VideaHealth Inc., an artificial intelligence startup focused on dentistry, says it wants to help transform the way oral care is delivered after closing on $40 million in funding.

Today’s Series B round was led by Threshold Ventures and saw participation from new investors such as Avenir Ventures and BAM Ventures, plus existing backers like Spark Capital, Zetta Venture Partners and Pillar VC. It brings the company’s total amount raised to date to $70 million.

The startup has developed AI software that aims to help dentists deliver better oral care to their patients by supporting them in diagnosis and treatment planning. It works alongside the dentist as they inspect their patient’s teeth, primarily by analyzing a detailed X-ray scan. It will attempt to diagnose any problems, such as a cavity or gum disease, and provide a detailed summary that supports its findings.

In addition to diagnosing disease, it will also suggest the best treatment options for each patient.

VideaHealth co-founder and Chief Executive Florian Hillen said in a 2023 interview with Dentistry Today that the company’s AI can be considered as offering a second opinion to both dentists and their patients, helping to boost confidence in their diagnosis as well as the recommended treatment plan.

Hillen says this is necessary, because traditionally, diagnoses have always been subjective, and are not always accurate.

“If you look at the data, dentistry has one of the highest – if not the highest – rates of missed instances of disease,” Hillen claims. “This can largely be attributed to dentists having a wide range of expertise, along with diagnostic capabilities that can be influenced by external factors that range from equipment quality to room lighting.”

What the company is offering is greater consistency, Hillen says, with its AI models being trained on 50 times the number of X-rays that the average human dentist will see in a lifetime. This can help to increase treatment acceptance too, Hillen believes, citing one of the company’s own studies, which found that patients are more likely to accept their dentist’s recommendations if their findings are validated by AI.

Besides aiding diagnostic processes, VideaHealth’s software can also help dentists in other ways, such as by taking notes of their conversations with patients, filling in claims forms and other administrative tasks. This means dentists can spend more time with their patients, and less time sitting at a desk.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said VideaHealth’s main strength lies in image processing, which is one of the most powerful use cases for AI software. He said AI can be trained to evaluate images far more quickly and accurately than any human is able to do.

“AI does not take breaks or holidays, and it rarely makes mistakes in this kind of application, and so dentistry is an industry that can benefit from this,” Mueller said. “It’s an area where images need to be studied carefully, and it’s precisely where this startup aims to help, so that dentists can make faster and more accurate diagnoses. I can’t wait to see it in action at my own dentist.”

The startup has won over some of the biggest dental service organizations in North America., including the likes of Heartland Dental LLC in the U.S. and Dentalcorp Health Services ULC in Canada. In addition, it’s also looking to apply its AI software to education through a partnership with Henry Schein One LLC.

VideaHealth said the funds from today’s round will be used to broaden its product offerings across various segments of the dental care industry, with a focus on creating AI-powered workflow and revenue cycle management tools.

Threshold Ventures’ Emily Melton said her organization is primarily focused on technology startups that have the potential to disrupt the healthcare industry. She believes VideaHealth is a prime candidate to do so. “VideaHealth’s AI platform has demonstrated the ability to dramatically improve clinical and administrative workflows and substantially improve the patient and provider experience,” she added.

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