Ready, Set, Smile

What Ready, Set, Smile does

Ready, Set, Smile is a Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by Dr. Adele Della Torre to deliver preventive dental care to children from underrepresented communities in Minneapolis. The organization operates through a school-based delivery model, partnering with 49 Minneapolis schools and childhood programs to provide on-site preventive dental services including toothbrush cleanings, sealants, fluoride varnish application, silver diamine fluoride application, and Interim Therapeutic Restorations (ITR), paired with classroom-based oral health education for students and parent education in early childhood programs. The organization also employs Community Health Workers (CHWs) who act as culturally competent liaisons between schools, families, and clinical providers, and offers a Referral Service that connects urgent-need children to partner clinics for comprehensive care, plus MNsure Navigator support to help families obtain health insurance.

The service infrastructure is built on portable dental clinic equipment deployed at school sites, supplemented by contingency sites (community centers, daycares, congregations, and partner orthodontic offices such as Sm:)e Orthodontics) used during school disruptions. The operating model integrates CHWs, MNsure Navigators, oral health specialists, and partnerships with academic and clinical entities (Apple Tree Dental as a 2023 affiliate partner, the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, ADT Dental, and Sm:)e Orthodontics). The organization is a Community Health Worker apprenticeship site since 2024 and is developing a Licensed Dental Assistant Apprenticeship program planned for 2026, building a structured workforce pipeline.

Ready, Set, Smile is funded primarily through community donations and grants, with supplementary revenue from medical assistance insurance billing for covered children. All services are provided at no cost to families. The organization's 2025-2028 strategic plan, branded '10,000 Smiles,' targets the delivery of 10,000 dental visits by 2028. It holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating and the Candid Gold Seal of Transparency, and has received the DentaQuest Health Equity Hero Award (2021), AARP Purpose Prize Alumni recognition (2020), and the Betty Hubbard Maternal and Child Health Leadership Award from the Minnesota Department of Health (2025).

Name

Ready, Set, Smile

Legal name

Ready, Set, Smile

Website

https://readysetsmile.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ready, Set, Smile is a Minnesota nonprofit that delivers free, school-based preventive dental care, oral health education, and referral services to children from underrepresented communities across 49 Minneapolis schools and childhood programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School-Based Pediatric Dental Services

NAICS

Offices of Dentists (621210), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile/School-Based Pediatric Dental Clinics (HLABAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

School/Community-Based Preventive Dental Programs (HLABAHAM), Preventive & Wellness Pediatric Dentistry (Cleanings/Fluoride/Sealants) (HLABAGAA), Community & Public Health Dentistry Clinics (FQHC/School-Based/Nonprofit) (HLABAAAF)

Keywords

• School-based dental services
• Preventive pediatric dentistry
• Community health outreach
• Oral health education
• Nonprofit dental care

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The organization is funded largely through donations from community members who believe in closing disparity gaps. Additional funding comes from challenge grants such as the Nara Fund $17,000 matching grant.
2. Medical Assistance Billing: Services are provided at no cost to families. For children with medical assistance insurance, the organization can bill insurance to help cover expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ready, Set, Smile provides free, on-site preventive dental services and oral health education to children from underrepresented communities directly inside partner Minneapolis schools. Services include toothbrush cleanings, sealants, fluoride varnish, Silver Diamine Fluoride application, Interim Therapeutic Restorations, classroom-based oral health curriculum, and Community Health Worker-led referrals to partner clinics for comprehensive care.

