3M Dental Products – The Early Years by Garth Jessamine

Life is full of irony. When I was conscripted straight from Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen at the tender age of eighteen into the Royal Air Force in 1946, my RAF Pay Book described my “civilian occupation” as “Dental Student” because my intention then had been to study dentistry. However many years were to pass before I was to become involved with dental matters and in an entirely different capacity.

The RAF offered me the “trade” choice of being a Cook or a Radar Operator and I mistakenly believed that the latter might be of more material value to me in later life. Not so. As a Cook I would have been much more self-sufficient in the kitchen than I am even now but I have a lasting memory of being on Cook House “jankers” and being instructed to clean out an enormous vat from which several hundred Airmen had consumed tea with their breakfast. As I tipped out the last few gallons of cold tea, into view at the bottom of the vat appeared a rather worn tennis shoe.

“Wondered where that had got to” was the muttered response from the Sergeant Cook to whom I reported my find with some dismay.

On “demob” some three years later in the month of April I found myself being offered a job out of the proverbial blue by the Imperial Tobacco Company which I decided to accept until the Term began at Dundee Dental School in September. The prospect of a company car, expenses and wages were not unattractive as a temporary seven month standby. Seven years later I left Imperial and joined a company with the strange name of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing with Headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota, USA. Thankfully some bright soul in due course recognised the advantage of abbreviating the name to 3M.

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My initial role was as a Tape Salesman, embracing the remarkable range of industrial tapes which the company manufacture; electrical tape and the then innovative audio tapes. My base was Aberdeen and my “patch” was half of Scotland which probably conditioned my impatience in later years with Salesmen who might complain to me of having too large a territory. Mine frequently necessitated leaving home on a Monday morning and not returning again until Friday afternoon.

However after eighteen months or so I was invited to relocate to the UK Head Office in Wigmore Street, London, immediately behind Selfridges and I was elevated to the grand title of Product Merchandiser in our then embryo marketing group. This was 1960, the year of the Mini -the skirt not the car !- and nowhere were they to be seen in more abundance than London’s West End. Exciting times for a young man from the far north of Scotland.

You can probably imagine my awe, during my very first week working in the West End of London, finding myself sharing a table at the Rising Sun pub in Marylebone High Street while I consumed a pie and pint, with no less a personality than the actor, Ian Carmichael. I was too naive then, maybe, to ask him for his autograph and probably out of sheer spite, he did not ask me for mine.

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For most of the year 1960 I had lodgings, while a new home was being built in Barnet, in the Marylebone High Street home of Gilbert Webster, the leading percussion instrumentalist with the BBC Philarmonic Orchestra.

Gilbert was very well known in music circles and would “dep” for a friend who may have had to miss a night’s engagement to ensure the friend did not lose the job. Consequently I would wear a black tie and -playing and paying absolutely nothing- enjoyed many a West End show from the orchestra pit.

The daughter of Gilbert and his wife Addie, was the irrepressible Janet Webb, possibly best known for her regal entrance at the end of many of the Morecame and Wise shows, sweeping them out of her path and thanking the audience for coming to “my little show”. Janet was a larger than life lady in many ways, not in the least phased by her undeniable bulk and could hit a golf ball a prodigious distance. However an unforgettable occasion was that when we went swimming at Ruislip Lido and Janet managed to allow her girth to jam the turnstile, much to the amusement of Janet herself and several casual onlookers.

In my new job, our challenge was to identify new applications for existing products and I chose the hospital as a market to develop, we having had little or no presence there outside the use of Scotch Tape in the administrative offices. I doubt if I recognised then that the hospital and affiliated fields were near enough to be my scenario for the rest of my life. We had an impressive range of Lane Marking Tapes which were used to designate various storage areas and danger spots in warehouses and factory floors. Quite quickly we had many hospitals around the country applying these different colour tapes on corridors and walls to assist a patient or visitor find a particular department. It was good business until almost inevitably someone recognised the same effect could be achieved at less cost using paint.

