Thomas Thornton invented the interproximal toothbrush at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut in the early 1970”s. Mr. Thornton had written his Master’s thesis in Economics on Non-Price competition in 1964 and wanted to create a product for the foundation of a future company. For the following decade while employed first in the corporate world and then for 6 years on Wall Street in institutional sales, Mr. Thornton thought about developing a useful and patentable invention. His ideal product would be a useful, educational health product which was patentable and profitable.

Mr. Thornton focused on the health care market because of favorable secular trends for increased health care spending and growth. He felt the oral hygiene market, which was only in its infancy in the 1970’s, was an area of unfulfilled consumer needs and chose to focus on that market. For three years, while also working full time to provide for his large family, he worked on a product idea for cleaning between teeth. One momentous day he invented the interproximal toothbrush. The invention was highly effective in removing plaque and it also had the profitability Mr. Thornton sought.

He then applied for more than 20 patents in major industrial countries with advanced consumer markets and started work on a prototype production machine. In 1972, he formed Educational Health Products, Inc. to develop production technology, raise capital, perform market research and plan the commercialization of his invention.

Mr. Thornton and his special machinery builders completed a prototype production machine two years later and moved it to a new 2,000 square-foot factory in New Canaan. The machine was turned on and worked immediately.

In 1974, Mr. Thornton resigned from his New York investment job to concentrate in the manufacturing and marketing of his new interproximal toothbrush invention. Instead of commuting two hours each way to Wall Street, Mr. Thornton donned work clothes and started constructing a new factory only a five minute commute from his home.

Mr. Thornton switched from investment research and stocks to electric motors, gears and machinery sprockets. In two months the factory was finished and began producing the interproximal toothbrushes. Mr. Thornton and his marketing consultant, Wolf Lieschke, decided to brand the product SUPER FLOSS. Since no one had ever heard of an interproximal toothbrush, they decided to market the product as floss, a product with which everyone could identify.

Mr. Thornton put on factory clothes in the morning to manufacture Super Floss and changed into a suit in the afternoon to sell the product to dental supply companies. Those companies then sold Super Floss to dentists.

Fear of rejection by dentists and no repeat sales haunted Mr. Thornton during the start-up period. Stepping directly into the market with a brand new product concept of unfinished quality was unnerving.

A pattern of reorders started and propelled the company to a small profit in its maiden year. Mr Thornton was heartened and commissioned his special machinery builders to build a large-capacity production machine.

In 1975, Mr. Thornton moved with his new mass-production machine to a large plant in the adjacent city of Norwalk , Connecticut. Sales and earnings grew as dentists, hygenists and patients started using and recommending Super Floss.

Large foreign orders from Switzerland, Germany and Sweden provided working capital to finance further expansion. In subsequent years, Mr. Thornton set up sales booths at major dental meetings to market Super Floss to dental professionals. He also advertised heavily in dental trade journals.

Each year from 1977 to 1982, Mr. Thornton promoted his product at major industry events such as The Greater New York Dental Meeting in November, the Chicago Mid-Winter Meeting in February, the Hinman Dental Meeting in Atlanta. and the Anaheim Dental Meeting in the spring.

Educational Health Products also had a presence at the annual American Dental Association meeting, which was held in a different city each year. Mr. Thornton additionally, attended major dental meetings in Europe, such as the IDS meeting in Koln, Germany -- the largest dental meeting in the world. During this seven-year growth period, sales and earnings grew 30 percent annually.

Mr. Thornton owes the success of Super Floss to a group of leading dentists and hygienists who had the wisdom to recognize a good idea and the generousity and foresight to purchase Super Floss and introduce it to their patients.

A clinical study Mr. Thornton had organized at Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery proved to be a major milestone for Super Floss. Dr David C. Abelson -- along with his clinical investigators Joan E. Barton, RDH, MS, Georgette M. Maietti, RDH, MS and Melinda G Cowherd, RDH- structured the clinical protocal.

The comparative efficacy study against J&J unwaxed floss, then considered the gold standard of preventive dentistry, showed the Super Floss brand of interproximal toothbrush was clinically a superior product. The complete study and results can be found in the Journal of Preventive Dentistry, Vol.3 No.4, July/August 1981.

The Columbia study caught the attention of major corporations in the dental products field and two years later in 1983 Educational Health Products, Inc., merged with Cooper Laboratories, Inc.. Cooper owned the highly successful Oral B Laboratories.

Ten years later after completing a non-compete agreement with Cooper, Mr. Thornton re-entered the market in 1993 with Thornton 3in1 Floss, and two new patented products: Thornton Bridge and Implant Cleaners; and Thornton Periodontal Floss.

The Oral B aquisition was extremely good fortune for Mr. Thornton, who was paid royaties for ten years as he waited to re-enter the market. During that time he was able to track sales growth patterns from royalty reports.

The powerful Gillette Company acquired Oral B from Cooper Laboratories in 1984 and sales of Super Floss rose substantially over the next 20 years, under Gillette’s stewardship. Then, Procter and Gamble, the most powerful consumer products in the world acquired the entire Gillette Company in 2005.

Now in 2009, after starting in Mr. Thornton’s New Canaan basement his Super Floss invention is sold nearly everywhere in the world by the best consumer products company, Procter & Gamble. Sales of Super Floss and Mr. Thornton’s products over the past 35 years are estimated to exceed 10 billion units. Most of the sales are from Oral B’s 27 years of steady global distribution expansion under Gillette’s stewardship from 1984 through 2005, and P&G guidance from 2005 to the present.

Coincidentally, Mr. Thornton’s first job after graduating from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in 1961 was a marketing and sales position with Procter & Gamble which ended when Mr. Thornton started a tour of active duty in the U.S. Army. The training he received at P&G proved to be a permanement asset used many times over in the merchandising of Super Floss and Thornton’s other products. Thank you Procter & Gamble.

When placed ended to end, 10 billion interproximal toothbrushes at 24 inches each equals 797,280 miles which circumvent the earth 151 times.