Our Mission

To Make Dentistry Better by creating, finding, and marketing practical innovations in ways that build lasting, profitable relationships.

Practicon was founded in 1982 with a vision of advancing dental health and increasing practice success through improving patient education. Building on a mission to Make Dentistry Better, we have grown to become a trusted developer and marketer of “Practical Innovations” that provide effective solutions for common problems, sold alongside a growing line of brand-name supplies. Practicon’s first mail order catalog of dental products was published in 1984 and featured only 50 products, with a circulation of only 5,000. Today, circulation exceeds 1,000,000 catalogs annually, each carefully designed to support our ongoing mission. More new and unique products are featured on our growing website.

Customers describe Practicon’s products as creative, unique, and hard-to-find, many inspired or designed by dental professionals themselves. Motivated by a desire to help others avoid the traps and pitfalls of developing, protecting, manufacturing, and marketing a product or idea, Practicon takes particular interest in helping guide dental inventors through the ideation-to-launch process, when we can.

Four decades after its founding, our corporate values remain: Do Right, Do Better, Do Together. Practicon continues to preserve its family-friendly culture, putting the needs of dental patients and dental professionals first, making the well-being of every customer and dedicated associate our highest priority.

Our Founder

Ann Page Griffin began her career in the dental field in June 1980, in the newly created role of Dental Health Educator for the pediatric dental practice of Dr. Jasper Lewis, Jr. in Greenville, NC. Ann’s initial role in the office was to teach young patients and their parents about the causes of dental disease, including the importance of prevention and proper home care. In a short time, Ann began to receive invitations from schools, civic clubs, health professionals, and dental schools to present the dental health programs she had developed.

At the same time, Ann was able to reformulate and streamline many of the management systems in the practice, which led to improved staff relations, increased efficiency, and a more relaxed working atmosphere in which to provide the highest quality patient care. Ann’s wide range of responsibilities and contributions were combined into the position of Dental Health Educator/Practice Administrator (DHE/PA), a pioneering role that brought about dramatic increases in both patient population and profitability.

By September 1982, requests for DHE/PA information and materials had exceeded the resources available from the practice, and a new business was incorporated to offer dental practice management and marketing consulting services, as well as products, to dentists and their staffs. Now 40 years later, Ann continues to contribute to the continued success of Practicon and its customers through her generosity and guidance, offering for free the wealth of practice management information and resources she developed over the course of her career.

Explore Ann Page Griffin’s Free Resources click here.

Our Logo

Simply put, our smile logo represents our core goals and values—a smile that symbolizes the dental health mission we share with our customers worldwide, that conveys our enjoyment in bringing innovative products to market, and that reflects our friendly, personal service. In short, service with a smile!