In the summer of 2022, Richard D. Archer, D.D.S., senior associate dean of clinical affairs and associate professor at the VCU School of Dentistry, learned of a problem in his other role as chair of the ADEX exam.

Coming out of the pandemic, where simulated exams became and remain the standard, the shroud long used to cover the manikin face was having supply chain issues. That meant the CDCA-WREB-CITA, the national licensing agency, as well as those schools using the same training system — VCU among them — faced long-term inventory concerns. 

“At the same time, the quality of these shrouds had gone down and the price had gone up,” Archer recalls.

So he set out to fix the problem, and looked inward at VCU to do it.

He’d previously collaborated with faculty at the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation during the pandemic to develop a face mask to fit over loupes. The Center offers a graduate degree in product innovation, teaching courses around design and development. 

“They had that mask within a matter of weeks,” he said, “so I thought what better way to solve the shroud shortage than to go back to da Vinci.”

Archer approached the fall 2022 semester’s Inno 590 course, where da Vinci students are presented with an external client, typically a local company or VCU faculty member, who has an idea for a product or a problem needing fixing. The goal is for students to hone their skills in everything from project management to market analysis and prototyping to production.

Students Alana Wiljanen, Perry Lee and Jameira Saylor eyed the shroud project, and were selected to take it on.

“We didn’t know anything about dentistry, so we did a lot of background research,” said Lee. “Once we got our feet under us, we took off. We realized we could not only remake a shroud that works, but redesign the shroud entirely to be better than the existing product.

Tapping into the school for insight

Lack of inventory aside, the particular shrouds used in training and on the ADEX exam are typically only good for a handful of uses and leak water. 

Work that began on a reimagined shroud in Fall 2022 continues even though Wiljanen, Lee and Saylor graduated in December 2023 with master’s degrees in product innovation. They still have access to VCU School of Dentistry students and faculty, who have provided feedback on their prototypes. The goal is to make a shroud that lasts, fits around the ADEX-approved manikin “head-on-a-stick” and typodont and functions in the most realistic way possible.

Instead of stretching over the top of the manikin, as the existing shroud does, the team’s product applies from the bottom of the head before being attached to the rod connected to the dental chair.

“Their design solves one of the biggest problems, which is leakage of water out of the bottom of the shroud from the handpiece coolant,” said Archer. Students typically tape a trash bag to current shrouds. “The goal with our shroud was to establish a system where leakage wouldn’t be a problem.”

VCU Dentistry students and faculty have helped refine, for example, the way the mouth stretches, its realism, and the way water flows into the cavity.

Fourth-year dental student Jackson Madigan had the opportunity to examine the shroud during a recent test at the school, and he considered it an upgrade over the previous design. 

“The other shrouds tear very easily, you can tell this is a much more durable product. The way the mouth stretches due to the thicker material and its ability to collect liquids creates a more realistic experience,” said Madigan.

The team also picked the creative brain of Change to Dr. Barrett W.R. Peters (D.D.S. ’11, M.S.D. ’13), who is on track to earn his own master’s degree from da Vinci in 2025 and, fortuitously, met the team through the program. 

“It’s been fun to share my knowledge of the dental industry with them,” Peters says. In December, he took them to the dental school’s simulation lab and let them use handpieces on the very manikins for which the shrouds are being developed.

“Having a partner in the dental school makes our lives a whole lot easier,” Lee said. “We can do all the guesswork around prototyping, but when it comes to form and function, getting concise feedback from students and faculty helps us move forward.”

The road ahead

The graduates formed Jawdropper Dental LLC in March 2023, and they have funding from da Vinci to produce the first shrouds once Archer greenlights the final design. They will be tested at VCU, and the endodontist — in his role as ADEX exam chair — has a goal of using them on national exams starting in the 2025 testing cycle.

Wiljanen is also focused on growth. “We’re having conversations to help us pivot from focusing on a single product in the dental education space to structuring ourselves as a health care education innovation company, this shroud among them.” 

They are working with the Capital Region Small Business Development Center in Richmond for help, and are having conversations with VCU School of Dentistry leaders about other products that they could innovate.

The team also credits da Vinci and Archer for getting them to where they are.

“Without da Vinci and the School of Dentistry, this product wouldn’t have a life,” Wiljanen says. “We’ve been able to apply a lot of what we learned through this process. They’ve allowed us to experiment, try new things. It’s been a huge learning opportunity, and something real to hang on to after graduation. And it’s been awesome to be in the startup space.”