diff --git a/backend/app.py b/backend/app.py
index 2e690ba9..8fcc038c 100644
--- a/backend/app.py
+++ b/backend/app.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from collections import defaultdict
 from loguru import logger
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 import asyncio
+from datetime import datetime
 from middleware.monitoring_middleware import monitoring_middleware
 
 # Load environment variables
@@ -175,6 +176,62 @@ async def health():
     """Health check endpoint."""
     return health_check()
 
+@app.get("/health/database")
+async def database_health_check():
+    """Database health check endpoint including persona tables verification."""
+    try:
+        from services.database import get_db_session
+        from models.persona_models import WritingPersona, PlatformPersona, PersonaAnalysisResult, PersonaValidationResult
+        
+        session = get_db_session()
+        if not session:
+            return {"status": "error", "message": "Could not get database session"}
+        
+        # Test all persona tables
+        tables_status = {}
+        try:
+            session.query(WritingPersona).first()
+            tables_status["writing_personas"] = "ok"
+        except Exception as e:
+            tables_status["writing_personas"] = f"error: {str(e)}"
+        
+        try:
+            session.query(PlatformPersona).first()
+            tables_status["platform_personas"] = "ok"
+        except Exception as e:
+            tables_status["platform_personas"] = f"error: {str(e)}"
+        
+        try:
+            session.query(PersonaAnalysisResult).first()
+            tables_status["persona_analysis_results"] = "ok"
+        except Exception as e:
+            tables_status["persona_analysis_results"] = f"error: {str(e)}"
+        
+        try:
+            session.query(PersonaValidationResult).first()
+            tables_status["persona_validation_results"] = "ok"
+        except Exception as e:
+            tables_status["persona_validation_results"] = f"error: {str(e)}"
+        
+        session.close()
+        
+        # Check if all tables are ok
+        all_ok = all(status == "ok" for status in tables_status.values())
+        
+        return {
+            "status": "healthy" if all_ok else "warning",
+            "message": "Database connection successful" if all_ok else "Some persona tables may have issues",
+            "persona_tables": tables_status,
+            "timestamp": datetime.utcnow().isoformat()
+        }
+        
+    except Exception as e:
+        return {
+            "status": "error",
+            "message": f"Database health check failed: {str(e)}",
+            "timestamp": datetime.utcnow().isoformat()
+        }
+
 # Onboarding status endpoints
 @app.get("/api/onboarding/status")
 async def onboarding_status():
diff --git a/backend/start_alwrity_backend.py b/backend/start_alwrity_backend.py
index 460778b4..1156e5e6 100644
--- a/backend/start_alwrity_backend.py
+++ b/backend/start_alwrity_backend.py
@@ -214,6 +214,30 @@ def setup_environment():
     
     print("✅ Environment setup complete")
 
+def verify_persona_tables():
+    """Verify that persona tables exist and are accessible."""
+    print("🔍 Verifying persona tables...")
+    try:
+        from services.database import get_db_session
+        from models.persona_models import WritingPersona, PlatformPersona, PersonaAnalysisResult, PersonaValidationResult
+        
+        session = get_db_session()
+        if session:
+            # Try to query all persona tables to verify they exist
+            session.query(WritingPersona).first()
+            session.query(PlatformPersona).first()
+            session.query(PersonaAnalysisResult).first()
+            session.query(PersonaValidationResult).first()
+            session.close()
+            print("✅ All persona tables verified successfully")
+            return True
+        else:
+            print("⚠️  Warning: Could not get database session")
+            return False
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"⚠️  Warning: Could not verify persona tables: {e}")
+        return False
+
 def start_backend(enable_reload=False):
     """Start the backend server."""
     print("🚀 Starting ALwrity Backend...")
@@ -241,8 +265,17 @@ def start_backend(enable_reload=False):
     try:
         # Import and run the app
         from app import app
+        from services.database import init_database
         import uvicorn
         
+        # Explicitly initialize database before starting server
+        print("🗄️  Initializing database...")
+        init_database()
+        print("✅ Database initialized successfully")
+        
+        # Verify persona tables exist
+        verify_persona_tables()
+        
         print("\n🌐 Backend is starting...")
         print("   📖 API Documentation: http://localhost:8000/api/docs")
         print("   🔍 Health Check: http://localhost:8000/health")