Bite coin: Cryptocurrency for dentists aims to protect teeth worldwide

A cryptocurrency designed for dentists claims it can revolutionise oral health across the globe.

Dentacoin can be used to pay for treatment or buy dental products and aims to create a new “dental ecosystem” to benefit patients, dentists, manufacturers, suppliers, labs, and insurance companies.

The Holland-based organisation’s mission statement declares: “Dentacoin focuses on developing a number of tools, each one targeting a different sector of the dental industry.

“Individuals who use and implement these tools will receive Dentacoin Tokens as a reward, which they can later use to pay for their dental treatment or to purchase dental products.

“The goal is not to compete with other cryptocurrencies, but rather to provide a solution and support for the healthcare industry through a blockchain.”

Dentacoin was launched by Dr Dimitar Dimitrakiev and Philipp and Jeremias Grenzebach in 2017.

Financial health

Dr Dimitraviev said: “Patients seem to be very excited about the fact that they can earn real cryptocurrency while simultaneously helping their dentist, having their voice heard, and improving their oral hygiene.”

The Ethereum-based utility token is exchangeable with other crypto and traditional currencies.

The company claims it is accepted as a means of payment for dental services by more than 70 dental practices, labs, and suppliers in 17 countries, and is used by 870,000 people and more than 4,000 dentists.

“Dentacoin is not just a cryptocurrency, it is a global network which provides both health and financial benefits,” said Dr Wesam Alani, a dentist from California.

Medical organisations throughout the world are using blockchain technology to transform the healthcare sector.

The safe storage and distribution of medical records, booking appointments, fighting counterfeit medicine, and tracking the supply chain are all areas the technology can help.

Blockchain technology could help cure diseases and improve medical treatment across the world, according to tech entrepreneur Shidan Gouran, CEO and president of investment firm Global Blockchain.

He says end-to-end encryption can solve significant concerns about consent and privacy.

He said: “It can make data query-able without exposing the private data. If you are able to go through healthcare data you can find commonalities and even cures for diseases.

“What we’re talking about is getting data and ensuring it’s not available to the public.

“For example, you can find out how many people of a certain age have these diseases and you can get that data without physically owning the data.

“It’s very powerful.”

For more information on healthcare and blockchain, click on our guide here.