American Dental Association Forms Corporate Entity to Pursue Commercial Applications of Research

CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 2024 — The American Dental Association (ADA) has announced the creation of ADA Corporate Ventures, an entity that will house two new corporate subsidiaries to oversee and accommodate the work of the Association in clinical research-based technological innovation, including but not limited to new partnerships, new companies and other ventures with third parties.

ADA Corporate Ventures includes a C corporation and an LLC corporation – which, along with the 501(c)(3) ADA Forsyth Institute (AFI) are subsidiaries of the American Dental Association, a 501(c)(6) organization.

“This new structure brings the ADA closer to realizing the vision of research from bench top to dental chair,” said Dave Preble, D.D.S., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ADA Corporate Ventures and Chief Strategy Officer of the ADA. “With this change, the ADA is working to ensure that today’s innovations become tomorrow’s clinical practice.”

“The three pillars of AFI’s mission are oral health research, public health outreach and technical innovation,” said Ben Wu, D.D.S, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of the ADA Forsyth Institute. “The addition of these two new subsidiaries will allow us more flexibility to engage in commercial ventures that will help us power the profession of dentistry to improve people’s oral and overall health.”

For more information about the ADA, please visit https://ada.org. 

About the ADA Forsyth Institute
The ADA Forsyth Institute was founded in 1910 as the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children (later, the Forsyth Institute), to provide dental care to the disadvantaged children of Boston. While continuing to serve children in need, yet recognizing the ultimate goal is to prevent dental disease, the Institute in 1915 began to focus on scientific research and is today the world’s leader in oral health research. In October of 2023, the Institute joined with the American Dental Association to form the ADA Forsyth Institute, a 501(c)(3) entity dedicated to improving people’s oral and overall health and powering the profession of dentistry through cutting-edge basic research, creative translational science, innovative clinical technologies, and global public health outreach. Consistent with the Institute’s founding mission, the ADA ForsythKids mobile dental program continues to serve children in need.

About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing 159,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance has long been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), published monthly, is the ADA's flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit ADA.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA's consumer website MouthHealthy.org.