CANFIELD, Ohio – Refresh Dental Management Inc., recognized by Inc. magazine last year for its growth, is poised to double its size in terms of locations and employment this year, its co-founder says.
“The company is looking at doubling in 2014” to more than 60 locations, said Ken Cooper, who co-founded the company.
Refresh Dental, which opened its 33rd clinic on Mahoning Avenue in October, was founded in 2008. The concept was to provide business services to dentists, Cooper says.
Typically partnering with a dentist already practicing in the community, the company takes over functions such as accounting, human resources, technology and information technology, accounts payable and accounts receivable.
“That’s all taken away and centralized at our corporate office,” Cooper said. “That allows the dentist to focus on dentistry, which is what they went to school to do and that’s what they’re passionate about, serving patients and their dental needs.”
The clinics also offer longer hours of operation – 50 to 60 hours per week – than traditional stand-alone practices. Each clinic typically has one to two dentists, two to four hygienists and four to five support staff.
“This is the wave of the future. This is the way dentistry and medicine are going to be. We’re going to be part of larger groups and want to be on board with that,” said Dr. Terrence Flynn, dentist with the Austintown Refresh Dental clinic.
In 2013, Refresh Dental ranked 441st on Inc.’s 32nd annual list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. It placed 11th among the Top 100 Ohio companies and 35th among the Top 100 health companies. This year’s anticipated growth would bring employment from around 450 to about 1,000 at year end, according to Cooper.
Cooper founded Refresh Dental as Dental Express, then partnered with Dr. Andrew Matta, chief medical officer, and Dr. Chad Wise, chief operating officer, to form Refresh Dental Management in December 2010.
Now operating as North American Dental Group, the company has 33 locations throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania, including 24 operating under the Refresh Dental Brand, three as Dental Express and six as Corner Dental.
Its headquarters is in Canfield.
“The business model was right for the time,” Cooper said. With several dentists retiring and graduates exiting dental school with high tuition debt, “it’s really a perfect environment for what we do,” he explained. “It allows the graduate dentist to come in out of school without having to go to the bank to borrow to buy a practice. They can come right to work, they can earn a good living and the retiring dentist can sunset at their own pace as opposed to selling and then having to leave the day that they sell.”
In addition to services common to dental practices and the extended hours, the chain offers cosmetic procedures, implants and surgery. “If we can’t offer the services onsite, we can refer within our network,” Flynn said.
The focus for 2014 is on the “one dental home” concept, Cooper said, which is premised on continuity of care.
“A patient can come to any of our locations, receive their normal general dentistry services -- cleaning, exam, X-rays, restorative services, diagnostics -- but when a specialty service is needed such as an endodontic, root canal, oral surgery for extraction, prosthodontics, any of those services -- we have rotating specialists that come into the practice. This allows the patient to stay in the one dental home and receive all their services under one roof, and we think that’s the future of dentistry,” Cooper said.
The company is beginning to reach its peak in terms of locations in the Mahoning Valley region, although it is looking at possibilities in Sharon, Pa., as well as Columbiana, he noted.
“We continue to look in the Warren market. We only have one location in Niles so outliers such as Champion [and] Cortland, those are all opportunities for us,” Cooper said.
He anticipates the bulk of the company’s growth will remain in Ohio and Pennsylvania, “but we are looking nationally now. We’re looking at a couple markets out west,” he said.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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