Striving to Break Through the Limits of Dental Care
Introducing CAD/CAM to Establish a One-Day System
Focusing on Restoring Natural Teeth Beyond Aesthetics
Integrating the Entire Process, from Materials to Equipment
Expanding Beyond Korea to the Global Market, Gaining Attention in Japan and Elsewhere
Accelerating Global Adoption Through AI and Automation
CEO Kang Jeong-ho Appears on the YouTube Channel “Joo Earn Gyu”
Kang Jeong-ho, CEO of Minish Technology, appeared on the YouTube channel “Joo Earn Gyu.”
“Joo Eun-kyu” is a channel led by producer Joo Eun-kyu, the creator behind the YouTube economics channel “Shin Saimdang,” which has amassed 1.8 million subscribers. The channel shares candid insights into the world of business and entrepreneurship—including stories from the front lines of this competitive field—with its 690,000 subscribers.
This interview with CEO Kang Jeong-ho was particularly special, as Producer Joo Eun-kyu was also someone who had received a Minish. At the time, Producer Joo Eun-kyu even listed Minish as one of the 10 things he had spent money and time on over the past year that he didn’t regret.
The reason Producer Joo Eun-kyu visited Minish once again was precisely because of its “technological capabilities.” He wanted to hear directly from CEO Kang Jeong-ho about how the Minish treatment technology came to be and where it is headed.
Here are the key points.
Discovering the Future of Dental Care Through the Lens of Technology
“Minish” was born out of CEO Kang Jeong-ho’s intense deliberation on how to overcome the limitations of traditional dental practices.
In particular, CEO Kang Jeong-ho sought to envision the future of dental care through the lens of technology. It was CAD/CAM that caught his eye at that time.
Up until then, CAD/CAM was known as a technology used in the design industry, not in the medical field.
CEO Kang Jeong-ho decided to apply this CAD/CAM technology to dental laboratory work. He believed that the future of dental technology lay in processing and designing data captured from inside a patient’s mouth using a computer, and then having a robot produce the final product.
Through this, CEO Kang Jeong-ho pioneered the introduction of the so-called “One-Day” system into dental practices, enabling dental laboratory work—which previously took about a week—to be completed in just one day.
Thanks to this, patients can now complete their treatment—from imaging to fabrication and placement—in a single day and go home, without having to make multiple trips to the hospital.
Dreaming of “Life-Saving Treatment,” Not Just Cosmetic Procedures
CEO Kang Jeong-ho’s dedication to technological advancement did not stop there. In particular, he wanted to find a way to “restore” natural teeth as much as possible.
Human teeth are naturally designed to last until the age of 50 to 60, but in today’s era of living to 100, they can no longer keep up with that lifespan, causing many people to suffer from problems such as tooth wear and discoloration.
Because of these issues, many people opt for treatments such as crowns or veneers.
However, this process can sometimes result in unnecessary tooth removal. CEO Kang Jeong-ho wanted to solve this problem. He hoped that as many people as possible could keep their natural teeth for life with minimal removal.
As a result, CEO Kang Jeong-ho conducted extensive research to find a treatment method that would preserve natural teeth as much as possible. The key was to find a material that most closely resembled natural teeth and to process it so that it was thinner, more precise, and more intricately crafted.
Specifically, the outer surface of the damaged tooth was restored with a ceramic material with physical properties similar to those of natural tooth enamel, while the inner dentin was restored with a material having properties similar to those of dentin, in order to restore the tooth’s original function as much as possible.
The results were clearly evident. CEO Kang Jeong-ho said that, at some point, his patients’ teeth began to show noticeable improvements in health. He added that patients reported not only that their teeth looked better aesthetically, but also that chronic issues, such as tooth sensitivity, had improved.
And that’s how “tooth restoration treatment,” Minish, was born.
Bringing Together Materials, Equipment, and 50 Manufacturing Processes
CEO Kang Jeong-ho’s determination to advance Minish’s technology continued from that point on.
In collaboration with a leading German materials company, we secured materials unique to Minish and customized state-of-the-art machining equipment and facilities.
In addition, the entire process—from the patient’s arrival at the hospital until the completion of treatment—was categorized and systematized into approximately 50 steps. Various software solutions were also developed, including a remote communication system for dentists and dental technicians.
“Minish Technology” was established to consolidate these technologies and promote their wider adoption.
Consequently, Minish’s potential is also being highly regarded. Recently, Minish Technology was valued at 150 billion won and secured an investment of 30 billion won from VIG Partners, a domestic private equity firm.
Efforts to Reach More People
Over the past 20 years, Minish has built a database of 230,000 treatment records, thereby validating its technical expertise.
Furthermore, this technological expertise is garnering positive responses not only in Korea but also in advanced countries overseas. The response in Japan, in particular, has been overwhelming. Currently, more than 60 dental clinics in Japan are actively incorporating Minish into their patient care.
CEO Kang Jeong-ho said he is currently considering “how to bring Minish to more people.” To that end, Minish is exploring the adoption of AI and automation technologies based on the technical expertise, know-how, and data it has accumulated to date.
The company is also devoting significant effort to education and clinical research for dental professionals. Through these efforts, it is conveying not only Minish’s treatment techniques but also its philosophy of “preserving natural teeth.”
A future in which “Minish” is introduced to the world as “K-Dental,” following in the footsteps of K-Beauty and K-Culture.
Creating a world where more people can keep their natural teeth for as long as possible.
That is the path that Minish Technology and CEO Kang Jeong-ho are blazing together.
