Dental Filling Flagged as "Mental Illness History," Taikang Oral Care Chain Faces Trust Crisis

Why Do Management Loopholes in AI · Taikang Dental Chain Occur Frequently?

【Text/Wang Li Editing/Zhou Yuanfang】

A routine dental filling appointment plunged Shanghai resident Ms. Lu into a nightmare. According to Ms. Lu, when she visited Taikang Bibo Dental in Shanghai, the dentist accidentally injured her adjacent healthy tooth during polishing. This medical error was already hard for Ms. Lu to accept, but what shocked her even more was that when she checked her medical records afterward, she found that the hospital had marked “History of mental illness” and “Refusal of treatment” in her records without providing any medical basis or psychiatric diagnosis.

This incident quickly drew widespread social attention. As of press time, Taikang Bibo Dental had not issued an official response. What pushed this hospital into the spotlight was also a far-reaching capital chain behind it.

The actual controller of Bibo Dental is the Chinese insurance giant Taikang Insurance Group. In 2018, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved Taikang Life to invest over 2 billion yuan to acquire a 51.56% stake in Bibo Medical, making the Taikang group the absolute controlling shareholder of this national dental chain—by March 2026, Taikang Life Insurance Co., Ltd. directly held 53.2881% of Taikang Dental Group, Taikang Health Industry Investment Holding Co. held another 24.4332%, totaling 77.72% control; Lenovo Holdings (03396.HK) held 21.2251%, ranking second; Zhuhai Jinchuang Pharmaceutical Industry Investment Fund (Limited Partnership) held 1.0535%.

However, on March 15, 2025, this organization appeared on CCTV in a completely different way—exposing the behavior of big data “customer acquisition software” stealing consumer privacy information on the 2025 CCTV “3.15 Gala.” The well-known chain brand Bibo Dental was revealed to have purchased illegal customer acquisition software “HuoYan Cloud.” From injuring healthy teeth and tampering with medical records to illegally obtaining user privacy, the true colors of this “silver sign” under Taikang are being gradually uncovered. The industry proverb “Golden Ophthalmology, Silver Dentistry, Copper Orthopedics” reflects the highly profitable nature of private dental clinics.

Bibo on Taikang’s Capital Chessboard

Bibo Dental was founded in 1993 by the six Li brothers, starting with “Liuhe Dental.” After several name changes and equity shifts, it gradually grew into one of the larger private dental chains nationwide. In 2014, Lenovo Holdings made a strategic investment, giving this private dental organization industry capital backing. At that time, Lenovo held 54.8% of Bibo Dental, and the two sides worked together to expand stores, reaching over 200 clinics in more than 50 cities nationwide.

However, Lenovo’s internet-style expansion logic failed fundamentally in the dental chair—oral medical care relies heavily on talent density and individual doctor skills, making standardization difficult. As more clinics opened, losses deepened. Lenovo announced that from 2015 to June 2018, Bibo Group suffered net losses of 369 million, 795 million, 793 million, and 356 million yuan respectively, totaling over 2.3 billion yuan in four years, leading Lenovo to eventually relinquish control.

Taikang’s emergence provided an exit path for Lenovo. In 2018, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced approval for Taikang Life to invest 2.06236 billion yuan to acquire 51.56% of Bibo Dental. Taikang’s clear goal was to incorporate the dental network into its “Insurance + Medical and Elderly Care” strategic loop, using Bibo’s nationwide chain resources to provide offline dental services for its dental insurance products, aiming to create a model similar to the U.S. Kaiser Permanente HMO.

After the acquisition, Taikang integrated Bibo. According to the latest business registration info, the shareholder structure of Taikang Dental Group Co., Ltd. is: Taikang Life Insurance Co., Ltd. holding 53.2881%, Taikang Health Industry Investment Holding Co. holding 24.4332%, totaling 77.72%; Lenovo Holdings (03396.HK) holding 21.2251%; Zhuhai Jinchuang Pharmaceutical Industry Investment Fund (Limited Partnership) holding 1.0535%. Under this structure, Taikang Dental Group fully controls Shanghai Bibo Bair Dental Hospital Investment Management Co., Ltd., which in turn fully controls Shanghai Taikang Bibo Dental Hospital Co., Ltd., forming a three-tier full ownership control chain.

