Virtudent

Market position

Virtudent describes itself as the first commercial teledentistry practice in the US and as a leading provider of mobile dental clinics and teledentistry for employers. Company databases list comparable companies including Denteractive, Cloud Dentistry, SmileDirectClub, MouthWatch and Jet Dental.

On-site delivery of preventive care using portable clinical kits, a 45-minute standard appointment, and structural separation of the diagnosing dentist (remote) from the treating dentist (referred, in-network), which the company presents as reducing bias in treatment plans. It cites reaching patients who have avoided dental care, noting its average patient had not seen a dentist in nearly six years.

Technology

Portable dental clinic kits roughly the size of a suitcase used by hygienists on site, paired with a teledentistry platform that transmits digital dental x-rays and intraoral photographs to remotely located dentists for review, diagnosis and referral. Publicly listed business tooling includes QuickBooks, Google Workspace, HubSpot, React and LinkedIn Insight Tag.

Go-to-market

Enterprise sales to employer benefits buyers and health insurers, with the on-site clinic positioned as an addition to employee benefits packages during open enrollment, supplemented by partnerships with insurers such as Northeast Delta Dental.

Employers and their employees, including large enterprises such as Wayfair, Kronos, LogMeIn and athenahealth, along with health insurance companies; the community program serves children at Boys and Girls Clubs sites.

Geography

Headquartered in the Boston area (Newton, Massachusetts), with initial operations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, followed by expansion to Washington state in December 2019 and to the West Coast in early 2020; operations are confined to the United States.

History

Founded in 2014 by Hitesh Tolani, Virtudent began operating in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and raised an $8 million Series A in July 2018 led by .406 Ventures, with SpringRock Ventures and existing investor The Sparta Group participating; .406 Ventures' Liam Donohue joined the board. Total venture funding has been reported at $10 million. The company appointed Catherine Jonash as VP and General Manager for New England in October 2019, expanded operations to Washington state in December 2019 and to the West Coast in early 2020, and named John Voith CEO in June 2020. Founder Tolani was terminated as CEO in October 2019 and sued the company and several investors, directors and officers in July 2020.

Risks & controversies

In late July 2020, founder Hitesh Tolani filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court, Massachusetts, alleging that investors and their agents ousted him as CEO in October 2019 after he objected to pressure to expand into nine states within months, which he said would compromise state regulatory compliance, quality of care and his dental license, and that board meetings were held without him or his board nominee despite his remaining a director and major shareholder. Named defendants include CEO John Voith, Liam Donohue of .406 Ventures, Servjeet Bhachu of Sparta Group and chief dental officer Scott Odell. Voith, speaking for the defendants, called the complaint meritless and said they intended to defend the case vigorously. The dispute illustrates tension between venture growth expectations and state-by-state licensing rules governing dental and telehealth practice.