CareQuest Innovation Partners, in partnership with MATTER, the premier health care incubator and innovation hub, has announced the eight emerging startups selected to participate in the fourth year of the SMILE Health programme, marking the largest cohort to date.
These startups were selected from an impressive group of applicants from 15 countries and 42 US states. The cohort was selected based on alignment with the SMILE Health focus areas: advancing accessible, equitable, and/or integrated health; engaging people in their oral health; and connecting chronic care with oral health. Selected companies are Feno, Firstgrin, KiDDY CAPS, Social Cascade, Times Health, Toothapps, Willo, and Xploro.
With fluoride bans across multiple states raising concerns for providers and experts, preventive oral health care has never been more critical, particularly for children and low-income families. This urgency was reflected in this year’s cohort, with many companies focusing on pediatric oral health care innovation and access.
While venture capital funding for oral health reached more than $400m in 2024, it still represents only a small share of overall health care investment. This underfunding is especially concerning given that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people globally each year, and annual dental care spending is expected to exceed $430bn by 2030. CareQuest Innovation Partners’ SMILE Health programme aims to close this gap by connecting innovative startups with a growing network of partners and investors to accelerate solutions that improve access, equity, and medical-dental integration and reduce the societal and economic burdens of poor oral health.
“With federal policies for oral health care under threat, there’s an urgent need to support innovation that expands access and equity,” said Katie D’Amico, vice-president of growth and innovation at CareQuest Innovation Partners. “Backing startups at the forefront of this work is one of the most effective ways to ensure communities get the care they need. This year’s cohort brings forward solutions — from kits, toothbrushes, and education engaging moms, kids, and people with special needs in their health to tools that close care gaps by meeting patients where they are and connecting medical and dental care. These innovations are advancing a more integrated, whole-person future of health — for all.”
The startups will take part in a four-month, semi-virtual accelerator to validate their solutions, where they will be matched with mission-aligned industry partners. The growing list of partners includes Colgate–Palmolive Company, Henry Schein, and Sun Life Dental (including DentaQuest), as well as investor partners that include Seae Ventures, SpringRock Ventures, and Waterline Ventures.
Each startup will receive a stipend, access to multidisciplinary experts in health care, dedicated mentors, a curated curriculum, and key business insights. New this year, the startups will also have access to CareQuest’s new Startup Data Hub, which has self-service capabilities to empower innovators to validate and scale their solutions faster. No equity is required from the startups to participate.
SMILE Health culminates with “Reveal Day” at MATTER headquarters (7–8 Oct 2025) and at the global HLTH conference (19–22 Oct, 2025), featuring a series of curated, one-on-one conversations between cohort members and industry leaders.
Following the accelerator’s completion, startups from the cohort will have access to resources from both MATTER and CareQuest Innovation Partners. They will also have the opportunity to apply for CareQuest Innovation Partners’ ACCELERATE programme, which provides incremental funding to further collaboration with partners on industry-advancing projects.
“One of the most important — but often underrated — areas of health care is oral health, with a massive opportunity to harness innovation to improve both oral health and overall health,” said Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER. “We’re proud to have launched the first oral health accelerator together with CareQuest Innovation Partners and look forward to working with this year’s cohort to bring real innovation and change to the industry.”
Learn more about the 2025 cohort:
- Feno is a connected oral health platform that combines smart brushing technology with personalised insights, empowering people to understand, track, and improve their oral health as part of their overall wellness journey
- Firstgrin provides paediatric oral care kits and targeted, evidence-based education via a companion app for families to prevent oral disease starting in pregnancy and infancy and establish healthy, lifelong oral hygiene habits
- KiDDY CAPS is transforming paediatric dentistry via affordable, minimally invasive zirconia crowns for children, making high-quality caries treatment accessible for every child
- Social Cascade enables providers to engage with patients between office visits with timely and relevant information designed to meet patients where they are, promote equitable access through education, and drive community health outcomes
- Times Health is an AI-powered virtual health assistant that delivers 24/7 dental guidance, symptom support, and preventive care education, empowering people to take control of their oral health, anytime, anywhere
- Toothapps advances health data access, interoperability, and real-time patient engagement across the medical and dental care continuum. Its keystone solution, Cair, helps patients access, understand, and act on their complete health history
- Willo provides automatic toothbrushes designed for children and anyone who struggles with brushing — whether they need extra support or simply a more effective, hassle-free way to maintain daily oral hygiene
- Xploro is a paediatric patient education platform that uses augmented reality, gamification, and other interactive content to empower kids to become active participants in their health journey, reducing anxiety and improving outcomes
