The beginning of Bushy Floss - 1975 New Canaan, Connecticut

The picture to the right shows Chairman Thornton with his first production machine used during the introduction of his first bushy floss product "Super Floss" in 1975. Five years earlier, Mr. Thornton had invented Super Floss at his home basement laboratory in New Canaan, Connecticut, pictured below.

A 1981 landmark clinical study done at Columbia University* showed Super Floss to be significantly superior to regular dental floss in the removal of dental plaque. Super Floss was sold to Oral B in the early 1980's. Ten years later in 1993, Chairman Thornton re-entered the bushy-floss market with several new products covered by a new patent #5,311,890. Since the 1975 introduction of Super Floss, over TEN BILLION units of bushy floss have been sold.

*Journal of Clinical Preventitive Dentistry, Vol. 3, No. 4, July/August 1981.

Super Floss introduction was successful but required a lot of sampling, education, and perseverance.

1970's Marketing at Dental Meetings

1970's Marketing at Dental Meetings

Technical Hows and Whys of Thornton Products

Bushy Floss is a popular name given to our category of products. Technically however, our products are actually interproximal toothbrushes. These interdental cleaners all have a larger diameter spongy section that automatically gets narrower with elongation force. Hundreds of continuous nylon filaments are straight and parallel in the threader and floss sections but are converted to tiny springs in the bushy brush section. As the floss threader is pulled to draw the brush between smaller spaces, the fillament springs stretch and flatten somewhat to allow passage. The brush is always in equilibrium with the size of a space since the harder the pull on the floss, the smaller the diameter of the brush becomes. This process of dynamic equilibrium makes the interproximal toothbrush highly versatile regardless of space size.

The Future of Our Products

We believe the efficacy of our products, combined with the efficacy of medications is where the future of our products' true potential lies. The bushy brush section can be impregnated with medicines that fight periodontal disease. As the brush is compressed interdentally, the medicines are squeezed out at the site of the problem in hard to reach areas between teeth at the gum line. For this reason, we are seeking a joint venture partner possessing medical technology to develop a new line of products designed to eliminate periodontal disease.

Thomas Thornton

Chairman, Inventor and Pioneer of Bushy Floss. Granted over 25 patents in the United States and foreign countries.

Brett Thornton (left)

Vice President

Thornton Building - Norwalk, Connecticut

The Thornton Building - Norwalk, Connecticut

Shown above is the World Headquarters of Thornton International, Inc. and our manufacturing subsidiary Home Dental Care, Inc. At this facility we manufacture all the Thornton brands as well as five private label brands sold in Europe.