On the topic of appearance economy, the dental economy is raging in all directions, and young people’s “freedom of dental surgery” is brewing a trend worth hundreds of billions.

Guanchao New Consumption has noticed that according to statistics from the National Health Commission and the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, as early as 2019, the size of my country’s dental medical market reached 103.5 billion yuan, officially breaking through the 100 billion mark. , and the compound growth rate reached 16.12%.

The growth rate of orthodontics with the attribute of "medical beauty" is exaggerated, and invisible orthodontics has gradually become a strong driving force: the unit price per customer is as high as 50,000 to 80,000, with a compound annual growth rate of 54.6% and a gross profit margin of 50%. -70%. There are many listed companies in the industry with annual revenue growth of more than 20%.

Big white teeth, a small BMW; Orthodontics wear braces, poor people set back slightly. In dental clinics that cost tens of thousands of yuan to start, the first batch of young people have already gone bankrupt because of dental care.

Once upon a time, "luminous white teeth" were exclusive to black friends, used to find companions in dark nights. But now, porcelain teeth have become the standard in the domestic entertainment industry. Without a "luminous teeth" that shines brightly, how can one have the nerve to claim to be top-notch?

Hu Haiquan was ridiculed by Wang Jianguo in the "Tucao Conference" for being "full of flashlights", and Li Jiaqi was also trending because of her big white teeth.

Celebrities have always been the vane of the beauty market, and the dental economic trend of "orthodontic whitening" has begun to be released to the vast consumer market.

There are three major branches in the subdivision of the dental economy, one is implantology, the other is orthodontics, and the third is pediatrics. The "Others" category includes teeth cleaning, whitening, fillings, etc.

The "Third Oral Disease Epidemiological Survey Report" shows that the oral prevalence rate among the entire population in China is as high as 97.6%, and only 0.22% meet oral health standards.

Among them, 97% of adults suffer from dental calculus, 88% of adults suffer from dental caries, and 85% of adults suffer from gum problems. Together with tooth sensitivity, bad breath, tooth stains, and dental plaque, they constitute The 7 most common oral problems faced by Chinese people.

CBNData's "Healthy Living Consumption Trend Report" mentioned that "oral health" not only affects daily life and physical health, but also affects social confidence and appearance.

Survey data shows that 72% of consumers believe that oral problems will affect social confidence, and 67% of consumers believe that oral problems will affect appearance. In the eyes of many consumers, dental surgery is equivalent to plastic surgery.

Data from the "China Orthodontic Consumer White Paper" points out that China currently has 378 million potential patients. But at the same time, China's invisible correction market is still in its infancy and is a blue ocean market.

Nowadays, the awareness of oral care has begun to awaken from the younger generation, and "beautiful teeth" have become a critical need, and a huge market space has been released.

According to the "2020 China Dental Medical Industry Report", among dental consumer users in 2020, 26% are aged 20-25, 33% are aged 26-30, and the post-90s generation is still the main group. . Tmall International data also shows that the per capita consumption of imported oral products has increased significantly in all age groups. The per capita consumption of those born after 1995 has the fastest growth rate, accounting for more than 50% of the population's consumption.

The rise of the dental economy is, on the one hand, due to the trend of consumption upgrading and the awakening of health and appearance awareness, and on the other hand, it is also due to the reverse promotion of the supply side in terms of publicity and other aspects.

Brands are best at grasping pain points to cater to consumers’ preferences. Many oral care brands have begun to use concepts such as “oral beautification” in marketing. In the past, “diseases” that people could not directly see in dental hospitals were "Tooth" promotional pictures have long been replaced by beautiful photos of celebrity spokespersons.

Implantation and orthodontics have become gold mines in the industry, not only because of the rising number of consumers and demand, but also because of the rising unit price.

Li Jin (pseudonym), who recently had his teeth straightened, told Guanchao New Consumer that he had gone to a private dental institution for consultation. According to the condition of his teeth, the cost of wearing invisible braces exceeded 50,000 yuan.

