Anticipation is building around Forsyth dentech 2022, the biggest oral health innovation event of the year. In this week’s sponsor spotlight, we are pleased to introduce quip, one our silver sponsors and a company that’s working to make it easier and more enjoyable to maintain good oral health. Simon Enever, quip’s co-founder and CEO, took the time to answer a few questions for us about quip, why his company is excited to come to dentech 2022, and the barriers keep people from accessing oral healthcare.
Check out his interview below!
Q&A with Simon Enever
Can you tell us a little about quip?
Bill May and I co-founded quip in 2015 with the goal of providing thoughtfully designed personal oral care products and professional dental care services through a digital platform that makes maintaining good oral health more simple, accessible, and enjoyable. Our current personal care offerings (American Dental Association accepted adult and kids electric toothbrushes, smart brushes, refillable floss pick and string, refillable mouthwash and gum as well as our newly released water flosser) are designed to drive good oral care habits, while keeping products fresh and effective with a quarterly refill delivery service. Our professional platform, which is behind quip Teledentistry, quip Aligners, and our upcoming dental booking platform, is part of our vision to connect personal care, oral health monitoring and professional care in one end-to-end digital oral care companion app that helps manage all your oral care needs, while guiding and incentivizing good oral care habits. Since launch we’ve sold more than 10 million oral care products with millions of those users enrolled in a subscription plan that keeps brush heads and other refills replaced on the recommended quarterly schedule for maximum effectiveness. We invite Forsyth Dentech attendees to visit quip onsite at the conference to pick-up a free quip smart brush and experience how we track and reward good oral health habits in our app.
Why does Forsyth dentech matter to you?
Innovation is at the heart of quip as we strive to make good oral health easier to achieve. There’s great synergy between what we want to accomplish and the mission of Forsyth dentech in accelerating dental innovation. We are approaching the Forsyth dentech event as an opportunity for us to learn more about the latest research and industry innovations that could inform our strategy, as well as the opportunity to share our current and future developments in the areas of digital oral care delivery and teledentistry with other thought leaders.
Why are you partnering with the Forsyth Institute on this event?
We value the opportunity that the Forsyth Institute provides with Dentech 2022 for us to collaborate with other oral health leaders and identify industry actions and partnerships that can move us forward collectively. Partnerships will help us expand our reach to both consumers and dental professionals and ultimately achieve our goal of healthy mouths for all. This is especially relevant right now as quip is approaching the launch of platform updates that will help deepen the connection between millions of patients and health professionals.
What do you feel are the biggest obstacles facing the adoption of dental innovations?
The way that we value and pay for oral healthcare in the US has created a dental divide. The separation of dental benefits from medical benefits has contributed to the perception that dental care is not medical care, and that it doesn’t hold the same degree of necessity. As a result, we have an environment where consumers are likely on one of two oral health paths determined almost solely based on their socioeconomic status. Consumers either base oral health decisions on their benefit coverage or they are balancing the need for out-of-pocket dental care against the cost of food, gas, and other essentials. How consumers value and pay for dental care significantly impacts how dental professionals can evolve their care and the adoption of innovation within the profession. An increasing focus on the oral-systemic link will help us counter the perception that dental care is not medical care and escalate the development and adoption of dental innovations, including how consumers who lack benefits pay for care.
How do you see oral health technology making a social impact moving forward?
Access to care continues to be a significant barrier to improving oral health here in the United States where more than 49 million Americans live in places that are dentally underserved. Oral health technology can help bridge the gap for underserved communities by providing them with tools and resources that support both home care and professional care. Digital health apps, like quip’s oral care companion, provide tracking data and tailored recommendations that increase consumers’ engagement in their home care, motivating them to change or maintain healthy behaviors. Health apps like quip’s can also facilitate the connection between patients and dental professionals via teledentistry. This ability to connect virtually can be a first step in addressing oral health needs, while building the trust between patients and professionals that is critical for establishing agreement on a plan for future care. At quip we support prevention and health improvement by putting actionable information in the hands of our users to empower them in improving their oral health and seamlessly connecting them to healthcare professionals based on their personal needs and health objectives.
What do you think is the potential impact of Forsyth dentech on the oral health technology ecosystem?
At quip, we approach innovation from the perspective of simplicity, accessibility, and enjoyment for our users – both consumers and dental professionals. As Forsyth dentech brings together a diverse cross-section of leaders, each with their own approach to oral health innovation, together we can accelerate our progress and drive increased focus and attention on the importance of oral health as part of overall health. As we change the perception of oral health, we open up the possibility of true industry evolution. Imagine the impact on oral health if we could move from 64% to 100% of adults receiving a checkup from a dental professional each year.
Have you registered for Forsyth dentech 2022?
Register now!