Floe Oral Care, a London-based healthtech startup, has won a grant for the development of its oral health test to monitor oral and systemic health through the power of saliva.The funding will enable the team to develop a machine learning algorithm that will search for patterns in order to uncover new insights and make predictions about the development of oral disease and its impact on the rest of the body. These insights will subsequently drive behaviour changes, both in terms of product and lifestyle recommendations, and the need for professional dental care.
Our mouth is the primary gateway to our body, serving as the first line of defense against pathogens or, in cases of poor oral health, opening the floodgates to infection and inflammation throughout the body. A growing body of scientific literature shows how chronic inflammation of the mouth increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even Alzheimers, and yet we continue to treat our oral health as an afterthought. Floe wants to change that by giving oral health its rightful place as a fundamental pillar of overall health and wellbeing.
“Everyone knows prevention is better than cure. In reality though, getting access to some of the most impactful and motivating information there is — data about how you’re really doing on the inside —is extremely difficult and costly” Floe co-founder and CEO William Welton says.
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The NHS is an incredible institution and is mostly ‘free’ but because it’s so challenging to access, people have to wait until they’re sick before lifting the lid on their bodies. The consequence? We’re locked in a reactive health paradigm. Until now, people haven’t been able to access the tools that enable them to take control; to own and to make better decisions about their health.
By providing them with key insights, Floe’s aim is not only to empower and motivate the user but also to help the NHS direct resources to where they are most needed.
Floe’s current investors include Holland & Barrett and various high-profile angels in the healthcare and commercial sectors. Recent Floe investor Avi Lasarow, who founded DNAfitand took Prenetics public on Nasdaq as CEO commented: “Withover 20 years experience building innovative health businesses, I know you need the perfect combination of team and tech, and the guys at Floe have both in abundance. I look forward to supporting the business as they grow and seeing Floe change the way we approach oral care for years to come.”
