Ohio-based startup sees opportunity to positively affect dental patient care and accessibility; achieves $9 million in latest funding round Â
Dr. Dan German, founder, CEO and chief orthodontist at orthobrain, a Bounce remote incubator company, knows a thing or two about smiles. With more than 30 years as an orthodontist, his smile lights up a room when he talks about his passion for orthodontic care. So much so, in fact, he wants to spread that enthusiasm to ensure that general dentists can grow their practices by including orthodontics and making patient care more accessible.
Motivation for change
When he was 35, Dr. German had a serious medical problem. After years of treating thousands of people in the Dayton community, he had the financial means and connections to get the help he needed. He knew the doctors, the hospitals and the medical system.
However, all that changed when his condition eventually required highly specialized experts and Dr. German had to step outside his community – and his perspective changed.
“Even with all those advantages, I found out how expensive and difficult it is to navigate the healthcare system,” he said. “Once I left my little network of people that knew me, and I had to go outside our community, and that’s when I realized that people aren’t always treated with the dignity they deserved.”
This experience among many others throughout his career, pushed him to want to make a profound change. Orthodontics is what he knew, so he started there.
Orthobrain is born
Did you know that general practitioners are permitted to deliver orthodontics? Neither did we!  However, just because they can, doesn’t mean they do and many don’t possess the confidence to perform procedures as a regular part of their practice, even though their patients most likely need their services.
Dr. German wants to change that. Enter orthobrain. Orthobrain makes it easy for dentists and dental organizations to not only integrate orthodontics into their practices but excel at it. They believe the field of dental health is a better place when knowledge is shared.
The system combines digital technology, learning and the expertise of orthodontists into a total solution that delivers a comprehensive playbook to dentists, which, in turn, increases patient accessibility to services and grows the practice.
Orthobrain provides education, knowledge, and real-time support to deliver orthodontics with confidence.
“We support dentists so they can deliver excellent orthodontic care for their patients,” Dr. German said. “How do you care for people? You care for them with not only the treatment, but in the way you render that care.”
Orthobrain also has its own proprietary braces that Dr. German developed after treating the thousands of patients in his career.
Investors see the value
On March 7, orthobrain announced that it had completed a $9 million in Series A funding with a group of investors, led by CareCapital, one of the largest investors in the dental care industry. Additional co-investors include JumpStart NEXT II Fund, JobsOhio, among others.
According to a news release on the orthobrain website, capital from this financing will be used to accelerate the momentum orthobrain has brought to the dental industry, further advancing its mission to drive orthodontic growth and expand access to quality orthodontic care globally. orthobrain will scale clinical and education support services, innovate, invest in technological solutions, and expand its global footprint.
Smiles matter
For Dr. German, orthodontics is one avenue he feels can increase a person’s opportunity for success because smiles matter. The research backs him up. A study in the American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics discovered that people with straight teeth and ideal smiles were viewed as more intelligent and more likely to be hired for a job.Â
“I want to make sure that everybody has every opportunity for success,” he said.
So what’s next for orthobrain?
Dr. German is most excited about building a team that is purpose-driven. “I believe for a company to be successful, the culture and the people are every bit as important or more important than the actual business model and strategy.”
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