Today we’d like to introduce you to Camille Zenobia.

Hi Camille, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

My journey into oral health has been anything but conventional. I started as a hairdresser first, working with Aveda as a ‘Purefessional’ where I cut my teeth on product science. I became enamored with how products can hinder or help us and chose to move into science where I developed a deep foundation in academic and industry R&D, earning my PhD in microbiology and have been working across clinical, medical affairs, and product development roles in both pharmaceutical and personal care sectors. My experience spans cosmetics, skin, hair, and oral health, with a strong focus on translating research into real-world solutions.

As I advanced in my career, I became increasingly drawn to the oral-systemic connection—how oral health impacts inflammation, immune function, aging, and overall wellness. This realization fueled my transition from traditional R&D roles into advocacy and innovation. I saw a critical gap in oral care: too often, we focus on symptom management rather than addressing inflammation at its root. That’s what led me to launch Ossa Oral Care, where we develop science-driven, fluoride-free solutions to transform oral health as a gateway to whole-body wellness.

Beyond product development, I consider myself an oral health activist. In my RDH Magazine interview, I spoke about the importance of challenging outdated paradigms and empowering both professionals and consumers with better options. Through my Let’s Get Oral podcast, I engage with leading scientists, entrepreneurs, and clinicians to discuss cutting-edge research and innovations in oral health, beauty, and longevity. My work today bridges science, wellness, and advocacy. Whether through clinical research—such as my collaboration with Dr. Michael Glogauer on oral inflammation studies—or through consulting, strategic partnerships, and public education, my mission remains the same: to elevate the conversation around oral health and redefine its role in aging, beauty, and overall well-being.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I first moved from Seattle to Philadelphia to take on my postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. George Hajishengallis, an incredible opportunity to learn from a leading member of peridontal research. This was just after having my first kiddo and in my first couple months, broke my hip biking to work! We all persevered and I moved into industry after just two years. Working at a the top consumer oral care company, the research was incredible but it was also frustrating due to many regulatory factors as well as prevailing and dated theories on oral health. I had been working at the leading edge and product science has not really come close to that yet. I left to go into medical affairs in a therapeutic area of infectious disease right as the pandemic hit. On the east coast, this was a real swift blow as all of our infectious disease leaders were absolutely swamped, nervous, and uncertain about anyones futures. As I made my way back into aesthetics, I found some time to get back to my oral care obsessions and turn my ‘oral health activist’ instagram effort into a product company and podcast. It remains a struggle as the dated thoughts on removing the oral microbes persist, although not completely wrong, still not quite right. So, we remain like activists, trying to educate both the oral health providers as well as the consumers in this very new space!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am known for my absolute obsession in oral health. I have specialized in the nuance of the ecology of the mouth where our microbes are working diligently for us but we battle them with food and products to our own demise. I am completely all in to help elevate the future of oral health in every way I know how with innovation, education, and optimism.

What’s next?

We are slowly growing the OSSA Oral Care brand, working on a clinical trial and I will be speaking at Under One Roof Conference for the RDH community. Those are our exciting moves at the moment.

Pricing:

• https://ossacare.com/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ossacare.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OSSACARE/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OSSACARE/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillezenobia/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSLWMKtUsctTGqH2VHmt2oQ
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/oralhealthactivist/

Image Credits

Photos by Dan Keinan