FUSSEN Technology Builds Digital Oral Healthcare Infrastructure, Named to Future Healthcare 100 List

On April 16, VCBeat released the 2020-2021 Top 100 Future Healthcare Companies · Main List. The Top 100 Future Healthcare Companies list, jointly launched by VCBeat and VBInsight in 2015, is China’s first ranking focused on innovative enterprises in the healthcare sector that are not publicly listed. It aims to select Chinese innovators that truly represent the future of healthcare, identify the core forces driving China’s future healthcare industry, and promote innovation and transformation within the healthcare sector.

The newly released Future Healthcare 100 · Main List comprises five sub-lists, including the Top 100 Digital Healthcare List. The rankings are primarily based on companies’ most recent valuation rounds, supplemented by assessments across multiple dimensions such as patent portfolios, product development, core management teams, strategic partners, industry landscape, and corporate reputation.

In 2021, when the dental care sector was heating up, we saw three dental companies make it into the TOP 100 Digital Healthcare List, with Feisen Technology being one of them. Amid the current digital transformation wave in the dental industry, what exactly can Feisen Technology, listed as a provider of digital dental solutions, bring to the dental sector?

According to the "2020 White Paper on Oral Healthcare" published by VCBeat Research Institute, the number of individuals requiring oral healthcare services in China continues to grow alongside the expansion of the country's population base. Overall, approximately 50% of Chinese residents suffer from various types of oral diseases. In 2017, the number of people with oral healthcare needs reached 694 million. However, most oral disease patients do not attach sufficient importance to their conditions, and some fail to receive diagnosis and treatment for various reasons.

With the growing health awareness among the public and improvements in the medical care environment in recent years, the number of outpatient and emergency visits for dental care at hospitals increased from 71 million in 2008 to 156 million in 2018. However, there remains a significant gap between this figure and the 50% demand rate. The low treatment penetration rate severely constrains the development of the dental services industry.

On the other hand, healthcare resources are not being allocated effectively. In oral healthcare services, clinics account for over 90% of medical institutions but provide only 53% of dental treatments; hospitals, which make up less than 10% of institutions, deliver 47% of such services. Some clinics see very few patients, while certain hospitals are overcrowded. A severe shortage of dentists, combined with poorly allocated dental professional resources, results in low treatment efficiency.

How to further improve the diagnostic and treatment efficiency of medical institutions, how to increase patient visits to clinics, and how to better allocate high-quality dental resources to serve patients and meet their needs have become a challenging issue facing everyone.

Founded in 2010, Feisen Technology recognized early on the pain points plaguing the dental industry—namely, the absence of any enterprise capable of providing comprehensive digital solutions and building a fully digitalized dental supply chain to enhance the clinical experience for both clinics and patients.

Consequently, over the past 11 years, Feisen Technology has continuously upgraded its imaging products and terminal clinic service software through digitalization, achieving seamless integration across the upstream and downstream segments of the industrial chain. In the process of launching comprehensive digital solutions to the industry, the company has consistently helped clinics enhance the quality of diagnosis and treatment services, improve doctor-patient communication, and build a digital product chain for terminal devices through AI-enabled, end-to-end digital solutions, thereby accelerating the development of the digital dental ecosystem.

FUSSEN, by continuously expanding digital new infrastructure and collaborating with partners, is dedicated to integrating the entire dental industry chain and building an industry-leading new ecosystem of digitalized and intelligent oral healthcare.

After 11 years of development, Feisen Technology has established a solid foundation in the field of dental digitalization. In January 2020, it secured hundreds of millions of RMB in Series C financing, led by Sequoia Capital China. Its digital dental imaging equipment has reached more than 40 countries, serving over 85,000 dental clinics worldwide. The “Dentist Manager” SaaS tool covers more than 400 cities, becoming an indispensable “assistant” for dental practices. Meanwhile, its consumables supply system, launched in early 2018, now serves over 20,000 end users. The new ecosystem of digital dentistry is taking shape.

As it continues to deepen the development of a new ecosystem in dentistry, Feisen Technology is also constantly providing industry support by building new dental infrastructure. Focusing on the clinic side, Feisen Technology has achieved service coverage across the entire lifecycle management and enhanced clinic efficiency through digital empowerment.

To achieve digital diagnosis and treatment in the dental industry, acquiring precise oral data is fundamental. Therefore, Feisen Technology has developed a range of digital imaging infrastructure equipment, including Feisen Cloud CT, Feisen Cloud Intraoral Scanner, Feisen “Ruizhibao,” and portable X-ray machines. The combination of Feisen Cloud CT and Feisen Cloud Intraoral Scanner is primarily used for comprehensive pre- and post-operative assessments in implantology, orthodontics, and prosthodontics; meanwhile, Feisen “Ruizhibao” and portable X-ray machines are utilized to evaluate specific tooth positions during procedures such as root canal therapy and caries filling.

From left to right: Feisen Cloud CT, Feisen “Ruizhibao”, Feisen Cloud Intraoral Scanner, Portable X-ray Machine

These imaging devices serve merely as the digital infrastructure for the dental industry. Feisen Technology further empowers them through its DentalX Digital Dentistry Engine. This engine comprises two core components: “Cloud Core,” which leverages AI algorithms to assist in diagnosis and treatment planning; and “Cloud Imaging,” which uploads local data to the cloud, thereby maximizing the resolution of challenges associated with localized storage and processing.

