The Compliance Divas Podcast
Our podcast covers current topics such as infection prevention and control, OSHA and HIPAA compliance for dentistry. We discuss the latest regulatory information, answer frequently asked questions and give suggestions for dental practices to make compliance easy and sustainable. The Compliance Divas are a trusted source for consistent, accurate information based upon current guidelines, standards, science, and recommendations.
The Compliance Divas Podcast
#136 Sipify: Save Your Smile from Stain and Help Patients with Swallowing Issues
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Whether you are looking for an easier way to enjoy hot coffee and not stain your teeth or helping patients with swallowing issue, Sipify is the creative invention that solves those dilemmas. Tune into this episode to meet Alice Stone the creator of Sipify and learn how it can benefit special needs patients as well as saving your smile from stain.
- Sipify website: https://sipify.me/
Welcome. I'm Leslie Cannon. I'm Mary Gavoni. I'm Linda Harvey. I'm Olivia Wan. And together we are the Compliance Divas.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to the Compliance Divas Podcast. This is Linda Harvey and I will be your moderator today. Today we have a special guest who has a unique invention that I'm very eager to share with you. But before we do, I just want to remind our listeners that we bring clarity and simplicity to compliance by navigating the regulatory world to keep you on course. We invite you to subscribe to the Compliance Divas podcast through your favorite podcast channel or on our website, thecompliancedivas.com. Any resources that we mentioned during today's podcast will also be found on our website. And we invite you to submit questions to support at thecompliancedivas.com. And we also invite you to scroll down on your podcast app where you can leave us a review at the bottom. Today I'm particularly thrilled to be introducing a new friend of mine from the Dental Entrepreneur Women's Group, Alice Stone. Welcome, Alice.
SPEAKER_01Hello, thank you for having me on your podcast.
SPEAKER_03So our listeners know that we met at the Due Retreat earlier this fall. So Alice's entree into the dental world and to other industries was when she became a reluctant inventor. She wanted to enjoy hot coffee and tea with the convenience of a straw, but regular straws, as we know, and hot drinks will scald us. So she created a product called Sipify. It's an aerating straw. And before I tell you more details about that, I'd like to ask you about your aha moment. Our diva Olivia Juan, who could not be here today, particularly wanted to know what inspired you to create this SIPIFI straw and a little bit about the technology behind it, Alice.
SPEAKER_01Okay, happy to explain. So I'm a documentary filmmaker by training, and that's what I've done for decades. And as you said, uh I was a reluctant inventor. If I could have bought a straw that would let me drink my hot coffee, I would never have invented Sipify. But my dentist mentioned to me, because he knew that as a filmmaker, I really create uh considered my smile to be an important tool in my toolbox. Because when you are filming people on camera, and particularly for the many years that I was making films before people were used to being on camera all the time, it was very anxiety-producing to be on camera. And so I made a very concerted effort to smile broadly and sort of beam this energy that you're doing a great job. And everything you're saying is so intriguing. And tell me more. And so my dentist knew that my smile was really important to me. And one visit he mentioned, you know, your teeth would be a lot wider if you switched to iced coffee. And I said, Why is that? And he said, Well, you can drink iced coffee with a straw, and if you drink with a straw, it prevents tooth stains. And at the time, all I said was, But doctor, I can't wake up in the morning to the smell of iced coffee. So I didn't really think much of it, but it got me being very curious, why is it? Why is it that when you have this steaming cup of hot coffee, you just enjoy sipping from it the traditional way? And as soon as you put a straw in, you burn yourself. So I couldn't get it out of my head. Like, why is that? And so what I discovered was that when you sip from the top of the cup, you're sipping from the surface of the coffee that is cooled by contact with the room temperature air. But when you sip with a straw, you're pulling from the bottom where it's hottest. And I just thought, huh, what if I could introduce just a little bit of room temperature air into the straw? So you wouldn't really cool the coffee down because what you want is that hot sip of coffee, you just don't want to scald yourself. So that's what the sipify does. It aerates as you sip and it cools just enough so that it's a hot sip that doesn't scald. And then the the other part about the convenience of a straw is that I also drink a lot of coffee and tea on the go. And if you're on the subway and you get jostled, or you're just walking on the street and you, you know, your phone rings, you know, we've all arrived at our destination with the coffee stain. So we like to call SIPIFI stain-free sipping. You won't stain your teeth, you won't stain your clothes. And then the the big advantage also, because I do live in Boston, and everything people say about Boston drivers is accurate, if not an understatement. When you are caffeinating commuting and you're driving with a travel mug of coffee, every time you tip to sip, you're taking your eyes off the road. But if instead you have a straw, you can reach for your coffee, sip, and put it back without ever taking your eyes off the road. So you're much more able to see a driver who's about to cut you off in traffic.
