Hill Top Research, Inc. 900 Osceola Drive, West Palm Beach, FL, USA. smason@hill-top.com
Oral health care products generally require laboratory or clinical testing prior to being introduced to the market. Companies that develop such products have three options for such testing--their own facilities, dental schools, or clinical research organizations (CROs). Laboratory or clinical trials involving subjects can be conducted to test claims of safety and efficacy as well as cosmetic and therapeutic claims. CROs, which conduct such research on a fee-for-service basis in an independent environment, are an attractive alternative in many cases.