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Dental Care Ireland Acquires 20th Practice

Dental Care Ireland recently celebrated six years in business, with the acquisition of its 20th dental practice in Ireland.

Kilbarrack Dental Care in Dublin 5 is the group’s sixth acquisition in the last 12 months, along with Ennis Dental in Co. Clare, Wellington Quay Dental Centre in Co. Louth, Virginia Dental Surgery in Co. Cavan, Farnham Street Dental Surgery in Cavan Town, and two former Centric Health practices in Dublin.

Dental Care Ireland will invest in upgrading and rebranding the practices in 2021, while providing management and administrative support to practice teams in operations, finance, quality and compliance, HR and marketing.

Since its establishment in March 2015 by Colm Davitt, former CEO of Affidea, and his brother Dr Kieran Davitt, a Galway-based dentist, Dental Care Ireland has acquired 25 practices in total, five of which have been absorbed into other practice locations.

According to Dublin-based CEO, Colm Davitt: “Over the last six years, we have acquired some exceptional dental practices, and helped them to reach their full potential. Our significant track record in the Irish market, as well as a strong support team in Dublin, has enabled us to continue our expansion despite the challenges of the last 12 months. Our ultimate aim is to provide a Dental Care Ireland practice in every single county, so we have ambitious plans to grow the organisation further in the year ahead.”

To date, Dental Care Ireland employs over 250 team members across the country, comprising 80 general and specialist dentists, dental hygienists, dental nurses and practice managers, as well as operations, finance and marketing support staff. Practices are located in Dublin, Meath, Carlow, Mayo, Offaly, Wicklow, Galway, Kilkenny, Clare, Cavan and Louth.

To find out more about joining the Dental Care Ireland group, you can contact us here  

Practice Profile: Brand-new Ashbourne practice off to a strong start

Dental Care Ireland Ashbourne practice manager Audrey O’Brien talks about life in the practice, and working in Ashbourne itself

Dental Care Ireland’s practice in Ashbourne, Co Meath, located on the town’s High Street, was officially opened in May 2017, and features best-in-class fittings and features. Audrey O’Brien, practice manager in Ashbourne, says that it’s an exciting time for the practice now that it has been open to the public for a sustained spell of time.

Great experience “Even though we officially opened in May, we’ve been operating for a year now, and it’s been a great experience. The people are so brilliant here, and it’s a pleasure to come into work every day. I’ve worked in Ashbourne before, and I run the day-to-day management of the practice for Dental Care Ireland, making sure that patients and staff are where they need to be at all times.”

The practice employs seven people, and the make-up of the staff reflects a theme in dentistry today. “We’re a young group, and we’re all women!” says Audrey. “We have a hygienist, receptionist, two dentists, two nurses, and myself. What we have here in terms of our staff make-up really does mirror what’s happening in dentistry in general – a significant majority of dentistry graduates are female, which I think is fantastic.”

Always bright But what about the treatments on offer in the Ashbourne practice?

“We offer the standard dental treatments here, along with whitening treatments. It’s a really nice place to work – we’re on the ground floor here; we have a great aspect and it’s always bright, even if it’s raining outside. It’s the kind of place that would cheer you up once you step inside. Our patients say it doesn’t really feel like a traditional dentist’s office, and we like to hear that!” says Audrey.

“We even have a virtual tour of the practice that patients can have a look at before they come in so they know where they’re going!”

Positive impression It’s clear that the staff have made a really positive impression on the community in Ashbourne. “We always try to be nice and friendly so that our patients can have the very best experience possible. Just the other day we heard back from a woman who had brought her mother to us to get dentures. They were both over the moon at how she was treated. We love to hear that kind of feedback – it means a lot to know that you’re making people feel comfortable and secure.”

Ashbourne is a fast-growing, vibrant town, so what does the future hold for Dental Care Ireland Ashbourne? “We’ve got a number of plans in the works,” says Audrey. “We are planning to introduce orthodontic treatments soon, as there is a large market for them in the area.

Lovely vibe “Ashbourne is a young town, but there’s a lovely vibe about the place. There are some really good restaurants and new businesses alongside us on the High Street, and it really seems like the place is feeling the positive effects of the recovery.”