Outside the hospital field, on which I would issue bulletins to the then Commercial Tapes Sales Force, “The Hospital Market; The Patient is Making Satisfactory Progress”, there arrived a fun experience in the run-up to Christmas 1961 on which I like to stake the serious claim, of having introduced “Gift Wrap” to the UK.

We had received from St Paul an initial supply of the excellent 3M Ribbon products, Sasheen, Decorette and Lacelon, which none of us in the UK had the remotest idea how to use. Out of the blue arrived an Australian T.V. Demonstrator lady by the name of Margaret Wisemen who was an expert in the handling of the Ribbons and set about teaching me her skills. This was long before the threat of arthritis invading my hands and I found that I was quickly able to emulate her manual production of exotic bows by the name of Frou-Frou, Chrysanthemum, Starburst and others. A colleague who had the responsibility for marketing the products was quick to negotiate a strategic position in our back door neighbour’s store, Selfridges of Oxford Street, from which I might demonstrate my new skills, ably assisted by a couple of pretty sales girls.

Our pitch was “Artistry in Ribbon” and an artist’s palette above our stand was decorated with a range of my multi-coloured bow creations. The activity attracted tremendous attention and every day I was presented with the not-unwelcome prospect of ladies six deep, admiring my demonstrations and buying the Ribbons for their own Christmas presents. As I recall, I was seconded to Selfridge’s staff for the two month period of November and December -but not to their pay role ! A Christmas to remember nevertheless.

One prerequisite in the hand preparation of the bows was a razor sharp pair of scissors and my just deserts came towards the end of December -by which times the sales girls were equally adept. In completing a splendid white Sasheen Chrysanthemum bow with a final flourish, I casually sliced into the top of a finger and the bow became an instant crimson. Blood -mine !- was everywhere. My audience literally fainted and faded away and I bowed out -if you will pardon the pun- from the Gift Wrap scene.

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My first real “health care” opportunity arose with the arrival from St Paul in 1961 of “Scotch” No.222 Indicator Tape which later became 3M No 1222 Autoclave Indicator Tape with which anyone in the hospital environment is immediately familiar. The ability to distinguish readily between items which had been autoclaved and those that had not, differentiating between sterile and non-sterile goods was recognised as an immediate boon and the 3M “health care” enterprise was under way.

About the same time, I had been in correspondence with a Dr Theodore Gillman in South Africa. He had been experimenting with our various Scotch self-adhesive sticky tapes as a means of closing a wound rather than the use of traditional sutures, or stitches. I sent him samples of some of our industrial tapes for assessment and advised my liaison colleagues in St Paul of the activity.

They sent to me a couple of “experimental tapes” and instructed me to ask Dr Gillman to try them. One was Scotch Test Tape No 530 which was shortly to become No 1530 Micropore Surgical Tape and which also provided the basis of the development of “Steri-Strip” Skin Closures both of which combined to provide the backbone of early 3M Medical Products fast growing sales and which provided me with considerable job satisfaction. Ted Gillman became the Professor of Animal Physiology at Brabraham College in Cambridge, England and was responsible for much of the early written work which demonstrated the superior tensile strength of tape closed wounds as opposed to sutured incisions.

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It was in 1966 that I was, with some apprehension, instructed to attend a Dental Conference Exhibition in Paris at which “revolutionary” 3M Dental products were to be introduced.

These turned out to be “Addent 12” and “Addent 35”, possibly the first serious alternative to dental silicate cement and amalgam as restorative materials for something in the region of 100 years. The numerals in the two product names were to identify the Class of restoration for which they were intended because there were significant differences in the ingredients of the two materials. Both were presented as two-element materials; a sachet from which one extruded the contents to be mixed with a single controlled size drop of a liquid catalyst.

The “Addent 35” attracted the more immediate attention because the minute particulate filler content was based on the technology of 3M “Scotchlite”, as seen on the highly reflective road signs which were then becoming prominent on our new Motorway systems. The minute particles, it was claimed, had the capability of absorbing or reflecting the colour of the surrounding tooth structure and so result in an improved aesthetic restoration. Indeed it did just that too but almost inevitably the products had built-in invitations for the dentist to take liberties in the interests of economy.

