The days of traditional oral examinations are over.
Throat Scope®, an innovative probing device manufactured by Holland Healthcare Inc., enables doctors to easily perform intraoral examinations of patients’ mouths.

The unpleasant experience of restraining a toddler, while a doctor used a tongue depressor and flashlight to pry open the young patient’s mouth, gave inventor Jennifer Holland (above, center) her lightbulb moment.

The 2017 Silver Edison Award-winning product provides a light source located inside the mouth to allow medical professionals one free hand to conduct a fast, accurate and pleasant oral examination experience.

The device is completely sterile. Plastic depressors attach to the handle and are disposed after use. The depressors are clear, which allow for light to easily penetrate through the transparent material.

The strong luminescence can help professionals spot abnormalities that may have been missed when using wooden depressors and a dental flashlight during examinations. Light emitted from flashlights do not fully illuminate the mouth like Throat Scope® does.

Don’t just read about it, take a look at Throat Scope® in this video.

Video by Holland Healthcare Inc.

These Throat Scope® features save time and add ease to examinations:

* a handle with three powerful LED lights with an estimated five-year shelf life.
* a handle that can be used under any circumstance to illuminate dark or hard-to-see areas, for instance, during difficult dental procedures.
* less frequently charging than a cell phone, because the environmentally-friendly tool works continuously for 20 hours.

Throat Scope® offers convenience and numerous unique benefits at an affordable cost – driving dentistry forward through innovation. A starter pack is priced under $35 at Benco.com and includes the Throat Scope®, two blades and 50 single-use depressors.

Speaking of the Edison Awards — Nomination deadline ends today

The deadline to nominate an innovation for the Edison Awards is today. The annual competition, created in 1987, honors excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation. Past winners have included Fortune 500s, small startups, and everything in between — including dental products and services. To nominate a new product that deserves recognition, learn details and submit an entry here.

Need a nudge? Be inspired by dentistry’s past honorees.

Now is the time to submit an innovation, rank among the dental industry’s most esteemed inventors and make a difference. Enter your nomination today.