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.”