He, or she, soon recognised that, having completed a filling, a great deal of the sachet content (which cost 9 shillings as opposed to an estimated 6 pence for a dab of silicate) was still left on the mixing pad. It was not difficult to extrude only half, then a quarter, then an eighth of the sachet but it was impossible to reduce the measured doze of the catalyst dispensed by the bottle nozzle and suddenly many dentists found that they had to operate at break neck speed if they were to get the restorative into the cavity before it had set rock hard on the placement instrument. Many succeeded though many failed but the experience did help to emphasis that while the concept was good, there were practical limitations.

With these new products, we also had the temerity to try to persuade the dental profession that the teachings of Dr Black in cavity preparation should be forgotten and that cavity margins should be bevelled or rounded to maximise the effect of the colour absorption properties of “Addent 35”.

Acceptance of these new restorative materials was undoubtedly assisted by the “Tomorrow’s World” television presentation of the procedure by the late and lovely Lawrence Levy with whom I am pleased to say I maintained a lasting relationship until his untimely death a couple of years ago. He was a fine dentist and an exceptionally fine man.

A slight hiccup to our introduction of these new products was the fact that the name “Addent” was a registered trade mark held by the Dental Manufacturing Company. The name had not been used for a number of years and the then Managing Director of D.M.Co., Mr Peter Poulton, agreed to our use of the name, providing they had access to distribution of our products. This was very much in line with our thinking because it was our intention to distribute through trade houses and as quickly as possible we became Members of the BDTA.

“Addent 12”, intended for posterior restorations, had a ceramic filler instead of the glass rods and beads as the particulate element but the wear resistant properties in occlusal posterior cavities took some time to be accepted. At this time in our first few floundering steps into the dental world, we were grateful for the kind interest and assistance willingly provided by so many dedicated dental professionals.

Limitation of space prevents my identifying them all but a young Lecturer at UCH was one and I was pleased to observe that he, now Professor Gavin Pearson, has not aged one day since that time by virtue of his photograph in a recent issue of Dental Trader. Other names that come readily to mind are those of Dr John McLean, Professor Nixon in Manchester, Jack Messing and many others. Peter Gordon, from his Wimpole Street Practice, provided us with many invaluable quality colour illustrations of our products in situ.

Another name that comes readily to mind is that of Eric Scher of that extended dental family. Eric was a man short in stature but all heart and was dedicated to his dental profession. Many a journey we undertook together to some far flung BDA Branch Meeting at which Eric would present his experiences with our products. We would then return to Kings Cross or Paddington on an overnight sleeper with a drop of the “Auld Kirk” to sustain us en route.

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Our great rivals in the dental market at that time were Johnson and Johnson, a mirror company with similar interests to 3M in many market sectors. My counterpart at J & J was another Scot, Max Stringer and we enjoyed healthy rivalry in competition to get the better market share for our respective innovative restorative materials. I recall the probably disproportionate satisfaction of beating Max at a BDTA Conference Table Tennis knock out competition. We were both quite sure that we were deliberately drawn against each other by the organisers.

While 3M had introduced the first composite in “Addent” materials, J & J beat us to the introduction of the first simplified two paste composite system with their “Adaptic” product.

It was at that time the obvious route to take and I think in hind sight we were prepared to admit that we had to retaliate with an alternative product from which we had not quite ironed out all the wrinkles. This was the early formula of “Concise”, also a two paste system and introduced somewhat hurriedly to prevent J & J grabbing too much of the lion’s share of the market. The advice had come to us from St Paul that the life expectancy of the new Concise product would be enhanced if it were kept refrigerated, which information, of course, we passed on to our UK dental surgeon customers.

In no time we encountered serious problems. This revolutionary new restorative began to come back to us more quickly than we could send it out, the dentists complaining that the material was crystallising in the jars, making it difficult to mix. Panic stations ! Now what ?

