Ask the Dentist

What Ask the Dentist does

Ask the Dentist is a privately held dental health education and wellness platform founded in 2009 by Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS, and his daughter Catharine Burhenne, headquartered in San Francisco. Its core function is producing functional-dentistry content (oral microbiome, airway, sleep, nutrition) and operating the Functional Dentist Directory, a curated marketplace connecting health-conscious patients with vetted practitioners practicing root-cause, prevention-first dentistry. The platform also distributes a weekly podcast across major audio platforms and maintains a recommended-products shop that mixes affiliate links with proprietary brands.

The underlying technology is light: a content management system and email marketing platform power the educational site, while the Functional Dentist Directory is built on the Google Maps API with premium hosting to support location-based practitioner search. There are no proprietary AI features, mobile apps, or enterprise platform integrations; the moat is content, brand, and audience rather than technology.

The business model combines a B2B recurring subscription (dentists pay $597/year for directory listing with bundled live Q&As and CE credits), one-time digital product sales (notably The 8 Hour Sleep Paradox book), and affiliate/referral commissions on third-party oral-care and health products. The 2024 launch of FYGG, a nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste sub-brand, extends monetization into proprietary consumer goods. Audience scale is 700,000+ Instagram followers, 75,000+ newsletter subscribers, ~7,000 weekly directory visitors, and ~198 listed dentists, with 2,000+ patients on a waiting list for new practitioners in unserved areas. Operations are bootstrapped and founder-owned, with no disclosed external funding, M&A, or institutional investors.

Name

Ask the Dentist

Legal name

Ask the Dentist

Website

https://askthedentist.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ask the Dentist is a functional-dentistry education platform founded by Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS, serving health-conscious patients and dental practitioners through content, a podcast, a paid dentist directory, and the FYGG oral-care product line.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dental Health Education & Wellness

NAICS

Offices of Dentists (62121)

SIC

Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047)

akta.pro primary industry

Dental Teleconsultation Marketplaces (HLALALAL)

Keywords

• Functional dentistry education
• Dental wellness content
• Dentist directory marketplace
• Oral health podcast
• Holistic dental products

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Practitioner Directory Membership: Dentists pay $597/year for listing in the Functional Dentist Directory, gaining access to Dr. Burhenne's audience of educated patients, live Q&As, and continuing education for functional dentistry certification.
2. Digital Products: Sale of digital books (e.g., The 8 Hour Sleep Paradox at $12.99), guides, and educational content addressing dental health topics.
3. Affiliate/Referral Revenue: Earns commissions from qualifying purchases through Amazon Associate links and affiliate partnerships with health product brands (supplements, oral care, food products) recommended on the shop page. Also earns affiliate revenue from Fygg toothpaste sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ask the Dentist is a dental health education and wellness platform that publishes blog content, produces a weekly podcast, and operates the Functional Dentist Directory—a curated marketplace connecting patients with vetted functional dentists worldwide. The company sells digital products including books and guides, runs an affiliate-driven shop of recommended oral care products, and operates the FYGG sub-brand of nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste and oral care items.

Product overview

Ask the Dentist is a dental health education and wellness platform founded by Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS, offering a multi-channel approach to functional dentistry education. The core offering includes an informational website with blog content, the Ask the Dentist Podcast, and the Functional Dentist Directory for connecting patients with practitioners. The platform operates a Recommended Products Shop featuring curated dental health products and Dr. Burhenne's FYGG (Follow Your Gut) sub-brand of hydroxyapatite toothpastes, tongue scrapers, and varnishes. Dentists can purchase a $597/year Directory Listing membership for practice exposure, while patients access free content, DIY guides, and the book 'The 8 Hour Sleep Paradox.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FYGG: A toothpaste company launched by Dr. Mark Burhenne. FYGG produces nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste, tongue scrapers, and varnish products that are fluoride-free and oral microbiome-friendly.

