Apollo White Dental(AWD) will invest another Rs.20 crore for its pan India market foray to take the total number of clinics from the current 73 to 100 by the end of the year. It has already pumped in Rs.35 crore for the 73 clinics for which the funds are raised via debt and equity infusion.
The expansion is envisaged to ensure easy accessibility of dental care in the country. It is also maximising the ability to offer high quality care with trained specialists and affordable treatment costs to propel growth from dental tourism. Procedures from implants, to root canal, crowns and wisdom tooth removal among others are at one tenth and one eight of the cost in India compared to UK-US and Gulf countries.
Further, the need for hi-tech dental clinics is driven by a significant shift in changing lifestyles and dual income homes spurring the propensity. People look for beyond conventional neighbourhood dental clinics to opt for sophisticated centres of tooth care, VS Venkatesh, chief executive officer, Apollo White Dental told Pharmabiz.
Dentistry is not palliative care but is an alert to thwart fatal diseases that could emanate from a decayed tooth or gum infection. Therefore, dental examinations are recommended during health master checkups. The growing educated work force is also beginning to be attentive on bad breadth and stained teeth. This has created a big demand for not just conservative dentistry but painless interventions and cosmetic dentistry, he added.
Dental tourism specifically offers a huge growth opportunity. In India a tooth implant costs around Rs.50,000 as against Rs.6 lakh globally. This has led AWD to rope in existing private dentists' clinics giving the latter a big leap into advanced technology and patient access not just in the metros but Tier II cities. Currently, private practice dentists at Mumbai are in discussions with AWD.
AWD has a standalone presence in Mysore which also has a clinic catering to foreign patients in addition to Pune, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, and Tirupati. It has also unveiled the concept of an exclusive 7-star dental spa at seven locations including Chennai Mumbai and Delhi with manicure and pedicure and tooth care under one roof.
Typically an AWD clinic has a Digital Imaging System, ‘CBCT’ to record patients’ dental history for future referrals besides Cerac machine, which is a CAD operated instant crown maker. It utilizes social media and mobile platforms, to communicate with patients and a dental app provides appointments, tooth care tips and reminders to visit dentists once in 3-6 months.