Today we’d like to introduce you to J. Brynn Snyder

Hi J. Brynn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

Slate Dental, Inc. was officially founded in the summer of 2021 but the idea for our Slate Electric Flosser originated in the summer of 2019. My husband Danny is a dentist and has been using a handled flosser for close to 20 years. One evening while flossing his teeth and staring at his electric toothbrush, he began thinking about what an electric flosser might look like. So, Dr. Snyder turned on his Sonicare toothbrush, held it alongside his handled flosser, and started to floss. He immediately noticed that the floss slipped between his tight contacts better with the added vibration. Of course, he thought that he could buy an electric flosser online, but after an extensive Google search, he realized that the product he was looking for didn’t exist yet! That’s when he came to me with the idea that we should develop and market an electric flosser.
The flosser itself went through many evolutions, ultimately resulting in the 3-in-1 design we know and love. Dr. Snyder wanted this product to be the only thing a person needed outside of their toothbrush to clean EVERY area of their mouth. That meant sonic vibrations to make flossing more effective while stimulating the gums, gum sweeps to access the pockets in between teeth and clean along the gumline, and a tongue scraper to remove leftover bacteria. Every bit of the Slate Flosser is designed to be functional.
With my background in business and his background in dentistry, we knew that we had the combined expertise to not only create an incredible product but get it out into the world. After investing the bulk of our life’s savings and working through the design process during COVID, we started a Kickstarter campaign that launched in October 2021. To our amazement, we reached our goal in just one day and were in the top 10% of Kickstarter campaigns! The success of that campaign laid the foundation for Slate’s current brand and business.
We went through extensive revisions to make sure our product was exactly what we wanted it to be. Once we felt confident with the 3-in-1 design, we had our product tested by over 500 registered dental hygienists and 73% said it was better than any other flosser on the market! After introducing regular consumers to Slate, we realized that we had built something really special. Before using Slate, only 35% of users flossed more than 2 days a week because they found traditional flossing difficult and time-consuming. However, within three months of adopting our product, 84% were flossing 5-7 days a week!

Since then, we’ve been charging forward, building our team, and expanding on our product. We now sell a rechargeable Slate Electric Flosser, floss heads designed specifically for braces, colored floss heads, and floss heads with nano-hydroxyapatite. We’re building an online community centered around overall health, oral wellness, and dental education. I’ve always believed that if people really knew how much flossing affects the rest of the body, (flossing helps prevent heart disease, dementia, & Alzheimer’s) they would care enough to floss. That’s what we’re trying to do; we’re trying to help people care enough to change their habits. We’re removing the barriers to flossing by providing our customers with a high-quality, user-friendly product that makes flossing easy and accessible to everyone.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

I would love to say that it’s been a smooth road, but starting a business with 5 kids at home never is. Not only have we had to balance building a new company with raising a family but we’ve had a lot of challenges with the manufacturing process. The initial model took 9 months longer than expected to perfect and underwent 18 months of rigorous product testing and revisions before the first version was finalized. Our new, rechargeable model required three versions of testing before landing on the best three vibration options (8,000 – 12,000 – 14,000). Trying to keep up with supply demand this year to ensure the product doesn’t run out has also been an unforeseen (but incredible) challenge. We’re still building our small team and currently operate our business out of our 2,400 sq ft garage and office space in Spokane, WA. We’re hoping to find a new warehouse space to move into by March 2025.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?

We want people of all abilities to lead healthier, happier lives by improving their dental care. More and more research is coming forward regarding the impact of oral care on our heart, brain, lungs, and microbiome. That’s why our vision is to empower people through education and innovation to better their oral health from the comfort of their homes. We want to get more people flossing!

A lot of people think that flossing is just popping a piece of floss between your teeth but that’s not enough. The goal of flossing is to remove as much plaque and bacteria as we can from between our teeth AND to stimulate the gums. That gum stimulation is why we use sonic vibrations and why our gum sweeps exist. The Slate Electric Flosser is the only 3-in-1 flosser made to floss your teeth, stimulate your gums, and clean off your tongue. Cleaning the gumline and increasing blood flow helps prevent gum disease which in turn helps prevent a variety of other illnesses.

Slate is also committed to sustainability. Not only are our flossers free of wax, PFAS, and PTFE, but using Slate’s reusable floss heads twice daily prevents over 700 plastic floss picks per person from reaching landfills each year! Our packaging is 100% recyclable and we’ve released a new rechargeable flosser so that sustainability can continue to be an integral part of our company.

Our flosser is a success because people actually use it. It doesn’t matter what fun gadgets we buy if they don’t become part of our routine. What makes the Slate Electric Flosser so special is that its unique, purposeful design really does make flossing easier, faster, and more effective. Our sales growth from 200k in 2022, 1 million in 2023, to already hitting 2 million as of July 2024, is a testament that our product works.

What are your plans for the future?

Our plan for the future is to develop products and improve our current products to help with oral health. We have learned so much and are excited to get our new rechargeable flosser in our customer’s hands. With over 340 million Americans needing to floss, our plans is to reach as many of them as possible and show them how they can take charge of their oral health.

Pricing:

• $119.99
• $25.00
• $20.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://slateflosser.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slateflosser/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slatedental
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/slateflosser
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyFmUfNFLEKSYlqi7h6wQsA