves behind negative charges throughout the interior of the early white spot lesion. Therefore, they placed the opposite positive charges on their starch particles and attached a fluorescent dye so the lesions illuminated like a Christmas tree. Clinical validation for the fluorescent caries detection product, LumiCare™ Caries Detection Rinse, was published in BDJ Open, a Nature journal, showing very high accuracy and proving the targeting mechanism as highly effective. Based on the same targeting concept, they designed their CrystLCare™ Biorestorative product to remineralize the subsurface.
Most toothpaste products contain fluoride along with various inert calcium-based minerals, which can be viewed as tiny ‘insoluble rocks’ that are not bioavailable and merely help clean and polish tooth surfaces. Yet, these products often tout ‘remineralization’ and ‘strengthening of enamel’, which Steven described as “absolute baloney,” in other words: “great on marketing but thin on science”.
Natural enamel neither contains nor needs fluoride, and it is well known that conventional soluble fluoride products, like sodium and stannous fluoride, merely seal the extreme upper surface layer of tooth enamel without repairing the dominant sub-surface lesion.
In its NIH-funded research collaboration with U-M, GreenMark scientists discovered this is because early-stage caries lesions are negatively charged (Fig. 1 & 2), and therefore negatively charged fluoride and phosphate ions are repelled. This then leaves the early caries lesion in the enamel at continued risk of progression and cavitation (Fig. 3, top).
To remineralize enamel, conventional fluoride products rely on calcium and phosphate from saliva, in which the level of soluble, bioavailable calcium and phosphate ions is extremely low. This is especially true in people with active caries, Xerostomia (dry mouth), or poor oral hygiene.
Similar to the saying ‘We can’t squeeze water from a rock!’, Steven commented, “We can’t squeeze bioactive mineral ions from the insoluble minerals contained in toothpaste products.”
Fig. 3: Negatively charged ions are repelled, but positively charged mineral-loaded starch particles are attracted into the tooth subsurface for superior remineralization treatment
In contrast, GreenMark’s positively charged starch particles are attracted like a magnet with electrostatic action into the negative lesion sub-surface, where they are dissolved by natural amylase enzymes in saliva. They then release bioavailable calcium and phosphate mineral ions to repair from the inside, forming hydroxyapatite in the tooth subsurface, and filling the lesion to result in a superior outcome (Fig. 3, bottom).
Third-party data that proves this is published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, JADA Foundational Science.3
Nathan found a way to embed their positive mineral-loaded starch particles into dissolvable dental strips (Fig. 4). They are incredibly easy to apply by placing them onto moist teeth, where they instantly adhere. They can also be placed in a mouth tray.
The strips are affordably priced for widespread adoption. One or more strips can be demonstrated by the dentist or hygienist in-office, whereafter patients may then purchase one or more 14-dose packages for continued home use. Other forms of the product, such as toothpaste tablets, are under development to become available early next year.
In addition to sales via dental distributors, direct-to-consumer sales via Amazon outpace the dental market as people take wellness into their own hands. Please visit www.greenmark.bio for more information.4
Fig. 4: CrystLCare™ Biorestorative, Fluoride-Free: Easy to use dissolvable dental strips for in-office and home use.
Clinical applications include a no-drill treatment of early tooth decay with tremendous oral health and cost benefits, as well as an effective treatment of dental sensitivity. At this stage, after years of R&D and manufacturing scale-up, GreenMark is now focused on the commercialization of its caries detection and treatment products, and is actively raising investment to commercialize its products in the U.S., followed by Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia.
You can learn more about GreenMark Biomedical by visiting greenmark.bio.
References
- https://greenmark.bio/
- https://translationalresourcecenter.org/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772414X24000112
