A dental company focussed on empowering oral healthcare professionals and increasing the opportunity for preventive treatments globally.
BlueCheck was developed to meet the need for earlier caries detection in the form of a widely accessible and simple-to-use detection tool.
Early diagnosis of tooth decay is key to optimal patient outcomes, the earlier oral hygiene is improved, remineralisation and regeneration treatments are administered, the greater the chance of repair by healing the natural tooth structure.
Incisive Technologies, innovating to drive the new era of oral care
It is widely recognized that accurate, early detection will help reduce the incidence and impact of tooth decay, what is a widespread yet preventable chronic disease. However, while other detection tools are available, they have not been widely adopted; for a range of reasons including large capital expense, complex equipment, insufficient sensitivity and time-consuming procedures.
Developed as a direct measure of disease
The technology comes from research conducted at The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Dental School, well-known for innovations in oral health, with the express purpose of improving clinical outcomes for dental patients.
The research conducted by enamel experts seeking to understand and find a solution to a problem known as ‘chalky teeth’ (Molar Incisor Hypomineralization or MIH, which is faced by 1 in 10 young children). The team’s discovery led to an understanding that protein has a high affinity for porous enamel, which is the fundamental definition of caries and the precursor to dental cavities. This prompted the researchers to wonder ‘how proteins could be harnessed as biomarkers to find the porous regions in enamel (hydroxyapatite)’.
This research led to the development of BlueCheck, containing a protein based biomolecule, linked to a high contrast dye, that targets areas of the tooth surface at its earliest stage of demineralization and reveals changes in enamel, clearly, early and in color. BlueCheck was created to be a direct measure of disease as a visual cue, providing dental professionals with objective evidence of disease status.
Advancing oral healthcare by enabling preventive healthcare
Incisive Technologies aim is to advance oral healthcare by enabling preventive dentistry. It has R&D programs to develop its product pipeline in oral care and is committed to a long-term mission to equip oral healthcare professionals with the tools they need to address the global challenge of tooth decay. Incisive will continue to drive innovation through strong science and with outstanding partners. BlueCheck is an important first step in this mission.
Company growth has been significant in recent years, facilitated by a passionate team, a successful partnership with CareQuest Innovation Partners (Boston) the leading dental advocacy group in the US, as well as MedTech Market Growth Program, AusIndustry Accelerating Commercialisation and Industry Growth Program grants. These have propelled Incisive towards translation and scale-up readiness for commercialisation and entry into the US Market following FDA 510k Clearance in 2023.
BlueCheck is the first product to be commercialised by Incisive Technologies. We are committed to advancing improved caries management and will continue to work with leading clinicians and academics to support the drive towards prevention and minimally invasive care. Incisive has a number of research and collaboration projects to understand BlueCheck’s role in clinical management and how it can make early caries detection (and management) simple.
Mangum JE, et al. Surface Integrity Governs the Proteome of Hypomineralized Enamel. J Dent Res 89(10):1160-1065, 2010.
Williams R, et al. Pathogenesis of Molar Hypomineralisation: Hypomineralised 6-Year Molars Contain Traces of Fetal Serum Albumin. Front Physiol. 2020 Jun 12;11:619.