Aspen Dental

Last updated
Aspen Dental
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryCorporate dentistry
Dental support organization
Founded1998;27 years ago (1998)
FounderRobert Fontana (CEO)
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area served
United States
ServicesManages branded Dental practices
Parent The Aspen Group (TAG)
Website aspendental.com
Footnotes /references
[1]

Aspen Dental (known officially as Aspen Dental Management, Inc.) is an American dental support organization that supports Aspen Dental-branded dentistry locations. [2] Its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. [3] The organization provides support services to around 1100 independently owned dental offices in the United States. Aspen Dental branded dentistry locations are targeted at individuals who may not currently have a relationship with a dental provider or otherwise face financial or other barriers to care.

Contents

Aspen Dental in Franklin, North Carolina Aspen Dental clinic in Franklin, North Carolina.jpg
Aspen Dental in Franklin, North Carolina

History

Early history

Aspen Dental was founded in 1998 in East Syracuse, NY as the result of a merger between East Coast Dental, founded by Robert Fontana, and Upstate Dental, which Fontana had previously left in 1997. [4] [5]

By 2000, Aspen Dental had expanded to 33 locations in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. [6]

2006 to present

In 2006, private equity firm Ares Management acquired Aspen Dental for an undisclosed amount. [7] At the time of the acquisition, Aspen Dental operated 87 locations across seven states. [8]

In 2010, Leonard Green & Partners purchased Aspen Dental from Ares Management for about $500 million. [9] By August 2010, private equity firms were bidding on Aspen Dental and Kool Smiles, the two largest national chains of dental offices in the United States. [10]

Between October 2010 and July 2015, Aspen settled with state consumer protection authorities in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts and agreed to pay reimbursements to former patients and financial contributions to consumer protection probes in those states without admitting fault or wrongdoing. [11] [12]

In June 2012, a PBS series entitled Dollars and Dentists [13] produced by Frontline in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity described Aspen Dental's business model as one where dental services are advertised at steep discounts, but where patients were subsequently overcharged or given unnecessary treatments. [14] [15] [16] [17]

In 2015 the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of illegally owning dental practices and deceiving patients. [18] The lawsuit accused Aspen of violating laws in 22 states which allow only dentists to own a dental practice. [19]

In 2015, an affiliate of private equity firm American Securities led the recapitalization of Aspen Dental Management Inc. in partnership with Ares Management, Leonard Green & Partners and the existing management team. [20]

In December 2020, lawsuits were filed against Aspen for negligence after an employee allegedly hid cameras in the office washroom at a practice in Illinois. [21]

In October 2021, Aspen Dental moved its headquarters to an office in Chicago's Fulton Market District. [22]

In May 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Aspen dental for the death of Sandra Heath who reportedly died while under anesthesia at Cedar Park Aspen Dental office. The lawsuit was settled out of court in January 2023. [23]

Operations

Aspen Dental in Natick, Massachusetts Aspen Dental, Natick MA.jpg
Aspen Dental in Natick, Massachusetts

Aspen Dental Management Inc. operates as a dental support organization and provides marketing, operations, and training support services to the Aspen Dental-branded practices. [24] Aspen Dental practices are all independently owned by licensed dentists. [24] The Aspen Group (TAG) is the parent company of Aspen Dental. [24]

In 2014, Aspen Dental launched the Healthy Mouth Movement, offering veterans free dental care. [25] As of 2019, the company had provided free dental services to more than 22,000 veterans and people in need through the volunteer effort. [25] [26] In 2022, the company opened a free dental clinic called the TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence in Chicago's West Loop. [27] The clinic provides free dental services, including extractions and implants, to low income Illinois residents who don't have insurance or who are eligible for coverage through Medicaid. It is staffed by dentists from Aspen Dental clinics across the US, who receive professional development and clinical training while assisting with patients at the clinic. [28]