Help came rapidly however from Professor Mike Braden at the London Hospital Dental School who advised me that the crystallised material reconstituted very readily if it were warmed up. The solution to the problem was that simple. Suddenly my office and those of colleagues who had a south facing aspect, had the window sills lined with packs of Concise being reconstituted by the warmth of the sun or the office radiators and the Sales Team were busy removing packs from ‘fridges around the country.

It was fortunately a short lived crisis because the Labs in St Paul had been busy developing the reformulated and far superior “Translux” version of Concise and our initial teething troubles -if you will excuse the pun- were virtually over.

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At that time the BDTA was a pretty staid and conservative organisation and the arrival of two American companies such as J & J and 3M was received with some suspicion and possibly even resentment by some. Were we to rock the boat and have the audacity of trying unwelcome “Yankee” practices in marketing our products ? We certainly were and it was not too long before we incurred the displeasure of the “establishment”.

As a whimsical ploy in support of our Concise product, I offered to receptive Dental Surgeons a free jar of 3M Precise Rose Food. I saw no harm in the action, the ”freebie” not detracting from the sales of BDTA Member companies in any way whatsoever. It was just another means of getting our Concise product known to and discussed by dentists.

However at the next BDTA Conference, shortly afterwards, I was surprised to hear the then President, the late and very likeable John Bailey, Managing Director of S.S. White, tell the gathering that “certain activities on the part of certain Member companies should be deplored” and added that he had two horses and a donkey and they provided him with the finest roses in the county.

I felt obliged to defend our action from the floor and added that I was disappointed that some of the Membership of the BDTA had not immediately recognised that companies such as J & J and 3M would make a significant impact in the dental market and they deserved support rather than fellow Member companies trying to undermine their progress by bringing in other competitive and inferior composite products into the UK -as had S.S. White a few weeks earlier. I believe I also added that whenever I saw John and his two colleagues wandering around the Conference henceforth, I would think of his tale of two horses and a donkey.

At another Conference, at the Palace Hotel in Torquay, I recall strolling down to their tennis courts during a break period to watch a bunch of youngsters playing very attractive tennis. I was joined at the netting by the successful Coach, Arthur Webster who asked me what I thought of his young brood. I told him that I was particularly impressed by a young blond girl in a yellow sweater on a far court. He replied that I must have good eye for talent because the girl in question was the then British Junior Champion, Sue Barker, now internationally recognised as a sports commentator on the completion of her distinguished tennis career.

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In 1972 3M established our independent Dental Products Group and initially I had such stalwarts for support as Derek Packham, who stayed the course until he retired; David Comley who tells me he still comes out of retirement to “do a Showcase stint” for Alan Bayles; Jim Kelly is still on the fringe of the dental scene and I understand that Peter Whelan has recently sold his own dental business in Yorkshire. We had one remarkable coincidence. Steve Clapman was one of our very keen young Salesmen but proved to be the first to want to leave us to try his luck in the then relatively new double glazing field

Twenty eight years later he sent me an e-mail, explained that he had an interest in getting back into the health care business and would I give him a reference. After 28 years ? This was in the summer of 2003 and I had just sold my Garth Jessamine business but knew that the new proprietor was looking for more representation. So 28 years after he left my 3M dental activity, Steve returned to operate again, loosely, under the same banner name. I understand that he is again doing very well and maybe not surprisingly, mainly in the dental field.

One near-miss of an acquisition, of which many are unaware, just could have altered dental distribution dramatically in the UK for ever more had it gone through.

The Labs at St Paul had developed a new Pit and Fissure Sealant System. Such was the scale of opportunity perceived for the product it was decided that we required an immediate expansion of the handful of Salesmen we had in the field. We required an established sales force already up and running in the market place.

We enjoyed a particularly healthy relationship with the Cottrell Company from the outset and the strength and quality of representation they had at that time was very attractive to us. We had a series of discussions with Mr Hutcheson Cottrell and Mr Robin Cottrell and an agreement in principle of a 3M purchase of the Cottrell business was all but sewn up. Many a slip....! At the eleventh hour the FDA in the USA registered reservations about our employment of a cyanoacrylate component in the system and put an embargo upon its export outside America. That put an end to 3M acquisition aspirations at that time but it is interesting to conjecture what difference that might have made to the distribution structure in the U.K. dental field today.

