Liz and Geoff Sudit, DDS, MS, won the second OrthoTank startup competition with Retain, a retainer renewal service that keeps the physician engaged.
By Steven Martinez
Liz Sudit and her husband Geoff Sudit, DDS, MS, who run Mint Orthodontics in Minneapolis, Minn., recently won the OrthoTank competition at the 2024 AAO Annual Session for their latest startup, Keepa retainer renewal service that allows doctors to offer their patients a plan to regularly receive a new retainer when their old one has worn out or become too coarse to wear.
Retain is Liz and Geoff’s second consecutive idea to win OrthoTank, after winning for Bright Referral in 2023. The idea behind Retain is two-fold: give patients fresh bearings to keep wearing after treatment and give orthodontists a way to maintain a relationship with their patients.
Making patients wear their retainers
A patient’s teeth will continue to move after treatment and are expected to wear a retainer for the rest of their lives. But patients tend to stop wearing them either because the appliance has reached a point where they don’t want to put it in their mouth anymore, they lose or break it, or because the material the retainer is made of wears out and isn’t now it works properly.
“You’re more apt to keep wearing your retainer if it feels fresh, clean, and like a good experience,” says Liz. “So the longer you have a retainer, the less often you’ll wear it just because that’s human nature.”
Patients often stop wearing their teeth and once their teeth move, they return later in life for repeat treatment.
“A large part of our practice is repeat treatment cases,” says Geoff. “We all see many cases of adults who had a retainer when they were younger and now their teeth have changed over 20 years because they didn’t wear a retainer. Now they have to go back and do alignment therapy again for the low price of $8,000 instead of just getting a new $150 retainer once a year.”
Keeping patients with Retainers
While there are other retention programs available, these models, according to Geoff, give the doctor their patient to a third party, ending the direct involvement of the orthodontist. Not only that, but the practice loses its connection to an invested patient and potential referral opportunities from continuing those touchpoints.
“We’re losing money on retainers,” says Geoff. “Typically we buy the first retainers for patients and then say, ‘Come back and let us know if you need them again.’ Only 1% of the population will go back and get a new one. [Retain] keeps them connected.”
Retain allows patients to sign up for a subscription service and choose a time frame to receive new retainers regularly. It can be every year, every 6 months or even as often as monthly. Liz says the most popular option is every 6 months, but parents choose more frequent options for their children because children tend to have poorer oral hygiene and want to avoid creating further problems with sloppy retainers.
If patients prefer, they can also purchase custom-made retainers only through Retain. The company stores the STL file so that a new one can be made at any time. Liz and Geoff worked with Partners Dental Studio, one of the largest orthodontic labs in the country, to produce the retainers, which are made with Zendura material.
Doctors can set the retainer price and collect 50% of the profit. Retain takes the other half and uses it to cover lab fees, shipping and other expenses.
The winning OrthoTank formula
The OrthoTank competition is an annual event at the Annual Session that allows orthodontic-focused startups to pitch their business ideas to a panel of influential judges for a chance to receive investment from the AAO Innovation & Transformation Fund.
Modeled after the television show Shark Tank, OrthoTank requires participants to take the stage with an audience to pitch their best to a selection of judges that includes well-known names in orthodontics and representatives from venture capital firms. The “sharks” name a winner recommended for investment by the AAO.
The TV show is known for playing up the drama and stress of the situation with personalities and dealings that have nothing to do with life. And while the orthodontic version is tame by comparison, it can be a terrifying experience.
Having previously participated with Bright Referral, the Sudits prepared this time with an outline of what they wanted to say and rehearsed to feel confident on stage. Geoff, a KOL for LightForce Orthodontics and a few other companies, is used to public speaking, but pitching your own product changes the experience, he says.
“I’m used to doing it and I enjoy it,” says Geoff. “But it’s different when you’re up there selling yourself and your business. I think it’s more fun, but it can definitely be intimidating for some people.”
With two OrthoTank wins behind them, one might wonder if Liz and Geoff are setting themselves up for a three-peat in next year’s competition. “Absolutely not,” says Liz. They insist they have more than enough on their plate now with Bright Referral and Retain.
“I think if we did, we would appear not as a married couple but as an ex-married couple,” says Geoff. “Our hands are full.”
