The Sugarbot Team

Hi, we're John and Chris. We met in dental school at the University of Minnesota, where we waxed teeth side-by-side at bench 7. Several years into our careers the pandemic forced us to play more online video games together, where we lamented the availability of new technology in other health sectors, while dentistry, as usual, lagged.

We resolved to create simple tools that would be easy to implement and not cause a headache for our teams. We retreated to our basements to create a simple caries detection tool as a double check for ourselves and to facilitate discussions with patients during busy days. With the help and input of former classmates and dental colleagues we'd met along the way, we created Sugarbot and began using it in our offices. It was fun to use, and it worked!

Soon, we came to learn of venture-backed companies that were creating similar software. We checked it out and were disappointed at the over-engineered output, and the lengths needed to go to implement their tools and workflows. Instead of running in the background, a whole new environment had been created to view X-rays. This wasn't what we wanted, so we kept working to refine our algorithm by collaborating with our colleagues.

Aiming to make Sugarbot more widely available with encouragement from the community, we began navigating the FDA 510k process, undergoing rigorous testing and documentation. Following lengthy clinical testing and evaluation of our work, the FDA cleared Bench7 for distribution. We're excited to be in a position to share our creation with dentists and patients (without the need for data migrations and meetings with reps!).

We are committed to building more easy-to-implement tools that make our lives easier. We're here to support our colleagues in this new age of technology. Please reach out to us personally with any questions and ideas you may have.

Happy detecting,

John and Chris