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A somewhat more successful development however was not far away and in 1974 we launched a programme of great emphasis on the Acid Etch Technique of enamel preparation which became so effective in so many dental chairs. A memorable occasion was the International Symposium held on the subject in the stylish Suvretta House Hotel in St Moritz, Switzerland in December of 1974. The week before our Symposium, the hotel was occupied by the Shah of Persia and his entourage.

The arrangements for the Symposium were organised by Dr Leon Dogan of Minnesota University in St Paul and Dr Leon Silverstone of The London Dental School, London. Each 3M Subsidiary was scheduled to have a maximum of four dental professionals at the Symposium. I am still not quite sure how we in the UK managed to get away with having a party of 16 but such was our relationship with U.K. Dental School personnel, it was difficult to leave many people out.

We maximised the opportunity of the programme by having a stand at an “Ally Pally” Showcase which had none of the usual utilitarian demonstration set-up but just a few arm chairs, sofas and small coffee style tables. A relaxing and inviting lounge atmosphere. On the walls we had a series of tasteful studies of the nude female form, our mailing to the profession having been “Come up and see our etchings.”

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There were, of course, many others to whom we were eternally grateful for the assistance and support which we received in these early years both in the dental profession and the dental trade and I apologise to any whom I may not identify by name. A Who’s Who of the dental market would really be necessary.

However one person whom I believe deserves special mention, if only because of the problems he caused me by the integrity of principle which he applied to his and his Company’s commitment to the market situation at that time, is Derek Pacy.

Derek Pacy had a marketing responsibility for the products to be distributed by Claudius Ash in those days and I had to respect the fact that he felt he was fully committed to the J & J Adaptic programme when I approached him with a view to exhibiting our new Concise material at Cladius Ash regional exhibitions.

Derek was wholly prepared to allow us to participate in these exhibitions as long as we exhibited and demonstrated only our recently acquired Ion Soflex Discs, Abrasive Strips and various Crowns. Under no circumstances however, was he prepared to allow us to present our Concise materials, which was most frustrating from my point of view

Apart from this particular constraint, I believe that Derek and I genuinely liked and respected each other but I could not break through this entrenched reluctance on his part to deviate from the support he had assured J & J they would enjoy. I hope that, should Derek read this, he will not object to my believing that I eventually identified his Achilles Heel. Somehow I learned that Derek’s mother was about to have a 90th birthday. On behalf of 3M, I sent to her a very large and I am sure, appropriately beautiful bunch of flowers.

That I think, broke down the barriers and from then on I believe that Derek and I have enjoyed a most harmonious relationship that has extended long beyond our respective retirements although I suspect that these days we see less of each other than either of us would like.

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Anyone who has had any involvement in the dental industry for any length of time will have memories such as mine and many more. I value my years of involvement with the dental industry as some of the most enjoyable and satisfying in my life. They were unique in terms of the people with whom I associated, the assistance I encountered and lasting friendships I made. In later years I admired greatly the substantial business that Dennis Carroll and Doug White created as what has become the 3M-ESPE enterprise but I do like to think that they were building upon solid early foundations.

In large Company organisations it is almost inevitable that various circumstances, relocations and personnel moves result in changes in one’s career. 3M moved the Health Care Management team from Bracknell to Loughborough, which was not an attractive move to me at my age at that time. Apart from other factors, my dear wife Peg was Secretary to one of the Company Directors in another 3M Division in Bracknell. Relocation was not on the cards.

Accordingly I relinquished my dental role and assumed instead responsibility for a whole new package of problems and opportunities. One of these, the introduction of Radioactive I -125 Iodine Seeds for the irradiation of cancer tumours from within in inoperable situations rather than external beam therapy, I found to be particularly exciting and rewarding.

Garth Jessamine January 2004