CareQuest

What CareQuest does

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2021 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, focused on advancing oral health equity and integrating oral health into overall healthcare. The organization operates a multi-pronged platform spanning philanthropy and grantmaking (with $14M+ awarded to 90 organizations across 42 states in 2025), policy and advocacy at federal and state levels, accredited continuing education for oral health professionals, and an OPEN network convening hundreds of advocates for collective action.

The organization's core technology asset is the Health Data Exchange, a cloud-based platform launched in 2026 that aggregates dental, medical, and social datasets — including Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial claims, electronic records, and community data — and provides an Analytics Workbench, dashboards, AI-powered research tools, and a natural language interface for researchers, policymakers, payers, and providers. This platform underpins its Medical-Dental Integration programs, including the BRIDGE Health Network with Henry Schein and data partnerships with Innovaccer and NxtCare. The organization also operates CareQuest Innovation Partners, a for-profit subsidiary funding and scaling transformative oral health solutions.

CareQuest's business model is philanthropic: the organization is sustained by charitable contributions and grants, distributes educational content and analytic tools free of charge, and invests in grants, research, and convening rather than commercial revenue. It serves a diverse set of stakeholders including community organizations, oral health professionals, policymakers, health systems, FQHCs, and researchers, generating influence through research dissemination, policy advocacy, workforce education, and ecosystem convening rather than direct product sales.

Name

CareQuest

Legal name

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, Inc.

Website

https://carequest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit that advances oral health equity through grantmaking, policy advocacy, accredited education, and the Health Data Exchange, a cloud platform integrating dental, medical, and social data for researchers, policymakers, and providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants: CareQuest Institute operates as a nonprofit organization that receives funding through grants and donations to support its mission of improving oral health equity. The organization awards grants to partners advancing oral health policy, systems change, and community health initiatives.
2. Education and CE Programs: The organization provides continuing education programs for dental and medical professionals, including ADA CERP recognized webinars and self-paced courses. Some offerings may have associated costs for CE credits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit that advances oral health equity through philanthropic grants, a cloud-based Health Data Exchange platform, ADA CERP-recognized continuing education for oral health professionals, policy advocacy, research publications, and the OPEN network for collective action. It also operates CareQuest Innovation Partners, a for-profit subsidiary funding oral health innovation.

Product overview

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit organization that operates as a multi-faceted platform with distinct but interconnected product lines. The core portfolio includes the Health Data Exchange (a cloud-based data aggregation and analytics platform), Education & CE Programs (ADA CERP-recognized continuing education for oral health professionals), Policy & Advocacy initiatives, Philanthropy & Grants, Publications & Tools, and the OPEN Initiative network. The Medical-Dental Integration programs connect these offerings by bridging oral and systemic health through coordinated care models and data integration. CareQuest Innovation Partners serves as the for-profit subsidiary for commercializing innovative solutions. The Dental Hygienist Licensure Map provides a specialized navigation tool for the dental workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OPEN Initiative: Oral Health Progress & Equity Network - a diverse network of people and organizations taking on America's oral health challenges
• Health Data Exchange
• CareQuest Innovation Partners

Products and services

• Health Data Exchange A cloud-based data platform that aggregates dental, medical, and social data to enable researchers, policymakers, payers, and providers to find, access, and analyze datasets for whole-person health insights. Includes a curated dataset search, role-based permissions, Analytics Workbench, dashboards, and AI-powered research tools.
• Education & Continuing Education Programs Suite of oral health continuing education offerings including self-paced courses and live webinars for dental and medical professionals, students, and community partners. CareQuest Institute is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider offering programs in partnership with leading experts and organizations.
• Policy & Advocacy Federal and state oral health policy initiatives focused on community water fluoridation, veteran oral health, Medicaid adult dental benefits, and adding dental coverage to Medicare. Includes coalition building, policymaker engagement, and advocacy network mobilization.
• Philanthropy & Grants Grantmaking program that invests strategically to address oral health disparities, supporting organizations in policy or systems-change work. Focus areas include advancing federal and state policies, community capacity building, care delivery innovation, and research.
• Publications & Tools Research reports, briefs, journal articles, dashboards, visual reports, and tools on topics including adult dental benefits, teledentistry, health equity, medical-dental integration, and value-based care. Disseminates actionable research for providers, policymakers, and advocates.
• OPEN Initiative (Oral Health Progress & Equity Network) A network of individuals and organizations working to improve oral health access and affordability, particularly for underserved populations. Provides free trainings, skill-building tools, online communities for collaboration, and organizes advocacy events including OPEN Hill Day.
• Medical-Dental Integration Programs Initiatives integrating dental medicine into primary care and behavioral health, including diabetes screenings at dental visits, chronic disease management coordination, and care models that bridge oral and systemic health. Encompasses the BRIDGE Health Network partnership with Henry Schein.
• Dental Hygienist Licensure Map Interactive map providing state-by-state licensure information for dental hygienists across the U.S., consolidating licensure requirements and related data. Supports workforce development, mobility, and improved access to oral health care. Developed in partnership with ADHA.
• CareQuest Innovation Partners For-profit subsidiary that funds, scales, and convenes transformative solutions to improve overall health through oral health. Focus areas include mobilizing capital for innovation, implementing sustainable solutions, and connecting innovators to influence whole-person health.

