We recently connected with Joya Lyons and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Joya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Absolutely, I would be thrilled to share a story about something innovative that I’ve done over the course of my career. As a proud inventor and entrepreneur, innovation is at the core of everything I do.

One of the most transformative innovations I’ve achieved is the creation of The Enchanted Tooth Box ®. This product came to life when I recognized a real need in the market and a personal struggle – finding a way to make the Tooth Fairy tradition easier and more magical for exhausted and busy parents like myself.

I realized that there wasn’t a solution out there that fit the bill, so I set out to create one myself. In doing so, I spent countless hours researching, designing, and developing a product that would truly change the game for parents everywhere.

The result was a small, time-activated, keepsake box that automatically exchanges a child’s tooth for money while everyone in the household sleeps. The Enchanted Tooth Box ® is designed to enhance the experience of losing a tooth, making it more exciting and truly magical for children while relieving parents of the burden of carrying out the tradition themselves

Joya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been an entrepreneur and business owner since 2014. My first love has always been dentistry, and my husband and I opened our dental office, Smile Savvy Cosmetic Dentistry, in 2014. However, in February of 2023 I branched out and started a product-based businesses as well, which is called, Enchanted Tradition, LLC.

I started Enchanted Traditions™, LLC to build a company centered around fun traditions and create products that feed the imagination and strengthens family bonds. I spoke about our flagship product earlier, The Enchanted Tooth Box®. It’s truly a unique and innovative product that helps busy parents carry out the Tooth Fairy tradition with ease and adds more magic to the experience. This product is the first of its kind on the market, and it has received a lot of positive feedback from parents who have used it.

In addition to selling The Enchanted Tooth Box, we also offer a children’s book titled “The Tooth Fairy and The Enchanted Tooth Box”. This book is not only a fun and engaging story for kids, but it also includes an education page that helps parents educate their kids about taking care of their teeth. The dentist in me had to include a dental educational page! We are dedicated to providing our customers with products that are not only fun and engaging but also educational and informative.

One of the main problems that we solve for our clients is making the Tooth Fairy tradition less stressful and more enjoyable for parents and children. Losing a tooth should be an exciting and magical experience for kids, but it can often be stressful for parents who are trying to carry out the tradition and scary for kids who don’t want to loose a tooth. Our products help to alleviate that stress and add more magic and excitement to the experience.

I am most proud of the fact that we have been able to create a product that helps parents and children, and that is the first of its kind on the market. It has been both challenging and rewarding to create a business that combines my passion for dentistry with my interest in product-based businesses.

Overall, I want potential clients/followers/fans to know that Enchanted Tradition, LLC is a company that is committed to providing innovative and high-quality products that make important milestones in a child’s life more magical and memorable.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the greatest business partner and co-founder that I could have possibly prayed for – and he also happens to be my husband! It’s a beautiful thing to be able to build a business with the person you love, and I truly cherish every moment that we spend together on this journey. But, let me get into how we met.

We were both attending a summer program our junior year of college that focused on dentistry, and we happened to be placed in the same group of students for mock interviews. After that brief introduction, we went our separate ways and didn’t see each other for over two years.

Fast forward to our first day of dental school at Meharry Medical College, and there he was again! We both couldn’t believe it. It was like God brought us together again. We quickly became study partners and started dating, fell in love, and the rest is history.

But our journey didn’t just stop there. We both shared a passion for dentistry and a desire to build something bigger than ourselves. That’s when we decided to start our own dental practice. It was scary and overwhelming at times, but we leaned heavily on our faith and each other. And before we knew it, we built a successful dental practice that eventually led us to start another business together.

Now, as husband and wife business partners, we continue to support each other and thank God for bringing us together all those years ago. It’s amazing to see how much we’ve accomplished together, and we’re excited for what the future holds.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Absolutely! I’m happy to share about a time when I had to pivot. The COVID shutdown was a challenging time for everyone, including us, but we saw it as an opportunity to reflect on our career fulfillment and make some necessary changes.

One of the biggest changes we made was shifting our focus to cosmetic dentistry. This allowed us to not only do the work we loved but also gave us time to explore other passions. This is when I started diving into developing products for Enchanted Traditions.

We understood that this was a risky move given the current economic climate, but we prayed for guidance, put in the work, and took the plunge anyway. We spent a lot of time researching, training, and ensuring we could provide the best possible services. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions we’ve made.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.enchantedtraditions.com, www.smilesavvydentistry.com
• Instagram: @enchantedtraditions, @drdrewlyons_drjoyalyons

Image Credits
Ariel Perry Photography