Quip, a dental care company, disclosed plans to buy dental care telehealth Toothpic company for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition will allow quip users to access both preventative digital exams and on-demand virtual emergency dental care. The services will be integrated with quip’s digital platform, which allows users to track oral hygiene habits and monitor health over time.
According to quip, once Toothpic is integrated into its app, the service will be able to reward positive health habits and guide patients in taking charge of their oral health.
Quip currently offers a subscription toothbrush service that provides users with a replacement toothbrush head every three months. The company also offers an app, which can track and coach users on their brushing and offer rewards. The company also allows members to book dental appointments within the app.
“By integrating Toothpic’s teledentistry platform and national network of online dental professionals into our app, we will centralize access to a full suite of connected oral care products and dental services that will dramatically change the way people live and manage their oral health,” Simon Enever, co-founder and CEO of quip, said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to welcome the extremely talented team at Toothpic to the quip community to help us continue to build this indispensable platform for patients and providers.”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
According to the CDCmore than one in four adults suffer from untreated tooth decay in the United States. The agency reports that having a chronic condition can increase the risk of having missing teeth or poor oral health.
“We’ve made incredible strides in making oral health care accessible to individuals and businesses across the country through our web and mobile apps,” said Shane Owens, CTO and co-founder of Toothpic.
“We share a vision to move dentistry from a fee-for-service model to a prevention-focused, value-based model of care. We can’t imagine a better partner than quip as we seek to continue our mission to provide innovative oral care solutions that not only improve the lives of patients, but also improve and modernize the delivery of care to our provider networks and reduce the cost of care for our partners.”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
This news comes less than a year after Quip announced a $100 million Series B funding round aimed at growing its product line, expanding globally and creating more professional services for its supplier network.
But quip isn’t the only company working in the dental field. AI-backed dental startup VideaHealth secured $20 million in Series A funding. Additionally, dental care and practice management is Overjet raised $42.5 million in Series B funding.
