Heartland Dental, the nation’s leading dental support organization, proudly unveils its outstanding growth results for 2023. The company has exceeded growth expectations and delivered enhanced support to doctors, achieving remarkable milestones in several aspects of its business, including adding over 100 supported practices to its footprint through a combination of record new construction growth (de novo) and outstanding affiliation growth.
Pat Bauer, Heartland Dental president and CEO, shared, “Heartland Dental is the only dental support organization that consistently collaborates to deliver at-scale new construction in high-growth communities while affiliating with the nation’s leading doctors and practices. Our historic doctor-led support model, anchored in proven systems, processes, and world-class education, is designed to provide supported doctors with tools and resources that help them thrive as clinicians and leaders. From streamlining administrative tasks to securing market-leading supplies and lab rates with our Diamond-Trusted partnerships, we believe in enabling supported doctors to focus on what they do best—providing outstanding oral care to their patients. As we continue to grow, we are committed to continuously enhancing our capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our supported doctors and their teams.”
A Year of Growth:
In 2023, Heartland Dental constructed and received certificates of occupancy on a record-breaking 94 state-of-the-art dental practices comprising new supported offices in high-growth markets across the country and expanded relocations of existing offices to support their further growth. These facilities, which are already open or opening in Q1 of 2024, are focused on increasing access to dental care by adding 1,130 new dental operatories at supported practices in states such as Idaho, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Ohio, and more. In addition, Heartland added 33 of the nation’s leading dental practices through its affiliation program.
Education Enhancements:
In 2023, the company officially established Heartland Dental University (HDU), its groundbreaking educational flagship. HDU, through collaboration with supported doctors and other clinicians, offers the largest and most extensive oral care clinical, operations, and leadership training capability nationwide, providing hundreds of thousands of CE hours and setting Heartland-supported doctors and team members up for success in serving their communities at the top of their license with high patient satisfaction and engagement.
Technological Advancements:
Heartland Dental’s commitment to innovation led to a new strategic deployment with VideaHealth to rollout VideaAI in concert with our joint partner, Henry Schein One. This collaboration has empowered over 20,000 supported doctors, hygiene providers, and team members with access to cutting-edge dental AI technology. The swift training of supported practices on this technology has enabled them to serve millions in their communities, enhancing oral and total body health while improving productivity and workflow.
Further, Heartland Dental continues to expand its longstanding partnership with Align Technology to ensure each supported practice has the latest and best digital intra-oral scanning platform. By upgrading Heartland Dental’s footprint to the iTero 5D Plus, the company’s supported practices serve patients with the nation’s largest and most advanced digital dentistry and AI-enabled capabilities. These investments provide supported practices with the latest advancements to deliver world-class ortho-restorative care at new comfort levels, patient communication, and satisfaction.
Looking Ahead to 2024:
Building on the success of 2023, Heartland Dental aims to assist supported practices in expanding oral care access further by opening at least 90 de novos in 2024. As in prior years, these state-of-the-art supported practices will have 10-12 operatories each, placed in the heart of their communities near local supermarkets, banks, and other healthcare facilities. New in 2024 will be the company’s first expansions into Utah, expanding its supported network to 39 states, with new de novos in the Salt Lake City market. Further, Heartland is expanding its affiliation program, targeting 60-80 of the nation’s leading practices. As has been the case for over 25 years, Heartland Dental’s twin development programs continue to be a core pillar of the company’s growth strategy.
In addition to growing its supported footprint, Heartland Dental is enabling the growth of its current supported practices by recruiting world-class doctors and hygiene providers, adding new operatories to supported practices, and growing its educational program offerings through collaborative efforts with HDU. Heartland Dental also enables supported doctors to help patients without insurance gain more affordable access to the care they need, desire, and deserve by expanding access to patient financing capabilities and launching a refreshed dental savings plan, Vantage One. As the links between oral care and whole-body health become increasingly apparent, providing patients, especially seniors, with convenient, affordable access to quality oral care is crucial.
As Heartland Dental marches forward in 2024 and beyond, the company remains profoundly dedicated to continuously enhancing its support services and solutions.
“We are constantly evolving to meet the diverse needs of our doctors, their practices, and their patients,” said Mark Greenstein, executive vice president and chief growth officer for Heartland Dental. “Beyond operational support, Heartland Dental fosters a culture of trust, community, and empowerment, enabling supported doctors to maintain autonomy in their clinical decisions while learning, growing, and leading their teams to new patient care and experience levels. We are excited by our success in 2023 and even more so by the increased growth targeted for 2024. By staying nimble, partnering with the world’s best companies, such as Align Technology, and focusing on providing the best possible support, as we have for over 25 years, we are confident that we can continue empowering doctors to achieve their dreams of clinical and financial success.”
For more information on Heartland Dental’s support services, visit heartland.com/the-doctor-difference.
About Heartland Dental
Heartland Dental is the nation’s largest dental support organization, providing non-clinical administrative support services. What started from the entrepreneurial spirit of Rick Workman, DMD, with his single dental practice, has evolved into affiliating with over 2,800 doctors in over 1,700 locations across 38 states and the District of Columbia.
The company is majority owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm.
For additional information, please visit heartland.com.