There is not much difference in hospital prices. He consulted at two dental hospitals in Chaoyang District and Haidian District of Beijing. The price of orthodontics at a public hospital was also not less than 40,000, and the orthodontic price at a private dental hospital was also not less than 40,000. The hospital's quote even exceeded 80,000 yuan.

Usually the orthodontic process lasts from one to two years. Traditional metal braces need to be worn throughout the process, while invisible braces can be removed and worn at any time, but they usually need to be replaced in about half a month.

Compared with traditional "big steel teeth" braces, invisible orthodontics takes into account both aesthetics and makes the transition to beauty more natural, but these require high-priced support.

As for dental implants, another gold mine in the dental economy, the reputation of "sky-high price" has spread far and wide a few years ago. "Dental implants are equivalent to buying a BMW." The saying that "dental teeth are equivalent to buying a house in the county town" does not simply come from the experience of consumers, but also appeared in the proposals of National People's Congress representatives and dental experts at the two sessions.

Orthodontic prices starting at 20,000 yuan and with an average price of more than 50,000 yuan, and dental implant prices with a unit price of nearly 10,000 yuan, are undoubtedly high prices for the main consumer force in the oral economy, mainly those born in the 1990s. A huge sum of money.

In addition to dental implants and orthodontics, two gold mines with high customer unit prices, projects with lower customer unit prices but higher frequency are also driving factors that cannot be ignored. Data from iResearch shows that among the continued growth in oral consumption, 67% of consumers consume tooth cleaning items, 13% have tooth fillings, and 8% have whitening items.

There is no doubt that in addition to health awareness, paying for appearance has become the core driving force of the dental economy.

The rising market size tells the story of the dental economy from another angle: Expensiveness is not a shortcoming of the product, nor is it an obstacle to its popularity.

In the past ten years, China’s dental economic market as a whole has shown a steady growth trend. After the market size exceeded 100 billion yuan in 2019, it is expected that the market size will reach 140 billion yuan in 2022.

The dental economic industry continues to grow at a high rate, dental aesthetics has become a trend, and capital and entrepreneurs have begun to pour in.

There is a saying in the capital circle about the medical industry: "Golden eyes, silver teeth, and copper bones." The three fields of ophthalmology, dentistry, and orthopedics are very popular among capital in the medical and health field. Among them, "teeth" , is one of the hottest tracks in the capital market in recent years.

According to the "Investment and Financing Data Report on the Oral and Dental Track in the Past Ten Years" released this year by the "Enterprise Information Query Platform" research institute, in the ten years since 2011, the amount of financing disclosed by the oral and dental track has exceeded 169 billion, with 389 financing incidents.

Specific to the annual financing amount, data from the "Enterprise Information Query Platform" show that in the ten years since 2011, the popularity of financing in the oral and dental track has fluctuated, but overall it has remained at a high level.

The total amount of financing in 2018 reached the highest level in ten years, with a total of 3.913 billion yuan and 53 cases; and before 2021 is even halfway through, the amount of financing in the oral and dental track has already reached 2.914 billion yuan, with a total of 26 cases, and the full-year data is expected to break a new high.

Another data from the "Enterprise Information Query Platform" shows that in 2010, there were 1,703 registered dental medical-related companies nationwide, and by the end of 2020, it had reached 135,500, an increase of nearly 8 times in ten years.

From the perspective of the industrial chain, the dental economy includes upstream medical devices and medical consumables, midstream dental medical service providers and distributors, and downstream dental medical institutions.

Relevant data shows that my country’s oral device market size reached 23.371 billion yuan in 2019, an increase of 9.50% from 21.340 billion yuan in 2018. It is expected that the market size of the oral device industry will reach 28.83 billion yuan in 2021.

Compared with traditional oral CT, intraoral scanners, high-end orthodontic brackets and other imported machinery, domestic instruments have begun to penetrate and replace them from many angles, such as CBCT (cone beam CT), Oral scan, orthodontic products, etc.

With the rise of invisible orthodontics, domestic brands have occupied nearly 70% of the market share in the invisible braces market, representatives of which are Age Angel and Invisalign.

