Beekman Group, unloads Gentle Dental on Linden Capital Partners. Just in time?

October 10, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Harris Williams & Co., a middle market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide, announces the sale of Northwestern Management Services, LLC (NMS) doing business as Gentle Dental (Gentle Dental), a leader in the dental service organization (DSO) industry, to Linden Capital Partners (Linden). Gentle Dental was a portfolio company of The Beekman Group, LLC (TBG). Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Gentle Dental. The transaction closed on October 5, 2012 and was led by James Clark, Geoff Smith and David Allebach.

“Gentle Dental has established itself as a clear leader in the attractive South Florida dentistry market through its commitment to quality, operational excellence and results-driven approach to physician and practice support. In addition, this transaction demonstrates investors’ continued strong interest in the DSO sector driven by investors’ desire to find scalable business models in markets positioned to benefit from positive demographic trends,” said James Clark, a managing director in Harris Williams & Co.’s Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) Group.

Hurricane of reports - Private Equity Dentistry in the news– Week of June 25, 2012

Not a good week for criminal dentistry.
 Texas dental Medicaid scandal far from over – Monday June 25, 2012

Dental Abuse of U.S. Poor Dodges Ejection from Medicaid – Tuesday June 26, 2012

March 13, 2012 – Letter from OIG to Sheila Sawyer and Lorri Steiner of Small Smiles Dental
May 15, 2012 – Agreement with OIG Re: Manassas Clinic to Sheila Sawyer and Lorri Steinerof Small Smiles Dental

                                                               Collection of Documents

Dollars and Dentists – FRONTLINE Tuesday June 26, 2012
Check your local listing for air time
Live Chat Wednesday June 27, 2012 @ 2:30 Eastern Time with Miles O'Brien, and Center for Public Integrity reporter David Heath. You can submit questions right now by visiting here.
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/06/26/9224/live-chat-dollars-and-dentists

                                                                  Collection of Documents

 

Patients, Pressure and Profits at Aspen Dental – Tuesday June 26, 2012

Truth is a far cry from the reported wonderful benefits of working at Aspen printed last Friday on Dr. Bicuspid, quoting Dr. John Notarianni, DDS 

Complaints About Kids Care Follow Kool Smiles – Tuesday June 26, 2012

Kool Smiles Response fails to address concerns.

Attorney General files lawsuits related to WFAA dental investigations - Tuesday June 26, 2012

Texas AG lawsuits spurred by WFAA dental investigation – June 26, 2012

Corporate dental chains see profitable market treating poor kids and adults – Tuesday June 26, 2012


Anesthesia deaths – Nightline Wednesday June 27, 2012Check your local listing for time

         CANCELED (again)

Limiting Private Equity Dentistry: A Report by Michael Davis, DDS

The full report with all referenced materials and index can be download here.  A handy tool for fighting these crimes against humanity.

Support for Limiting Private Equity Dentistry- made to New Mexico Board of Dental Health Care

Report submitted in response to request of
Dr. Robert Gherardi, New Mexico Board of Dental Health Care-
June 13, 2012

By: Michael Davis, DDS
Background

It is important to get up to speed, with specific nomenclature of Interstate Corporate Dentistry, and specific factors of related Case Law.

A Dental Management Service Organization (DMSO) controls the operations of their subordinate dental clinics. They pay staff salaries, including doctors’ salaries. They control the supplies available to each dental clinic. They (not the individual dentist) select the laboratory to be employed for lab services (dentures, crowns, bridges, etc.). They set production quotas and bonuses for individual doctors & individual clinics. They monitor and evaluate each clinical service provided, by each Provider they employ. They control the bank accounts of each individual dental clinic, and sweep those bank accounts on a very regular basis. They pay rent on real estate, of the clinic facilities. They select & maintain dental equipment for each subordinate clinic. They are responsible for the Licensure & Accreditation of each employee. They generally supply the Malpractice Insurance for their Employee Dentists, but often will not purchase “Tail Coverage”.

On paper, the DMSO owns very few hard assets, but actually pulls the strings, of the Practice of Dentistry. Their most valuable assets are their contractual obligations, which have been demonstrated by the Fifth Circuit in re: OCA, Inc. December 12 2008 (07-30430), to represent the “Unlicensed and Unlawful Practice of Dentistry”. Increasingly, we are today seeing more DMSOs, which are offshore registered corporations, versus Delaware incorporation.

Federal Trade Commission implies Private Equity Executives deciding dental treatment will give North Carolina citizens lower costs.

North Carolina Representative Stephen LaRoque called in the FTC when it looked like SB655/HB698 might pass. Is Representative Stephen LaRoque bought and paid for by Corporate CEO’s? Appears so.

Where has the Federal Trade Commission been all these years if this is such a huge issue? Nowhere to be seen, not until brought in by Private Equity and Representative LaRouque.

