Testmyteeth’s Blog #1

Testmyteeth

Dental technology focused on reducing the burden of preventable dental diseases, such as tooth decay and gum disease founded by James Russ

Hello, my name is James and I am the founder of Testmyteeth, a dental technology start-up focused on reducing the burden of preventable dental diseases, such as tooth decay and gum disease. We are using images of teeth taken on a smartphone to deliver AI powered dental insights through an easy to use and affordable mobile app. I have recently graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Bath, so I guess you are probably wondering why have I chosen to focus on teeth?

The idea for Testmyteeth originated back in my first year, after an infection around my wisdom tooth caused significant pain and left me needing to urgently see a dentist. With no access to oversubscribed NHS dental services, I was left with no choice but to spend most of my limited student budget to go privately in Bath. After an expensive routine check-up, consisting of a clean around my back teeth, I was determined to improve access to affordable dental care. This idea for digital dental advice remained largely as a concept for the next few years, until I returned from my placement working in R&D at Dyson. Whilst this was a very exciting experience, I really knew that I wanted to drive my own idea forward.

After suggesting my own final year engineering project focused on developing a smart dental device targeting gum disease and coming across the opportunities available at Bath, I got cracking on building Testmyteeth. The last 12 months have been exceptionally busy, balancing the time I spent refining the business plan, entering competitions and pitching at events alongside my university studies.

Placing as national runner-up in the NatWest Business pitching competition, securing a place on the Bath Entrepreneurs Acceler8 programme and winning grants through SETsquared Bath’s ‘Dragons’ Den’ competitions were particular highlights. These programmes gave access to mentors, allowed early prototypes to be developed and I even pitched at events out in the US with some of the latest start-ups from Stanford University. These were experiences I couldn’t have even dreamed of.

I am immensely grateful to have been awarded an Alumni Innovation Award for 2021/22, which allows me to work full time on transforming the vision for Testmyteeth into a reality.

Testmyteeth’s dedicated Entrepreneur in Residence at the SETsquared Bath Innovation Centre, Sean Devane said:

I'm delighted to be working with James Russ CEO of Testmyteeth, an exciting HealthTech startup developing a novel oral care Ai driven digital platform. As an innovation award winner Testmyteeth receive membership for SETsquared Bath's virtual accelerator, benefiting from 1:1 business support, access to the masterclass series and in-residence professional advisors.

October 2021 kicked off with the Enterprise Bath launch event at the University of Bath which provided an amazing opportunity to meet (in person) and encourage students to make the most of the opportunities available at Bath. Furthermore, securing a small De Minimis aid grant has enabled the business to purchase a powerful computer to train our AI model as we begin collecting data over the next year. This will be instrumental in improving the accuracy of the guidance we can deliver through our app

James at the Enterprise Bath launch event to kick of the new academic year

Follow Testmyteeth’s regular blog to keep updated with James’ first year as a founder of a healthtech startup here.

You can visit Testmyteeth’s website here.