Redefining Oral Health for DetaQuest
Overview of the project
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DentaQuest, the largest company in the U.S. managing oral health insurance claims, partners with many of the nation's leading health insurance providers. Recognizing the potential disruption from advancements in tech automation, the CEO made a forward-thinking decision to allocate $30 million to explore new avenues for business growth. The Impact Integration Group was entrusted with this critical mission: to drive business expansion by broadening oral health care coverage while simultaneously improving community oral health outcomes.​
My role in the project
I was hired as the first Design Strategist and the inaugural Impact Integration Group (IIG) intern to demonstrate the value of design research, strategy, and design thinking within the company. Tasked by the IIG leader, I explored innovative possibilities and proposed creative solutions to the board, while also managing company relationships and supporting the external Design Thinking (DT) consultant. As a result, we not only proved the value of the practice but also expanded the design team, developed an innovation pipeline, and helped reorganize the company's structure.
​​Methods & Activities
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Preliminary Research
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Field Studies
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Secondary Research and Trend Analysis
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Interviews with Enterprise Leaders
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Developed Organizational Ecosystem Map
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Customer Journey Mapping, UX Prototype and Service Blueprinting
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Value Network Mapping
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Annual Strategic Workshop
​​My responsibilities
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Conducted research and delivered findings to department leaders.
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Oversaw the design thinking contractor.
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Developed a comprehensive ecosystem map.
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Created communication artifacts
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Presented two concepts to the board.
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Supported the department in building design strategy capabilities and hiring two designers.
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Advised the HR team on design recruitment.
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Drafted an organizational change proposal for the CEO's consideration.
" Dental care is behind of medical care in term of technology." - Palmer Corson - Director of Transformative Health Technology
Research Highlights
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Conducted interviews with 11 experts across various enterprise departments.
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Observed user behavior within clinical settings.
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Engaged in the company’s leadership meetings to align on strategic goals.
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Contributed to interviews facilitated by Silver Consulting.
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Supported Silver Consulting in organizing the annual strategic design thinking workshop.
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Delivered a prioritized project list for the company’s upcoming year initiatives.
Institute
Foundation
DentaQuest
Sylver Consultancy
Research Reports
The report presented to the board covered the following key topics:
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A case study analysis of seven innovation centers within major enterprises, detailing their approaches to innovation.
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A comparative matrix highlighting the SWOT of each center about DentaQuest’s strategic agenda.
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Insights into prevention plans, disruptive technologies, and services, along with their potential impact on the future of DentaQuest’s market.
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An assessment of interdepartmental relationships, including developing a current Value Map and recommendations for improvement.
Key Findings
Oral health is surrounded by many misconceptions that we identified during our research and addressed through innovative solutions. Below are some of the most significant findings:
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Misconceptions About Oral Health Goals
Teeth inevitably decay over time, and the oral health goal is to slow down this process. In reality, the business model of oral health thrives on preventing cavities and maintaining long-term dental well-being.
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Chronic Conditions, Not Genetics
Oral diseases are often misunderstood as genetic rather than chronic. This stigma disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities, preventing many from seeking timely care.
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Access Challenges for Low-Income Families
Children from low-income families often miss out on proper oral health care because their parents cannot take time off work or afford to forgo wages.
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Language Barriers in Professional Care
A lack of non-English-speaking dental professionals creates language barriers that hinder effective communication and care for diverse patient populations.
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Insurance Opportunities
Annual oral health check-ups covered by Medicare and Medicaid present an untapped opportunity to provide services to low-income communities while generating revenue for insurance providers.
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Optimizing Dentists’ Time
Dentists often spend time on non-clinical tasks, such as administrative work, that could be handled by hygienists. This inefficiency inflates costs and reduces the availability of critical care.
For a deeper dive into these insights, explore the interactive graph below.
Value Web:
Nearly 5,000 dental provider shortage areas across the country with around 49 million residents - American Dental Association, 2017
Opportunity Space
This project has three outputs:
1. Dental Care on Demand: A service platform enabling users to request hygienists and dentists in or near their location.
