If your biggest problem with going to the dentist is that the offices aren’t very glam, you’re in luck.
Tend, a startup that wants to make your stodgy old dentist more hip, just raised $37m to expand its sleek offices from its base in New York to Boston and DC.
Out with the hospital lights, in with the aromatherapy
You can think of Tend like the regular dentist’s cool aunt who won’t stop talking about her herbal medicine cures on Instagram. A few of its features:
- Extra quiet drills and dental equipment to tamp down your anxiety
- Scents of your choice to keep you relaxed
- A well-lit bathroom, curated for perfect mirror selfies
- A TV screen above the dental chair for Netflix streaming
All the other dentists are busy going mobile
Most other startups have focused on getting dentists to hit the road: Companies like Henry and Lydian have invented high-end offices on wheels.
Their business is with mostly corporate clients. Back in the Before Times, Henry would roll up to your company’s HQ, and you could get your teeth checked in between meetings.
Tend, by contrast, is committed to the old-school dentist setup. The only place like it is Dntl Bar, another New York-based company that describes itself as a “spa-like” alternative to the dentist office.