 

FTC Staff: Proposed North Carolina Dental Services Law Would Likely Reduce the Benefits of Competition for Consumers

Federal Trade Commission Documents and Publications
May 29, 2012

FTC Staff: Proposed North Carolina Dental Services Law Would Likely Reduce the Benefits of Competition for Consumers

Federal Trade Commission staff, in response to a request from North Carolina Representative Stephen LaRoque, stated that a bill proposed in the North Carolina legislature (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2012/05/1205ncdental.pdf) would likely deny consumers seeking dental services in North Carolina the benefits of competition, including the potential for lower prices, expanded access to dental services, and greater choice.

North Carolina House Bill 698 would give the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners significant new regulatory and oversight authority over Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), which contract with dentists to perform non-clinical, business management functions, allowing dentists to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks. According to the FTC staff letter, the Bill would prohibit currently-used DSO management agreement provisions and give the Board exclusive authority to review and approve all DSO management agreements in North Carolina. The Board could apply these new restrictions and oversight powers to prevent DSOs from entering the state, and to dismantle DSOs now operating in the state by refusing to approve management agreements when they come up for renewal.

"Given that the Board already oversees health and safety issues as part of the licensure regime that governs all dentists in the state, and given that DSOs focus solely on non-clinical aspects of dental practice, it does not appear that the Bill would enhance the Board's ability to ensure patient safety," the FTC staff comment stated, noting that underserved communities, including 78 of the state's 100 counties, may be particularly affected if DSO efficiencies cannot be realized. "Therefore, we urge you to consider whether the Bill's restrictions and grants of regulatory power to the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners are necessary to protect consumers" or whether they risk "merely protecting those dentists who do not choose to use DSOs against competition from those who do."

"In the absence of DSO-specific safety concerns," FTC staff urged the North Carolina legislature to consider the potential anticompetitive effects of H.B. 698 and reject the Bill.

The comment is part of the FTC's ongoing efforts to promote competition in the health care sector, which benefits consumers through lower costs, better care, and more innovation.

The Commission vote approving the staff comment was 5-0. It was sent to North Carolina Representative Stephen LaRoque on May 28, 2012. A copy of the letter can be found on the FTC's website and as a link to this press release. (FTC File No. V120007; the staff contact is Patricia Schultheiss, Office of Policy Planning, 202-326-2877.)

The FTC's Bureau of Competition works with the Bureau of Economics to investigate alleged anticompetitive business practices and, when appropriate, recommends that the Commission take law enforcement action. To inform the Bureau about particular business practices, call 202-326-3300, send an e-mail to antitrust@ftc.gov, or write to the Office of Policy and Coordination, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 601 New Jersey Ave., Room 7117, Washington, DC 20580. To learn more about the Bureau of Competition, read Competition Counts (http://www.ftc.gov/competitioncounts).

MEDIA CONTACT:

Office of Public Affairs

202-326-2180

Copyright 2012 Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc.

Federal Trade Commission Documents and Publications

American’s Dental Health is at Risk: The true crisis in dentistry

As Bloomberg reported today, Private Equity is seen as the driving force behind abusive dentistry and Medicaid fraud. Little Isaac Gagnon, is still suffering from night terror from the abuse he endured while he was supposed to be safe at school.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram followed saying Texas taxpayer are getting hosed for unneeded dental procedures which amounts to Medicaid fraud.

Byron Harris of WFAA in Dallas has been reporting about this for months.

However, it is “We The People” who are picking up the tab and enriching Private Equity firms coffers into the billions of dollars. But that is not the biggest price being paid.

The biggest price of all is the dental health of each and every American!

This is not a Medicaid patient only problem. The same driving force is behind places like Heartland, MidWest, Pacific Dental, BrightNow, Aspen Dental, Affordable Dentures, Comfort Dental and now Wal-Mart is getting in on the action. The list goes on.

Kool Smiles files suit against law firm taking personal injury cases - I’m thinking this is NOT a good idea for Freidman Fleischer & Lowe; Doug Brown or Kevin Miller…

…Dentistry of Brownville, P.C. or NCDR, LLC, or KS TX, P.C. or  whatever name Kool Smiles dental centers are using.

You have a Private Equity firm behind the Kool Smiles name. You have a Private Equity firm basically practicing dentistry. You have a Private Equity firm setting up dummy professional corporations in many states, Texas included. You have a crooked dentist, Dr. Tu Tran with his name all over Dentistry of Brownsville, PC and he doesn’t even practice in Texas or any other state for that matter!  He lives outside Atlanta. According to Texas records, NCDR, LLC is “governed” by Kool Smiles Acquisition Corporation-400 EAST GALLERIA PARKWAY SE, STE. 800
ATLANTA , GA 30339

There are thousands of parents complain their children are being injured and abused with unnecessary and substandard dental treatment. These same complaints have been coming from Kool Smiles clinics across the nation for 5 years. The parents are claiming of harsh and brutal touching and manhandling of their children to deliver that dental care. All for the simple reason to bill Medicaid for as much as they can in as quickest amount of time. Maybe parents have taken photos, made audio and video recordings of the children screaming and have decided to take action against the dentist and the company responsible for it. Maybe some support staff at the dental centers have done the same.
So, what does the company do? It files suit against the law firm taking the cases, citing “Copyright Infringement”.  Seriously??!!

