💰 $170B+ oral health gold rush

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Welcome back to Consumer Startup, a weekly email followed by 13K+ consumer founders and operators. Today’s topic is on a consumer niche that’s VERY underrated and quite lucrative for the right founders.

I hate boring market research reports (looking at you, Gartner!), so I'll keep this one light, and hopefully, interesting.

Read Time: 2 mins 43 secs

Wait what… Why are we talking about oral health?

For one thing, this topic touches everyone. Oral health is deeply connected to general health and quality of life. The World Health Organization estimates that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people worldwide, making them one of the most common health burdens.

Poor oral hygiene doesn’t just cause cavities or gum disease, it can also increase the risk of systemic issues like heart disease, diabetes, respiratory infections, and even dementia.

In fact, untreated tooth decay is the MOST prevalent health condition globally. This means improving oral care has a ripple effect: preventing pain and tooth loss, and also supporting better overall well-being and chronic disease management.

I believe this is an amazing market for innovation for the right founders, here are my whys:

1/ Massive market with stable demand: In the US market alone, total spend on oral care amounts to over $170B every year. The dental healthcare sector remains stable due to its inelastic demand. Even during economic downturns, preventive and emergency dental services see consistent utilization.

For example, during the 2008 recession, dental spending declined by just 2.6% (compared to ~8% for overall healthcare) and rebounded quickly afterward, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute.

2/ Accessibility: Insurance coverage further stabilizes demand. Dental insurance among adults in the US has reached a 5 year high of 65%.

Roughly 77% of insured Americans receive dental benefits through employers, and government programs like Medicaid and CHIP cover dental care for 56 million children, ensuring affordability for vulnerable populations.

‼️ However, there is one curveball: the Trump administration's funding cuts and delays for community health centers are creating uncertainty in the dental care sector, potentially limiting access to affordable dental services for millions of vulnerable Americans, including low-income individuals and those relying on Medicaid.

3/ Rise of cosmetic dentistry: Cosmetic dentistry is a massive growth driver for the oral health industry, shifting from luxury to mainstream demand.

Valued at $33.6B in 2022, the global cosmetic dentistry market is expected to grow 2.6x by 2030. Surveys show 36% of U.S. adults are considering pursuing procedures like teeth whitening or veneers, reflecting rising consumer interest in aesthetic enhancements.

Two biggest markets in dental right now are:

• Dental Implants: $6B+ market driven by aging populations

• Clear Aligners: $4B+ market (e.g. Invisalign, SmileDirectClub) with saturation in direct-to-consumer play but there is growing opportunity forming partnership with orthodontists.

4/ Consolidation of DSOs: The rapid expansion of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), driven by rising education costs and financial barriers for new dentists, presents opportunities for startups.

The number of solo dentists dropped from two in three to one in two from 1999 to 2019. As DSOs consolidate the market and streamline operations, they increasingly seek innovative technological solutions to boost efficiency and strategic growth. Unlike independent practices, DSOs have dedicated administrative roles, such as CTOs and heads of strategy, actively pursuing new technologies and operational improvements.

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5 main segments for oral health startups

1/ Software: Digital tools for scheduling, billing, and workflow automation are modernizing dental practices. AI-powered diagnostics and patient monitoring are becoming key differentiators.

2/ Fintech: Startups are offering dental-specific financing and benefits platforms, such as pay-as-you-go dental memberships and AI-driven insurance claims processing.

3/ Biotech & Medtech: Innovations like saliva-based disease diagnostics, regenerative enamel treatments, and smart toothbrushes are gaining traction.

4/ Imaging & AI: AI-driven imaging, 3D printing for dental restorations, and intraoral scanning are reducing the cost and time required for dental procedures.

5/ Specialty Products & Services: DTC innovations like subscription toothbrushes, tele-dentistry, and custom oral microbiome care are reshaping oral hygiene habits.

💰 6 startup opportunities for consumer founders

1/ At-Home Disease Detection & Monitoring: Saliva-based diagnostics (e.g. Bristle, Viome) and real-time oral health monitoring wearables (e.g. Lura Health).

2/ Preventative & Personalized Oral Care: Custom oral care (Proclaim’s customized water powered interproximal cleaning) and early-stage cavity reversal treatments like Curodont.

3/ Remote Care & Tele-dentistry: Virtual consultations and AI-powered remote orthodontic supervision (e.g. Grin).

4/ Smart Oral Care Products: High-tech toothbrushes (e.g. Oralucent’s light therapy, Great Gums’ bioelectric brush) and connected oral health platforms.

5/ Consumer Education & Engagement – Gamification, personalized coaching, and microbiome-driven oral health guidance.

6/ AI agents - Automate billing, booking, insurance claims (e.g. Overjet, Pearl). Not a super consumer idea but worth mentioning since I know many of you are building AI agents.

Potential challenges and pro tips

Despite all the opportunities in the space, starting a business in the oral health space isn't easy.

Dental providers tend to be cautious about adopting new technologies. To minimize resistance, develop products with clear insurance reimbursement codes and ensure seamless integration with existing workflows, particularly electronic health records. A proven strategy for efficient adoption is to pilot your solution with DSOs, which can accelerate scaling and integration into dental practices. Additionally, focus on provider education and comprehensive implementation support can reduce friction as well.

Another important challenge is navigating regulatory hurdles. Getting FDA approvals, particularly Class II or III for diagnostics or therapeutic devices, can be a lengthy and costly process. Preparing for these requirements early can save significant time and resources.

The oral health consumer market can be crowded depending on the vertical, making it essential to clearly differentiate your product…but this is also true for many consumer markets. One approach to create differentiation in oral health is providing solid clinical validation (e.g. high-tech toothpaste backed by peer-reviewed research).

Finally, given the current fundraising climate, it's wise to adopt a capital-efficient business model. For instance, software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings targeting Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) generally require less upfront investment compared to hardware-based solutions.

Special shout out!

Huge shout out to my friend Jeremy Krell for providing me with so much insight for this post. He is the managing partner at Revere Partners, a VC specializing in oral health. If you are a founder in this space, make sure to reach out to Jeremy.

🤝 NEW: founder matching

As promised last week, highlighting a few members of the Consumer Startups community who are actively seeking co-founders:

• Joel is a serial technical founder with experience bootstrapping consumer startups. Previously, he founded a bootstrapped consumer edtech business, served as VP of engineering at a consumer health AI startup (acquired), and worked as lead engineer & growth at a fintech (scaling it from $1M MRR to $10M MRR). He is looking for a business co-founder with a mature idea.

• Henry is the Director of Business Development at Splash Sports and former founder of Hedge. He is looking for a technical co-founder for a concept around public golf course loyalty rewards.

• Barakah is passionate about reimagining home as a healthcare space through her startup, CogAi. She was formerly a software engineer at Lockheed and a product manager at a Unicorn startup. She is looking for a high energy cofounder with a strong technical background in ML and interest in helping individuals with neurodegenerative disorders.

See you next week 🫡,

Leo