Oracare Group becomes the most extensive dental service provider in Southeast Asia after partnering with Philippine-based UDC.

SINGAPORE - 6 November 2023 - Private equity-backed Oracare Group (“Oracare” or the “Group”), the Singapore-headquartered dental group, is now Southeast Asia’s (“SEA") largest dental services group by geographical presence after joining forces with premier dental chain, Uy Dental Clinic Group (“UDC”), in the Philippines. Oracare now leads the regional market with a footprint in four SEA countries comprising Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. 

UDC is a multi-specialty oral care services and dental diagnostics group which operates the largest dental network in Metro Manila of 17 dental clinics served by a team of 54 experienced dental professionals. The alliance underscores Oracare’s approach of supporting dental entrepreneurs to scale and professionalise their business, providing robust foundations to enable future growth and profitability improvement, whilst enhancing patient care and treatment outcome.  

With UDC in its network, Oracare’s reach in SEA has increased to 62 dental clinics with approximately 652 staff and clinicians, from 45 dental clinics and 533 employees previously. 

Through this partnership, Oracare has gained immediate access into the significant growth opportunities that the under-served Philippine dental market offers, where the dentist: patient ratio remains relatively low at 1:4,000 compared to developed economies like Singapore and the United States with ratios of 1:2,200 and 1:1,700 respectively[1]. 

[1] Source: World Health Organization 

Mr. Leon Luai, co-founder and CEO of Oracare Group, said, “Oracare is now SEA’s largest dental group in terms of the number of countries through our partnership with UDC. UDC is one of the most well-recognised dental brands in Philippines and we are excited about what the future holds for our partnership, particularly given the relatively low penetration rate of dental care in the country and the untapped growth opportunities in other cities beyond Metro Manila, such as Davao, Cebu and General Santos, where UDC currently does not operate in." 

UDC was founded by Dr Charlston Uy in 2010 and has grown rapidly from a single clinic in Lacson Street, Manila into the largest dental network in Metro Manila. UDC is managed by team of experienced dentists and dental specialists and provides high quality dental services to a middle-income demographic, comprising both local and expatriate patients, in the Philippines.

Elaborated Mr. Luai, “We will work closely with UDC to enhance group-wide growth and synergy through the robust and professionalised corporate structure and governance framework that we offer, which allows our network partners to benefit from the scale economies and technology-driven advantages of the Oracare platform whilst reducing the time spent on non-clinical operations. We have proven the efficacy of our business model with MOS Dental in Thailand in 2019 and are confident that we can replicate this with UDC.”

Dr Charlston Uy, Founder and CEO of UDC, said “We were intrigued and inspired by the success story of MOS Dental in Thailand, where with Oracare’s support, it doubled its number of clinics and profitability whilst still placing patient care at the forefront. We believe this partnership with Oracare will amplify UDC’s capabilities and leverage the expertise and resources of both entities to offer top-notch dental services and innovative solutions as well as a broader range of dental care products.”

Previously in 2019, Oracare acquired a controlling stake in MOS Dental, the second largest dental group in Bangkok and has helped grown MOS Dental’s network of clinics from 14 to 30 today. After joining Oracare, MOS Dental was given the support to implement and upgrade its professional systems and protocols along with a corporate infrastructure that has helped scale its expansion outside of Bangkok and consolidated its position further as one of the market leaders in Thailand.

Dr Charlston remains CEO of UDC and will work closely with Oracare to execute plans to expand the footprint of UDC in the Philippines. Besides geographical expansion, the Group will also look at continuous investment in staff training, technology and patient care, ensuring that high clinical standards are maintained across all clinics.

Concluded Mr Luai, “This marks the beginning of Oracare’s next phase of growth as we leverage our market leadership to generate more value to our patients and network partners whilst continuing to provide quality dental services. We are also looking to streamline more of our processes to create more value for our customers as we derive more synergies, economies of scale and cost efficiencies from our operating markets across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.”

In recognition of this strategic alliance, Oracare and UDC jointly hosted a celebration on 27 October 2023, in Manila, which saw an attendance of nearly 210 people, including board of directors, management and staff of the two companies as well as business associates. The event also saw keynote speeches by UDC’s Dr Charlston and Mr. Nick Watkins, Oracare’s Non-executive Chairman, to mark the Group’s significant milestone as a leading regional player.

Please see below for photos of the celebration event and management.

Celebration event to welcome UY Dental Clinic (UDC) into Oracare Group on 27 October 2023 in Manila, the Philippines. 
From left: Andy Cropp, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer – Oracare Group; Leon Luai, Co-founder and CEO – Oracare Group; Dr Charlston Uy, Founder and CEO – UDC; Nick Watkins, Non-executive Chairman – Oracare Group

Celebration event to welcome UY Dental Clinic (UDC) into Oracare Group on 27 October 2023 in Manila, the Philippines.
From left: Andy Cropp, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer – Oracare Group; Dr Charlston Uy, Founder and CEO – UDC; Leon Luai, Co-founder and CEO – Oracare Group.  

Leaders of the dental brands in the Oracare family at the Oracare-UDC celebration event on 27 October 2023 in Manila, the Philippines.
From left: Dr Matt Thompson, Co-founder and Clinical Director – Expat Dental; Leon Luai, Co-founder and CEO – Oracare Group; Dr Charlston Uy, Founder and CEO – UDC; Andy Cropp, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer – Oracare Group; Nick Watkins, Non-Executive Chairman – Oracare Group; Dr Adisorn Hanworawong, Founder and CEO – MOS Dental; Dr Paega Jarungidanan, Clinical Director – MOS Dental; Dr Shaun Thompson, Founder and Managing Director – Expat Dental.

The management and staff of the extended Oracare family coming together to unite cultures and combine strengths at the Oracare-UDC celebration event on 27 October 2023 in Manila, the Philippines.

One of UDC’s 17 clinics in Metro Manila, the Philippines. This Makati branch clinic is located at Avida Asten Tower 3 Malungay street, Makati City.