In June this year, Times Angel was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its current market value exceeds HK$70 billion. Its prospectus revealed the secrets of the invisible orthodontic industry.

In 2020, based on completed cases, the total market share of Times Angel and Invisalign in the domestic invisible correction market was 82.4%, of which Times Angel accounted for 41%, and the gross profit margin exceeded 70%.

Times Angel’s four mainstream invisible aligner products are all priced at more than 20,000, which “guarantees” the high unit price of invisible orthodontics from the source.

In terms of midstream oral medical services, the main business operations of oral medical institutions include oral surgery, oral medicine, dental restoration, orthodontics, tooth whitening, etc.

In the more segmented field of dental services, pediatric teeth, implants and orthodontics are known as the troika of the dental economy. Among them, implantology accounts for 32%, pediatrics accounts for 18%, orthodontics accounts for 25%, and the comprehensive market accounts for 25%.

The prospectus of Jiahong Dental, which is sprinting for A-shares, reveals the password for huge profits in the dental implant industry: from 2018 to 2020, the gross profit margins of Jiahong Dental’s main business were 49.74%, 47.58% and 43.21 respectively. %.

Dentures that cost hundreds of yuan can be sold for thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan after entering the consumer market, and medical institutions also have firm control over pricing. CCTV Finance reported that the current cost of dental implants ranges from 8,000 to 20,000 yuan per tooth depending on the materials. The cost of implanting a full mouth of teeth ranges from 100,000 to 500,000 yuan. And if you do a digital aesthetic project, that is, all-ceramic dental veneers, the cost is about 100,000 yuan.

In terms of downstream medical institutions, they are roughly divided into public institutions and private institutions, including dental departments in general hospitals, dental specialty hospitals, chain dental clinics and individual dental clinics, etc.

From a consumption perspective, oral and dental institutions can be subdivided into dental service institutions (mainly orthodontics and implants, etc.), dental materials (implantation, orthodontic new material research and development and manufacturing), and the Internet Oral medical care (oral medical informatization, oral dental apps, online service platforms, etc.) and oral care (tooth cleaning, mouthwash, etc.).

Among them, data from the "Enterprise Information Query Platform" show that dental service institutions have the largest amount of financing, with 130 financings in ten years, with a total amount of nearly 10 billion yuan, mainly including Baibo Dental, Ruier Dental et al.

At the same time, dental medicine has also taken the "Internet +" express, with a disclosed financing amount of 1.765 billion yuan and as many as 95 financing incidents.

The "2020 Dental Medical White Paper" shows that the O2O model of online purchase of services and offline experience of services is becoming the mainstream of dental consumption. Among them, first-tier cities have become the main areas for Internet dental consumption. 88.5% of users make oral consumption via the Internet between 1 and 2 times.

In the broader consumer market, the oral economy is also showing strong penetration. In addition to toothpaste with a fixed frequency of use, the oral care fast-moving consumer goods track, mainly mouthwash, has also entered a period of acceleration. .

For example, brands such as Black, Colgate, Yunnan Baiyao and Listerine have also entered the market from FMCG products such as toothpaste and mouthwash, including sonic electric toothbrushes, toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste, toothpowder, and rinse products. Oral care fast-moving consumer products such as saliva, dental strips, and oral sprays are in full bloom. Emerging brands such as usmile, which has launched its listing, and Half, which has just completed a 400 million yuan Series B financing, have also begun to occupy a large market share.

The influx of capital and entrepreneurs has unleashed the imagination of the dental economy, but at the same time it has also exposed the shortcomings of the industry's transformation.

The "quantity" and "price" have both risen, highlighting the grandeur of the dental economy. This business, which is both medical and service, is showing a distinct turning point.

As Li Jin mentioned about the new consumption trend, after many comparisons, he chose an affordable dental hospital. The status of a public hospital made him feel more at ease. Before there is a substantial gap between price and service, choosing public hospitals may be the subconscious inertia of most consumers.

However, it is undeniable that "Internet + dental medical care" has become a trend, and the rise of dental digital platforms is accelerating.

