WIN Innovator KELLS Tests On-Demand Dental Exams

WIN Innovator KELLS, a leading provider of artificial intelligence-based oral health solutions, has launched an outreach initiative into New York City’s northern suburbs.

KELLS’s first collaboration was with the YMCA of Central & Northern Westchester in White Plains, where the company screened adults at the Y’s early learning childcare program on June 20. KELLS will also bring its technology to the Westchester Institute for Human Development, an agency that serves people with developmental disabilities.

“When people go through this screening and receive the report, they feel empowered to take control of their oral health, and that’s something that’s been confirmed by our surveys of screened patients. About 80 percent of the respondents answered that they scheduled follow up visits with dentists within six months of receiving our customized reports,” said Boris Rjavinski, partner, strategy and business development at KELLS.

According to Oral Health in America—a 2001 report by the National Institutes of Health—oral health care has not been, and is not, equitably available across the country. KELLS’s use of portable X-ray machines whose images are fed into KELLS’s proprietary software to produce personalized dental health reports are a solution for communities facing barriers to preventive oral care.

“I thought it was impressive,” said Cynthia Delfino, President and CEO of the YMCA of Central & Northern Westchester, who received an oral health exam and report. “It’s important that people have access to dental health maintenance, and this sort of technology allows that to become a reality in any setting.”

Delfino said a next step for KELLS could be establishing partnerships with local free, or low-cost, dental clinics to refer individuals whose dental health barrier is affordability.

The KELLS demonstrations were facilitated by the Westchester Innovation Network (WIN), an initiative of the Business Council of Westchester, whose goal is driving economic development, innovation, and growth in Westchester County. The KELLS collaboration is one of more than a dozen innovator initiatives facilitated by WIN in 2023.

“The Westchester Innovation Network is determined to attract companies like KELLS to demonstrate new technologies in our county with the hope these innovators will see the value of relocating to a business ecosystem that embraces bold ideas and supports start-ups,” said Dr. Marsha Gordon, BCW president and CEO. “We are committed to helping innovators in all sectors find collaborators among our members.”