MATTER and CareQuest Innovation Partners announce inaugural cohort for SMILE Health

Five startups selected to participate in accelerator at the intersection of oral health improvement and health equity advancement

BOSTON and CHICAGO, May 6, 2022 — MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, and CareQuest Innovation Partners, a company focused on validating and scaling solutions that improve the oral health of all, today announced the inaugural cohort of early-stage startups selected to participate in SMILE Health, an accelerator for solutions that make oral health more accessible, equitable and integrated with overall health.

Through its first global call, SMILE Health received more than 100 applications from startup companies spanning 11 countries and 28 U.S. states. Ten applicants with the most promising early-stage solutions for simple, minimally invasive, integrated, low-barrier and equitable oral healthcare were invited to interview and, after careful consideration, the first SMILE Health cohort of five startup companies was selected. The cohort teams embody the overall program’s goals for equity and integration: 80% of the cohort have female leadership, all teams are comprised of diverse stakeholders and 20% of the solutions come from outside the dental industry.

Each SMILE Health startup will have direct access to renowned mentors, an in-depth curriculum on scaling solutions and access to data and clinical validation studies designed to anticipate barriers to adoption and ready solutions for scale. Additionally, each startup will receive a $10,000 stipend and be matched with Impact and Scale Partners during an intensive 12-week process. SMILE Health startups will pressure test their solutions through validation studies with Impact Partners such as Cigna, 32 Point Health, Colgate-Palmolive Company, MouthWatch and more. Validated solutions meeting certain investment criteria of Scale Partners will have the opportunity to access more than $1.3 million in available capital from Scale Partners, including Revere Partners, Demos Capital and Seae Ventures, to accelerate go-to-market strategies and scale solutions.

The program culminates in a demo day for potential investors and customers in mid-September.

Learn more about the startup cohort

Denture Care Shop – Charleston, South Carolina
Denture Care Shop is disrupting a long-overlooked and underserved segment of dentistry — dentures. Leveraging digital and 3D technology along with their proprietary telehealth platform, they aim to close a large accessibility gap and oral health crisis by offering a better, quicker and more affordable service.

Novel White Plastic Preformed Crown — Dunedin, New Zealand
A research team out of Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Otago develops innovative dental products that will transform the international dental products market. Currently, they’re developing a novel, tooth-colored, preformed tooth crown for treating decayed teeth in children using the minimally invasive Hall Technique. They are academic researchers with extensive experience in dental biomaterials development, dental crown design, mechanical testing and clinical trials, working in collaboration with a polymer manufacturing company in New Zealand.

OrisDX — Chicago, Illinois
OrisDX provides patients better clarity on their health through novel saliva-based diagnostics to identify pre-cancer and cancer. Based on innovative research from the University of Chicago, their first product detects oral cavity cancer through non-invasive genetic testing of patients’ saliva.

SleepArchitects — Newport Beach, California
SleepArchitects is democratizing access to obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment for dental professionals and consumers using a simple, convenient, turnkey digital experience. They offer automated text communication, fun patient education videos, full-service MD-guided home sleep testing and highly-trained dentists using oral appliance therapy supported by experts, making for happy and healthy patients and doctors.

Wide Awake VR — Ann Arbor, Michigan
WAVR is a better and safer way for people to experience medical procedures without the need for sedatives. When patients use virtual reality to mitigate anxiety, providers can use immersive media content instead of narcotics in the comfort and safety of their offices.

About MATTER

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 700 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

About CareQuest Innovation Partners

CareQuest Innovation Partners propels solutions that transform oral health. Together with investors, innovators, entrepreneurs, care providers, and community partners, we validate and scale new ways to improve overall health through oral health. Joined by the shared mission to improve the oral health of all, CareQuest Innovation Partners is the for-profit subsidiary of CareQuest Institute. To learn more, visit carequestinnovation.com.