An Interview with Brasseler USA
Don Waters, Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer
INSIDE DENTISTRY (ID): What are the main advantages that make Brasseler USA unique in the marketplace?
Don Waters (DW): There are two advantages and they are very much related.
First, we only sell our products directly to the end user. That model is fundamental to our success and sets us apart. The best way to ensure that clinicians receive the product information, procedural support, and ongoing service they need is to have direct contact with us. Although it is not the easiest way, it is the most beneficial model to partner with our valued customers. It also enables us to offer the highest quality products at the most competitive price points.
Because our sales consultants sell only Brasseler USA products, each member of our highly trained sales team has in-depth knowledge of dental procedures and the products needed to provide predictable results to their customers and therefore to their patients. Brasseler USA’s “By Your Side” tagline embodies that practice, which can only be achieved through direct interaction. Our tagline reflects our passion to support dentists by delivering predictable and consistent clinical outcomes.
The second related advantage that sets us apart is our sole focus on instrumentation. We choose to do one thing exceptionally well—design and provide the highest quality instrumentation. We believe instrument selection and performance is critical to the clinical outcome of every procedure. Brasseler USA prides itself on providing best-of-class instrumentation organized around operatory and laboratory procedures.
ID: Can you share the elements that have been most important to your success?
DW: There are three that come to mind: collaboration, innovation, and education. We really listen to what our customers, educators, and restorative material manufacturers tell us about their requirements, and we collaborate with them to design innovative solutions to elevate the clinical practice of dentistry. As appropriate, we then support clinicians with the tools they need—including educational brochures, courses, videos, or technique guides—to assist them in incorporating these advances into their practices.
ID: What defines your approach to business?
DW: It is our mission and our core values that truly embody our business approach. Our mission is to advance dentistry through continuous collaboration, education, and world-class instrumentation that our customers can trust. Simply put, it is why Brasseler USA exists. Our six core values then guide our pursuit of our mission. They are honesty and integrity, responsiveness, uncompromising focus on quality, a quest for knowledge, dependability, and teamwork. Our main goal is to contribute to the success of our customers. We sincerely believe that there is a direct correlation between doing what is right for our customer, developing and sustaining trusting relationships, and our success.
ID: What inspires the forward motion of your company in today’s marketplace?
DW: That would be the continual pursuit of our mission! Dentistry is changing on many levels, from materials to procedures, even to delivery models. Dentistry is always in a “continuous improvement” cycle, pursuing better ways to treat patients more efficiently and achieving improved outcomes. How could we not be inspired by being a part of efforts to continually improve the quality of oral health care?
ID: What are your top upcoming initiatives?
DW: Our top initiative is always continuing the pursuit of our mission, guided by our core values. That never ends, of course, and will always be front and center.
From a product standpoint, we are excited to be introducing two principles of restorative dentistry: minimally invasive instrumentation and bonded obturation into the endodontic procedure via our ESX™ rotary file system and innovative bioceramic sealer (EndoSequence® BC Sealer™). We believe the restoration of the endodontically treated tooth begins at the apex, and that foundational restorative principles can and should be applied in the root canal space. We call it “restorative endodontics.”
ID: Can you share anything that you might have in the pipeline right now?
DW: We are very excited about the changes that modern ceramics and CAD/CAM technology are bringing to the profession. In fact, Brasseler USA’s Innovations Team has recently collaborated with the experts at Ivoclar Vivadent to develop a specialized crown and veneer preparation system as well as a chairside adjustment and polishing system specifically designed to work with Ivoclar Vivadent’s popular IPS e.max® restorative material. As of March 2015, the new systems have been available to dental professionals exclusively through Brasseler USA.
