A tool for dentists: The cube that cures

Remember when you got braces and the dentist would make impressions of your teeth? Well, it would usually take forever. Or what about the time it takes to get a filling done? You’d basically have to clear out a couple of hours for your appointment or sometimes you’d even have to come back for another appointment.

This is a problem in the dental industry that Curing Cube hopes to fix.

As a part of his Summer Founders program, University of Delaware rising senior Farhad Baqi decided to work on developing a dental product with his brother, Seyar Baqi, and his friend, Edward Bayley. Both Seyar Baqi and Bayley went on to dental school at the University of Pennsylvania after they completed their studies at UD.

But that’s when they noticed some equipment inefficiencies with a particular product called the Triad 2000. The dental students were so frustrated with the time and effort it took to work with the machine, that they ended up buying their own to expedite their studies.

Then, they thought, what if they just made a better version of it? Innovation is largely about improvement. That’s when little brother Farhad Baqi was recruited for his background in business and entrepreneurship.

The Triad 2000 costs around $1,000. Products like it are made to cure dental impressions and fillings. They’re expensive and don’t often get an update. With special diode lights, the Curing Cube aims to cut waiting time in half.

“I came in late February,” recounted Farhad. “They had a prototype product box made of cardboard. The next model was plastic plexiglass.” Then they worked with a sheet metal supplier to upgrade to stainless steel.

Currently, the Curing Cube team has about 10 units in testing. It hasn’t been very difficult to find testers for their trials because two of the company’s partners are practicing dentists and are tapped into the dental industry and dental associations.

The company has been creative and resourceful in lead generation. “I’ve even used Snapchat, I’ve gotten five leads from that,” Farhad said. “The good thing about that is I got the cell number of the dentist, I went straight to the dentist.”

Between the three cofounders, Farhad Baqi is in charge of business in development, while Seyar Baqi and Edward Bayley are both focused on product development. The three Blue Hen business partners look forward to going forward with their product once the testing period is over.