Products and services

• Functional Dentist Directory A free search tool connecting patients with vetted functional, biological, and airway-focused dentists worldwide, featuring location-based search, dentist profiles, and practice information. Includes over 198 listed dentists globally and receives approximately 7,000 weekly visitors actively seeking functional dentistry.
• Functional Dentist Directory Listing (Dentist Membership) A paid annual membership program priced at $597/year for dentists to list their practice in the Functional Dentist Directory. Includes a custom profile, SEO-optimized placement, vetting, featured placement in stories/blogs/IG recommendations, access to Dr. Burhenne live Q&As, and free CE credits for Functional Dentistry certification. Listed dentists typically receive 3-5+ new patient referrals per month.
• Ask the Dentist Podcast A weekly podcast where Dr. Mark Burhenne answers reader questions through a root-cause, evidence-based approach to dental health. Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and Stitcher.
• The 8 Hour Sleep Paradox A book by Dr. Mark Burhenne addressing sleep apnea and the connection between sleep quality and oral health, priced at $12.99. Targets the 42 million Americans affected by sleep apnea, up to 90% of whom are unaware they have the condition.
• FYGG Oral Care Products A sub-brand of oral care products created by Dr. Mark Burhenne, featuring nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste in multiple variants (Mild Mint, Vanilla Vibes, Coconut Cream, Chocolate Swirl), tongue scrapers, and professional varnish. Positioned as fluoride-free, oral microbiome-friendly alternatives to conventional oral care products.
• Recommended Products Shop An e-commerce platform featuring dentist-recommended products including electric toothbrushes, floss, supplements, water filters, books, and oral care tools across categories such as Bad Breath, Sleep, Nutrition, Oral Microbiome, and For Kids. Products are primarily fulfilled via affiliate links to Amazon and brand websites.

Quantifiable outcome

• Most dentists receive 3-5+ new patient referrals per month from directory listing
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Parsley Health: Membership-based functional medicine practice combining clinician consultations with root-cause health content. Comparable in promoting the root-cause, whole-body health narrative that underpins Ask the Dentist's functional dentistry positioning.
• BURST Oral Care: D2C oral care subscription brand offering toothpastes, brushes, and ancillary products online. Comparable as a digitally native oral care brand monetizing consumer dental health intent through e-commerce.
• Function Health: Direct-to-consumer functional medicine platform offering diagnostic testing and personalized health insights. Comparable as a content- and trust-driven platform positioned in the broader functional/root-cause health category adjacent to functional dentistry.
• Boka: D2C oral care brand built around nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste as a fluoride alternative. Closely comparable to FYGG in product positioning (hydroxyapatite, fluoride-free, microbiome-friendly) and direct-to-consumer go-to-market.
• quip: D2C oral care brand selling electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss on subscription. Comparable to the FYGG sub-brand in offering consumer oral care products via direct-to-consumer channels with a digitally native brand.

Direct peers

• 1Dental: Online dental marketplace offering dentist directories and consumer dental savings plans. Comparable as a dental marketplace monetizing both consumer search intent and practitioner participation, with a similar directory/lead-gen model.
• RealSelf: Marketplace connecting consumers with cosmetic procedure providers, supported by editorial content and reviews. Comparable structure to Ask the Dentist's content-plus-directory model, just focused on cosmetic procedures rather than functional dentistry.
• Zocdoc: Healthcare appointment marketplace that includes dentists among its practitioner categories. Both operate two-sided marketplaces connecting patients with clinicians, though Zocdoc is broader (all specialties) while Ask the Dentist targets a functional dentistry niche.

Broad incumbents

• Healthline: Large-scale consumer health information publisher covering dental, sleep, nutrition, and wellness topics. Comparable as a content-led authority monetizing health-intent traffic, though at much broader category scope and scale than Ask the Dentist.
• WebMD: Established consumer health content and provider directory platform including dental content. Comparable in pairing authoritative health content with practitioner search functionality, though focused on mainstream rather than functional medicine.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/askthedentist
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/askthedentist
• Instagraminstagram.com/askthedentist
• TikToktiktok.com/@askthedentist
• Facebookfacebook.com/askthedentist
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/askthedentist-com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Ask the Dentist