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11 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 1 FEB 2020 Private equity firm invests in Ohio DSO By Mackenzie Garrity M entor, Ohio-based Empire Dental Arts announced Jan. 6 that it had received an investment from private equity firm Evolution Capital Partners. With the funding, Empire Dental Arts plans to expand throughout Northeast Ohio. Empire Dental Arts markets itself as a dental partnership organization that provides centralized administrative services to affiliated practices. The dental service organization was founded in 2017 by D. Todd Russell, DDS. "Partnering with Evolution will enable the next phase of our expansion plan," said Dr. Russell, who also serves as the chief clinical officer of Empire Dental Arts. "We are excited about the opportunity to establish a small-scale, patient-focused dental partnership organization in Northeast Ohio, starting with our existing four practices through which we have vali- dated our operational best practices." n Texas DSO collects funding from private equity firm By Mackenzie Garrity A ustin, Texas-based Enable Dental announced Jan. 21 that it had closed its Series A financing round, with pri- vate equity group FCA Venture Partners leading. With the funding, the dental service organization will scale its portable dental solution model. Currently, Enable Dental provides portable dental operations to patients in Texas, Kan- sas, Missouri, Colorado and California. The DSO is focused on reaching patients in assisted living facilities, skilled nursing homes, substance abuse centers, group homes, healthcare institutions, hospitals and personal residences. "As a clinician, I have seen firsthand the lack of access to care in our special needs and aging population. I strongly believe that Enable Dental's portable model can provide quality den- tal care to those that have been under-served by the tradition- al dental model," said Andrew Nguyen, DDS, clinical director of Enable Dental. Along with expanding its reach, Enable Dental will use the funding to develop technology systems and build out its team of clinicians. Financial details of the funding round were not disclosed. n After booming 2019, MB2 Dental to add 21 new practices in Q1 2020 By Gabrielle Masson C arrollton, Texas-based MB2 Dental announced Jan. 10 its most successful fiscal year, adding 79 affiliated dental practices in 2019. The dental partnership organization expanded into Arizo- na, Florida, Kansas and Missouri last year, for a total of 192 affiliated practices across 12 states. Founded in 2007, MB2 owners maintain their practice's brand, culture and team, while also having complete clin- ical autonomy. The DPO has more than doubled in size since partnering with private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners in 2017. MB2 expects to add another 21 locations in the first quarter of 2020. n Western Dental launches its own aligner By Mackenzie Garrity O range, Calif.-based Western Dental & Orthodontic announced Jan. 17 that it has released its own or- thodontic aligner, ClearArc. The clear aligners are made from plastic or acrylic materi- al and are intended to help patients with crowded teeth or spacing issues. Patients should wear the aligners for at least 20 hours a day. Western Dental estimates the aligner pro- cess can last between a few months to a couple years. Western Dental began rolling out ClearArc at its 233 Cali- fornia practices in January. The aligners became available to practices in Texas, Arizona and Nevada beginning in February. "As the leading provider of orthodontics in the country, we're in a unique position," said John Luther, DDS, chief dental of- ficer at Western Dental. "Every ClearArc patient is evaluated for treatment in a personal exam by an orthodontist, which isn't the case with leading competitors. This quality control measure helps ensure that patients are suitable candidates for aligners before spending their hard-earned dollars." n DENTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS