[World Oral Health Day] Meet the 5 dental tech startups that are innovating to help you manage your oral health
On World Oral Health Day, YourStory brings to you a list of dental tech startups working to change the way dental care is delivered in cities across India.
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Say cheese, and we all break out into smiles. But those smiles often hide cavities, caries, and tooth decay.
India has a serious oral health problem.
According to reports, 85 to 90 percent adults and about 80 percent children have cavities. The National Oral Health Programme reveals that Indians often consider dental health not as serious as physical health, thereby neglecting oral care. The programme’s report also highlights another huge problem: the lack of dental healthcare workers in India.
There’s more. A NCBI report states that India is the country with second highest number of oral cancer cases.
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Clearly, awareness needs to rise.
With an aim to ensure wider reach and access to dental healthcare in India, oral care giant Colgate launched teledentistry platform DentistsforMe last year in June to help patients stay connected with expert dentists across the country amid the pandemic.
But that isn’t enough, which is why countries across the world celebrate World Oral Health Day on March 20 to empower people with knowledge, tools, and treatment to maintain their oral health. The day was declared in 2007, but the campaign was not activated till 2013.
On this day, brings to you a list of dental technology startups that are focusing on dental care and its importance.
Mumbai-based dental startup toothsi is a D2C aligner founded by Dr Arpi Mehta, Dr Pravin Shetty, Dr Manjul Jain, and Dr Anirudh Kale in 2018. The startup provides at-home teeth alignment treatment.
Arpi Mehta, Co-founder of toothsi [Image Credit: toothsi]
Currently present in seven cities, toothsi raised $5 million in Series A round, in January, to expand to over 15 cities in India, enhance its backend R&D, and invest in technology.
The startup claimed to have served over 7,500 customers in 2020 and plans to serve more than 50,000 customers in the coming year.
“We are a full-stack company that uses our own technology to manage the at-home service, and have a panel of doctors for consultations. There is an expert team of planners with their own lab to ensure customers get a world-class experience at home,” Dr. Arpi had said in a statement.
Bengaluru-based Denta Mitra was launched in 2020 by Dr Pranjan Mitra and Satyajeet Pradhan. It offers a dental app, which uses an artificial intelligence scanner to diagnose teeth problems through image processing.
The app also enables users to search for dental clinics and doctors nearby, book appointments, and connect with doctors over video calls.
“The backend algorithm based on the best dental practices helps users to check their oral health and sweet score,” Satyajeet tells YourStory. “We also offer dental spa and whitening services, sleeping or sedation dentistry (for those who fear dental treatments), and aromatherapy services to reduce patient anxiety and stress after long hours of treatment.”
The bootstrapped startup is now looking to raise its first round of funding for scaling up its business.
Founded in 2020 by Dr. Bharat Agravat, DPIIT-recognised dental care startup Smile in Hour is providing high-tech tools to doctors to make dentistry easier, faster, and less painful.
Smile in Hour is involved in designing, developing, manufacturing of products, and rehabilitation services with analytics and management software systems for oral care applications.
The startup offers four products - EndoDeck™ System, OSMF Mouth Opening Treatment at Home Kit™, Spalon Smart Dental Implants Clinic, and DentoImplalaDeck™.
“We strive to offer the highest quality product to the dental and medical fraternity, establish new standards with innovative products, and win customers around the world with proficiency, reputation, quality standards, and humanity,” the website says.
Bengaluru-based MobiDent was founded in 2014 by Dr. Devaiah Mapangada and Vivek Madappa. The startup offers a portable dental clinic in a suitcase and delivers dental care at your doorsteps at significantly low costs.
In 2017, the startup had raised a pre-Series A funding round of an undisclosed amount from New York-based DanGold Investment Corp. Prior to this in 2016, it secured funding from IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).
MobiDent’s patented "dental clinic in a suitcase" is an asset-light model designed to address the core challenges of the dental care industry such as customer experience and the high cost of dental services in India.
According to Crunchbase, the startup currently operates in Bengaluru, Pune, Mysore, and Ahmedabad.
In November 2015, the startup was shortlisted as one among the Top 10 ideas out of 19,000 startup ventures by “Economic Times Power of an Idea” competition. In March 2016, MobiDent was awarded the best startup idea by Royal Academy of Engineering London.
Vivek Madappa and Dr Devaiah Mapangada, Co-founders, MobiDent [ Image Credit: MobiDent]
Delhi-NCR headquartered DialDent was founded by Vinod Giri in 2015. The startup provides on-site mobile dental care to corporate organisations and individuals at homes or in offices. For home services, users can book appointments via call, SMS, or the official website.
Post this, the startup will send two doctors along with high-tech portable dentistry equipment to ensure quality dental care service in the comfort of home. The startup also joins hands with HR or admin departments of companies to set up free check-up camps on office premises.
DialDent had raised its first round of external funding in 2016.
“We have removed hassles from people's lives by using state-of-the-art technology to develop world-class portable clinics that can be loaded on vans, unpacked, and installed anywhere in a matter of minutes.
"This allows us to set up a clinic for you at your home, at your office, or anywhere you are. All we need is a dedicated corner or a room, and your attention,” the website says.
DialDent is aiming to place itself as the largest dental care provider in India with the ability to do a million diagnostics and treatments in a year.
Edited by Teja Lele
