Meiwei Dental's Zhu Liya: The Dental Industry Needs Long-Term Thinkers

The dental industry is once again experiencing unprecedented hype.

In mid-June, Angelalign Technology officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first Chinese company to go public in the clear aligner orthodontics sector. Moreover, numerous primary market companies have secured new rounds of financing within the past six months.

Amidst the fervor in this sector, the midstream dental services industry is also experiencing rapid growth.According to VCBeat's "2020 White Paper on Dental Care," the market size of China's dental medical service industry reached approximately RMB 140 billion in 2018, representing a year-on-year growth of about 24%. It is foreseeable that demand for dental medical services will continue to rise.

Notably, amid this surge in the dental industry, a vast number of dental clinics and chain institutions have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Data from Tianyancha shows that over 20,000 new dental clinics and hospitals were added in the past year. With numerous players entering the market, competition is undoubtedly fierce.

In this industry landscape, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP (hereinafter referred to as “MEI WEI DENTAL”) has carved out a unique path for dental development:It has pioneered a new business model for the dental industry in China, establishing a distinctive “DSO” framework that empowers leading Chinese dental chains and specialists through strategic investment, standardization, clinical technology enhancement, and brand management, thereby facilitating their personalized development.

Since its founding in 2016, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has established 185 dental clinics and hospitals within just five years, and continues to maintain steady growth.

Why Has MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP Gained Momentum So Rapidly? What Stories Lie Behind Its Rise? What Lessons Does It Offer to the Dental Industry? In Response to These Questions, VCBeat Conducted an Exclusive Interview with Ms. Zhu Liya, Founding Partner and CEO of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP.

(Zhu Liya, Founding Partner and CEO of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP)

In the dental industry, the vast majority of dentists harbor the dream of opening their own dental clinics.This is also clearly reflected in Julia.

In 2007, Julia Zhu, a graduate of the School of Stomatology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of California, had already accumulated extensive experience in the dental industry. At this point, she decided to transition from the role of a “clinician” to that of an “entrepreneur,” co-founding a dental clinic with her partners.

“Although the clinic has seen solid growth since, Julia is not content with the status quo. ‘As long as we excel in clinical techniques, small dental practices can still be profitable, and survival is not a major issue. But we are also exploring whether there are new business models and opportunities in the dental industry that can help reduce costs and improve efficiency across the sector.’”

Echoing Julia’s reflections, China’s dental industry was then experiencing undercurrents of change: as a highly marketized sector with strong consumer attributes, it faced a fragmented landscape characterized by small-scale, scattered, and disordered operations, along with severe homogenized competition. The industry urgently needed new sources of growth driven by innovative business models and technological advancements.

“At that time, I was constantly contemplating how to identify an appropriate breakthrough point for the dental industry. To this end, in addition to exchanging ideas with domestic experts, I made multiple trips abroad to study the business models of local dental enterprises,” recalled Zhu Liya. During these overseas visits, the team met with leading dental chain operators such as Pacific Dental Services and Smile Brands. “I was deeply impressed. It is worth noting that at the time, the largest dental chain in China had nearly 200 clinics, whereas Pacific Dental Services already operated more than 500.”

"Through repeated reflection, simulation, and dialogue, Julia realized that Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) could deliver substantial growth and support to dental chain practices."China’s dental industry boasts skilled dentists and high-quality dental institutions, yet it lacks effective enabling partners that provide support in areas such as medical services, funding, talent, operations, and management.”

Thus, in 2016, Julia and her team founded Meiwei Dental Group, China’s first dental healthcare enterprise developed under the DSO model. Unlike the U.S. “DSO” model, Meiwei Dental Group integrates multiple roles—including industrial investment firm, management company, executive search firm, internet company, physician group, and medical standards setter—not only to help dental institutions resolve operational challenges but also to empower them to scale up and become leaders in their respective regions or niche sectors. Notably,Under the business partner model of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP, dentist owners have not been phased out; instead, they have become managers of the new institutions.

“Dental chains should not compete on quantity and scale; the core focus should be on management models and philosophies, as well as the resulting improvement in medical service quality,” Zhu Liya told VCBeat.

Since its inception, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has regarded identifying regional dental brand founders with strong entrepreneurial spirit as a core strategic element.

“In the process of seeking business partners, it is not only MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP selecting its partners, but also partners choosing MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP. Therefore, mutual recognition and understanding are crucial.“Julia stated that, beyond specific selection criteria, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP places the greatest emphasis on partners’ passion for the dental industry and their persistent dedication.”

In terms of specific operations,MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP will not excessively intervene in the daily operations of acquired clinics; instead, it primarily empowers its chain of dental institutions to enhance their comprehensive operational management capabilities and profitability.To date, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has independently established and acquired 16 dental chain brands, including Weile Dental, Aichi Dental, Tsinghua Sunshine Dental, and Hengmei Dental, covering 35 cities with 185 dental clinics and hospitals.

“Of course, the integration process with acquired brands inevitably presents numerous challenges. Disagreements may arise over issues such as the company’s future strategic direction and capital allocation. However, thanks to our shared vision and values, as well as mutual tolerance and understanding, we have achieved even greater progress,” said Julia.

Take the partnership with Aichi Dental as an example.In 2017, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP entered into a strategic partnership with Tianjin Aichi Dental, which boasted over 20 years of operational experience. Founder Guo Pingchuan led his team to join MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP. At that time, the personnel dispatched by MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP to Aichi Dental were predominantly young professionals with limited experience who were eager to achieve notable results. This led to an overly aggressive approach in operations and management. Coupled with a significant lack of understanding of Aichi Dental’s corporate culture, team dynamics, and business philosophy, this resulted in certain managerial issues.

