My Dental Key-Khan Academy For Dental Students

The Problem

My Dental Key was created from the co-founders, Leela, Jenn and Emily’s own experience in dental school. The three were frustrated that their school relied on static textbooks and PowerPoints to teach three dimensional principles in clinical dentistry. They were left with many unanswered questions about how to perform procedures. As digital natives accustomed to online learning, they turned to YouTube videos to supplement their clinical education. When they interviewed over 700 students across the US about their experiences in dental school, they found that over 80% were using YouTube because no regulated or verified alternatives existed in the dental EdTech space.

What The Company Does

Inspired by existing medical EdTech and frustrated that there were no comparable resources for dental students, the co-founders decided to close this gap and create the “Khan Academy’’ of dentistry. Their research of 700+ dental students confirmed that dental students desire online, trusted, comprehensive resources that allow them to pass their dental exams and excel in patient care. My Dental Key created just that — a dynamic web platform complete with expert-verified video tutorials, illustrations, and guides for dental procedures to foster success in class, clinic, and beyond.

Business Model

Present sources of revenue for My Dental Key are: institutional subscriptions, direct-to-consumer subscriptions to the platform as well as branded merchandise sales. Additional sources of revenue include partnerships with leading oral health care companies.

The Market

The global oral health care market will reach $53.3 billion dollars by 2025. Tooth decay and gum disease affect over half of the world’s population, yet, a shortage of well-trained dentists remains across the globe. They have completed a thorough analysis of the market and future potential competitors, and have designed their value proposition to be both superior and difficult to duplicate. Their competition includes: Pocket Dentistry and Mental Dental (content creators of YouTube hosted video demonstrations); dental and medical education companies (Osmosis, NBDE First Aid, Dental Mastery App); and continuing dental education companies (Spear). These indirect competitors cater to different needs than MDK and/or lack up-to-date and state-of-the-art clinical dental technical information in an online format.

Traction

Since launching in November 2020, My Dental Key has acquired 5000+ unique users and 850+ members on their platform, including paid/premium subscribers. They secured and implemented their first prepaid, institutional subscription, are in final negotiations with a second school, and are recently partnered with a leading oral health care company. In addition to winning multiple competitions through the Harvard entrepreneurial ecosystem, My Dental Key was recently awarded the $25,000 prize in the Harvard Innovation Lab’s President’s Innovation Challenge Open Track.

Founding Team Background

Dr. Leela Breitman (HSDM ’21) leads MDK’s content production efforts, including medical illustration and video design and production. She drives the team’s innovation and works on start-up strategy. Dr. Jennifer Lee (HSDM ’21) keeps the whole team on task and on schedule, facilitating effective communication in addition to working to write, validate, film, and publish MDK content. Emily Van Doren (HSDM ’22) conducts platform research and development and also analyzes user analytics. Alice Li (HSDM ’23) is an illustrator and content developer for MDK and leads their social media campaigns. Maria Meyerhoefer (NEU ’20) serves as the primary overseer of MDK’s financial functions and develops MDK’s business strategy.

What They Need Help With

My Dental Key is looking to continue to enhance their web platform experience to truly create a dynamic and comprehensive platform. To do so, MDK is looking to recruit additional web/app developers and software engineers. Connect with the My Dental Key team.

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