Aspen Dental's services are aimed at individuals who may not have regular access to dental services. [29] Many Aspen Dental practices are located in regions with a need for dental providers known as dental deserts. [30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Aspen Dental: Our Story". aspendental.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  2. ↑ Davis, Katherine (February 25, 2022). "Big expansion plans for this health care management firm" . Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ Schnecker, Lisa (February 28, 2022). "New Chicago clinic will offer free dental care to 2,500 Illinois residents a year – Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  4. ↑ Davis, Katherine (February 25, 2022). "Big expansion plans for this health care management firm" . Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Mulder, James (July 16, 2000). "Revolution In Dentistry: N. Syracuse Company Pioneers Chain-Store Techniques" . The Post-Standard. Retrieved December 6, 2024. Aspen, originally known as Upstate Dental, was founded in 1981 by Richard Adolfi of Rome, who opened his first office in Northern Lights shopping center in North Syracuse. After graduating from SUNY Potsdam in 1990, Fontana went to work for Upstate Dental as a manager and helped the company open three new offices in Connecticut. Fontana left Upstate Dental to start his own dental practice management company in New England. It was called East Coast Dental and had two locations in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. A group of investors from Boston bought Upstate and East Coast in 1997, combined them and renamed the merged company Aspen Dental. They brought Fontana back to Syracuse to run it.
  6. ↑ Mulder, James (July 16, 2000). "Revolution In Dentistry: N. Syracuse Company Pioneers Chain-Store Techniques" . The Post-Standard. Retrieved December 6, 2024. Aspen Dental Management Inc. operates 33 shopping center-based dental offices in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
  7. ↑ "Ares puts Aspen Dental on the block: sources". Reuters. May 27, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ Turkel, Tux (June 27, 2006). "Dental chain sets up office in Maine; Longtime dentists in the Portland area question whether Aspen Dental's business model will be a good match for the market". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved December 9, 2024. Aspen Dental also is a fast-growing company, although it declined to provide revenue figures. It formed eight years ago with 13 offices and has expanded to 87 sites in seven states.
  9. ↑ Beltran, Luisa (August 18, 2010), Leonard Green Sinks Teeth into Aspen Dental, PE Hub Network, retrieved October 1, 2016
  10. ↑ Kosman, Josh (August 27, 2010), Private-equity firms sink teeth into dentistry, New York Post
  11. ↑ Matt Miller (October 14, 2010). "Aspen Dental pays $175,000 to settle customer complaints". PennLive.Com. Retrieved February 8, 2012. pact stems from a state probe of more than 50 consumer complaints
  12. ↑ "Attorney General Corbett announces $175,000 consumer settlement with Aspen Dental". Pennsylvania Attorney General. October 13, 2010. Archived from the original (Press release) on December 24, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  13. ↑ Heath, David; Rosenbaum, Jill (June 26, 2012), Dollars and Dentists , retrieved October 1, 2016
  14. ↑ Heath, David; Rosenbaum, Jill (June 26, 2012), Patients, Pressure and Profits at Aspen Dental, Frontline, retrieved October 1, 2016
  15. ↑ Heath, David; Rosenbaum, Jill (June 26, 2012), Dollars and Dentists: Corporate dental chains see big profits in adults who can't afford care: How low-income adults get locked into debt for dental treatment, Center for Public Integrity, retrieved October 1, 2016
  16. ↑ Silver-Greenberg, Jessica (October 14, 2013), "A Vulnerable Age: Patients Mired in Costly Credit From Doctors", The New York Times , retrieved October 1, 2016
  17. ↑ Baucus, Max; Grassley, Chuck (June 2013). Joint Staff Report on the Corporate Practice of Dentistry in the Medicaid Program (PDF) (Report). United States Senate Committee on Finance. p. 1500. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Aspen Dental Lawsuit Dismissed by US District Court". New York Dental Association (American Dental Association). May 19, 2015. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  19. ↑ Heath, David (October 19, 2012), Aspen Dental Facing Class-Action Lawsuit, Frontline & Center for Public Integrity, PBS
  20. ↑ "American Securities Leads Recapitalization of Aspen Dental", Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2015, retrieved October 1, 2016
  21. ↑ DeGregory, Priscilla (12 December 2020). "Workers sue Illinois dental practice over hidden cameras found in bathroom". New York Post.
  22. ↑ Schnecker, Lisa (February 28, 2022). "New Chicago clinic will offer free dental care to 2,500 Illinois residents a year – Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  23. ↑ "6 Fix Update | 6 News looks into settled Aspen Dental lawsuits". kcentv.com. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  24. 1 2 3 Schnecker, Lisa (February 28, 2022). "New Chicago clinic will offer free dental care to 2,500 Illinois residents a year – Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Jackson, Brittney L. (May 11, 2018). "Aspen Dental to offer free dental service to veterans". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Iowa veterans can sign up for free dental care in June". The Des Moines Register. May 3, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  27. ↑ Asplund, Jon (July 29, 2022). "Crain's Health Pulse: Opioid deaths will keep rising quickly • Baxter sales grow, but less than expectations • City re-ups deal with health care workforce group". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  28. ↑ Ponder, Jamaica (July 12, 2024). "Dental group in Chicago's West Loop aims to make oral care more accessible". CBS. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  29. ↑ Duffett, Claire (December 16, 2005). "Aspen Dental building new headquarters". The Business Journal - Central New York. Retrieved February 10, 2025. The firm caters to the 40 percent of the population it says has no regular dentist or pattern of dental visits.
  30. ↑ Parks, Jennifer (October 14, 2016). "Aspen Dental comes to Albany to provide relief to 'dental desert'". Albany Herald. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
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