Today we’d like to introduce you to Violaine Gillot.
Violaine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Mouth Watchers was founded by Dr. Ronald Plotka, a nationally renowned Boston area dentist with over 40 years of dentistry leadership. Operating a large practice in Swampscott, MA. Dr. Plotka has pioneered several oral healthcare advancements such as: Dental Bonding, Tooth Sealants, same-day Crown Fabrication, is one of the first to use the revolutionary Solea Laser technology, and just brought his office and team to the same level by becoming an official apnea specialist practice.
In years of practice, Dr. Plotka kept seeing patients coming back to his office with the same issues over and over again, such as cavities, gum disease, plaque… and he had a vision that people simply didn’t have the tool and education needed to keep their teeth clean at home in between their dental cleanings. That’s when he had the vision of inventing this better brush, the one that will help people keep their teeth, the one tool that will keep the cavities away, that will break the plaque better than any other brush on the market. A brush that would be more than a brush. One that would be antimicrobial so it would keep itself naturally clean to avoid reinfection, and one that would also have super fine bristles to help with the flossing job!
We started at the basement of dental office about 10 years ago and had only one full-time employee. No one knew what Mouth watchers was and how different it was from other brushes on the market. But all it took was for people to use it and actually feel and see the difference. Whole Foods Market Swampscott accepted to try out and resell the line and… here it was, the door to this amazing journey that brought us in the hand of thousands of consumers, in hundreds of dental practices!
One of the biggest differences on top of the brush itself is that we actually truly care about people’s oral health, overall and well-being. We believe this has helped us with our success: being true people behind a product, with a real dentist whose goal #1 is his patients oral health!
And here we are 10 years later… We are in more than 1000 stores and pharmacies all over Unites States, as well as in 12 other countries. A lot of dental professionals recommend our brush to their patients every single day, amazed by the results they see after only a couple weeks of use!
We also give back to the community: we are part of an association called Crown Council, to who we give a percent of our sales to dentists. In return of all their members’ contribution, they send hygienists/dentists teams abroad in countries in need to educate them on oral care and provide with basic needs in that field. Dr. Plotka also is one of the founders of Saint Judes 🙂
Our journey has just started; our goal is to educate as many people as we can about preventive oral care. We believe in something called “systemic health”, which is the concept where everything in your body is linked: to have a healthy body, you need to start with a healthy mouth!
A huge thank you for our success today to our customers, who shared their experience with Mouthwatchers with their friends and family. It did make a difference in growing our business and does every day.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As our business is self-funded, we did go through some struggles such as having enough cash-flow to build up our stock for the growing demand!
Or as most small companies do, we went through some growing pain as we call them. That means when our business started growing more and more, we had to adjust and hire more people, design some processes, get new computers, expand our space, get new warehouses, meet with banks. We had to listen to stores and make changes in displays, or design sales sheets, get a new and more efficient web-site, start being more present on the Social Media page, we had to think of our next step as well! We designed new products to expand our line, we hired sales reps, get a more proficient accounting system, be on top of our consumer feedback, find better shipping options… And the list is long! All of those are fantastic thing but they also all come with difficulties and risks!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about MOUTH WATCHERS – what should we know?
We make toothbrushes!
• ANTIMICROBIAL BRISTLES − infused with silver technology that eliminates 99% of bacteria that grows on bristles between use, leaving the toothbrush clean and ready for the next use.
• FLOSSING BRISTLES − Revolutionary dual layered bristle structure for a better cleaning: Our bristles are 1 micrometer thin at the tip, reaching deep into the grooves, central fossa region and periodontal pockets, sweeping away food and plaque to avoid cavities and gingivitis!
• DENTAL QUALITY CLEANING − People rave about the way the bristles provide superior cleaning and reduce gum bleeding. Try it and we are guaranty you’ll say “It feels like I just had a dental cleaning!”
• THE POWER TOOTHBRUSH − has the same antimicrobial* and flossing bristles as the manual brush, and offers a unique 3D Action, reaching into areas untouched by prior toothbrushes for a deep cleaning. The gentle oscillations leave teeth and gums feeling just as clean as after a professional dental cleaning.
We are proud to be real people 🙂 You can call the 800 number and I’ll be the one answering the line. We are so very clear about everything we do and everything we believe in. Dr. Plotka is the best Man to work for, he is such a caring person, an amazing well-renowned dentist, a fun person to be around… And that we are proud of. We are also proud that if we are where we are today, it is uniquely because our product IS better. No advertising, no commercials, no campaign. Just an amazing better product and some great word of mouth 🙂
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
INTEGRITY
Caring for people.
Staying true to yourself, answering your customers’ questions and concerns at any given time.
Loving your company, your product, have a vision that encompass the people and the environment.
Then work our way through by having key decision makers try the product. No power point presentation, no tie and suit in a big conference room, no money, no big shot sales man can compare to simply brushing your teeth, at home, and be your own judge 🙂
Pricing:
- Doctor Plotka’s antimicrobial manual toothbrush with flossing bristles (adult or youth) $4.99
- Doctor Plotka’s antimicrobial travel toothbrush with flossing bristles $5.99
Contact Info:
- Address: 293 Humphrey St
- Website: www.mouthwatchers.com
- Phone: 9789688448
- Email: violaine.gillot@mouthwatchers.com
- Instagram: MOUTH WATCHERS
- Facebook: MOUTH WATCHERS
- Twitter: MOUTH WATCHERS
- Yelp: MOUTH WATCHERS
- Other: MOUTH WATCHERS
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