First non-startup dental organization in the collaborative brings focus to the connection between oral health and overall health
PDS Health®, a leading integrated healthcare support organization, recently announced its participation in the AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP, a global ecosystem of over 700 organizations working to improve how people age through innovation and collaboration.
The AgeTech Collaborative brings together startups, enterprises, investors, and healthcare leaders to accelerate solutions in one of the fastest-growing global markets, helping move innovation from concept to real-world impact.
PDS Health joins as the first non-startup, dental-focused organization in the collaborative, contributing a critical and often underrepresented perspective: oral health is a key component of overall health, yet it has historically remained separate from broader healthcare delivery. As aging populations face increasing complexity in care, this separation limits the ability to identify risk early and manage conditions effectively over time.
“Improving outcomes for an aging population requires fully integrating oral health into overall health,” said Stephen E. Thorne IV, Founder and CEO of PDS Health. “The AgeTech Collaborative brings together organizations shaping the future of healthcare, and this is where that integration must accelerate. Connecting dental and medical care is critical to identifying risk earlier and managing chronic disease more effectively.”
More than half of adults aged 65 and older are managing multiple chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline. These conditions are closely linked to oral health, but without integration between dental and medical providers, opportunities for early intervention are often missed. PDS Health addresses this through dental-medical integration, enabling clinicians to share data and develop a more complete understanding of each patient’s health.
Through participation in the AgeTech Collaborative, PDS Health will engage with organizations across healthcare and technology, contributing its clinical expertise while exploring opportunities to pilot emerging solutions that support aging populations.
PDS Health’s model is grounded in the Mouth-Body Connection®, recognizing that the mouth can serve as an early indicator of systemic health conditions. Through integrated electronic health records with Epic®, dental and medical providers have access to shared patient information in real time, including medical history, medications, lab results, and clinical notes. This level of visibility allows clinicians to make more informed decisions, identify potential health risks earlier, and improve coordination across care settings. In combination with advanced saliva screenings and diagnostics, this approach strengthens the ability to detect disease earlier and manage patients more comprehensively, particularly as health needs become more complex with age.
As the global longevity market continues to expand into the tens of trillions, collaboration across sectors will play an essential role in how healthcare evolves. This milestone reflects PDS Health’s continued focus on advancing dental-medical integration and reinforcing the connection between oral health and overall health to create healthier, happier patients.
Visit pdshealth.com to learn more.
About PDS Health
PDS Health® continues the journey started by Pacific Dental Services® in 1994, with a vision to redefine healthcare through the integration of dental and medical services. Its approach, centered on the connection between oral health and overall health, aims to create healthier, happier patients and set new benchmarks in the healthcare industry. As a leading provider of integrated healthcare support, the company delivers a broad spectrum of services to dental, dental specialties, and medical providers, enhancing operations and care delivery for clinicians across the U.S. For more information about PDS Health, visit pdshealth.com.
Mouth-Body Connection® is a registered trademark of PDS Health.
Epic® is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.