Investment Aims to Make Oral Health Care Convenient and Accessible for Patients
October 28, 2024 (Boston, MA) – CareQuest Innovation Partners, a company focused on validating and scaling transformative solutions to improve oral and overall health, today announced its investment in Grin®, a leading virtual care platform for digital oral health care solutions. This funding was led by CareQuest Innovation Partners with participation from existing investors Triventures and SpringRock Ventures.
The Grin experience comprises the Grin App and the first-of-its-kind Grin Scope®—an FDA-listed medical device offering comprehensive views of patients’ mouths. Partnered with doctors’ supervision, these technologies facilitate patient self-scans, allowing virtual check-ins and ongoing connectivity between appointments. Grin has enabled dental care providers to obtain clinical images five times faster than previous solutions. It has captured millions of scans for tens of thousands of patients on the platform with over 2,000 care providers globally.
At this year’s HLTH conference, Grin was recognized as the winner of the 2024 Digital Health Award for Emerging Innovation in Dental Health, and additionally won a $50,000 grant from The Digital Health Hub Foundation. The company also showcased their innovation in the conference’s first-ever Oral Health Pavilion, hosted by CareQuest Innovation Partners, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Henry Schein, and PDS Health.
“Grin continues to lead the industry through its demonstrated impact in closing oral health access gaps,” said Denise Marks, EVP & Chief Financial Officer at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. “This investment will further support solutions that reduce economic barriers and increase convenience and expanded access to enable whole-person health care. We are excited to support Grin in its next phase of growth and expansion aimed at streamlining care access for all.”
As one of the few teledentistry companies with programs and services accessible through Medicaid, Grin plays a crucial role in closing long-standing oral health equity gaps by using its technology to increase dental care utilization through schools, long-term care facilities, and clinics across the United States. Through innovative technology and a partnership with CareQuest Innovation Partners, Grin leads in digital dental care, addressing the evolving needs of the dental community with scalable solutions that improve patient outcomes.
CareQuest Innovation Partners’ continued investments in Grin underscore our shared vision of revolutionizing access to oral health care,” said Adam Schulhof, DMD, CEO and founder of Grin. “At Grin, we are dedicated to bridging gaps in care, especially for underserved populations, and this partnership allows us to expand our reach with cutting-edge teledentistry solutions. Together, we are paving the way for more accessible, high-quality dental care that delivers lasting impact.
Grin is an alumnus of CareQuest Innovation Partners’ SMILE Health, an accelerator for emerging oral health startups, and the first recipient of ACCELERATE funding. ACCELERATE, just launched in April, is an exclusive non-dilutive funding opportunity that helps SMILE Health graduates advance their impact.
“ACCELERATE builds on the momentum from SMILE Health by providing startups funding and other resources to advance projects with leading industry organizations, together shaping the future of health care and positively impacting entire communities,” said Katie D’Amico, VP of Growth & Innovation at CareQuest Innovation Partners.
Highlighting the industry’s need for an increase in oral health care investment, a recent report from Rock Health and CareQuest Innovation Partners found that U.S.-based digital dental health startups are underfunded, and account for less than 2% of overall digital health funding annually. The historic lack of investment has led to $710B in treatment costs and productivity losses worldwide each year. CareQuest Innovation Partners is committed to reversing this trend, by adding this investment to its existing portfolio, it aims to continue to advance the oral health startup ecosystem.
About CareQuest Innovation Partners
CareQuest Innovation Partners® validates and scales transformative solutions to improve overall health through oral health.?Together, with our ecosystem of leading industry partners, startups, and investors we?make health care more accessible, equitable, and integrated. 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 and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Grin
Grin is a comprehensive digital platform that provides solutions for all oral health needs. The Grin App and Grin Scope® allow doctors to access a full patient management suite. Patients can access quality professional care from the convenience of their smart devices. Doctors can remotely monitor patients via virtual check-ins for complete visibility—reducing chair time, increasing patient volume, and ensuring safety and beautiful smile results. To learn more about Grin, you can visit www.get-grin.com.
Media Contact:
Sara Ward
sward@carequest.org
