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.
Seven years have passed, and today, we proudly embark on our eighth year.
Growing TU over this long period brings up so many feelings and thoughts.
It makes me look back once again.

By taking on a new role in the aesthetic dental market, we have changed and evolved the paradigm of traditional veneers under a philosophy that preserves natural teeth. Seeing this market grow as public perception shifted, and watching numerous aesthetic dental clinics emerge today, I feel a great sense of pride and fulfillment on one hand.

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

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.

2. Why Did I Start ZERONATE?

I have been deeply interested in aesthetics since I was young. Things that beautifully stimulate all five senses. 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 laminate veneer procedure for a famous webtoon artist who was a close older friend of mine. However, on the scheduled day, he refused treatment, saying 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 lamintate veneers very negatively. As these cases spread across social media and digital platforms, the public began to view veneers with extreme skepticism—even though textbook procedures, when done correctly, pose no issues.

That is how that older friend came to refuse treatment as well. So I looked for a solution. Scouring through numerous books and online materials, 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 at the time, I researched ways to perform non-prep procedures while making them as thin as possible with the laminate veneer fabrication technology of that time.

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

After successfully completing my very first non-prep veneer procedure, I felt a deep conviction that the era of non-prep veneers had arrived—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 veneers a primary treatment offering 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 ruined impressions of laminate veneers.

The answer I found once again here was branding.

That's right. "ZERONATE" is a brand built on the very foundation of laminate veneers.

It is a brand embedded with my authenticity and craftsmanship.

Through this brand, I wanted to reshape the negative perception of ‘laminate veneers’ into a positive one.

That is how ZERONATE was born.

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. 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 in charge of aesthetic dentistry, I pursue the path of finding the best direction by aligning professional opinions with what the customer 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.

At its foundation lie the repeatedly mentioned authenticity and sustainability. Along with the craftsmanship to achieve this, and the advanced technology that has grown significantly enough to assist it, we created ZERONATE, a brand through which the aesthetic dental market can grow positively once again, and we are making ceaseless efforts.