So what sets the Dental Care Ireland Ashbourne practice apart from the competition? “As I said before, it’s all about the way you treat customers, as well as the professional expertise you have,” says Audrey. “Patient care is absolutely paramount, and that’s something that starts from the moment someone walks through the door to when they leave. Our staff are nice and gentle, and that’s what our patients want. That will never change.”

Dental Care Ireland Ashbourne is currently offering 20% of all whitening treatments until the end of August. Get in touch with the team today to book an appointment. See https://www.dentalcareireland.ie/practices/dentist-ashbourne/ or call 01-8350344

Supporting local dentists around the country

In May 2017, Colm Davitt, chief executive of Dental Care Ireland, talked to Irish Dentistry magazine about our network of local dentists across the country and his ambitions to support dentists’ businesses.

 

What exactly is Dental Care Ireland?

Dental Care Ireland is a new Irish-owned dental group. We set up two years ago, and to date, we have a network of 11 general and specialist practices across the country.

Essentially, we acquire long-established, high quality practices in local communities, with a view to helping them reach their full potential. Our aim is to free principal dentists from administrative burden, allowing them to focus on clinical dentistry.

We invest in upgrading the practices with the latest facilities and technology, as well as providing support in areas such as operations, finance, quality and compliance, IT, HR and marketing. Our vision at Dental Care Ireland is to provide a network of quality dental practices in every single county over the next five to 10 years.

How do you differ from other corporate practices?

Apart from being Irish-owned and -managed, our model is a new concept for dentistry in Ireland. What sets us apart is the fact that all of our dentists are established, local practitioners with a loyal patient base. We work closely with the incumbent dentists to build on the traditions of each individual practice, while ensuring a consistent service for patients across the entire network.

The Irish dental market is very different to the UK and other countries, and we believe that our combined experience and relationships give us a unique understanding of the sensitivities that exist in this country.

What can dentists and their teams expect when they sign up with Dental Care Ireland?

We work with dentists at various life stages and with different career ambitions. By joining Dental Care Ireland, they can expect to be valued, supported and encouraged to achieve their goals.

We basically reduce the management and administrative side of running a business significantly, and give dentists the clinical freedom to focus on their patients. In some cases, we also work with dentists who are seeking to reduce their clinical time commitment.

Each practice is upgraded, depending on individual practice requirements, to include new, state-of-the-art facilities and the latest technology. We also support the development of new services and treatments, education and training for staff, as well as more convenient opening hours for patients. We are very sensitive to clinical freedom and to the individuality of each practice and location.

How did you get involved in the dental industry?

I was previously CEO of a leading diagnostic imaging group called Euromedic Ireland (now Affidea), where I gained particular expertise in acquisition through a ‘buy and build’ strategy. This background also gave me a good understanding of the sensitivities involved in running a healthcare organisation and working with healthcare professionals.

My brother and business partner, Kieran, is a dentist based in Galway. Together, we came up with the Dental Care Ireland concept, which would combine Kieran’s clinical expertise and my track record in business development and healthcare management. The balance of both these skillsets has been pivotal to our success.

So where did the idea for Dental Care Ireland come from?

We first looked at international trends towards group dentistry elsewhere. We also explored the challenges facing younger dentists with regards to setting up, such as prohibitive costs and increased compliance.

Since the majority of practices in Ireland are independently owned, we saw an opportunity for a new model here. The model that we developed is very much focused on high quality clinical care, based in the local community. Our marketing tagline is ‘your local practice’.

What kind of practices do you look out for or like to work with?

All of our practices have a long-standing reputation and loyal patient base in their local area. We look for dentists who are committed to remaining with the practice for at least the medium-term, and generally, our practices have a minimum of three chairs.

Our dentists join Dental Care Ireland for a variety of reasons. For some, it is part of a managed retirement plan. For others, they just want to focus on their patients rather than the business, and others have career or family commitments that prohibit them from managing the business side of the practice.

We want to have a national network right across the country, so we are open to considering all locations if the opportunity is right.

What do you hope for the future of Irish dentistry?

I hope that younger dentists will be supported to pursue their career ambitions and that all patients will have access to high quality, convenient dental services.

The restoration of some publicly funded benefits would greatly help many patients across the country and improve the oral health of the nation. I would like to see Dental Care Ireland at the centre of positive developments in the sector in the years ahead.

Note: This article first appeared in the May 2017 issue of Irish Dentistry. It is reprinted here with kind permission