Relationship-driven approach is essential to Harry J. Bosworth's success

A Q&A with Harry J. Bosworth Company's President, Millie Goldstein, and VP of Sales and Marketing, Herbert Pozen.

Q: The year-long celebration of your 100^th anniversary is drawing to close. How has this milestone helped to underscore your commitments and goals as a company?

Millie: In order to go forward, you need to know where you’ve come from, where you’ve been. Highlighting our 100-year anniversary served as a way for everyone within Bosworth to gather around a single message that they all can understand and celebrate. It was a catalyst to reexamine our business: looking at relationships, product quality, process and the services we delivered. It provided room to ask big questions: Is this what we want? What do we want to change? What will make us a better Bosworth better suited for the next 100 years?

Q: What do you see as the primary qualities that have helped Bosworth to achieve success over the last 100 years?

Millie: We try to be a business that is easy to do business with, and to that end, our strength is in relationships. Yes, we deliver products that the practitioner and the patient can count on, but we also genuinely care about and focus on the dental community. This is Bosworth’s only business.

Herb: Respect, relationship and honesty - those are the keys to success. People know they can count on us and that, when they need us, we’ll respond.

Q: How does this legacy remain relevant when the world looks so different today than even 5, 10 years ago?

Millie: When I look back 25, 30 years ago, everything was driven through a distributor and our relationships with members of the profession were somewhat limited. Now, there’s a movement from within Bosworth to put a face to the company - whether it is through e-mail, direct mail, a message in the carton, a person on the phone. We want to use every opportunity available to “touch” that customer. For example, if someone orders a product, they don't just get what they ordered, but their rep follows up to see how things are going and offer additional training. If there is a concern, it’s not just the rep who gets involved, but our customer service team and the marketing department.  We are trying to relay to the dental office that we care.

In today’s world, people are becoming more isolated. I may know about your practice because of what your purchase history, but there is no warmth to that. Bosworth wants to create that feeling of warmth by developing the relationship between us and our customers.

Q: You’ve used this last year to launch several innovative products. When it comes to innovation, what categories have you prioritized and why?

Millie: Before I get into our newer offerings, I want to underscore that we are not giving up the products from yesterday - a product’s popularity may rise and fall over time and across different countries. That being said, we also look to expand our focus into different areas. Fifty years ago, Bosworth was relines and dentures and impression materials geared towards edentulous patients. Today, we are moving more into prevention with the Aegis line of products with ACP,and our prophy powders and air polisher. We’re expanding, but doing so strategically. We have a philosophy that we don't go into a market with one product. If we’re taking a step, than we’re diving in. We’re now putting together a package in another category that we haven’t been involved in before. Some of it is coming up with new products, and some of it is repurposing established products, something dentists do often and then tell us about. We want to share that.

Herb: We’ve definitely decided to focus more on dental hygiene. The hygienist is increasingly important and as chemistry continues to evolve, our products featuring ACP can provide an additional edge in the success of restorations. Remineralization is key as the trends continue to focus on keeping natural teeth longer.

Q: Once a dental professional becomes a Bosworth customer, how do you support him or her on an ongoing basis?

Millie: Our goal is to keep developing and growing the relationship without becoming a nuisance. Using face-to-face meetings in-office or at tradeshows, social media-where many new dentists feel more comfortable-and other tools, we want to let our customers know about promotions, new product offerings and hopefully share new information. The great part of this dynamic is, that’s how we learn as well. For all that we try to teach, the dentist is always teaching back to us.

Herb: We are big believers in C3 (Customer Contact Channels) and the way it has helped shape our customer orientation. We want to know our customers but also serve our customers. One new example of that is our effort to include training DVDs with certain products - not just making the sale, but making sure dental professionals are supported in using that product.

Q: Bosworth’s motto, “Celebrating 100 years by focusing on your future,” is inspiring. What do you see as important trends that dentists should be preparing for and how do you, as a manufacturer, support them?

Millie: We’re looking ahead and having discussions about what tools the dental office will one day have in its arsenal to treat patients. Some things are far off - Can we grow a tooth? Will tooth decay disappear one day? - but playing this game of “what if” helps spur new ideas and product development.

Herb: Remineralization is an important trend. It can be difficult for older dentists to admit that they may need something like ACP, but for those who are looking for something new or looking to make good results even better, our Aegis line makes it easy to bring ACP to restorative steps dentists are already taking. Instead of hoping for patient compliance with a mouthwash, dentists can use our products to ensure ACP stay on the tooth.

Q: Any final thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

Millie: When I took over as President of Bosworth, I wanted us to be a company that the employees would be proud of and that the dental practice wants to do business with. We enjoy being in the dental business, and we’re thankful for the livelihood it has provided the employees.

Herb: We’ve been around for 100 years, and we hope to be around for another 100 with innovative products. Hopefully, we’ll continue to show some real leadership along the way.

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Aegis® V with ACP
Aegis V is an ACP-filled restorative, light-cured material specifically designed for Class V restorations. It provides controlled placement for increased patient comfort and effortless application. Available in four shades: A1, A2, A3.5, and B1.

ProphyBrite™
Designed to provide quick, gentle

patient care, this air polishing unit delivers a fine sodium bicarbonate and water slurry for easy removal of plaque and stains. Ideal for preparing teeth prior to placement of orthodontic brackets, sealants, bleaching, and fluoride treatments, the unit is easy to install, lightweight, and portable.

Prophy Powder

Intended for use with air prophylaxis cleaning units, this sodium bicarbonate prophy powder is less abrasive than prophy paste when used to remove stubborn stains, plaque and soft debris from enamel. Available in six delicious flavors.

Acid Etch
Bosworth’s ultimate etch is silica and glycerin-free, providing a deeper etch pattern for easier application of

bonding materials. For increased patient comfort and easy clean-up, Acid Etch is highly viscous, allowing for more accurate placement on enamel or dentin. Material will not slump, slide or run; it is aqua blue in color, odorless, tasteless and available in a 35% concentration.

Aegis® Liner with ACP
Aegis Liner is a light-cured resin

with Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP) formulated cavity liner/ base material. It is easy to apply and will chemically bond to all adhesives and composites.

Gorilla Seal™
Gorilla Seal is a crystal clear surface sealant with a smaller

oxygen-inhibited layer that allows the sealant to cure to a gloss finish for reduced polishing. Esthetically pleasing in its 100% crystal clear form, this resin agent can seal over veneers, temporary crown and bridge, I.D. or decorative designs and give a gloss coat to composite restorations and temporaries. Gorilla Seal may reduce staining and sensitivity in cases such as tooth bleaching, cervical erosion and veneers.