Media contact:
Jill Sirko, jsirko@forsyth.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 16, 2022
Cambridge, Mass. – The Forsyth Institute, with its 112-year history of oral health innovation, announced today the return of its oral health technology conference and investment forum, Forsyth dentech 2022, taking place on September 14-16, 2022 at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Somerville, MA. In-person and virtual registration is now open for this hybrid event, with limited in-person capacity.
Forsyth dentech 2022 builds on the success of last year’s inaugural event, where more than 400 inventors, investors, and leaders from 28 countries convened to discuss the latest cutting-edge innovations and investment opportunities in oral health. The conference will include a keynote speaker, CEO panel discussion with leaders representing research, industry, venture capital, and more, and a pitch competition for selected presenters to showcase their novel technology or business proposal. The presentation competition application period is now open, and the deadline to apply is August 1, 2022.
“Our first dentech conference in 2021 confirmed what leaders in this space have said for many years—oral health technology is a largely untapped $100+ billion market with incredible potential for growth,” said Dr. Wenyuan Shi, President and CEO of The Forsyth Institute. “Forsyth is proud to be leading the charge to accelerate innovation and launch new dental-focused ventures that transform the oral health landscape.”
Forsyth dentech 2021 featured a keynote speech by Dai Feng, co-founder and managing director of CareCapital Advisors Limited. Feng manages a multi-billion portfolio of more than 50 dental technology companies worldwide.
“There is a huge surge of activity in dentistry—new product technologies, new software technologies, and new forms of services and clinics,” Feng said. “Dentistry has accelerated digitization beyond what we’ve seen in general health care.”
Forsyth dentech 2021 included a pitch competition with 18 presenters selected from a cohort of more than 80 applicants. The winners of last year’s pitch competition, Dr. Chris Ciriello, Co-Founder of Cyberdontics, and Michael Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Intrommune Therapeutics, went on to raise significant funding because of their participation in Forsyth dentech. Several other presenters, including Dr. Benjamin Wu, founder of Gradient Orthodontics, secured additional funding and other business deals through connections to the dentech network.
“The outcomes from Forsyth dentech 2021 demonstrate the investment and innovation opportunities that exist within the oral health technology field. We anticipate this year’s event to be even more exciting as this market continues its trajectory of exponential growth,” said Dr. Shi.
The dental industry is primed for disruption, but has historically been overlooked by investors, receiving comparatively less capital investment than other health care sectors. That is starting to change thanks to a recent influx of digitization in dental labs and growing awareness of the important connections between oral health and overall wellness.
According to an analysis by Revere Partners, the first independent venture fund for oral health and a Forsyth dentech sponsor, investors could expect investments in early-stage dental companies to provide an average internal rate of return of 33-35 percent.
“Certain categories of companies within the dental market have experienced significant growth and investment in recent years,” said Feng. “For example, digital image capturing with software that help dentists plan treatments and work collaboratively are the ‘future of dentistry.’” Feng also predicts an increase in market share for businesses focused on remote monitoring, artificial intelligence, as well as value-based dentistry that broadens patient access.
“The highway infrastructure of digitization is being built, and now there are more cars on the road,” Feng said.
Forsyth is pleased to announce that CareCapital has agreed to be a platinum sponsor for this event. They will join join CareQuest, Colgate, Revere Partners, Pacific Dental Services, Henry Schein, Quip, and other leading organizations that have signed on to sponsor dentech for a second year. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
About The Forsyth Institute
The Forsyth Institute, founded in 1910, is the world’s leading independent research institution focused on oral health and its connection to overall wellness. Forsyth was founded as a pediatric dental hospital serving disadvantaged children in the Boston area. Today, the Institute is grounded in a 3-pillared strategic plan focused on biological research, clinical service and public health outreach, and technological innovation. Forsyth carries out its original mission through a mobile public health dental program called ForsythKids.
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