Late Inventor’s Brother Polishes Plan to Sell Portable Toothbrush

Sometimes braces are the mother of invention.

That was the case with Dental Dots, the Valley-made product described in its literature as “the world’s first disposable fingertip toothbrush.”

As John Stoltzfus, who owns the Reseda firm, explains, it was his late brother, Bob, who dreamed up these throwaway toothbrushes.

Unlike John, his identical twin, Bob Stoltzfus, needed braces to straighten his lower teeth. The challenge of keeping his braces spinach-free inspired Bob to imagine something more portable than a conventional toothbrush. His bright idea: a dime-sized pad permeated with toothpaste and backed with adhesive. Affix the Dental Dot securely to your finger, give your teeth a scrub, with or without water, then toss the tiny device away.

Tragically, Bob learned just how useful the product was during an illness that ended his life in 1994.

“Over the course of time, he found himself in the hospital, receiving friends and relatives and unable to brush his teeth,” explains John, 38.

Bob had worked with an industrial designer to perfect the product and had applied for a patent before his death. John decided to finish the job his brother had started.

“That provides some of the passion and motivation for getting this product to market and seeing its success in the marketplace,” Stoltzfus says. “It’s both a good idea and Bob’s idea.”

The twins were born in Greenwich, Conn., where John Stoltzfus developed his enduring taste for Bass Weejuns and other prep-school fashions. They attended UC Santa Barbara, where both majored in political science.

“We took the same classes--better grades and half the workload,” Stoltzfus recalls fondly.

Later, the brothers worked together in commercial real estate, eventually starting their own firm, World Entertainment Services, that built amphitheaters and similar venues.

In the nondescript space in Reseda where Dental Dots are manufactured, Stoltzfus is eager to demonstrate the product. The minimalist toothbrushes come in blister packs of six or 18 and in two flavors--peppermint and spearmint. They are permeated with fluoride toothpaste, although “this toothpaste is dried down a little so you can handle it.”

The six-pack is no bigger than a credit card, Stoltzfus points out, “and it’s perforated so you can carry one at a time.”

“You stick it to a clean, dry finger,” he says, holding a Dental Dot aloft. “Moistening and rinsing are optional.”

Dental Dots are not intended to replace regular brushing and flossing, the Sherman Oaks resident says.

“This is for brushing on the go,” says Stoltzfus, who sometimes uses the product on long flights or when he has a business meeting and can’t brush the conventional way.

Dental Dots got national press recently when they were packed with a condom in what promoters called a “Get Lucky” kit. That mildly salacious marketing gimmick seems to make Stoltzfus uncomfortable. He prefers to talk about how convenient they are when you are camping or when you don’t want to pull a conventional brush and toothpaste out of your desk drawer at the office.

Currently, he says, the firm is working with travel-industry firms, including airlines and hotels, to place the product.

“It covers the band between suitcase companies and trains, planes and automobiles. That’s really our market,” says Stoltzfus, who is excited that Dental Dots will soon be featured in the Sky Mall catalog that is tucked into the pocket on the back of airline seats, along with the safety card and the paper bag no passenger ever wants to use.

At $1.99 for six, Dental Dots are already being sold in other parts of the country and via the company’s Web site.

“We expect to have West Coast distribution in the next 60 to 90 days through accounts such as Longs and Sav-on,” says Stoltzfus, who describes the firm as “personally and family financed.”

Stoltzfus says his brother’s example made inventing “seem more possible.” For now, however, Stoltzfus says he has to focus all his attention on getting Dental Dots marketed and sold.

Although, he admits, “we have several ideas for product extension based on Dental Dots.”

Stoltzfus can imagine tartar-control fingertip toothbrushes and tooth-whitening ones.

And it needn’t stop once there are Dental Dots in every purse, pocket, glove compartment, backpack and lunch box. There is already talk of expanding into the burgeoning pet-care market.

Doggie Dental Dots?

I don’t think so.

Spotlight runs each Friday. Patricia Ward Biederman can be reached at valley.news@latimes.com.