Dr. Amrita Reddy joined Aspen Dental in 2003 as a Managing Clinical Director in Woburn, MA, shortly after graduating from Boston University’s School of Dental Medicine.

The pace was a bit slower than what Dr. Reddy had envisioned so she jumped at the opportunity to become dual MCD of Woburn and the nearby Medford office.

While the dual MCD role presented new and different challenges, after a few years she was envisioning additional opportunities.

“I have a lot of energy and passion for dentistry. Managing two practices was a great experience, but I really was looking for a bigger challenge with a higher-volume office,” she said.

That challenge presented itself with an opening in Manchester, NH.
“Not only is Manchester a busier office but I also enjoyed the challenge of growing the office with a different patient base than to what I was accustomed and managing a larger office team,” Dr. Reddy said.

After several months in Manchester, Dr. Reddy decided it was time for another challenge. This time it was exploring the possibility of becoming a practice owner in Aspen’s Practice Ownership Program (POP).

“I really thought I was up to it. I’m learning how to manage a staff, the business is coming quickly and I’m receiving fantastic support from our office teams, as well as the team at Aspen Dental Management Inc. (ADMI),” she said. “The transition has been very smooth.”

And, she’s doing this under challenging circumstances. Dr. Reddy has two small children at home.

“One of the great points about Aspen’s Practice Ownership Program is that I can strike the balance of realizing my dream of ownership and growing a family at the same time. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, but I think it’s wonderful that with Aspen’s support, we are afforded these kinds of opportunities for ownership. And it’s especially gratifying as a woman and mother,” Dr. Reddy added.

“Dr. Reddy has been up to all of the challenges she’s taken on and has truly embodied the characteristics of a great partner for ADMI,” said Bob Fontana, ADMI President and CEO. “We look forward to working with her to continue to grow her practice.”

Aspen Dental has been around longer than you may think!

Aspen Dental’s history started in Syracuse, New York at a dental lab called Upstate Dental, which began operations in 1964. In 1981, Upstate Dental merged its lab services with centralized management services to initiate the new dental practice management concept. The company became Upstate Dental Management, LLC in 1997 when an investor acquired Upstate Family Denture Services, Inc., Upstate Denture Labs, Inc. and East Coast Dental Management, Inc. The last step in the creation of Aspen Dental came in 1998 when Upstate Dental and East Coast Dental merged and agreed on a common name: Aspen Dental. At this time, Aspen consisted of 13 practices in 4 states. Today, we have over 280 practices in 23 states.

For a more detailed timeline visit  http://aspendentalnews.com/index.php/about/timeline.

We recently talked with Dr. David Lee, an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, to get his option on working with Aspen.

When Dr. David Lee began his first day at Aspen Dental, he was looking for a stepping stone towards opening his own practice. What he found was a satisfaction that went beyond his initial expectations. Dr. Lee now travels to 15 offices throughout Southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and finds immense personal gratification in his work.

Dr. Lee’s new plan—to stay in the Aspen Dental family and continue to serve patients in a variety of offices—is driven by the company’s extensive office and practice model support. Says Dr. Lee, “With Aspen Dental staying on top of logistics, I can focus on the clinical aspects of my work. That allows me to spend nearly all my time doing what I enjoy the most: treating patients.”

Another advantage of Aspen Dental, according to Dr. Lee, is an automatic referral system. “Many specialists have to constantly fight for referrals. At Aspen Dental, that’s out the window—you are provided patients and meaningful work without the stress.”

Above all, Dr. Lee recommends Aspen Dental to anyone who wants to begin treating patients right away and have the ability to do what s/he has been trained to, without years of struggling: “At Aspen Dental, you can be busy right out of the gate. You won’t find that anywhere else.”

When he’s not treating patients, Aspen Dental’s support allows Dr. Lee to enjoy golfing and spending time with his two daughters. He is a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS), and is a certified member of the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology (NDBA).

Throughout April, Aspen Dental is reminding patients about the importance of oral cancer screening and early detection in recognition of Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

Wisconsin Dentist, Dr. Katie Leyes, is among those on the Aspen Dental team that speaks out about Oral Cancer. Click below to see Dr. Leyes on WLUK Fox 11.

Aspen Dental is reminding patients about the importance of oral cancer screening and early detection in recognition of Oral Cancer Awareness Month (April).

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, close to 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year, which is responsible for approximately 8,000 deaths annually. Common risk factors for oral cancer include use of tobacco products (smoked and smokeless), excessive alcohol consumption, and HPV infection.

As a commitment to oral cancer detection, more than 285 Aspen Dental offices will donate $5 from every Vizilite Plus screening conducted during Oral Cancer Awareness Screening Week (April 11-15, 2011) to the Oral Cancer Foundation. Vizilite Plus is a specially designed light technology that can help detect oral cancer.

“Unfortunately, oral cancer is often discovered late in its development, which means that the death rate is higher than that of other cancers,” said Maureen Howes, RDH, MS, director of hygiene services at Aspen Dental Management, Inc. “It’s important to identify any abnormalities as early as possible, when the cancer is most treatable, which means that regular dental care and oral cancer screenings are critically important.”

Possible signs and symptoms of oral cancer include: a sore in the throat or mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal within two weeks; a lump or thickening in the cheek; a white or red patch on the gums, tongue, tonsil or lining of the mouth; a sore throat or a feeling that something is caught in the throat; difficulty chewing or swallowing; difficulty moving the jaw or tongue; or numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth. Denture patients may experience swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable.

To learn more about what to expect during an oral cancer screening, please visit the Oral Cancer Foundation website at http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/how_do_you_know.html.