DSD company is pleased to celebrate the opening of the first DSD Clinic in China, in the metropolis of Shanghai. Which is also the first DSD Clinic in the whole of Asia! And what a beautiful clinic it is...
This is a momentous occasion for DSD, which signifies that Chinese dentists are adopting Digital Smile Design concepts and methods, in search of ways to differentiate themselves, increase case acceptance and offer the full suite of digital dentistry in their clinics.
We spoke to clinic owner, Dr Herman Hsu, about the inception of his DSD Clinic, it’s trendy, yet functional patient-focussed design and why he chose to join the DSD Clinic network.
- These beautiful flowers represent the beginning and blooming of the clinic and its future growth.
The beginning of the DSD journey
Like many dental professionals, Dr Hsu’s journey begins from childhood. “I come from a family of dentists. Both my grandfather and my father are dentists in Taiwan,” he explains.
After studying biochemistry at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he went on to study dentistry at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Dr Hsu discovered DSD fairly early on in his career and had only been practicing dentistry for a few years when he first started exploring what Digital Smile Design has to offer.
“I attended my first DSD course with Christian Coachman in Sweden in 2014, which was also my first time visiting Europe. I was so inspired by everything Christian was saying and his concepts and methods of creating patient presentations and allowing patients to test out their new smile.
I then went back to China with all this new knowledge and was excited to share my experience and learnings with other clinicians, before going on to attend Residency 2 for a greater, more in-depth look at the clinical techniques and workflows in 2016.
Here, I was awarded my DSD Mastership, which was the first step to becoming a DSD Key Opinion Leader, which has enabled me to educate dentists from all across Asia about DSD.
As part of my teaching experience with Digital Smile Design, I took part in DSD Residency 1 Shanghai in 2019, which was the first event of its kind to take place in Shanghai.
And after working hard to be where I am today, I’m now proudly able to say that I’m the first DSD Clinic owner in the whole of Asia.”
Releasing every patient’s esthetic potential
Dr Hsu named his DSD Clinic ‘D4’, which stands for ‘delicate, digital dental design’. He embarked on this ambitious project with one thing in mind – releasing every patient’s esthetic potential.
Like many dentists who are introduced to Digital Smile Design, he understands the necessity to document patients in a way that makes it easy for all team members and external collaborators, such as dental labs and the DSD Planning Center, to work on a case.
Integral to DSD’s Emotional Dentistry concepts is D4’s DSD Room, where all the patient’s pictures and videos are taken to create the iconic DSD ‘Emotional Presentation’. “Having a fully-optimized space with all the necessary equipment in place at all times makes the documentation protocol easier to tackle, with better quality images and videos as the outcome every time,” he says.
“My main goal for the clinic was clear. I wanted to design a clinic where my team and I are able to fully digitalize every single process that happens in the clinic and begin to build up a full digital dental documentation for every patient that comes through the doors of D4.
For me, it’s important to be able to understand and learn about each patient’s dental journey through digital technology, allowing us to plan treatments more efficiently and integrate DSD into every major treatment that we provide,” he continues.
Creating a unique experience for the patients
Not only is D4 unique for being the first DSD Clinic to open its doors in China, but Dr Hsu wants to enlist the expertise of other related professionals, to enhance his treatments and offer something more than an average dental clinic provides.
“We have already transformed the treatment process by making it fully digital, but we are planning to share and communicate with other facially-related professionals to further increase treatment value and the overall clinic experience for the patients.”
Designing a DSD Clinic that is both optimized for digital workflows and aesthetic
It’s no mean feat to achieve a clinic design that is both visually impressive and perfect for day to day clinic life, but Dr Hsu has managed to strike this balance perfectly.
“The whole clinic design is integrated with DSD protocols, to speed up and optimize the digital workflows,” he explains.
This includes creating a space where team members can discuss treatment options with patients and bold design features throughout that add to the luxurious feel, which is key to building a space that doesn’t feel too clinical.
Central to any DSD Clinic design is creating a waiting area that is welcoming and esthetically pleasing, and this has been achieved here in D4 with stylish furnishing and sleek cabinets and lines that draw the eye into different areas of the clinic.
“I’m most proud of our huge DSD logo centrepiece, which symbolizes that DSD started with 2D designs, but now as technology progresses, we’re able to work with 3D designs,” he adds.
A world-class collaboration
Key to making this collaboration between Dr Hsu and DSD possible was Peipei Cao, DSD’s General Manager of Greater China.
Here’s what he had to say about the clinic opening…
“This is the first DSD Clinic in China and Asia and I am very proud of this collaboration with Dr Hsu and his world-class clinic. I am particularly impressed with features such as the 3D wall decoration and the purpose-built photography room, which makes clever use of a small space.
We have more DSD Clinics in the pipeline and we’re excited for the future of DSD, not only in China, but the whole of Asia.”
Merging technology with psychology to enhance every step of getting a new smile
DSD’s Juan J. Gomez, Sales & Business Development Manager Americas, is also a key figure in realizing the dreams of dental clinic owners into becoming DSD Clinics and he agrees that the joining of D4 to our clinic network is a huge turning point for the company.
“DSD loves China. It's not only one of the most interesting markets for us, but we also love its culture, its people, and the beautiful mix of the old and the new. We see this every time we go to our Shanghai office.
Having the first DSD Clinic there is paramount for our strategy and our future, and it's something we're incredibly proud of. DSD is a company made by pioneers for pioneers, so we're really going to go out of our way to help Dr. Herman Hsu turn his vision into a success story.
From the way, we analyze the facial features of the patient before we start designing a new smile, to the staging of a perfect second appointment – where the patient sees their new smile revealed – to every other appointment until the real smile is delivered with an outstanding level of predictability.
DSD is for everybody. Every person in the world deserves to smile with confidence. It doesn't matter where they are or how much money they have. DSD company has solutions for dentists all over the world that empower them to deliver smiles that are unique, natural, and beautiful.
Read more about other DSD Clinic success stories here, including a look inside the world’s first fully-optimized DSD Clinic, how to continually improve as a clinic owner or find out how you can start your own DSD Clinic journey today.