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Going to the dentist has always been seen as a task. But what if the dentist comes to your doorstep? 

According to a report by The Borgen Project, a non-profit organisation, around 85 to 90 percent of adults, and about 80 percent of children in India, have dental cavities, making oral hygiene awareness an urgent necessity.

Dr. Pranjan Mitra, who has over nine years of experience in dentistry, realised the need for deeper access to oral care and awareness in rural and semi-urban areas when a patient came to him from a village 70 km afar, fearing his dental stains to be oral cancer.

With the pandemic-led lockdown leading to the shutdown of dental clinics, the situation worsened. Deciding to do something about it, Dr. Pranjan, along with his childhood friend Satyajeet Pradhan, launched Denta Mitra in July 2020 to provide teledentistry services, which uses artificial intelligence to diagnose oral problems during video consultations.

Bengaluru-based Denta Mitra is a digital dentist app that provides oral healthcare anytime and anywhere. “The dental app brings dentistry to the fingertips and also to the doorstep through a clinic on suitcase trolley,” Satyajeet tells YourStory.

The Digital Dentist

Satyajeet explains that the Denta Mitra app, available in both Android and iOS, has been designed with an artificial intelligence scanner to diagnose teeth problems through image processing.

“The user can book a dentist through a free call directly from the app, or get in touch through WhatsApp. The app also allows users to connect with a dentist 24×7 via video calls. The backend algorithm based on the best dental practices helps users check their oral health and sweet score. The inbuilt Google Map helps users find nearby Dental clinics or hospitals in case of emergency,” he says.

Apart from this, Denta Mitra also offers lifestyle and wellness services including dental spa, whitening services, smile makeover, aroma therapy, sleeping or sedation dentistry among others.

Additionally, the app allows users to stream music or shows from Netflix during their dental treatment to ensure entertainment and stress relief. 

Business and more

Satyajeet reveals Denta Mitra has a diversified revenue model in place, where the startup earns revenue through video or home consultation fees, services fees, subscription services, partnerships with dental labs, and partnerships with organisations for oral care. It also offers patient management tools to hospitals and clinics.

“Our average monthly revenue is around Rs 1.5 lakh, and we have clocked in Rs 2 lakh in the last two months. We are targeting to generate 3x-5x the next financial year with the expansion of our services to other cities and more partnerships.” Satyajeet claims.

The startup claims to have completed over 2000 video consultations to date, and more than 300 home visits.  Denta Mitra currently has five in-house doctors and seven consultant doctors.

The founders have so far invested Rs 25 lakhs in the bootstrapped startup for product development, customised medical, clinical, and service equipment, marketing, technology, sales and operations. The startup is now looking to raise its first round of funding to further scale its business, and is already in talks with angel investors.

According to a report by Italian Trade Agency,  India is expected to become the single largest country for dental products and materials. The country currently houses over 5000 dental laboratories and over 297 dental institutes. The dentist to population ratio in urban areas is believed to be a staggering 1:9000 and 1:2,00,000 in rural areas.  Denta Mitra competes with several other notable players such as Mobident, Clove, and Dentists For Me among others.

Speaking about future plans, Satyajeet says, “As per our two-year roadmap, we plan to expand our services to 12 cities in the country, majorly Tier I and II. “We have plans to launch Oral care on wheels for corporates, apartment societies, and tourism dentistry. We shall also further evolve the product and AI functionality in the app.”