A new collaboration between two innovative Utah-based companies will improve visits to the dentist’s office, for both patients and practitioners. On January 6, Aribex signed an agreement with H20 TECH, Inc. to provide an equity investment in the start-up.

Aribex is the worldwide leader in portable and handheld x-ray products for use in a dental office as well as various other remote and mobile care applications. The Orem, Utah-based company has experienced more than three years of greater than 30 percent growth and 11 consecutive profitable quarters.

H20 TECH is an emerging company based in Spanish Fork, Utah. Their technology consists of a pain-free, super quiet water drill, a breakthrough in dental care aligned with attracting and retaining more patients. The waterjet will increase office production with a net reduction in the use of anesthetics and substantially improve patient outcome and experience. It is the most precise cutting device in the dental industry.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to work with Aribex, a well-respected and innovative force in the dental industry,” said Tim Nelson, CEO of H20 TECH. “ In addition to lending credibility to future fundraising efforts, we will be able to lean on the experience of Aribex in the areas of engineering, regulatory, sales, marketing, manufacturing, and more.”

Dentists and patients will both win with the new waterjet, Nelson said, as the product saves time and creates a better patient experience through decreased pain and noise.

“This is a great milestone for Aribex,” said D. Clark Tuner, CEO of Aribex. “We were a start-up company not long ago, and we have always had an interest in helping others navigate the process of bringing new, disruptive products to the dental industry. H2O Tech is a perfect fit for us in this regard. We are grateful for this opportunity to be a part such a promising enterprise, and we look forward to being a valuable resource to them as they progress.”

Aribex will take a board position with H20 TECH, Nelson said. Overall terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“With patented technology and solid prototyping progress, H2O Tech’s product, Waterjet, is a first-of-its-kind water drilling system with many general dentistry applications,” added Aribex President & CFO, Ken Kaufman. “We look forward to being a resource to the H2O Tech team as they progress.”

Aribex’s main product is the NOMAD battery-powered handheld device, which increases X-ray safety by dramatically decreasing the amount X-ray exposure required for correct use. It also decreases costs and provides hundreds of safe, high-quality imaging for dental, veterinary, medical, industrial inspection, and security applications, on a single battery charge.

Both Aribex and H20 TECH have benefited from working with the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. Aribex has secured federal funding with the help of the USTAR-funded SBIR-STTR Assistance Center based at Salt Lake Community College in Sandy. H20 TECH was a co-applicant with Utah Valley University on two USTAR Technology Commercialization and Innovation Program grants.