How Three Oral Care Disruptors Have Turned Dental Innovation Into Shelf Success

Small business takeaway: 

• In the mature oral care category, Ordo, AquaSonic, and SURI are proving that even everyday products can be refreshed when startups pair innovation with mass-market access. The brands’ shelf gains show three strategic lessons: affordability can expand premium adoption, design and sustainability can turn a routine purchase into a brand choice, and partnerships — with dentists, Target, Walmart, or Squishmallows — can accelerate trust and distribution.

Not long ago, the freebie toothbrush and floss sent home after dental office cleanings still drove most consumers’ at-home dental routine, with elevated electric toothbrush prices often carrying a higher price point. But no more.

Today, as consumers, who increasingly see their oral health as a critical part of their overall health, rethink their dental care routines, a new generation of oral care brands is making sonic and electric toothbrushes affordable enough to reach people who may never have considered buying the devices before. Sonic brushes use high-frequency vibrations to clean teeth, while electric ones have rotating heads.

From Bluetooth-enabled brushes that track habits and sync to an app to a travel case designed to reduce bacteria on brush heads, new dental disruptors are leading a transformation in oral care driven by new technology, evolving attitudes about wellness and sustainability, and rising expectations about what a healthy mouth should look like.

As consumers demand more sophisticated, eco-friendly, and tech-enhanced dental products, startups like Ordo, AquaSonic, and SURI are rapidly growing and scaling, landing products on retail shelf space alongside dominant established players in the oral care market such as Procter & Gamble’s Oral-B electric toothbrush and Philips Sonicare brands.

Ordo: Building brand equity in the U.S. to scale via affordability and through partnerships with trendy brands like Squishmallows

Entrepreneur Barty Walsh launched Ordo in 2018 in the U.K. with sonic and electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, water flossers, and mouthwash, driven by the goal of delivering more affordable oral care to the masses. He expanded to the United States in 2024.

Walsh’s own experience served as inspiration after discovering he had oral health disease. Walsh had been using a manual toothbrush and was advised by his dentist that an electric option would be better. But the prices and choices overwhelmed him. So he set out to build his own effective yet affordable version for himself and other consumers.

Ordo’s top-of-the-line Sonic Lite brush costs $50, with similar brushes from competitors running as high as $200. Walsh started with outreach to U.K. dentist offices to get buy-in and a built-in audience before selling in retail stores like Boots. In contrast to traditional dental products’ more muted colors, Ordo’s brushes come in shades like rose gold, sage, and violet.

Partnerships have been a key part of Ordo’s growth strategy. The startup partnered with stuffed toy brand Squishmallows to license some of the company’s popular animal designs for a line of rechargeable and battery-operated toothbrushes for kids and teens.

“It added credibility because it had a fan base, and retailers were already working with that brand, which made it a bit easier to get on the shelf,” Walsh told CO—.

Ordo promotes its sustainability to consumers, too. In the U.K., it has recyclable toothpaste tubes and reusable mouthwash bottles and a closed-loop system for recycling brush heads. Walsh hopes to bring the closed-loop system to the United States, where growth has been rapid, especially in the kids, tweens, and teens product lines.

The company launched on CVS online and in 2,000 stores, a number that has since tripled. Walmart.com, Walmart stores, and Amazon followed. Now, Walsh has set his sights on what he calls the under-tapped oral care market for kids, tweens, and teens, an area he believes is ripe for growth. 

“If you get them young, they have less expensive dental procedures down the road,” said Walsh, who points to young families, adults ages 30 to 45 with children, as the company’s core customer.

[Read more: How Fast-Growing Oral Care Disruptor Ordo Broke into Big Retail]

AquaSonic: Bringing ADA-backed oral care at accessible price points to Target

California-based AquaSonic built its brand on bringing American Dental Association (ADA)-backed, sleekly designed oral care products at accessible prices to consumers.

The company launched in 1,400 Walmart stores and on Target.com in 2023 before expanding to hundreds of Target stores this year, catering to consumers who prefer in-store shopping. AquaSonic used its brick-and-mortar launch to debut a brand-new product: its AquaSonic Precision Ultra-Whitening Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush, a sonic technology brush it priced at $38.99, which it markets as providing a deeper clean than a traditional toothbrush.

“Our expansion with Target is a meaningful step forward in AquaSonic’s long-term growth strategy,” said Arsalan Rahbarpoor, President and Co-founder of AquaSonic. The brand, owned by Onyx Global Group, also sells water flossers and whitening systems.

AquaSonic and Ordo’s big-box store launches come as more consumers see the value in investing in upgrading their oral health routines. One recent study found that more than 9 in 10 adults (91%) see oral health as a key part of their overall health. 

“Consumers are rethinking the everyday products they use and looking for oral care brands that deliver meaningful performance and value,” said Jonathan Cohen, Chief Marketing Officer of AquaSonic. “Expanding into Target stores lets us make our premium, high-performance electric toothbrushes accessible to millions of households nationwide in one of the retail environments they trust the most.”

[Read more: Inside the Viral Growth Strategies That Are Driving 3 Brands' Sales Success]

SURI: Setting out to win over oral care consumers with style, sustainability, and by partnering with dental professionals 

A third new oral healthcare brand, SURI, expanded beyond direct-to-consumer sales and specialty retail to debut its Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush in Target’s oral care aisle this summer at $135, a slightly higher price point than other disruptor brands in the category. The launch marked the B Corp-certified brand’s entrance into U.S. mass retail.

SURI’s toothbrush is made from recyclable, plant-based heads and bristles, a nod to consumers’ desire for sustainable products, the company said. Its Target rollout featured the brand’s first new color in over a year. Vibrant colors are part of the brand’s core strategy to transform oral care by bringing joy to an otherwise tedious task. SURI has also released a UV-C (ultraviolet-C) travel case that’s designed to help fight bacteria.

SURI works with dental professionals through its SURI Professional Program, featuring dentists, including advisory board member Dr. Sonja Rajput, in its marketing.

“Brushing your teeth is something people do every single day, yet it’s often overlooked — never mind enjoyed,” said Mark Rushmore, SURI’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. “Launching in Target allows us to meet customers where they already shop and offer an … alternative — one that looks beautiful in your bathroom, delivers a dentist-approved clean, and is designed to last.”

As part of SURI’s sustainability pledge, it started a prepaid mail-back recycling program for used brush heads. It also designed the toothbrush body so it can recover, reuse, and recycle the components when products are returned. Similar to Ordo, the brand is pursuing key partnerships as a growth strategy. For one, SURI partnered with ReBorn to give its toothbrush heads a second life as recycled soap dishes. 

The brand showcases its growing popularity among consumers by linking to real-time Trustpilot reviews on its website. 

While total sales in the overall U.S. oral care market slowed in 2025 as consumers grew more cautious about spending, opportunity remains substantial. According to Mintel's US Oral Care Market report 2026, 35% of consumers now view oral care as part of their beauty routine, and “the large and diverse category holds ample opportunity for brands that can set themselves apart based on enjoyment, health, or value .”

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