Aspen Dental

Aspen Dental
Industry Dentistry
Founded Syracuse, New York, New York, U.S. (1964)
Headquarters DeWitt, New York
Area served
 United States
Services Dental Care services
Dentures
Website aspendental.com

Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is a corporation offering "complete dental care solutions", providing general and cosmetic dentistry and denture care for families and seniors in more than 20 U.S. states. Its headquarters is in DeWitt, New York,[1][2] near East Syracuse and Syracuse.[1][3] According to a lawsuit that had been filed against the company, Aspen caters to lower income, older adults.[4]

History

The company began in 1964 in Syracuse, New York, as a dental lab called Upstate Dental. In 1981, Upstate Dental merged its lab services with centralized management services to initiate the new dental practice management concept. The company became Upstate Dental Management, LLC.

In 1997, an investor acquired Upstate Family Denture Services, Inc., Upstate Denture Labs, Inc. and East Coast Dental Management, Inc. In 1998, Upstate Dental and East Coast Dental merged; the merged company was renamed Aspen Dental Management, Inc.[5]

In October 2010, after a probe of complaints regarding its discount services and finance programs, the company entered into an assurance of voluntary compliance with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, without admitting wrongdoing. It agreed to pay $125,000 to reimburse customers of the company and $50,000 for consumer protection probes. Complaints involved services provided before May 28, 2009.[6][7]

In October 2012, a class-action lawsuit accused the company of illegally owning dental practices and of deceiving patients. The lawsuit said that the company operating in violation of laws in 22 states which allow only dentists to own a dental practice. The company responded that the accusations were "entirely without merit.”[8] Aspen Dental was investigated for two years, and the findings were published in a 1,500 page report by Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus of the U.S. Senate.[4]

Operations

Aspen Dental in Natick, Massachusetts

The company operates in more than 20 states. Each office is staffed for general dental care.[9][10][11]

The company is owned by Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm[8] specializing in leveraged buyout transactions, particularly of middle market companies.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Terms of Use Agreement." (Archive). Aspen Dental. Retrieved on September 23, 1012.
  2. ↑ "Zoning Map." (Archive) Town of DeWitt. Retrieved on September 23, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Media Contacts." (Archive) Aspen Dental. Retrieved on September 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Burkhalter, Eddie. "Alabama dental clinics operating illegally, Senate report says." (Archive) Anniston Star. July 25, 2013. Retrieved on July 26, 2013.
  5. ↑ Aspen Dental Timeline
  6. ↑ 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
  7. ↑ "Attorney General Corbett announces $175,000 consumer settlement with Aspen Dental" (Press release). Pennsylvania Attorney General. October 13, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Heath, David, "Aspen Dental Facing Class-Action Lawsuit", PBS Frontline & Center for Public Integrity, October 19, 2012
  9. ↑ Aspen Dental Office Locations
  10. ↑ Press release, "Aspen Dental plans continued expansion in 2009", January 2009
  11. ↑ New office opening announcement, Newark Advocate, August 29, 2009

External links