Mobile dentist is booked with an app

San Francisco based health tech startup, Porcelane, offers dentists delivered to the door.

At a time when people can summon drivers, hair stylists, massage therapists and yoga teachers through an app, several startups are providing on-demand services for busy office workers. Workaholics can now get at-desk manicures and onsite haircuts if they’re too busy to leave their work. Now Porcelane provides mobile dentistry to customers’ home or office.

Users book appointments online and Porcelane dentists arrive at their door offering a full range of services from cleaning and checkups to X-rays, fillings and even root canals. Porcelane dentists bring with them a portable dentist’s suite which includes, amongst other things, a dentist’s chair and suitcase filled with instruments and hoses for compressed air and water, all of which packs down neatly to fit into the boot of a small car. The service is currently available across all San Francisco neighborhoods, with plans to expand nationwide and seek venture capital next year in order to open in more markets.

Mobile dentists aren’t a new concept. A number of dentists make house calls and mobile dental clinics visit rural areas, schools and communities. Porcelane hopes to stand out by offering the ease of app scheduling, appointments seven days a week, as well as discounts for those booking appointments for more than one customer at the same location. But the comfort and convenience comes at a price — a routine check-up costs USD 295.

Are there more services that could combine the convenience of apps and customer-oriented service in the healthcare ecosystem?