Oral Dentists urges Medanta to develop workwear services

The collaboration between Oral Dentists and Medanta began at the Dental Days in 2010, when the Oral station managers came to admire Medanta's beautiful workwear. "I had forbidden them from going to the Medanta department to dream," laughs Oral's purchasing manager Jaana Syväoja. Oral's first collection designed by Medanta was launched to the staff in Dipoli in 2011.

Oral's department managers stood up to applaud - that's how well the collection met their expectations. From the beginning, Oral has seen workwear as a factor in building the employer image: "You could say that it's one of our competitive recruitment methods," says Jaana Syväoja.

“In clinical work, the antimicrobial properties of clothing have also been an important feature. We wanted to conduct a test with Oral on the effectiveness and impact of antimicrobial treatment,” describes Medanta’s CEO for product development and research, Anu Kivelä. The test was conducted at Oral Hammaslääkärien’s Turku office, and the antimicrobial efficacy of the workwear was tested using the SFS-EN ISO 20743 method under laboratory conditions after the clinical use of the clothing. According to the test results, 99.9% of the microbes on the textile surface had died after 24 hours of contamination. More than 90% of the used workwear was microbiologically clean after the work shift. Work shirts that had been in use for up to six days without washing were still microbiologically clean. After just two days of use, the control shirts were all above the limit value for the number of microbes allowed for clean laundry.

In 2019, the collaboration was expanded. A flexible, full-service workwear service built to the customer’s needs was created, which included not only clothing but also washing, maintenance, storage and logistics. “The close collaboration is well described by the fact that it has been in the interest of both parties to understand the other’s business more deeply than usual,” says Syväoja. Together, they also discussed the effects of rising logistics and energy costs on both businesses, and sought solutions aimed at increasing efficiency and optimizing productivity that are sustainable from the perspective of both the customer and the service provider.

A new contract period started at the beginning of 2023. “It was preceded by joint development work and the construction of KPI indicators,” says Anu Kivelä. The collection has been updated and further optimized to make it even more compact and versatile, without compromising on the requirements of high work well-being and satisfaction and brand image. Common ESG goals were also created for the new contract period. The goals focused on, among other things, extending the life cycle with an optimal maintenance process, renewing materials such as bio-based hemp gravel material, continuously reviewing the distribution network and routes, and a common principle of continuous learning & development.

“Together, we have gained new ESG insights and understood how critical a close strategic partnership is to business success. We want to help our customers succeed and grow. The best part is that our own business grows with our customers’ success. Oral is a pioneer in its field, as is Medanta. We share many values ​​and I am grateful that our common story continues,” says Kivelä.

“When the staff is satisfied with the work clothes and the necessary support services are working, we can safely focus on the continuous development of our own business and customer experience,” says Jaana Syväoja.

Oral Hammaslääkärit is Finland's largest private chain of oral healthcare services, offering high-quality basic dental care and dental hygienist services as well as comprehensive specialized dental care services.

• 1600 dental health professionals
• over 70 locations across Finland
• in over 40 locations
• 92% customer satisfaction rate.