5:12 –CV-00036
Monday March 19, 2012
NCDR, LLC
Dentistry of Brownsville, P.C.
KS TX, PC
vs.
Mauze & Bagby, PLLC
George Watts Mauze, II
James Thomas Bagby, III
Texas Southern District Court
Tradmark Infringement
Kool Smiles v Mauze & Bagby

Original Complaint	Exhibit 5 [doc 1-6]
Exhibit 1[doc 1-2]	Exhibit 6 [doc1-7]
Exhibit 2 [doc1-3]	Exhibit 7 [doc 1-8]
Exhibit 3 [doc 1-4]	Exhibit 8 [doc 1-9]
Exhibit 4 [doc1-5]	Exhibit 9 [doc 1-10]

Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe (FFL)

FFL Partners Executive Investors
Kool Smiles Investment
Midwest Dental Investment

JLL Partners Completes Acquisition of American Dental Partners–February 9, 2012

 

American Dental Partners Launches Syndication of Senior Secured Facilities

Details

Published on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 15:16 
Trader Huddle

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Jan. 18, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Dental Partners, Inc. ("American Dental Partners" or the "Company") today announced that it has launched the syndication of $241 million of senior secured facilities ("Senior Secured Facilities"), consisting of a $36 million revolving facility and a $205 million term loan. The proceeds from the Senior Secured Facilities, together with equity from JLL Partners Fund VI, L.P. and certain other investors, are being used to finance the acquisition of American Dental Partners and to pay certain fees and expenses.
KeyBank National Association ("KeyBank"), CIT Capital Securities ("CITCS") and NXT Capital, LLC ("NXT") will act as joint bookrunning managers of the debt financing.
This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase any securities or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities.

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American Dental Partners Stockholders Approve Merger Agreement

Details

Published on Tuesday, 07 February 2012 15:15
Trader Huddle

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Feb. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Dental Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADPI) announced that at a special meeting of stockholders held earlier today stockholders voted to adopt the previously announced merger agreement with JLL Crown Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and JLL Crown Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation, affiliates of JLL Partners, Inc. Under the terms of the merger agreement, upon consummation of the merger, holders of outstanding shares of common stock of American Dental Partners will receive $19.00 per share in cash.
At the meeting, the merger was approved by holders of 12,496,939 shares of the Company's outstanding common stock, and 3,702 shares voted against the merger.

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JLL Partners Acquisition of American Dental Partners Creates Committed Partnership

February 09, 2012
Trader Huddle
On February 9, 2012, JLL Partners, Inc. completed its acquisition of American Dental Partners, Inc. American Dental Partners is now privately held and no longer listed on NASDAQ.
The deal creates a partnership committed to American Dental Partners’ core values and goals as well as a dedication to quality care and a long-term outlook. Both organizations will pursue a shared vision and work to enhance growth of American Dental Partners.
American Dental Partners will continue to be headquartered in Wakefield, Mass., and is one of the nation’s leading business partners to dental group practices. American Dental Partners is affiliated with more than two dozen dental group practices in more than twenty states across the country.
JLL Partners is a New York-based, leading private equity investment firm. Their investment philosophy is to partner with outstanding management teams and invest with them in companies that can continue to grow into market leaders. JLL Partners has a special focus on healthcare services in addition to financial and business services. More information on JLL Partners (Joseph, Littlejohn, & Levy)is available at www.jllpartners.com.
 

American Dental Partners “Affiliates”

Related Articles

• American Dental Partners Stockholders Approve Merger Agreement
• American Dental Partners Launches Syndication of Senior Secured Facilities
• American Dental Partners Announces End of "Go-Shop" Period – JLL Partners, Inc the only “shoppers” at the “blue light special” of ADPI.

Gotta love ADPI’s as for “Specialist”

Private Equity's slave trade in America.

This may come off as racist, but it is not. I say this because its true, inhumane and needs saying.

Our dental offices are beginning to look like nail salons!

Private Equity firms are bringing foreign trained dentists to assist them in stealing every last dollar they can from our Medicaid system. They are doing this by training the unwitting immigrants to over treat and under protect children, preferably under age 5, in our poorest communities, through Medicaid dental chop shops.

Private Equity firms, such as the Carlyle Group and others are brain washing the foreign professionals into believing they are serving the poor here in the US.

