TAKE note of this: $37 million.
That’s what a new dentistry startup has raised to make a visit to the dental clinic fun.
Fun means choosing the Netflix movies to watch and the scent that permeates the atmosphere while the patient is in the dental chair.
Or choosing what flavor of toothpaste the dentist will use. And a gum anesthetic that tastes better.
To reduce anxiety, the sound of the dental drill is a lot more quite.
Dentists even earn bonuses for customer satisfaction.
All to rid a visit to the dental clinic of patient anxiety.
“Tend, a new dentistry startup hoping to inject life into an old-fashioned industry, aims to reduce that fear,” writes Leah Rosenbaum, the assistant editor of healthcare and science in forbes.com.
It’s worth the investment, she reports. In the United States, dentistry is a $140 billion dollar market, according to forbes.com.
The dentistry industry has seen “very little innovation,” Tend CEO and cofounder Doug Hudson told the news platform. “I was just blown away that no one had created a consumer brand for dentistry.”
Next year, Tend will launch branded oral hygiene products, toothpaste, mouthwash and so on.
Tend has been around for a year now, cofounded with Andy Grover and Michael Stenclik in October last year.
After the pandemic lockdowns, Tend dental clinics, called “studios”, reopened this summer.
Tend studios “will not close again,” vows Matthew Fitzgerald, Tend Chief Marketing Officer. “Dentistry is a vital service, it was then and it is now,” he told forbes.com.
Last year, Tend earned over $5 million and revenue has recovered more than 150 percent, according to Fitzgerald. While it is not yet that profitable, it plans to open two more clinics in Boston and Washington D.C. from five studios now, all in New York City.
“Tend is the word that we want you to think of when it comes to anything relating to your mouth,” Hudson told forbes.com.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./PN