2. Group Care: A new business model designed to provide oral health plans for underserved communities.
3. DentaQuest Innovation Pipeline: A digital platform designed to collect, assess, evaluate, and allocate resources for innovation ideas within the enterprise (specific outcomes protected under NDA).
4. Organizational Redefinition: At the CEO's direction, the relationships between organizational departments were restructured to enhance efficiency and productivity (specific outcomes protected under NDA).​
" Dentists work 9-5, so I need to take a day off if I want to take care of my children or myself. I get paid hourly so it is hard for me." - Patient, 43
Dental Care on Demand
​​This innovative platform addresses critical challenges uncovered through research to revolutionize dental healthcare. By offering on-demand services with flexible hours and locations, it caters to working families, especially those with hourly jobs or no leave benefits, who struggle to access dental care during traditional 9-to-5 hours.
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The platform utilizes hygienists as catalysts to screen patients, ensuring only necessary cases reach dentists, reducing costs, and optimizing specialists’ time by minimizing vacant appointments. It also supports recent graduates by providing opportunities to build their reputation and gain experience through flexible work schedules.
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By focusing on low-income families, the solution helps reduce disparities in oral health access. Powered by blockchain for secure patient records and AI for efficient scheduling and care pathways, this platform enhances affordability, accessibility, and efficiency, transforming the dental care experience for underserved communities.
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" If we involve communities in the prevention care models, the impact would be sustainable." - Foundation Employee, 37
Group Care
Group Care is a groundbreaking community-based dental care model developed in collaboration with the business department to address healthcare disparities and improve access for underserved families. This innovative approach fosters collaboration and introduces a reward system to encourage and sustain positive behavioral changes within communities.
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Leveraging hygienists and teledentistry technology, Group Care efficiently filters patient needs, reducing unnecessary dentist visits and cutting costs. By focusing on low-income families, it increases access to essential care while addressing systemic inequities.
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The integration of blockchain technology ensures secure and efficient data management, optimizing operations for patients and providers alike. Group Care redefines dental health by creating a more inclusive, cost-effective, and community-oriented model.
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Communication Assets
To promote the concepts and gather valuable feedback prior to implementation, I developed a series of communication materials. These resources were designed to educate and engage various stakeholders and experts involved in the process, ensuring their insights informed and refined our ideas.​
Diagram of the system
To make it clear and to be sure that the managers understand the way that this system works, I developed this diagram.
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Flyers for communities
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- What:
It is a flayer for events in the communities. Promoters use it to explain the community members our oral health plan and why it is different from previous options.
- Who:
Low to mid-level income families who live in the suburbs and do not have access to a dentist in their neighborhood. Have low to average education. Mother and caregivers are our primary target. These people may or may not speak English so the flayer should be visual and have different versions with different languages. It should assure them that they can talk with an operator with their mother tongue. The information on the flyer should customize based on the neighborhood and their main socioeconomic problems.
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- Goal:
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Easy to read and be understandable for community members. It doesn’t need to answer all their questions; just necessary information. It should encourage them to call the numbers and talk with our operators. We provide them operators in different languages so we can overcome the language barriers.
Communication between departments
- What:
I needed a communication asset that not only explains the idea but also empowers the communication in the meetings that we probably won’t be there. So it should be clear and self-explanatory.
- Who:
For the managers and their staff in the different departments.
- Goal:
The concept is not totally new to the company, but I am not sure that everybody was on the same page. This asset helped me to give them a better understanding of all pieces of this concept and avoid interpretation and misunderstanding.
Also, it should make an open discussion about the role of different departments in the enterprise to make this idea feasible, viable and desirable.
At the end of the meeting, they had a clear idea about their role and what we needed from them to make this idea real.
On the other hand, I asked them to give me feedback to understand their constraints. In this way, I could predict them and planned for them.
