Swiss dental startup vVardis has received an investment from private equity firm Apollo Global Management, valuing the company at more than $1 billion (about 1.3 trillion won). What the company sells isn't an implant or a clear aligner, but a treatment that repairs early-stage cavities without a drill.
Apollo's Investment and a Valuation Above $1 Billion
Bloomberg News first reported Apollo's investment, and Apollo confirmed it in a statement on April 27 (local time). The deal valued the company at more than $1 billion, and founders Haley and Goly Abivardi, who serve as co-CEOs, will retain roughly 70% of the stake. Few privately held European health-care companies have crossed the $1 billion mark without outside investment, and vVardis has now joined that group.
Both sisters are trained dentists. The company said investor interest surged after JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon praised the company at the bank's conference in early 2025, calling it a demonstration of "the power of innovation."
Curodont, a Drill-Free Treatment for Early Cavities
vVardis's treatment, Curodont, is a peptide-based liquid applied to early-stage cavities that haven't yet formed a hole, lesions where the enamel surface has become porous. Once the liquid penetrates the enamel, minerals in saliva refill the tooth from the inside out and the lesion repairs itself. The procedure takes just a few minutes at the dental office, with no drilling or anesthetic injection, so patients reportedly feel little discomfort.
Haley Abivardi said, "We moved from cutting off limbs to treating infections in medicine yet in dentistry we're still drilling." Goly Abivardi explained that, instead of removing damaged tissue, Curodont helps the tooth repair itself in "a completely different philosophy of care."
US Adoption and Similar Treatments in Korea
vVardis says its product is already used in about 20% of US dental offices. US distribution is handled by Henry Schein, the company this outlet previously covered when private equity firm KKR acquired a stake in it, and starting in 2026 distribution will expand nationwide, from general dentistry to orthodontics and pediatric dentistry. Apollo said the investment will support the company's expansion in the US and European markets.
There's no confirmed evidence that vVardis or Curodont has entered the Korean market. But Korean dental clinics already use a treatment based on a similar principle. For early-stage cavities that have turned white from demineralization before a hole forms, high-concentration fluoride is applied to encourage remineralization. Fluoride both curbs demineralization and promotes remineralization, which rebuilds weakened tooth structure. Both treatments work only at the stage before a lesion has progressed further. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF), which this outlet covered recently, is another drill-free approach to halting the progression of cavities.