SPEAKER_03Alice, this is so fascinating because now we can talk about safe drivers. I mean, the divas are all about safety and compliance. And of course, there's driving laws that we all have to abide by. And one of them should be keeping your eyes on the road, which all makes perfect sense for safety. So I love that story, and I just love how you've you you created that analogy and just reminded us when we're sipping from a straw, the hottest part of the coffee is in the bottom. So that makes perfect sense to have SIPIFI to solve that. Leslie has a follow-up question for you about how SIPIFI can be used with different populations of individuals.
SPEAKER_00Yes, Alice. I was um interested in hearing more about people how people with disabilities can benefit from SIPIFI. Can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER_01Sure. So before I launched the company, I wanted there to be a charitable aspect to the business because I always like to give back. And in my case, I really wanted to give back SIPIFIs. I wanted to donate SIPIFI's to a group that would appreciate it. And so I thought, oh, people living with Parkinson's. Everybody I know living with Parkinson's drinks exclusively from straws, and I surmised that they must no longer be able to enjoy hot coffee and tea. So I reached out to a local Parkinson's organization, and they thought it was a great idea. And I was still at the prototype stage, and they introduced me to a patient who's a patient advocate. And she tried the straw and she said, Alice, you know, it's really nice to be able to have hot coffee again with SIPIFI, but I'm using this straw with everything that I drink because I think it's going to lessen my chances of aspirating. And that's when she explained to me that because it's intended for a gentle sip, it delivers less volume. So it's very helpful to people with dysphagia, no matter what the original cause is. If you have any difficulty swallowing, when you use a straw, you get this jolt of liquid. But with a SIPIFI, you get this gentle sip. And there's certain aspects to the silicone cover and the design of the mouthpiece that let you sort of manipulate the sip size and have much more control over your drinking. So once I heard that, I started reaching out to speech language pathologists who are swallowing experts. And I learned all sorts of other populations that are really helped by the SIPIFI. Um, anyone who has oral head and neck esophageal cancer, if you uh have even temporary dysphagia during treatment, it's very helpful to be able to limit your sip size if you're recovering from a stroke or any sort of TBI. Um then I met a young woman who has cerebral palsy, and she told me that the SIPIFI is amazing and that she's choking much less as she drinks. Then I met a woman who has um several disabilities, and on top of that, she was in a car accident and has broken a lot of bones in her face. And what she explained to me is that SIPIFI is a universal design because she needs to drink with straws, but because of her disabilities, she dribbles when she drinks. And it can be a dignity issue. And she said what she loves about the SIPIFI is we could both be in Starbucks. And I'm using the SIPI because I don't want to stain my teeth with my coffee, and she's using the SIPIFI because she wants to feel comfortable in public and doesn't want to dribble as she drinks. So I keep hearing about new populations. Um, I've been told that people with dementia could really benefit from being able to have greater control over their sip size. Another aspect of the straw that I should have mentioned is that you can vary the amount of cooling. So there's a little dimple on the silicone cover, and if you squeeze it, that lessens the amount of air that's coming in, so it lessens the cooling. So if you're drinking from an open mug and your coffee has cooled off, you can deliver less cooling. And so I like to say you can find your perfect sip because no matter how the temperature of your coffee or your tea varies, you can vary the amount of cooling. But that turns also uh turns out to also have benefits for people who have swallowing issues because um depending on your condition and why it is that you are challenged swallowing, you can also um play around with the straw and and have it help you the most.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for that. That is very helpful to hear about and uh being able to benefit folks that have had his issues in the past. This is a wonderful type of device.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Yes, at the do retreat, I met a woman um who is an oral cancer survivor who had her jaw rebuilt. And um, I met her at breakfast. I gave her one, she put it in her orange juice, she took one sip and she said, This is fantastic. So it's um it's been really rewarding to me because um, you know, if you can drink coffee all day and not stain your teeth, you know, it's very nice to have a SIPIFI. But if you have swallowing issues that put you at risk of aspirating or at risk of not properly hydrating because it's painful for you to swallow, then you know, the impact on your life is really tremendous. So um I'm really excited about this very different um approach that I'm taking with Sympify.
