“Not everyone loves going to the dentist, so knowing that it can come to them in their own home, community or business, people really love the idea,” said Joleyn Carriveau, Dental Hygienist and owner of Home Dental to You.
An innovative mobile dentistry company, Home Dental to You brings dental care directly to clients’ homes, offices, and facilities. The company serves busy professionals, homebound individuals, assisted living facilities, senior centers, retirement communities, and other residential facilities throughout Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties.
“We have mobile portable carts that fit right into our own personal vehicles, and we are able to wheel right in and set it up in someone’s home,” Carriveau said. “If they have a comfortable chair that they like, like a recliner, we can see them right in their chair or our dental chair.”
Home Dental offers services such as intra-oral photos, x-rays, dental cleanings that range from regular to deep cleaning, fluoride treatments, whitening treatments, and more without clients having to leave the comfort of their environment, drive to a dentist office, or sit in a waiting room.
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Dedicated to staying on the forefront of dental innovation, Home Dental utilizes several innovative technologies such as portable x-ray cameras and the Cavity Arrest treatment, a solution which is painted on teeth and is 95% effective on cavities and requires no needles, drilling or filling.
“We’re involved in our professional dental associations and hygiene associations,” Carriveau said. “We stay up on continuing education about new products that people can do on their own to keep their mouth as healthy as possible. We enjoy assisting and educating people.
Oral health education is an important area of focus for the company, as dental health can have a large impact on overall health, according to Carriveau. “We educate people that the bacteria that begin and form in your mouth travel throughout your body and your bloodstream. They’re found in very high concentrations when people have advancing diabetes, heart attacks, strokes,” she said. “If you keep your mouth healthy and stable, your entire body will be much healthier overall.”
Carriveau conceived the idea of Home Dental to You after witnessing firsthand a family member’s health declining as they experienced a lack of access to dental care.
“Back when I was graduating from hygiene school, I had a great aunt that ended up in a nursing home,” Carriveau said. “I could see that as her health was declining, her teeth were declining. I wanted to be able to help her clean her teeth, but the laws prohibited that unless a dentist was there with me.”
Reaching out to the nursing home’s executive director, Carriveau requested permission to create a dental training program for the nurses who worked there. She was elated when she received a positive response.
“I contacted Crest Oral B and got spin brushes and toothpaste and floss for the whole nursing staff and every resident in this quite large nursing home,” she said. “It was a mandatory training on dental, and the day came, and I was super excited but very disappointed when only one of the nurses showed up out of 75 nurses.”
Carriveau knew she had a long road ahead.
When Florida passed a telemedicine and teledentistry in 2019, Carriveau saw it as the opportunity she had been hoping for. She partnered with Dentist Kirk Parrott to create Home Dental to You in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Throughout the pandemic, Carriveau and Parrott tirelessly laid the groundwork for the company, writing a business plan with the help of a mentor from the small business administration. In 2021, they launched.
In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, Home Dental faced many other challenges including the difficulty of serving skeptical communities that had never heard of a mobile dental service. Partnering with other mobile services and participating in health fairs at various facilities helped Home Dental to reach its audience. Fueled by the referrals of satisfied customers, Home Dental grew even busier and plans to expand their operations through franchising.
“In 2022, we really took off, Carriveau said. “Public speaking, death, and dentistry are some of the biggest fears that people have. When we finish their appointment, they have a healthier mouth, a shinier smile and they feel good about it because they know that not only is their mouth going to be healthier, but their body is going to be healthier. It’s just so rewarding to see the smiles on people once we finish our appointments.”
A member of the Tampa Bay Chamber, Home Dental to You is a finalist for 2024 Small Business of the Year, in the five to 20 employees category.
“The process of the Small Business of the Year through the Tampa Bay Chamber has been quite an incredible process,” Carriveau said. “Strategically through the Chamber we are meeting with awesome fellow business mentors. Hearing about what other entrepreneurs is doing has been so helpful, inspiring and motivating.”