Store Layout and Brand Strategy

Taikang Bibo has made strategic adjustments in its store layout. According to Taikang Dental’s official website, it currently operates over 130 specialized dental clinics in nearly 50 cities nationwide.

On the branding front, Taikang has promoted a “dual-brand” strategy. Since 2021, new clinics opened in Wuhan, Nanjing, and other places are directly named “Taikang Dental,” forming a coordinated development pattern with the original “Taikang Bibo Dental.” In 2025, the group officially renamed itself “Taikang Dental Group.”

However, the speed of brand reshaping has not fully addressed management issues at the grassroots level. Ms. Lu’s experience highlights potential loopholes in quality control within this system. Complaints related to Bibo Dental have long accumulated on platforms like Black Cat Complaints, 12315, and various consumer associations’ records.

The Other Side of “Silver Dentistry”: Industry Chaos and Trust Crisis Under Capital Influx

The saying “Golden Ophthalmology, Silver Dentistry” has been circulating in China’s medical industry for a long time. This ranking is not arbitrary but based on clear business logic: dental care has a high out-of-pocket ratio, less constrained by medical insurance pricing; information asymmetry exists, making it difficult for patients to judge the necessity and reasonable charges of treatments; plus, the high prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease in China sustains strong market demand. According to China Business Industry Research Institute, the Chinese dental medical service market was about 145.6 billion yuan in 2024, expected to reach 150.9 billion yuan in 2025, with a staggering potential patient base—about 718 million dental patients in 2024. This essential market has been a “golden track” for countless capital investments.

However, behind the frenzy of capital chasing, industry chaos is surging. Complaints about private dental hospitals on Black Cat Complaints are endless. Some consumers report rough extraction causing lip cuts; improper cleaning leading to broken front teeth, with clinics only offering a free electric toothbrush as compensation. Others bought orthodontic services for their children, which over two and a half years not only failed to improve alignment but worsened the “protruding mouth” and caused an overbite; some patients have undergone nearly nine years of orthodontics with four different doctors, with poor results and being asked to pay extra for new appliances.

Over-treatment practices are also alarming. In March 2026, a 70-year-old in Xi’an had six teeth extracted in a single implant surgery and died four days later. His family questioned that he had hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease, but the hospital only emphasized the “mature technology” of the surgery without fully informing about risks. Even more frightening, the hospital was exposed for using “red envelopes,” “golden eggs,” and offering rice, flour, and oil to induce elderly patients to spend. Under performance pressure, some private clinics had profit margins as high as 60%, with implant prices ranging from 3,000 to 25,000 yuan, with opaque and hidden charges becoming normal. Consumers have been misled into thinking they need implants, only to find additional costs for brackets, bone powder, and other materials after payment, far exceeding their budgets.

Fake Promotions and Customer Acquisition Chaos

False advertising and illegal customer acquisition practices are also rampant. The 2025 CCTV “3.15 Gala” exposed behaviors such as purchasing illegal customer acquisition software “HuoYan Cloud” to steal consumer privacy. Offline, low-price promotions, exaggerated effects, and concealed product information are common: some clinics falsely claim their own branded hyaluronic acid as a premium upgrade, charging thousands of yuan for injections with no effect; others promote “instant results” but find no therapeutic effect after payment, only to be asked for multiple treatments.

After the 2023 national procurement of dental implants, the average price of implant materials dropped over 55%, reducing the total cost of a single implant from about 15,000 yuan to around 1,000 yuan. This price revolution hit the core profitability of private clinics—implants and orthodontics, which once contributed over 60% of revenue—leading to a price war as public hospitals seized market share with their price advantages and insurance reimbursements. Upstream materials also experienced price drops: high-end implants from companies like Straumann and Nobel Biocare fell from around 5,000 yuan to about 1,850 yuan; mainstream Korean products like Osstem and Dente saw prices drop from about 1,500 yuan to around 770 yuan.

Beyond policies, reputation collapse is also a serious issue. Meituan’s survey shows that in 2024, only 38% of consumers are willing to choose private dental clinics, a sharp 42 percentage points decrease from 2021; the total investment and financing in the dental industry in 2024 was only 3.5 billion yuan, down 18% year-on-year, indicating market caution. Complaints about over-treatment, false advertising, and opaque fees have finally caused a backlash. As capital withdraws and regulations tighten, those clinics that focus on marketing over service and profits over safety will ultimately be voted out by consumers.