Now, we can get just about everything we need delivered right to our homes — including our dental hygienist.
Wheely Clean is a dental office on wheels that makes getting your teeth cleaned easy as can be. Once you’ve booked an appointment online or over the phone, a dental hygienist arrives at your home in their “office,” which is in the form of a converted Mercedes Sprinter van, and gets to work cleaning, polishing and brightening your pearly whites.
“It’s not like a regular dental office where every hour the hygienist has another patient in the chair,” says owner Adam Gilmer. “The appointments are a little longer. There’s less of a rush. And our corporate ethos is about not having any shame; our hygienists are super accepting of wherever you’re at with your dental hygiene.”
Although Gilmer doesn’t have a dental background — he’s a photographer by trade — he’s taken on his business owner role with gusto. When his cofounder came up with the idea for the mobile dental office in 2015, he immediately became excited. “I thought it was a great idea,” he says.
In 2019, they got their first van converted. Then they worked with a dental supplier to find the right equipment that would work in the space. Now they offer services at the same and often lower prices than those at a regular dental office, plus the team provides direct billing to patients’ insurance providers.
When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, Wheely Clean shut down for a few months. Upon reopening, Gilmer says that the collective consciousness had shifted and their business grew rapidly. “Everything was getting delivered to people’s homes,” he says. “We were in the right place at the right time.”
The service is most popular with families, seniors’ homes and businesses that cover their employees’ dental work. Since 2019, the team has grown to six employees and has added a second vehicle to its fleet. Gilmer is confident the business will continue expanding — perhaps even beyond Victoria. “Since our office is on wheels, it’s pretty easy for us to go to where the work is,” he says.
Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Gilmer has been impressed by Victoria’s “heartwarming” response to the business, as well as the collaborative nature of the local dental community. “It’s a friendly, community-based industry; different offices in town seem to work together,” he says.
And, he adds, “We have 201 five-star reviews on our Google reviews page. It’s the nicest corner of the internet.”
