All under one roof
Alicia Robinson
Valet parking, a computer that designs and creates your dental
implements while you wait and an ocean view from the examination
chair -- welcome to 21st century dentistry.
All those luxuries can be had for a flat monthly fee at TruDental
Inc., which opened a first-of-its-kind office in Newport Beach in
November. TruDental founder Maged Zakhary, who’s been in dentistry
since 1980, wanted to bring a variety of dental specialists together
under one roof so patients could have all their dental work done in
one place.
“The patient doesn’t have to go from one office to the other, make
appointments, carry X-rays,” Zakhary said. “It’s mainly really about
the consumer.”
The office is upscale, with a futuristic-looking front desk and
sleek, blond, wood floors, and it’s high-tech. Everything is done on
computers, from the images of patients’ teeth to their payments for
dental care.
“Our office is all paperless, meaning we don’t have any charts,”
said TruDental marketing director Eva Verdult. “We take digital
X-rays, which cuts down on radiation for the patient.”
Zakhary is still putting together the lab, but when it’s ready
he’ll be able to make crowns, dentures and other oral fixtures in the
office. An oral surgeon, orthodontist and other specialists are on
staff, and the office will later include a children’s dental clinic.
While the office accepts most health insurance plans, it also
offers a unique payment plan that covers almost any treatment --
cleanings, fillings, root canals and even braces -- with a monthly
fee that ranges from $64 to $130 for one person. With the plan,
patients can be treated based on their needs rather than what their
insurance will cover, Zakhary said.
He’s able to offer a range of services at a fixed fee because he’s
cut down on overhead by consolidating the specialists and lab
services into one office, he said.
The office is still building its clientele, but its
one-stop-shopping approach already has attracted patients like Gary
Clark of Newport Coast.
“Having an irrational fear of the dentist as I do, being able to
have a crown done and put on in the next half-hour here without
coming back [to the office] is a good thing,” Clark said. “The less
time I have to spend in the chair, the better.”
After practicing at Mesa Dental Center in Costa Mesa for 16 years,
Zakhary has thrown himself into his new venture. He plans to add a
medical spa at the TruDental facility, and he hopes to open 10 more
dental offices around California in the next five years.
“The bottom line is, make your patients happy,” he said. “The rest
will fall into place.”
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