Introduction:
Way Ahead of the Curve in Dental Health: How Wardah Inam’s AI Vision Transformed Oral HealthThe millions of people who cannot get quality dental care will now have renewed hopes, as one woman’s innovative vision changes the landscape of oral health. So, let’s meet Wardah Inam, the genius behind Overjet—a cutting-edge dental AI company reshaping the future of dentistry.
The Innovation Spark
Wardah Inam didn’t set out to upend dentistry. An MIT-educated electrical engineer with a Ph.D. in computer science, she drew on her background, personal experience, and a fine ear for technological fixes to identify a critical gap in dental care. In 2017, more than 100 million Americans lacked dental insurance, with even the covered finding visits to the dentist financially overwhelming.
“I saw firsthand how the lack of standardized care and clear communications amongst dentists, insurers, and patients was creating a barrier to proper oral health,” he says. This moment quickly crystallized into an idea that would shortly after evolve into Overjet.
From Concept to Reality
With the technical know-how and a passion to make a difference in health care, Inam began a journey to create a solution. In 2018, she co-founded Overjet in Cambridge, Massachusetts, incubating the company at the prestigious Harvard Innovation Lab.
It simply meant creating a platform powered by artificial intelligence that would be able to analyze dental X-rays with an accuracy level never seen before and give dentists more objective insights into patient care. However, the process of bringing this vision into reality would prove to be the most overwhelming challenge.
Overcoming Challenges
Inam and her team had a lot to contend with during the early days of Overjet. For one thing, the dental industry has been slow in choosing and implementing new technologies. Convincing them was going to be a long job. Secondly, a lot of detailed research and refinement goes into developing AI algorithms to read the finer nuances of dental X-rays correctly.
“We knew we were working on something important, but getting the technology right was key,” says Inam. “We can’t afford to make mistakes where people’s health is at stake.”
The group of engineers has never stopped to improve their algorithms through continuous collaboration with dental professionals. Their hard work finally paid off when Overjet was announced as the first and only dental AI technology FDA-cleared for detecting and quantifying dental decay and bone loss at millimeter-level precision.
A Game-Changing Innovation
Overjet’s platform changed the game in dentistry. It solved one of the most perennial problems plaguing dentistry: different interpretations by different experts of dental X-rays.
The result was immediate and far-reaching. Overjet AI represented almost a sequence of improved accuracy in cavity and calculus detection by dentists. This improved not only quality care but also rebuilt trust between patients and providers.
Unabated Growth and Recognition
As word of Overjet’s capabilities spread, the company grew explosively. In just a few years, thousands of dentists across North America relied on Overjet’s services, and it was partnering with major dental insurers that covered over 120 million members.
The industry took notice. Overjet was named to the prestigious Forbes AI 50 list, recognized for a spot on Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies, and lauded as one of Built In’s Best Places to Work.
Securing the future
In 2024, Overjet hit a milestone that cemented its position as a market leader in AI dentistry. This company closed a $53.2 million Series C funding round, which is the most ever invested in artificial intelligence for dentistry. Led by March Capital, with participation from some giants like General Catalyst and the American Dental Association, this historic round brought the total funding raised to approximately $133 million, while its valuation stood at $550 million.
Looking Ahead
This enormous funding can only enable Inam and her team to bring further success to Overjet. Their vision crosses every boundary of giving improvement to the diagnosis; it creates a connected standard that binds the whole dental care ecosystem from providers to payers and dental schools.
“Our goal is to make dentistry truly patient-centric,” Inam says. “We want to eliminate the friction and uncertainty that patients experience at every step of their dental care journey.”
Timeline of Key Events
- 2018: Wardah Inam co-founds Overjet in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 2021: Overjet receives FDA clearance for its AI technology
- 2022: Named to Forbes AI 50 and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies lists
- 2024: Raised $53.2 million Series C funding at a valuation of $550 million
Lessons Learned
Wardah Inam’s journey with Overjet works as something of a guide to entrepreneurs—especially women in tech:
1. Identify everyday problems: Wardah’s success was born out of the solution to a very pressing problem in healthcare.
2. Interdisciplinarity: Expertise in AI and dental knowledge combined to offer a new solution.
3. Bounce back from setbacks: That is what it took to rise above industry skepticism and technical challenges on its way to the top.
4. Build solid partners: Pairing dentists and insurers supercharged Overjet’s growth.
5. Dream big: Inam envisions a world beyond better diagnoses in changing the entire dental care ecosystem.
In a nutshell, with Overjet continuing to grow and innovate, Wardah Inam is an epitomized case of how one woman’s vision and will can change an entire industry for good in terms of raising standards in health care.
