In spring 2020, Practicon, a dental supply company, learned its inventory of face shields had sold out within hours and were backordered indefinitely. Practicon says it procured a local surplus of 30 mil PVC and began using its in-house laser machine—for making dental staff name badges— to cut face shields for the local hospital. A nearby ECU lab 3D printed the head frames. Besides hospitals, dentists also needed protective face shields to safely treat patients.

This led Brad Griffin, VP of product development at Practicon, to collaborate with Sid Hanes, regional sales manager at Rohrer, a consumer packaging provider, and Rohrer engineers to design the Clear-All Face Shield for dentists, which fits over headlamps and loupes—binocular-like glasses— with a head frame folded entirely from 12 mil PET material. Features of the shield include:

• An adjustable, removable Velcro headband that can be washed and disinfected
• Anti-fog coating
• A continuous score curvature technique for a smooth, predictable fold
• Sustainable material

Practicon says it received the first shipment of the Clear-All Face Shield at the end of July and featured it in its fall catalog. Because folding might be time-consuming for healthcare workers, the shields are folded in advance by local Greenville residents and shipped ready to wear.