T32 Dental aims to create dental ecosystem with clinics and support services
It can then go about providing quality dental care, says its founder. Dental services are now looked at through a lifestyle prism, he adds.
FOR many patients, it used to be that seeing a dentist happened only when they were in pain from an infected cavity, or perhaps when they were having problems with their gums.
But T32 Dental Group recognises that things are changing today: More patients are seeking out higher-value, "lifestyle" dental services such as having their teeth straightened with braces, their pearlies whitened, or getting implants done.
The group believes that collaboration is the way to go for the "highly fragmented" dental industry to meet these needs.
Taking this business model, it now seeks to expand its footprint across Asia, and aspires to manage an extensive network of dental clinics across the region by 2025.
Wong Keng Mun, the founder and managing director of the group, said: "The best way forward is to consolidate, because consolidating actually enables us to improve efficiency, and you've got economies of scale."
By this, he does not mean that T32 will focus on acquiring clinics. Instead, it will develop a full spectrum of dental disciplines - from having a centralised laboratory to developing supply and technology resources and setting up a training-support system. Having such dental-support and dental-management services in a strong ecosystem will enable it to provide quality dental care.
Aside from its 21 patient-facing clinics in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, the group is focusing its resources on building this critical-infrastructure network that underpins its collaborative business model.
T32 brings in an estimated revenue of S$50 million a year, said its chief operating officer Kevin Lee.
It now owns laboratories that fabricate crowns and bridges, and runs a dental academy to train dental professionals and other staff.
Dentists, even solo practitioners, can work with T32 for easier access to the necessary supplies, equipment or knowledge, which leaves them free to focus on treating their patient, said Mr Lee. They would not need to purchase expensive machines for CT scans, which would likely be underutilised, for example.
"By collaborating and creating that ecosystem, patient care improves. Costs will also be more managed," he said.
With a recent investment from the Economic Development Board's investment arm EDBI and the help of like-minded partners familiar with new markets, T32 intends to apply this strategy as it sets its sights on expanding to countries such as Vietnam.
"This will help us to effectively address the growing demand for high-value dentistry in Singapore and across Asia," Dr Wong said.
And indeed, there has been a growing demand for value-added dentistry, he asserted, because people today look at dentistry through a lifestyle lens, moving away from a disease-based focus, he said.
He added with a laugh: "My parents' generation thinks that when they are old, their teeth should be in a cup on the table. That's their mindset. But for us, now that we are getting older, it's 'No, never, I'll never allow myself to have that'.
"Even for ourselves, sometimes we have crooked teeth. But now, kids go through braces," he said.
T32's approach to dentistry therefore looks at a patient's life journey - from birth to death - and creates targeted solutions for the specific dental problems that crop up along the way.
With purchasing power and life expectancies on the rise across Asia, the group has identified problems such as grinding and snoring, and insertion of implants for missing teeth as sought-after services in the changing dental landscape.
To home in on some of these issues specifically, T32 operates specialist centres for juniors, dental implants and aligners and smile enhancements.
"But if you do not have all the infrastructure, then I think everything is just going to crumble if we start too fast," Dr Wong said.
Chu Swee Yeok, chief executive and president of EDBI, said: "This collaborative business model has gained prominence in the US and European markets, signalling great potential for the company to spearhead the transformation of our own regional dental services ecosystem.
"T32 Dental Group is a promising local champion in the specialist dental services sector, which is rapidly expanding across the region," she added.
Last month, T32 secured a sizable investment from EDBI, which now holds a 27.9 per cent stake in the dental group.
T32's funds raised, including those from private investors and existing shareholders such as the Philippine conglomerate Equicom Group, has hit S$28 million.
Mr Lee said: "With EDBI, it goes back to the taxpayers' money. So, I think they're very prudent investors and there's scrutiny of where they put their dollars. It's very intense, but the whole process also helps us to sharpen our skills."
