Dr. Abi Oladele Is The Founder Of A Science-Backed And Beauty-Centered Oral Health Brand – AfroTech

Dr. Abi Oladele has launched a science-backed oral brand that prioritizes health over aesthetics.

The first-generation Nigerian American was raised in Trenton, NJ, with high expectations on her to succeed, which she internalized as her parents’ desire to ensure their sacrifices weren’t in vain. And they certainly weren’t, she told AFROTECH™. While her father wanted her to become an orthopedic surgeon, she chose to become a dentist. This career would also allow her to marry her interests in the arts, including drawing and sculpting, she shared.

“After learning more about exactly what dentistry entails, it’s definitely a mixture of art. It’s definitely a mixture of science and using my hands,” Dr. Oladele told AFROTECH™. “And because I loved using my hands and designing, crafting all those different things, I was like, ‘I can choose a career where it would be accepted by my family and my parents and would actually change people’s lives.’”

She attended Howard University, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in 2019, and described her experience at the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) as invaluable. From there, she enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) to earn a doctorate in dentistry in 2023. She joins the 3.7% of dentists who are Black, according to data from the Delta Dental Institute.

Oladele was actively working to increase representation during her time at USC as president of the Student National Dental Association, a multicultural but predominantly Black organization for dental students, she shared with AFROTECH™. She had been one of five Black students in her class, but her recruitment efforts led to a higher number the following year.

“That was really important to me. Especially coming from an HBCU to increase the diversity at USC,” she expressed.

Dentrogen

Oladele is currently practicing in Culver City, CA, four days a week. On her off days, she focuses on her oral health brand, which was conceived in 2022 to revolutionize the world of dentistry and establish an approach rooted in oral health and wellness, while building community in the process, she mentioned.

Dentrogen was the result of her observation that there was a lack of preventive dentistry on the market.

While she was in college, many dental offices were shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Oladele to turn to social media to share educational content about oral health, she told AFROTECH™. Dentrogen is an extension of that effort to expand her impact.

“We can focus on the aesthetics, we can focus on all those things, which is great, but at the end of the day, health is the No. 1 thing that we should all be focusing on before anything else,” she said.

She later added, “How about health is the aesthetic, having healthy teeth, having teeth that you’re not worrying about gum disease, you’re not worrying about all these cavities, preventing it before it happens. That’s the true beauty. I wanted Dentrogen to kind of showcase that.”

Dentrogen launched in January after an extensive period of research and testing. Its offerings will later expand to a mouth tape. For now, it offers an elemental brightening toothpaste described as fluoride-free with nano-hydroxyapatite and ingredients including aloe vera, which has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, supports gum comfort, and reduces swelling, as mentioned on the brand’s Instagram page. It sells for $28.

Other products include a tongue scraper ($17) and biodegradable black-fiber coconut floss made with bamboo fiber ($12).

“…Coconut oil is an anti-microbial. …Most people usually oil pull (or swish) with coconut oil because what coconut oil does is it breaks down pretty much the cellular wall of these microorganisms (like bacteria), and it prevents it from adhesing to the teeth and helps to prevent cavities, create a smile, things of that nature. So coconut is widely used in the dental industry now,” she said.

Looking ahead, Oladele said she will be leaning into AI, though she did not want to share too much prematurely as she is in the process of developing new dental technology. Dentrogen will be more than an oral health brand, leaning into a dental manufacturing and supply company, she mentioned.

“When it comes to things like that, I definitely want to innovate and design some tools that also incorporate AI to help with the treatment of dentistry, specifically in the preventative field,” she said.