Cameron Stewart began a master's in 2013 tackling the bacteria that grow in the gap between fillings and teeth — most restorations fail within five to seven years, and replacement fillings cost Canadians about $3 billion a year. At his supervisors' urging he switched to a PhD, forming porous silica particles around an antimicrobial and patenting the material in 2015.
He finished his PhD in 2018 under supervisors Yoav Finer and Benjamin Hatton, then spent four years as a postdoc in Dentistry before launching Mesosil, going through UTEST and the Health Innovation Hub. The company raised $2.3 million in investment in 2024 and works with Risk Group 2 bacteria, renting space at UTM's SpinUp lab and 124 Edward St. as a regular client of CAMiLod.
Mesosil sells its technology as an additive to established dental companies rather than directly to dentists. After the company's anti-infection biomaterial earned FDA 510(k) clearance, Stewart's board had to tell him to stop working and celebrate — the team of six went out to a restaurant. As he says, "I’m still a scientist at heart."
Reported from Dentistry startup founded by U of T alum gets FDA clearance, by Diane Peters (U of T Alumni News, June 24, 2026).
More from the original reporting: alumni.utoronto.ca/news/dentistry-startup-gets-fda-clearance