Among them, there are Internet giants with traffic pools led by Alibaba and Meituan, emerging medical and aesthetic platforms such as SoYoung and Meibei, and vertical oral medical platforms such as Beige and Braces Home.

As the key to connecting the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, the digitalization of dental medical services is brewing opportunities for industry change and development.

For example, in mature commercial fields of the oral economy such as dental implants, orthodontics, and restorations, the intervention of digital programs such as 3D modeling and 3D printing can make dental care safer, more efficient, and more precise, and give birth to New industries such as remote diagnosis and treatment and Internet medical care have emerged. In addition, the application of big data and databases can also make diagnostic results more accurate, thereby bringing personalized oral medical services.

However, emerging markets often come with problems. Compared with the oral medical industry in traditional hospitals, Internet medical care has many pain points.

The "2020 Oral Medical White Paper" mentioned that the marketing expenses of the medical and aesthetic industry account for about 30% to 50% of the total cost, about 4,000 to 6,000 yuan per person. As a related business, the medical and aesthetic dentistry In China, marketing costs are relatively low, but still account for more than 30% of the total costs on average.

For platforms, the key to leveraging the 100 billion market is not only technology and services, but also the high cost of customer acquisition; for consumers, whether there is enough strength behind the extravagant marketing routines As a support, it is still the most difficult multiple-choice question before paying.

While dental service institutions are digitizing, emerging technologies have become an obstacle to lowering prices, and commercial insurance has gradually become a breaking point.

For example, the cost of an oral treatment reaches 50,000 yuan, and the consumption cycle is as long as one year. Once the 12-month interest-free payment form is launched, it will become the first choice of some consumers.

At the same time, financial products represented by dental insurance have begun to penetrate the dental medical service industry. The "dental + insurance" business closed-loop model has emerged in the industry, and more than half of the dental chain institutions Commercial insurance has been or is planned to be introduced.

In a series of turning points, it is undeniable that the domestic dental economy’s market size of hundreds of billions and its high annual compound growth rate are not enough to cover up the problems and chaos in the industry.

First of all, small and medium-sized players have a narrow living space and frequent chaos.

Take invisible orthodontics, one of the driving forces of the industry, as an example. Two leading players occupy 80% of the market share, and their business model is only upstream and does not directly reach consumers. .

Therefore, many startups need equipment supply and can only define themselves as sales channels for leading manufacturers. The orthodontic devices used by startups are provided by the manufacturers, and the doctors responsible for using them are also designated by the manufacturers. This makes many seemingly independent institutions actually become the sales departments of the head manufacturers.

This model further lowers the entry barrier. You only need funds and stores to enter. Products, equipment, manpower, and even publicity and marketing plans can all be streamlined.

Lowering the threshold has also squeezed downstream profit margins, and the already high unit price has suppressed the release of demand in the sinking market, and "black clinics" have taken the opportunity to squeeze in.

Secondly, talent is scarce.

Orthodontics is the gold mine of the dental economy, but it is also the most professional branch of the dental field. Since 2000, orthodontics has officially become a postgraduate course, but the time span from a medical student to a doctor is usually 5-8 years.

According to the CIC Consulting Report, in 2019, there were approximately 210,000 general dentists and 5,300 orthodontists in China, which means that there were only 14.8 general dentists and 0.4 orthodontists per 100,000 people on average. Orthodontist.

Compared with the domestic dental prevalence rate of 97.6%, the scarcity of dental medical talents has become a constraint on the development of the industry. The speed of cultivating excellent dental doctors is far slower than the growth rate of market demand. This problem needs to be solved from the policy level.

Having good teeth is called the "Hermès of the mouth", not only for health and pain-free, but also for beauty. Confidence in appearance is often the most easily detectable self-confidence.

Income and consumption willingness have both increased, and demand has spurred a 100-billion-dollar outlet. Capital and talents have gathered on the outlet, and the dental economy has entered the fast lane.

But under the pressure of giants, are there still opportunities for entrepreneurs to change the industry? In other words, will a dental implant costing ten thousand yuan apiece and invisible braces worth tens of thousands yuan a time be the eternal code of wealth?