“Upon identifying the issues, we promptly implemented improvements, conducted reviews, and summarized our findings.” Following this incident, Zhu Liya and her team gained new insights into their approach to business partners. “Do not fear problems; rather, address them immediately and draw lessons from the experience. In our subsequent collaborations with various partners, we have further explored and optimized integration in terms of culture, mindset, and management.”

Facts have proven that,Guided by a shared vision and values, the partnership between MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP and Aichi Dental is progressing smoothly.For instance, in addition to establishing a new dental hospital, Aichi Dental has repeatedly achieved record-high performance in recent years. Furthermore, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP and Aichi Dental jointly established the “Guo Pingchuan Scholarship” with Tianjin Medical University.

“In addition to investing in mature enterprises, we also place significant emphasis on investing in young dentists.” In Julia’s view, the future of the entire dental industry will hold greater promise only when an increasing number of outstanding young dentists emerge.

Therefore,MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP is particularly eager to encourage young people to give it a try.Taking Weile Dental, a mid-to-high-end dental chain brand under MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP, as an example, the institution’s management team comprises many individuals born in the 1980s and 1990s. “As the new wave of talent in the dental industry, these young professionals demonstrate strong drive and adaptability, and they frequently exceed our expectations at the execution level.”

Of course, young people also exhibit the restlessness characteristic of their age group. “Most of Weile Dental’s managers started out as professional managers, so they tend to place greater emphasis on performance, scale, and size. Therefore, I often repeatedly remind them toShift the focus to medical quality, pay attention to cost structure, improve patient management, and reduce marketing expenses. This is, in essence, a continuous process of refinement and improvement.”

From a practical standpoint, Julia is highly satisfied. “Many young managers have begun to grasp the essence of business and are continuously delivering greater long-term, stable value to the dental industry.”

As digital technologies continue to advance, the dental industry is undergoing new transformations.: According to VCBeat, digital dentistry-related companies have frequently secured financing in recent years and demonstrated strong market expansion. However, in terms of corporate distribution, these firms are predominantly concentrated in the upstream segment of the dental industry, while midstream service providers have rarely implemented digital strategies.

“In our view,Information technology infrastructure is a key element of future competitiveness for dental chain organizations.“Therefore, from the very beginning, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has made the development of its information technology platform one of its core strategies,” Zhu Liya candidly stated. The entire process was far from easy. First, because technological investments are evaluated based on long-term returns, it is difficult to see significant results in the short term. Second, as most dentists have many years of established work habits and experience, educating staff and shifting their mindsets proved extremely challenging.

Fortunately,In terms of informatization, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP maintains a high degree of internal consistency.“From the very beginning, we have received unwavering support from both our shareholders and partners,” said Zhu Liya. She noted that Meiwai Dental’s information technology system was initially imperfect and prone to issues. “However, frontline users actively provided feedback to help optimize the system, with few complaints or misunderstandings.”

After five years of development and iteration, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s independently developed Wei Xiaomei Medical Cloud HIS system has become increasingly refined.Specifically, drawing on accumulated operational management experience in the dental chain industry, this system breaks through the inefficient management scope traditional to the sector by enabling data sharing within the platform. It provides a learning platform for new team members and facilitates rapid, precise collection of operational data. By leveraging large-scale data analytics to identify corporate development challenges and determine optimal growth models, the system serves as a cornerstone for strategic decision-making within the enterprise.

Currently, the Weixiaomei Medical Cloud Intelligent Management Platform includes the Weixiaomei HIS system, call center system, supply chain management, fund management, and financial systems. Additionally, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has created a closed-loop ecosystem by interconnecting all business operations, minimizing human intervention in intermediate processes, thereby significantly improving operational efficiency while substantially reducing operating costs and management risks.

“The Wei Xiaomei Medical Cloud Intelligent Management Platform has covered 95% of the clinics and hospitals under MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP. The advanced development of its information system has enabled data integration across personnel, finance, and materials, resulting in a multiplicative increase in work efficiency.“Zhu Liya stated that the platform also streamlines various operational and management processes, effectively addressing a series of issues faced by outpatient clinics and hospitals in their early stages, such as fragmented information systems, cumbersome workflows, and standardized treatment models. This enables departments to operate in a more streamlined, intelligent, and standardized manner, reducing unnecessary time burdens on healthcare professionals and providing greater convenience for dental patients.”

As can be seen, by prioritizing the integration of “healthcare + technology,” MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has not only achieved cost reduction and efficiency improvement but also steadily expanded its corporate boundaries.The underlying logic is that MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has consistently adhered to creating value growth.

“Our philosophy is centered on patients and medical excellence, which is why MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP places particular emphasis on the power of long-term value. For this reason, we strive to find partners who view dentistry as a lifelong career and remain committed to investing in technological advancements, even amidst solitude and hardship.” In Zhu Liya’s view,To achieve notable success in the dental industry, one must possess the conviction and courage to dedicate a decade to honing their craft.

From clinician to entrepreneur, Zhu Liya has devoted nearly three decades to the dental industry, witnessing its twists and turns. Yet when discussing the future, she remains filled with passion and reverence: “Moving forward, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP will continue to deliver healthcare with diligence and integrity, create greater value for the industry, and become a ‘long-distance runner’ in the dental sector.”