Product overview

Ready, Set, Smile is a nonprofit organization offering a unified set of school-based oral health services. The core offering centers on Onsite Dental Services (preventive care and atraumatic procedures delivered directly in schools) paired with Oral Health Education curriculum. Additional services include a Referral Service (connecting families with urgent needs to partner clinics) and After-School Event Participation. The organization also offers a MNsure Navigator module to help families obtain health insurance coverage. The organization does not operate as a platform-plus-modules architecture but rather as a coordinated set of service programs focused on preventive dental care for children in underserved Minneapolis communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Onsite Dental Services School-based preventive dental services delivered directly to children at partner schools, including toothbrush cleanings, sealants, fluoride varnish, oral hygiene instruction, Silver Diamine Fluoride application, and Interim Therapeutic Restorations (ITR). Designed for preschool through 8th grade children from underrepresented Minneapolis communities; provided at no cost to families.
• Oral Health Education Age-appropriate classroom oral health curriculum teaching children the science of a healthy oral lifestyle. For early childhood programs, parents also receive instruction on raising a decay-free child. Delivered in partner Minneapolis schools and childhood programs.
• Referral Service Community Health Workers contact families of children identified with urgent dental needs to refer them to partner clinics (including ADT Dental) for comprehensive dental care. Provides culturally competent outreach and continuity between school-based screenings and full clinical treatment.
• MNsure Navigator Service Helps Minneapolis families navigate and obtain health insurance through the MN Care marketplace, including undocumented and mixed-status families. Multilingual support available, including Spanish, delivered by state-trained navigators (45-hour training).

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sm:)e OrthodonticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Local orthodontic practice that loaned office space to Ready, Set, Smile during COVID-19 school closures. RSS operated modified clinic services two days per week at Sm:)e Orthodontics in Minneapolis.
• Apple Tree DentalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew affiliate partnership announced in 2023. Together they are leading a collaboration of private practices, community clinics, educational institutions, and professional associations to increase dental access to underserved children. They have created tools for addressing health disparities and are sharing them with the professional community.
• University of Minnesota School of DentistrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Karl Self, Associate Professor and Director, Division of Dental Therapy, serves on the RSS board and provides academic expertise. Partnership contributes to research and best practices for school-based dental programs.
• CHW AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRSS was the focus of a new effort to promote the Community Health Worker Apprenticeship program. Working together, they created a video explaining the program and looking at RSS' unique model of using CHWs in mobile dental clinics.
• Minneapolis SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with 27-49 Minneapolis schools (preschool through 8th grade) that serve high numbers of children without access to dental care. Schools provide facilities for on-site dental clinics.
• ADT DentalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Adele Della Torre founded ADT Dental 35 years ago. After her retirement in 2023, ADT Dental continues as a partner clinic for referrals of children needing comprehensive dental care.
• Community Centers, Daycares, and CongregationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlternative sites during school closures including community centers, daycare centers, places of congregations such as churches, mosques, and synagogues to continue dental care services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Apple Tree Dental: Minnesota-based nonprofit providing mobile and clinic-based dental care to underserved populations, including children. Direct peer as a mobile-school dental provider, and explicitly an affiliate partner of Ready, Set, Smile since 2023 for collaborative access-to-care work.

Broad incumbents

• America's ToothFairy (National Children's Oral Health Foundation): National nonprofit dedicated to improving children's oral health through resource provision, programming, and support of school- and community-based delivery models. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same children's oral health access space.
• National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA): National network of safety-net oral health providers, including FQHC dental programs serving uninsured and underinsured populations. Comparable as a broader incumbent addressing oral health disparities for vulnerable populations.
• Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children (AAPD Foundation): Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry that funds access-to-care grants for pediatric oral health programs. Comparable as an incumbent that supports similar school- and community-based pediatric dental initiatives.
• Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures: Global Colgate-Palmolive program that brings mobile dental education and screening to underserved children in schools. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating mobile school-based oral health outreach, though at much larger geographic scale.
• Children's Health Fund: National nonprofit operating mobile medical and dental clinics serving medically underserved children. Comparable as an incumbent in the mobile pediatric care space, though its scope is broader than Ready, Set, Smile's school-based dental focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=gABLVaOH6Ds&t=3s
• Facebookfacebook.com/dentalcareforminnesotakids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Ready, Set, Smile