Trendspotting with Tonya: Twice Toothpaste

The Toothpaste That’s Changing the World

If you know me, you know three of my favorite things to talk about are the dental industry, the entrepreneurial life, and innovations that make our lives and world better. So, I get really excited when I get to talk about all three at the same time! Recently, I got to meet and spend time with one of the founders of Twice toothpaste, a newly launched, purpose-driven, dental product company. Twice comes from brothers Julian and Cody Levine, in partnership with Lenny Kravitz, (yes, that Lenny Kravitz!) that is already disrupting the industry. 

Twice co-founder, Julian Levine, is a breath of fresh air. As a self-professed dental nerd, it’s hard not to admire a person who creates a toothpaste inspired by philanthropy, formulated with modern science, and fueled by a drive to spread the power of a smile.

Twice’s mission is to create the next generation of toothpaste products that upgrade the status-quo and help provide life-changing dental care for patients and communities in need. With backing from a rockstar like Lenny Kravitz and a recent appearance on Ellen Degeneres’ show, there’s a lot of buzz about Twice and their mission to bring free dentistry to people in need. Wanna hear more? I did too. So I asked…

Tonya (TL): So, what exactly inspired you to create Twice? 

Julian (JL): I will never forget the call I got from my Dad, Dr. Jonathan B. Levine, in 2015, telling me that Glo Good Foundation’s next mission was to head down to the Bahamas to set up a dental clinic to provide care for Lenny Kravitz’s community. 

At the time, I was working as an investor in New York City. I was so excited about my first volunteer trip to give back. I had no idea that the experience would completely change my life and inspire me, my brother Cody, and Lenny to team up and create Twice, a toothpaste company.

Part of what we witnessed on that mission was how neglected oral hygiene is, especially in a community with little access to it. Oral health is truly a global and silent epidemic. At the same time, we experienced what we describe as “the power of a smile”. This is the visual and emotional representation of how dentistry and a healthy smile can change someone’s life in an instant! It transforms worry into confidence, apathy into happiness, and despair into hope. Its magnitude and beauty changed our lives forever.

TL: I watched the segment with Lenny on The Ellen Show. Talk about incredible marketing! Wow. Were you just pinching yourself? 

JL: Yes, this past month, Lenny went on The Ellen Show to talk about all of the work we (Twice, Glo Good Foundation and his Let Love Rule Foundation) do in the Bahamas and how we’re bringing health and smiles back to people in need. In the segment, he describes Twice and his relationship with oral care and my Dad (his dentist). It was pretty incredible to see all this work come to fruition and have our message get that kind of amplification from someone like Lenny who truly believes that “there is nothing more powerful than giving someone the gift of a smile”. 

*You can check out the segment here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz5UgodKjDE).

TL: Ok, I have to know. Why did you name it Twice? What’s the story? 

JL: After hearing hundreds of transformational stories from patients, we were inspired to solve the problems we saw. We asked ourselves, what if we could create better-for-you hygiene products that made the twice-a-day a little bit more fun!? We wanted to make products that were so good that people actually looked forward to taking care of their teeth while also continuing our social mission work.  And so Twice was born. Twice refers to reimagining your morning and night, twice-a-day oral care routine with products that make an impact – for you and for our planet.

TL: As a dental entrepreneur, I know the hard work it takes to create something special from nothing. How long did it take to get this product made and launched? 

JL: We spent two long years formulating over 40 versions of samples. There are plenty of toothpastes out there, so we didn’t want to create just any ordinary toothpaste. We wanted Twice to reflect a perfect balance of proven science and modern wellness. So, we worked with world-class dentists, chemists, flavor specialists and manufacturers to uniquely combine the most desired benefits of toothpaste (whitening, anti-cavity, anti-sensitivity, enamel health) with the best mouth-healthy ingredients (to soothe/hydrate gums, fight free radicals, control bacteria) for a truly healthier and more confident smile. We were very thoughtful and felt a great sense of responsibility to remove the unnecessary ingredients that cause patient issues, like SLS. And, we were committed to producing a vegan, gluten free, non-gmo, recyclable product that is not tested on animals. There was no compromising on quality. 

TL: I’m sold! I can’t wait to see where you will go next. We’ll be following you and cheering you on. What you’re doing is so important! 

Julian: Thanks, Tonya! We appreciate the support! It’s just the beginning and our mission work continues as we have just finished our 5^th trip to Eleuthera, The Bahamas. It is such a fulfilling experience. We brought 100 volunteer dental professionals, treated 1,200 people, and gave Twice toothpaste to everyone! These missions helped me really understand and appreciate the work that my Dad and fellow dental professionals everywhere do. I have fallen in love with this profession! We’ve got big announcements for Twice and Glo Good coming in 2020! In the meantime, learn more about us at smiletwice.com and follow us on Instagram @twice. 

CONTINUING THE MISSION We want to give the DentalPost community a chance to learn more and meet Team Twice. Twice has a dental ambassador program, the Twice Pro Team, to build a family of passionate dental professionals. Please fill out this quick application at smiletwice.refersion.com if you’re interested in learning more.

You can also support the mission and try our product through your purchase (and get a special discount with code “DENTALPOST”) available here.

Julian Levine is the co-founder and CEO of Twice with expertise in creating innovative oral hygiene products that get people excited to take care of their oral health. He is on the board of Glo Good Foundation, a non-profit set up to bring dental professionals to communities around the world that lack access to care in order to deliver smiles and change lives. Julian lives in New York City where he loves to explore new neighborhoods, catch up with his family over a nice Italian dinner (and try not to talk about toothpaste), go for a long run in the park, and relax at night with a glass of wine and Twilight toothpaste.  

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