The Beginning of TU, and the 8th Chapter

The Beginning of TU, and the 8th Chapter

August 16, 2019.
This is the very first day TU Dental opened its doors.
7 years have already passed, and now the 8th chapter is beginning.
Growing TU over this long period brings up so many feelings and thoughts.
It makes me look back once again.

From a new perspective in the aesthetic dental market, we have strived to evolve and shift the paradigm of traditional veneers under a philosophy that preserves natural teeth. Seeing positive transformations based on true authenticity—changing many people's perceptions and growing as a brand—fills me with great anticipation for the future.

Amidst this growth of the aesthetic dental market, looking back at the starting point (0: ZERO) brings me back to finding our roots and authenticity once again.

1. Why Did I Start TU Dental?

When I graduated from Yonsei University College of Dentistry and stepped out into society, the dental community was facing numerous storms. Clinics that were once famous were going out of business, even making headlines in the news as they got entangled in disputes and lawsuits with patients.

I looked at the fundamental cause.

‘Why are sustainable healthcare brands so rare?’

The first thing I noticed was how healthcare marketing inevitably dissolved into pure price competition.

When marketing focuses on price rather than essence, the value of medical care gradually declines, and the authenticity of medical services is lost along with it. Rather, unable to handle a structure where costs exceed sales, cases of going out of business while turning a blind eye to patients occurred. I pondered how to solve this phenomenon and how to make it sustainable.

This very question was the starting point where TU Dental was born. And the answer eventually converged into one: how to convey the authenticity of medical service into the hearts of many people.

I found that power in branding.

Numerous global luxury brands still saw an endless stream of visitors even during the COVID era that arrived just 6 months after I opened the clinic. Customers of those brands wanted the ‘right to buy’ famous products, and a phenomenon even occurred where the brand chose the customer instead. It was a scene in stark contrast to the medical field where low prices were gaining popularity. Amidst that, I pondered how I could deliver fundamentally authentic services to customers.

After much reflection, I brought the brand 'TU' to life.

Through this brand, I set out to maximize customer experience and build a presence that patients could truly value and trust.

T: Tearful face, Teeth, Treatment
U: Smiling face, U-shaped dental arch, Up (direction)

With these various meanings, I founded and led TU under the slogan, ‘The dental clinic you enter in tears, but leave with a smile.’

That's right. I wanted to build an authentic and sustainable healthcare brand.

Sound dentistry, sound values, and a sound brand—this is the path I strive to walk.

Now, as we enter Chapter 8, I intend to return once again to where it all began.

2. Why Did I Start ZERONATE?

I have been deeply interested in aesthetics since I was young—things that beautifully stimulate all five senses, all things sensory. I have a delicate and detailed personality. At times, because of that trait, many people around me, including my staff, would feel exhausted. But that aspect made me grow further.

In 2018, back when I was an associate dentist, I came to perform a veneer procedure for a famous webtoon artist who was a close older friend of mine. However, on the scheduled day, he refused treatment, confessing he was terrified of tooth reduction.

At the time, I couldn't quite understand it. But looking back from his perspective, I reflected on the aesthetic dental market back then. Of course, even then, a small number of clinics performed minimal-prep veneers. However, due to cases of indiscriminate tooth reduction by a once-famous clinic that eventually closed down, many people had come to view laminate veneers very negatively. As these cases spread across social media and various online platforms, many people came to view laminate veneer procedures—which are actually completely safe when performed strictly by the book—extremely negatively.

That is how he came to refuse treatment as well. So I looked for a solution. Scouring through numerous books and online materials at the time, I learned about Oral Design and came across the Platinum Foil Technique using platinum foil. Although I couldn't fully implement that technology as it was back then, I researched ways to perform non-prep procedures while making them as thin as possible with the veneer manufacturing technology of that time.

Really luckily, he had diastema, meaning there was space between his teeth, making non-prep veneers possible.

After completing my life's first non-prep veneer procedure and succeeding, I knew with absolute conviction that the era of non-prep veneers had begun. It was a true eureka moment for me.

That is how my first non-prep veneer began.

And becoming confident in my vision, I wanted to make non-prep and minimal-prep veneers primary treatment offerings when opening TU Dental Clinic.

Laminate Veneer.

It is a textbook, classic term. I, too, hoped that laminate veneers would establish themselves as a treatment possessing authenticity and sustainability, and that wish remains the same today.

However, my strength alone was not enough to reverse the deeply rooted negative perceptions of many people.

So I wanted to find a way to deliver a new paradigm to many people and shift the perception surrounding laminate veneers.

The answer I found once again here was branding.

'ZERONATE' is a brand born with the foundational identity of Laminate Veneer. It begins by recognizing the roots of laminate veneers. It is a brand embedded with my authenticity, the vision I strive to achieve, and my craftsmanship.

Although ZERONATE first began from the experience and perspective of non-prep, its essence lies in preserving natural teeth as much as possible for the ideal health and beauty of natural teeth that the customer desires.

That is why I became obsessed with a thickness close to zero (0). Of course, a thickness close to zero (0) is not always the answer. Nor is unconditional non-prep always the right answer. I firmly believe that for suitable cases, the ideal approach is finding a way to preserve as much natural tooth structure as possible to achieve the desired result.

As a dentist specializing in aesthetic dentistry, I strive to find the best direction by aligning professional opinions with what the patient desires.

To this end, amidst countless efforts and experiences, I synthesized various ways of crafting ZERONATE, and with the accumulated know-how, we aim for what the customer desires.

Beyond that lie the craftsmanship and advanced technology to achieve authenticity and sustainability. Based on these foundations, I intend to do my utmost to grow ZERONATE into a brand that reaches out to the world once again within the aesthetic dental market. With this mindset of returning to the essence, I prepare to welcome Chapter 8.