Kool Smiles Dental Clinics (Chop Shops) - Dr. Tu Tran–King of the Hill-

In 2002 the dentist who owns this $1.2 million dollars home in the suburbs of Atlanta was merely a dentist working at a Medicaid clinic in Denver Colorado.  The clinic was owned by Dr. Edward (Eddie ) DeRose and his son Michael DeRose.

Dr. Tu Tran and his buddy Dr. Pham both worked for the DeRoses.  They learned the business model, tore out on their own and opened up their first chop shop in Atlanta in 2003. 

In 2004 they lured Friedman Fleischer and Lowe, a private equity firm in San Francisco, to hop on the gravy train and spread illegal Kool Smiles dental centers across the nation.

Is Kool Smiles Coming To a Place Near You?

Here is an anonymous email that stated:

I am a dentist that currently works at Kool Smiles. There are many corporate habits that just turn my stomach but I go along because they keep paying me. One thing is that we do not do is change rubber gloves between patients. Can you imagine the health risks that we are taking doing this?

It makes me sick.

Something must be done.

FFl have given Kool Smiles in Atlanta 48 million dollars to expand and DPMS (in San Ramon, CA) another 48 million to expand so they can sell the company off in 2010.

If people are visiting your site, they must be concerned about the impact that you are having with everyone reading your blog. They want to sell the whole thing to someone for hundreds of millions of dollars.

FFL (Friedman, Fleischer and Lowe) has two companies to keep an eye on in their portfolio.

DPMA

From FFL's, Website:

DPMS, Inc. provides various non-clinical services to dental group practices, including providing dental facilities, support staff, and other business services. DPMS's principal client is Kool Smiles, a nationally-branded provider of dental care focused primarily on children enrolled in Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs. The limited access to care for children on Medicaid/SCHIP plans provides an attractive growth opportunity for Kool Smiles as it continues to expand offices with a mission to provide quality care to this underserved population.

The company was founded in 2006, and is headquartered in San Ramon, CA.

and

NCDR, LLC (Kool Smiles)

From FFL website:

NCDR, LLC provides various non-clinical services to dental group practices, including providing dental facilities, support staff, and other business services. NCDR's principal client is Kool Smiles, a nationally-branded provider of dental care focused primarily on children enrolled in Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs. The limited access to care for children on Medicaid/SCHIP plans provides an attractive growth opportunity for Kool Smiles as it continues to expand offices with a mission to provide quality care to this underserved population.

The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. FFL invested in NCDR in 2004 to provide growth capital and liquidity to founders.