Quantifiable outcome

• $42 billion potential annual savings from including periodontal treatment in Medicare for patients with diabetes and heart disease
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• NxtCarecoreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2026CareQuest Institute and NxtCare launched a data-driven program to integrate oral health insights into home-based care. As a health care operations and analytics company, NxtCare works with CareQuest to improve outcomes for patients by combining medical and dental care data.
• InnovaccercoreTechnology or Integration · 17 February 2026CareQuest Institute partnered with Innovaccer, a healthcare AI company, to improve medical-dental data integration using Innovaccer's Humbi platform. The collaboration aims to address fragmentation between medical and dental care data by creating a longitudinal view of patient health, enabling providers, payers, and policymakers to better understand how oral health impacts overall health outcomes and total cost of care.
• American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 July 2025ADHA and CareQuest Institute partnered to launch the Dental Hygienist Licensure Map, an interactive tool providing state-by-state licensure information for dental hygienists across the U.S. The platform consolidates licensure requirements and related data into a single accessible resource to support workforce development and improve access to oral health care.
• Henry ScheincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHenry Schein and CareQuest established the BRIDGE Health Network, a curated network of health care providers committed to advancing systemic health models and improving prevention through medical-dental integration. The inaugural pilots focus on incorporating diabetes screenings into dental hygiene visit workflows.
• OPEN Network PartnersflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerOPEN is a diverse network of individuals and organizations taking on America's oral health challenges. Members use their unique experiences, knowledge, and skills to lead network activities, creating collective energy that drives large-scale change. The network includes grassroots organizers, public health activists, and grasstops leaders from across the country.
• State Oral Health CoalitionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with various state oral health coalitions including Louisiana Public Health Institute, Texas Health Institute, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy (unifying New York State Oral Health Coalition), and others working on policy advocacy, community water fluoridation, and Medicaid dental benefits expansion.
• Dignity HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDignity Health received grants from CareQuest Institute to support their ICU oral care program, which embeds critical care dental hygienists into Medical and Trauma ICUs. The funding allowed evaluation of changes in patient oral conditions and completion of a cost analysis.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Henry Schein: Henry Schein is the largest dental supply distributor in the US and CareQuest's partner on the BRIDGE Health Network advancing medical-dental integration. Both organizations pursue practice-level integration of dental and medical workflows, and Henry Schein's distribution footprint gives it unique reach into dental practices.
• American Dental Association (ADA): The ADA is the national professional association for dentists, performing advocacy, research publication, and continuing education accreditation (ADA CERP). CareQuest's CE programs are ADA CERP-recognized, and the two organizations share overlapping oral health policy priorities including workforce, fluoridation, and insurance coverage.
• National Association of Dental Plans (NADP): NADP is the national trade association for dental benefits companies, advocating on dental insurance, Medicaid dental benefits, and Medicare dental coverage. Its policy agenda closely mirrors CareQuest's advocacy priorities around expanding dental coverage and integration with medical benefits.
• Families USA: Families USA is a national nonprofit advocating for health care affordability and equity, and is closely connected to CareQuest through its former director of strategic partnerships. Both organizations advocate on Medicaid, Medicare, and the ACA with overlapping policy priorities.
• National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA): NNOHA is a nonprofit membership association focused on oral health access in safety-net settings including FQHCs. Both organizations fund and support FQHC-based oral health programs, workforce development, and integration with primary care, serving overlapping grantee and member communities.
• American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA): ADHA is the national professional association for dental hygienists and a current CareQuest partner on the Dental Hygienist Licensure Map. Both organizations pursue dental workforce development, scope-of-practice expansion, and oral health equity for underserved populations.
• Community Catalyst: Community Catalyst is a national nonprofit advocacy organization and current CareQuest grantee focused on community voice in health systems change. Both organizations operate as oral health equity advocates funding state coalitions, training consumer advocates, and supporting Medicaid policy campaigns.
• DentaQuest (Sun Life US Dental): CareQuest Institute was spun out of DentaQuest in 2021, and DentaQuest remains the largest dental benefits administrator focused on Medicaid and underserved populations. Both organizations share oral health equity missions, work with the same state Medicaid agencies and FQHCs, and overlap on advocacy for adult dental benefits, making DentaQuest the most direct comparable peer.
• Pew Charitable Trusts (Oral Health Initiative): Pew's dental sealant and fluoridation programs fund state-level advocacy, research, and policy campaigns closely aligned with CareQuest's grantmaking priorities. Both organizations operate as national funders of oral health policy and systems-change work targeting Medicaid expansion and prevention.

Broad incumbents

• Patterson Companies: Patterson is one of the two largest dental supply distributors in North America (alongside Henry Schein), serving dental practices and laboratories with equipment, supplies, and technology. While a broader commercial player than CareQuest's mission-driven focus, it touches the same dental ecosystem and increasingly invests in dental-medical integration technology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CareQuestInst
• Facebookfacebook.com/CareQuestInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carequest-institute/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/carequestinstitute

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CareQuest