Noninvasive cavity treatment has finally arrived — and the two Swiss dentist sisters who built a global movement around it are here to explain why it changes everything. On this episode of The Technology Evangelist Podcast, host Dr. John Flucke welcomes Dr. Haley Abivardi and Dr. Goly Abivardi, co-founders of vVardis and the innovators behind Curodont, the world’s first biomimetic restorative treatment for early-stage cavities. Joining from Switzerland, the sisters share the full story of how 28 years of pediatric dental practice, a frustrating treatment gap, and a bold decision to bet everything on a single technology led to a product now used in 20% of U.S. dental offices and on over three million teeth. This conversation is brought to you by Medidenta Digital Solutions, the proud sponsor making this podcast possible.
Key Insights on Noninvasive Cavity Treatment and the vVardis Mission:
- A Family Built on Dentistry and Purpose: Dr. Haley and Dr. Goly Abivardi both studied medicine and dentistry, drawn to the field by a conviction that oral health is foundational to overall health. They began working together 28 years ago, leading a pediatric dental clinic in rural Switzerland that served primarily children from low-income families. It was there — watching children with small early-stage cavities disappear into the system without treatment, some returning months later in serious pain, some not returning at all — that the sisters recognized the gap that would define their careers. There was healthy tooth structure, and there was the drill. Nothing existed in between.
- The Fear Free Dental Office — A First in Europe: Rather than accepting the status quo, the sisters responded with innovation. Over 25 years ago, they opened a fear-free dental practice in the middle of the Zurich train station — a city with the highest dentist density in the world at the time — with no patients, a three-million-franc bank loan, and near-universal skepticism from colleagues. The concept succeeded quickly, and they went on to expand it into what became the first fear-free dental group in Switzerland and the first in Europe. Along the way, they persuaded Swiss health authorities to legalize dental marketing, launched the country’s first public oral health awareness campaign, and founded their own dental hygiene school. Their goal throughout was the same: get patients in earlier, before the disease requires a drill.
- The Discovery of Curodont — Noninvasive Cavity Treatment Becomes Real: Despite building a successful group practice, the sisters remained frustrated that even with exceptional prevention, they still had no way to treat early lesions that had already formed — particularly interproximal lesions between teeth that could not be sealed and were too small to drill without removing excessive healthy structure. After decades of searching and clinical testing through their research department, they discovered a Swiss research and development company working on a biomimetic remineralization technology originally inspired by bone regeneration research. They tested it, followed it for years, and eventually acquired it. About six years ago, the sisters sold their oral care brand and everything else they had built and put it all behind commercializing what would become Curodont — noninvasive cavity treatment as a clinical standard of care.
- How Curodont Works — Biomimetic Remineralization: Curodont’s mechanism is fundamentally different from any prior treatment for early caries. As a liquid formulation, it penetrates up to 2,000–2,500 microns into the depth of a lesion — compared to roughly 20–25 microns for traditional fluoride treatments, which act only on the surface. Once inside the lesion, the active ingredient works with the mineral ions in the patient’s own saliva to form new hydroxyapatite crystals, restoring the enamel structure from within. It requires no light curing because it is not a synthetic filling material — it mimics the natural process by which the body would repair enamel if given the tools to do so. Peer-reviewed studies and real-world data from over 250 scientific publications and long-term clinical follow-up have consistently shown success rates above 90% in appropriately selected cases. A recent Dental Advisor study published evidence of new hydroxyapatite crystal formation throughout the entire depth of treated lesions within just two weeks of application.
- The Application Process — Three to Five Minutes, No Drill, No Anesthesia: The clinical workflow for noninvasive cavity treatment with Curodont is deliberately simple. After a professional cleaning, the tooth surface is rinsed and dried, and a short acid etch of approximately 20 seconds is performed, followed by another rinse and dry. The Curodont blister is opened, the liquid formulation is transferred via a dropper into a sponge applicator, and the sponge is pressed against the lesion with a tweezer and squeezed in a clockwise motion to deliver the fluid directly into the decay. No isolation is required beyond cotton rolls. No bonding agent. No light cure. The patient should avoid eating or drinking for 30 minutes after application. The entire procedure takes three to five minutes and can be delegated to a dental hygienist, making it uniquely suited to completion during a standard hygiene appointment without additional chair time or a second visit.
- Indications — Where Noninvasive Cavity Treatment Applies: Curodont is indicated for early caries lesions that remain within enamel — proximal lesions, smooth surface lesions, occlusal lesions, and white spot lesions including those that develop around orthodontic brackets. The sisters are clear that the key to achieving the published success rates is staying within enamel and treating only non-cavitated lesions where the decay is still accessible and the underlying structure has not been physically disrupted. For proximal lesions specifically, where it can be difficult to confirm cavitation status radiographically, they advise erring on the side of caution. Curodont can also be applied at the margins of preparations before crown seating, to treat the adjacent tooth when placing a restoration, and during orthodontic treatment without removing brackets — allowing white spots to resolve completely, often within two to three months.
- The CPT Code and Insurance Reimbursement: Two years ago, a new ADA procedure code — D2991 — was established for noninvasive restorative treatment using medication to regenerate hydroxyapatite. This code is currently reimbursed in more than eleven U.S. states, covering approximately 18 million lives and growing. The existence of this code places Curodont in a billing category equivalent to a small filling, making it financially accessible to patients and practices alike. For the Medicaid population in particular — 30 million children in the U.S. alone — the availability of a reimbursable noninvasive cavity treatment that works even in patients with poor oral hygiene is especially significant, given the historical difficulty of getting these patients treated before lesions progress to the point of requiring sedation.
- The Curodontist Movement and the Patient Locator: Dentists who complete Curodont training and establish it as a standard of care in their practice are recognized as Curodontists and listed in a patient-facing locator on the vVardis website. The sisters report that patients are actively searching for Curodontist-certified practices, and that practices offering the treatment consistently see increases in patient retention and recall compliance — patients who previously skipped appointments now return proactively, asking to be checked and treated at every six-month visit. The sisters also describe survey data showing that approximately 58% of patients would consider changing dentists to find a provider who offers noninvasive cavity treatment. Curodont is available through Henry Schein, and vVardis has integrated a reminder into Henry Schein practice management software that prompts the option whenever a watch-and-wait notation is entered.
- The Bigger Mission — Saving Teeth and Saving Lives: Throughout the conversation, the sisters return repeatedly to the patients who motivated all of this: the children who disappeared from the waiting list, the Medicaid patients who went months without care, the homeless patients in Switzerland to whom they provided implants and crowns for free and whose lives changed when their dignity was restored. They created a teal awareness ribbon for early cavity intervention — the first of its kind — as part of a campaign to help mothers understand that noninvasive cavity treatment exists, that it is needle-free and drill-free, and that there is now no reason to delay bringing children in for care. The vVardis team, which they describe as a family, is selected not only for clinical expertise but for shared mission: saving teeth, and through them, saving lives.
Dr. Haley and Dr. Goly Abivardi have spent nearly three decades doing what dentistry has always said it wanted to do — treat disease conservatively, reach patients before the drill becomes necessary, and make oral care accessible to the people who need it most. Curodont is the clinical tool that makes all of that possible. Whether you are a clinician looking to fill the treatment gap in your own practice, a hygienist interested in expanding your clinical impact, or a practice owner exploring what becoming a Curodontist could mean for your patient relationships and recall rates, the conversation starts at vvardis.com. Curodont is available through Henry Schein.
