Brian Bhaskar, DDS, MD
Founder · Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
Where the Observation Began
Sindi began with an observation made long before there was any intention to start a company.
During my training in hospital-based dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery, I worked within a large institutional system that served underserved populations across multiple states.
The clinical volume was enormous. Every day, hundreds of referrals flowed in—most of them on paper.
These referrals represented real people, many with urgent needs: advanced infections, pathologic lesions, suspected malignancies. Yet the systems responsible for handling these referrals were fundamentally fragile.
The Problem Inside Large Systems
What stood out immediately was the burden placed on teams trying to manage this volume.
Paper referrals had to be sorted, scanned, tracked, and followed up on—often by hand. Keeping them organized felt like a near-impossible task.
Even in a well-resourced institution, referrals were delayed or lost simply because the workflow wasn’t designed to scale.
The problem wasn’t clinical decision-making; it was communication and visibility.
The Visibility Gap for Referring Dentists
The second issue became just as clear.
With that level of volume, there was virtually no practical way to provide referring offices with visibility into what was happening after a referral was sent.
Scheduling updates, case progress, and confirmation of follow-through were difficult to communicate reliably.
Referring dentists were often left wondering whether their patient had been seen, scheduled, or treated—despite having made the correct clinical decision to refer.
The Same Problem in Private Practice
What surprised me later was not that this problem existed in large institutions, but that it persisted almost unchanged in private practice.
The scale was smaller, but the workflow was the same. Paper referrals remained the norm. Visibility was still limited.
And yet referrals are the lifeblood of most specialty practices. They drive patient care, revenue, and long-term professional relationships. Despite that, the majority of dental offices still rely on systems that were never designed for modern practice.
The Realization
This disconnect stayed with me.
Dentistry has evolved in almost every other area—imaging, materials, surgical techniques, diagnostics—yet referral communication remains largely unchanged.
I came to believe that paper-based referrals are not the future of dentistry. Not because they are inefficient in theory, but because they fail in practice when reliability and speed matter most.
Building Sindi
Sindi was built to address that reality.
It is designed to reduce administrative burden, increase visibility, and close the loop between referring and receiving offices. Not by adding complexity, but by removing it.
The goal has never been to replace clinical judgment, but to support it with tools that reflect how dentistry actually functions.
There is also a personal dimension to this work.
I am a third-generation dentist. My grandfather immigrated to the United States from India and went on to serve as a two-star general in the U.S. Army. Dentistry played a central role in his life and service, and he made a lasting impact through leadership, education, and care.
Sindi is named after him—his nickname—both as a tribute and as a reminder of the responsibility that comes with building something meant to last.
Looking Forward
My aspiration is not simply to build software, but to contribute meaningfully to the profession I am part of.
Dentistry deserves modern tools that reflect its importance, complexity, and trust-based relationships.
Sindi is an attempt to build that infrastructure thoughtfully, deliberately, and for the long term.
