Innovative and high-quality prophylaxis

Young Dental started manufacturing dental products in the early 1900s.

It was just one of several small companies making instruments and supplies for the dental profession, which at that time was still in its infancy, just a few years past an age when dentistry and barbering were synonymous enterprises. Over the next half century, though, the company garnered an excellent reputation for making reliable instruments.

The modern history of Young Innovations, Inc. began in 1961, when George Richmond purchased Young Dental and quickly began changing its focus to making preventive dentistry products, chiefly the prophy polishing angle, an instrument used in hygienic dentistry. Richmond actually bought the company from his mother. At the time, the firm had only seven employees and annual sales of $61,000. It was already a long-established company and hardly seemed positioned or destined for growth. That was about to change.

Although it remained a small company, in a very fragmented industry, Young kept pace with the evolution of dentistry by working with academic clinicians and practicing dentists to identify problems in the profession. As it does today, Young used its design and manufacturing capabilities to then help solve those problems.

In 1968, seven years after Richmond bought the company, Young began marketing its Triple Seal prophy angle. Unlike other prophy angles in use at the time, the Triple Seal angle did not show any significant eroding effects from the abrasive polish used in cleaning teeth. It was also made to hold up under repeated sterilizations, almost indefinitely. Although significantly more expensive than prophy angles sold by competitors, the durable Triple Seal angle quickly gained a leading share in its U.S. market sector, thanks to its high quality and durability.

Still, for the next two decades, Young grew very slowly. It kept its focus on preventive dentistry, which the dental profession itself began stressing more and more. Meanwhile, companies that would later play significant roles in the growth of Young got their start.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, public awareness and concern about infectious diseases, including AIDS, became a critical concern of the dental profession and helped ignite a major increase in the number of subscribers to dental health plans. Between 1990 and 1994, that number more than doubled, growing from 7.8 million to 18.4 million. Among others, Young took an active role in establishing standards for infection control in dental care procedures.

The new public and professional concern helped boost the sale of the company’s metal Triple Seal prophy angle, primarily because of the angle’s durability and design. It also led to a new product, when in 1990, Young introduced a disposable Triple Seal angle. The new single-use angle quickly garnered a major share of its particular market, just as the company’s older reusable Triple Seal angle had done a dozen years before. In fact, by the end of the decade, disposable prophy angles would become the largest source of the company’s revenue.

The success of Young’s prophy angles fueled the company’s growth and put it in a financial position both to expand and to diversify. In 1995, the company took a significant step forward by acquiring Lorvic Holdings Inc. Lorvic produced a line of infection control products. These included fluoride treatment and application products as well as products for dental equipment sterilization and plaque removal. Also, to position itself for further expansion, Young Dental filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC. Its plan was to go public and raise up to $25 million in an initial public offering. The move was delayed, however, and the stock issue was not floated until 1997.

Meanwhile, in 1996, using an $18.5 million bank loan from Boatmen’s National Bank, the company both paid down its existing debt and purchased Denticator International Inc. of Rancho Cordova, California. Denticator, which produced low-cost disposable prophy angles, was in competition with Young, whose angles were somewhat higher in cost. With its acquisition of Denticator, Young both gained 75 percent of the special disposable prophy angle market and broadened its price range within that market. By 1996, between 80 million and 90 million disposable prophy angles were being marketed each year.

Revenues generated by its new acquisitions helped boost Young’s gross to $21.6 million in 1996, up from $17.5 million the previous year. On average, between 1992 and 2000, the company’s net profit margin ranged between 15.3 percent and 23.6 percent, which provides a good indication of its excellent financial performance–one that through the 1990s encouraged the company to continue its aggressive growth.

To help spur its sales, in July 1997, Young significantly modified its marketing strategy. Until that time, the company used independent sales representatives who moved Young products but in addition, they moved product lines from other companies as well. To improve its domestic marketing efficiency, Young began utilizing company employees to represent and sell Young product lines exclusively; however, it did continue to use non-exclusive distributors in overseas markets.

In 1997, Young went public, making its initial public offering (IPO) of 2.3 million shares on November 10. The sale netted Young $25.2 million, giving the company considerable capital for further expansion.

Young’s growth continued through the rest of the decade and into the start of the next century:

In 2002 the D-Lish prophy pastes were introduced.

In 2006 the Elite Original DPAs & Cups were introduced.

In 2009 Zooby paediatric preventative products were introduced.

In 2011 the Elite Flex & Elite extend Flex Prophy Cups were introduced

Due to the strong demand for the prophylaxis range as well as the continuously growing awareness that prevention is the key to oral health, it was decided to officially bring Young Dental and Zooby to Europe and to make the expertise acquired over decades available here.

In 2016, Young Innovations’ commitment in Europe was therefore strengthened and Young Innovations Europe GmbH was founded in Germany. The European headquarters with administration, marketing and sales are located in Heidelberg. Heidelberg has excellent connections to the Rhine-Main region and the dental industry, making it the ideal platform for close relationships with major distributors.

In the same year, Young’s European product line was launched and disposable prophy angles, prophy polishing cups and prohpy pastes were introduced in Europe.

Young continues to build on its rich heritage of manufacturing and delivering high quality products to improve clinical practice for users and patients. We believe in helping patients achieve new smiles with our dental capabilities, and we will continue to make history with them!