Little do the poor souls know they are being brought here to assist Private Equity firms in raiding the US treasury. Not until it's too late, do they realize what has happened; they are not here to bring a better tomorrow to our children as well as themselves.

This seems to be a business model the greedy in America are unwilling to stop.

Just because they are flown in on a jet instead of a wooden ship crossing the ocean does not make it different.

Today instead of plantation owners it's executives of Private Equity firms, but still the same ole shit.

Shameful!

Cashing In by Cashing Out–Small Smiles and the Corporate Practice of Medicine

Listen up!  If you currently work for a dental mill in any capacity this is a must read for you.  If you work for a “chain” dental clinic, it’s for you too.   It lays it all out for the “fake” owners and exactly what can and may happen if you continue to cooperate filling the coffers of Private Equity firms, like Arcapita and FFL.

Excerpt:     

…Children are strapped down to a papoose board to eliminate the time it takes to calm and reassure them before a procedure. Parents are banned from the clinic rooms because they might want to slow the procedure if their child is fearful or in obvious discomfort.

     Unnecessary procedures are performed because the corporation gets paid by Medicaid for every procedure performed, not just the necessary ones. And children get rushed, inadequate, and botched dental work because it’s faster than taking the time to do each procedure properly.

      As the blurred face of the stricken ex-Small Smiles dental assistant explains, it’s all about “production, production, production.” It’s a good mantra for a widget factory. It’s a torture sentence in a dental clinic.

      How are such practices permitted in this day and age? The simple answer is they aren’t –and haven’t been for over a hundred years. Unfortunately, the laws that prevent such practices aren’t systematically enforced, and private equity firms with desires for outsized profits are taking advantage of that fact. They’ve discovered a veritable gold mine in the systematic bilking of Medicaid for their corrupted brand of dental “care”. By inflating the profit margins of these clinics with shoddy and abusive practices, private equity firms can sell the business at an extraordinary profit, with the only fallout being traumatized children who are often too poor to seek recourse – or know that any is due to them…

Click here to read the rest of this brilliant piece!

Sentinel Capital Partners, LLC sells ReachOut mobile dental company to Morgan Stanley Private Equity–January 2011

 

Searching” Private Equity Dental” brings up a whole mess of trouble!  Here is just one.

Sentinel Capital Partners, LLC invested $22 million dollars in ReachOut Healthcare America, Ltd in 2007, holding 80% of the company.  In August 2008 ReachOut Healthcare bought up Mobile Dentists,it’s closest competitor.  In 2010 they added “Help A Child Smile.”  ReachOut also offers vision services.

Based in Phoenix Arizona-“ReachOut sends dentists-on-wheels to service low-income children in public schools under the government's Medicaid contracts. It has separate programs for the elderly and the military.  ReachOut operates in 21 states.”

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“ ReachOut Healthcare America (RHA) is amongst the nation’s leading administrative services organization for mobile dentistry and healthcare.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, RHA provides administrative support to dental PCs. RHA and its affiliate, Home Dental Group, has a  staff of  motivated professionals who will ensure their commitments are fulfilled to the highest standard. RHA works with PCs that possess a diverse patient base including children in our nation’s Headstart programs, foster programs and public schools.”

At the time of Sentinel’s purchase of ReachOut, the company had less than $5 million in EBITDA.  At the time of the sale, the EBITDA had increased to $17 million.  Sentinel Capital Partners, LLC unloaded ReachOut Heathcare America, Ltd on Morgan Stanley Private Equity in January 2011. 

ReachOut Healthcare America, Ltd. (RHA) was formerly known as Health Kids Dental and Seniors Dental.

Co-Founders of ReachOut Healthcare America:
Michael Howell
Dan Goldsmith

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From The Deal.com
ReachOut Healthcare America Ltd. and Sirona Dental Systems Inc. -- Fixing teeth may not be the most glamorous of investment picks, but it has drawn in substantial private equity capital. Two niche providers stood out for the healthy returns that their sponsors extracted through timely exits. Phoenix-based ReachOut sends dentists-on-wheels to service low-income children in public schools under the government's Medicaid contracts. It has separate programs for the elderly and the military. Sentinel Capital Partners LLC invested $22 million in 2007 and held 80% of ReachOut. The company, with less than $5 million of EBITDA at the time, was Sentinel's third investment in a dental business but the first where government reimbursements accounted for nearly 100% of accounts. ReachOut added Mobile Dentists in August 2008 and Help A Child Smile in 2010. With organic growth, EBITDA had reached $17 million by the time Morgan Stanley Private Equity took over as new owner in January. The sale allowed Sentinel to book profits of between 6 and 7 times its cost.

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Sentinel Capital Partners other dental company investments include:
Castle Dental Centers, Inc-sold in 2004
Metro Dentalcare-sold in 2007