At the “Cloud Core” level, powered by the AI algorithms of the Dental X engine, Feisen Cloud CT not only achieves optimized imaging data but also introduces numerous algorithm-enabled features, including implant risk alerts, automatic neurovascular marking, automatic mandibular segmentation, and pre- and post-operative CT comparison.

At the “Cloud Shadow” level, empowered by the Dental X engine, device-based local imaging has been transformed through cloud migration, breaking away from the traditional constraint of viewing images only on local machines. It enables dentists to review images remotely and across unlimited terminals. Cloud adoption also reduces requirements for local hardware configurations and enhances compatibility with local terminal systems, allowing dentists to use computers of their choice based on personal preferences. Meanwhile, permanent cloud storage ensures that images can be accessed at any time. This helps further unlock doctors’ potential, and by eliminating local constraints, facilitates smoother doctor-patient communication and further streamlines the diagnosis and treatment process.

In addition to helping doctors better serve their patients, Feisen Technology also employs the DentaLink dental practice management software to help clinics address various operational challenges, including patient management, marketing management, inventory control, and financial management, thereby improving clinic operational efficiency. Following patient consultations, Feisen Technology provides clinical solutions such as digital implantology & immediate restoration and digital orthodontics, while connecting downstream suppliers to provide clinics with necessary instruments and consumables.

DentaLink Dental Practice Management Software

By leveraging cloud-based access to experts, clinics can alleviate concerns about the scarcity of top-tier dental specialists, while also rapidly cultivating their own young physicians through remote expert-led training. During rapid clinic expansion, talent shortages caused by geographical constraints are effectively resolved. Furthermore, migrating equipment to the cloud helps clinics further standardize workflows, enhance diagnostic and treatment efficiency, and foster better doctor-patient relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also exerted a certain impact on the entire dental industry. Reflections on the pandemic environment and on their own development have prompted many healthcare companies to undertake strategic iterations, and Fussen Technology is no exception. Its corporate logo has been upgraded from “DentaLink Fussen Technology” to “FUSSEN Fussen,” and its corporate brand has likewise been upgraded to “FUSSEN Fussen.” The pronunciation is closer to the Chinese name, enhancing brand recognizability.

“DentaLink” will continue to be promoted in the Chinese market as the brand of “Dentist Steward,” upgrading to the [DentaLink Dentist Steward] brand.

FUSSEN Feisen’s new digital infrastructure following its strategic upgrade can be illustrated in a single diagram:

Under FUSSEN’s new infrastructure initiative, digital dental imaging equipment and SaaS software serve as the digital terminal entry points. Powered by the Dental X Digital Engine (Cloud Imaging/Cloud Core), this ecosystem empowers the dental industry by enabling intelligent management across the entire workflow, enhancing diagnostic and treatment efficiency and outcomes, improving doctor-patient communication, and cultivating new drivers of consumer demand. The company has established a robust industrial moat centered on its digital service capabilities, integrating imaging equipment, design services, and clinical solutions into a cohesive offering, demonstrating significant market potential.

Why is Feisen Technology and its brands undergoing strategic iteration at this time? On one hand, from a brand perspective, the aim is to enhance corporate brand recognition; on the other hand, the original DentaLink brand can no longer cover all domestic and international business operations. As Feisen builds a multi-business synergistic brand matrix, it requires rethinking and redesigning its subsidiary brands. By linking the brand matrix to achieve business synergy, it will facilitate the extension and expansion of various sub-brand matrices under the master brand.

More critically, in the era of digital dentistry, increasingly specialized industry demands are driving further segmentation and deepening of business operations, strengthening every link in the value chain to deliver services that cover the entire lifecycle of oral health.

By leveraging digital technologies to integrate the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the dental industry, achieving digital healthcare, optimizing marketing channels, consolidating the industrial chain, and enhancing supply capabilities will become a company’s core competitive advantage.

Unlike traditional medical institutions that provide dental services directly to consumers, previous internet-based dental models have explored using online-to-offline (O2O) platforms as a bridge to connect healthcare providers with dental patients (primarily patients). By integrating promotional offers and appointment scheduling services, these platforms expand customer acquisition channels for offline clinics. In effect, they drive patient traffic to clinics and, to some extent, facilitate the connection of upstream medical equipment and consumables manufacturers to downstream providers via internet dental platforms, thereby achieving integration across the industry chain.

However, this approach remains insufficient for truly enhancing the quality and capabilities of dental clinics to better deliver core medical services to patients. With the emergence of solution providers offering digital dentistry solutions that cover the entire lifecycle of dental clinics, current challenges faced by these clinics will be addressed more comprehensively. These solutions support clinic operations in all aspects, including basic screening, assisted diagnosis, practice management, equipment and consumables services, and patient management.

As the trend toward digitalization in dentistry continues to advance, it will further unlock the potential of dental practitioners and stimulate demand for oral diagnosis and treatment services, thereby driving the development of the entire industry.