Member Article

Entrepreneurs cut their teeth

Entrepreneurs behind a dental products company are hoping to brush aside the competition in a challenge to find Teesside’s most promising new business.

Tom Riley and Matthew Lloyd have been friends since they were four and ran small enterprises while at Conyers School in Yarm.

Tom went to on to study economics at university then started a graduate training programme with Nationwide, while Matthew qualified as a dentist.

In 2011 they brought their skills together to form WhiteWash Laboratories Ltd with the aim of supplying premium quality but cost-effective teeth whitening products.

“Having your teeth whitened by your dentist has traditionally meant having a bespoke mould made that is filled with whitening gel which you then put on your teeth,” explained Tom.

“While we have a product like that, we have also developed our own teeth whitening strips product. The dentist doesn’t have to make a mould so it costs much less and the strips are also more comfortable, easier to transport and discreet but equally effective.”

The whitening strips contain hydrogen peroxide, which is a regulated substance, and are therefore only available from dentists as the gel used on the strips is professional strength. This means that they can’t be sold in supermarkets, pharmacies or online as the dentist first needs to make sure that the patient is suitable for whitening,

The company’s whitening products are sold exclusively through 1,000 dentists nationwide, and they also export to over 20 countries including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Australia.

They have gone on to develop a full range of teeth brightening products including a toothpaste with antibacterial silver particles, a remineralising toothpaste, an anti-bacterial nano-silver toothbrush and a sonic toothbrush, available online as well as at dentists’ surgeries.

“We are also working on new products including an overnight whitening treatment, a new electric brush and a whitening and remineralising mouthwash,” added Tom, 29.

WhiteWash Laboratories, which they run alongside a dental consumables wholesale and distribution business, is growing so well that they are expanding into a second unit at their base in Middlesbrough and doubling their warehouse space.

The company recently won the 2013 Bionow Biomedical export award.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .