by 
Great Expressions Dental Centers affiliates with Middletown Dental Group (NY)
Great Expressions Dental Centers (GEDC) (Southfield, MI) announced it will affiliate with Middletown Dental Group (Middletown, NY). Middletown Dental Group provides a wide variety of oral health care services, including hygiene, oral surgery and periodontics. With the partnership, Middletown Dental Group will expand into orthodontics while also providing patients access to GEDC’s Smile Protection Dental Plan. The affiliation will increase GEDC’s office footprint in New York to 21 locations.
Guardian Life Insurance supports Children’s Health Fund in $1M partnership for oral health
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and Children’s Health Fund have teamed up to ensure children do not fall behind in school because of their dental health. Guardian has committed $1 million to provide quality dental care to children in underserved communities across the US. Guardian is a lead sponsor of Children’s Health Fund’s dental program and the donation will fund screenings, clinics, and mobile dental services for children in communities including New York, the District of Colombia, Dallas, and Idaho, over the next two years.
“This program brings together two organizations that are passionate about giving children the opportunity to be healthy,” said Dennis Walto, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Health Fund. “Guardian’s support allows us to reach children across the country with comprehensive health services and develop engaging programming that will help teach children and their families about good oral hygiene and the importance of dental health in a fun and integrated way.” Walto added, “…children with good oral hygiene practices is definitely something to smile about.”
Kool Smiles serves over 550 children in need during 4th annual Sharing Smiles Day
More than 550 children in 13 states and DC received free dental care during Kool Smiles’ (Marietta, GA) 4th annual Sharing Smiles Day on May 20, 2018. Volunteer doctors and staff from 49 Kool Smiles offices participated in the free day of dental care for uninsured and underinsured children. Nationwide, more than 2,100 children have been served by the free care day since 2015.
“While Kool Smiles is proud to accept many forms of insurance, including Medicaid, TRICARE and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, we also recognize that too many children do not have access to dental care because they have inadequate insurance or face gaps in coverage,” said Dr. Brad Bryan, Managing Dental Director for Kool Smiles. “Sharing Smiles Day is one way Kool Smiles is working to close this coverage gap and help all kids get the preventive dental care and treatments they need to have happy, healthy smiles.”
Birner Dental Management hires new hygiene director
Birner Dental Management Services (Denver, CO) appointed Marisa Dolce as director of hygiene. In this role, Dolce will be responsible for expanding the company’s hygiene practice. She previously was the national director of hygiene for Great Expressions Dental Centers.
Argus Dental & Vision names new SVP of national sales
Argus Dental & Vision (Tampa, FL) hired Jeremy Earp as SVP of national sales. As SVP, Earp will align sales and marketing efforts around the company’s goal to build networks of agents and brokers for Argus’ commercial products nationally. Earp holds life and health insurance licenses in several states and will leverage his experience to develop business through national distribution channels. Earp most recently was regional sales director for Ameritas.
DN Orthodontics joins Smile Doctors
Smile Doctors (Georgetown, TX) announced that DN Orthodontics joined its family of affiliated practices. DN Orthodontics spans 10 office locations across southeast Louisiana and Mississippi.
“We are thrilled to welcome DN Orthodontics to the Smile Doctors family,” said Dr. Scott Law, one of the founders of Smile Doctors. “Drs. Devereux and Nguyen and their team have built a phenomenal practice centered on outstanding patient care, and we look forward to continuing their reputation for excellence as we expand our footprint in the Gulf Coast region.”
All 10 DN Orthodontics locations will maintain their current team members and be rebranded as Smile Doctors. The offices are located in Houma, Hammond, Luling, Metairie, Harvey, Chalmette, Slidell, and Covington, Louisiana; and Gulfport, and Picayune, Mississippi.
“We have chosen Smile Doctors, a doctor-owned and managed team, to help us continue to provide the best care for our patients and a wonderful culture for our team,” said Drs. Devereux and Nguyen. “Both of our organizations believe in putting people first, and we are honored to join the Smile Doctors family so we can better serve our patients and community.”
KKR finalizes deal to acquire majority interest in Heartland Dental
Heartland Dental (Effingham, IL) finalized its agreement with KKR (New York, NY), an investment firm. With the agreement, KKR will acquire a majority interest in Heartland Dental from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and other existing shareholders. Under the terms, Ontario Teachers’ will retain sizeable ownership and will continue as a significant partner to the company. Patrick Bauer, President and CEO of Heartland Dental; along with Heartland Dental’s founder and executive chairman, Dr. Rick Workman; Heartland Dental’s executive leadership team; and supported dentists and employees will remain significant shareholders. In connection with the KKR agreement, Heartland Dental also recently completed a debt offering which improved its financial flexibility.
“We are excited to finalize this deal and move forward with both KKR and Ontario Teachers’ support. This opens up a multitude of opportunities for our company,” said Patrick Bauer, President and CEO of Heartland Dental. “It’s our vision to be the leader in dentistry. With our ongoing growth, we continue to work toward that goal each day. Ontario Teachers’ support and guidance over the past five years has helped the Company lead the way in dentistry. With KKR’s proven experience, expertise and resources this only adds another layer of benefit to what we seek to accomplish.”
New teledentistry association launches
The American Teledentistry Association (ATDA) is a new association that focuses on using teledentistry to increase access to care. “The immediate goal of the ATDA is to educate dental professionals and the public about the benefits of teledentistry,” said Dr. Marc Ackerman, Executive Director of the ATDA. “Teledentistry has the ability to help patients get access to needed dental care they deserve, both affordably and conveniently. It’s our mission to modernize access to care through teledentistry with advocacy for the implementation of innovative teledentistry guidelines and solutions.” Ackerman is the director of orthodontics at Boston Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of developmental biology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