SPEAKER_03Alice, I think the examples that you've given us, we all have folks, you know, that are kind of passing through our mind. We're seeing everybody's that in our that have crossed our paths that have had some types of issues, like you've spoken about. So I think we can all relate to that. And I think our listeners will be able to as well. So this is great information. Uh, Mary has a question for you and follow-up, kind of maybe how dental teams can even think about with their patients.
SPEAKER_02So, Mary. First of all, I have to say I am so inspired by what you have done and how you have developed um so many uses for so many people that that is amazing. I'm thinking of a story that was on, I don't know if it was on CNN or if it was CBS News, where they were following one of the longest surviving, it was CBS Sunday morning, the longest surviving um ALS patient. And they were giving him a new drug that he was finally able to get access to, but he was drinking it in a cup, and so much of it was coming down um out of his mouth. And so I'm thinking, oh my goodness, he needs SIPIFI. Wow, that is fabulous. So, as dental professionals, we're always looking for hints or or devices, things that can help our patients or family members of patients that that have some type of a disability like a swallowing disorder or something like that. So, how can how can our listeners um get more information about SIPIFI? How can we spread the word about this amazing product?
SPEAKER_01Well, I have a website and you can find it at sipify.me, S-I-P-I-F-Y.me. And then if you click at the top where it says swallowing issues, you can find testimonials from people living with Parkinson's, you can find expert opinions from speech and language pathologists. Um, you can find more information about its uses for compromised patients. And I also have um I have a relationship with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. And there's a special edition of SIPIFI that has the SIPIFI logo on one side and the Team Fox logo on the other. This is the little carrying pouch that the straws come in. And I um donate a percentage of every sale of the Team Fox Scipify to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that is that is fabulous. So, what we want to do is get the word out to our dental professional community that this device is available that they can be recommending and order them through your website. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much. I mean, I I started out thinking of it as a straw, an innovative straw, but a straw. And now I realize that it really is an assistive device, it's assistive technology. Um, and sure, it's a humble little straw, but swallowing is a really big dignity issue for a lot of people.
SPEAKER_03You know, that's a word, Alison. I'm not sure that I would have thought to put to it, but I recognize exactly what you're saying because it's embarrassing for someone, because it draws attention to them. And if they have a disability, they feel like it's drawn in a bigger attention to them and they don't want to have that spotlight for that reason.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And that's why the universal design aspect of it is so critical. Because if you have issues with swallowing in public and you and you tend to dribble, you don't want to be using some sort of medical device that doesn't help you feel comfortable in public. But if you're using a SIPIFI that's clearly, you know, it's an elegant, slick look that is made for broad appeal. Um, it doesn't look like an assistive device. Um, so it's a universal design.
SPEAKER_03Quality of life. Yeah. That's what's running through my head. And the stories that you shared were just so heartwarming. So it's just um very heartwarming. And I'm just so glad that our paths crossed and that you can be here with us to share Stipify with our listeners, Alice. And I'm excited to um put your website into our show notes today and just encourage our listeners. I mean, Christmas is coming up, they make great stocking stuffers, you know, you might want for yourself, want one for yourself. And then also think about every patient whose teeth you're whitening in your practice.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Once you put in the once you put in the time, money, and effort to get your teeth their whitest, then you just stain them every morning. I mean, that's really, you know, where I started. And just to bring it full circle, when you said, you know, I I started as a reluctant inventor, that's very true. But now I'm a really motivated inventor. I love it. I love it. Um, because you know, I'm realizing that swallowing issues, it's a really big problem where there has been very little innovation. So it's time to bring my humble little straw to many, many people who will benefit hugely from it.
SPEAKER_03It's just it's it's it's taking such an ordinary item, and it's you've made it extraordinary. So thank you for being with us here today, Alice. It's been a pleasure getting to see you again, uh, twice this year and meeting and getting acquainted. So thank you again. Thank you both and all of the divas. As we bring this podcast to a close, we'd like to remind you that the compliance divas bring clarity and simplicity to compliance by navigating the regulatory world to keep you on course. We invite you to subscribe to the Compliance Divas podcast through your favorite podcast channel or on our website, the compliance divas.com. And of course, Alice's website will be in the show notes today, so you can click over and check it out and make those Christmas stocking gifts soon and purchases. And also remember that uh please we invite you to uh submit questions to support at the compliancedevas.com. And we invite you to scroll down to the bottom of your podcast app and leave us a review and a re rating. So thank you for joining us again, Alice. We will see you all next time.