This week’s episode of “WisBusinesss: the Podcast” is with Kelly Thompson, president and chief operating officer of First Choice Dental.
The dental clinic operator yesterday announced three practices under Milwaukee Dental Partners have joined its group. As of this week, Oakbrook Dental in West Bend, Jackson Family Dentistry in Jackson and Sauk Trail Dental in Saukville are part of its network, which now has 20 locations.
First Choice Dental was founded in 1996 when a group of three dentists in the Madison area combined their practices, and has largely grown by starting up new clinics over the years.
Thompson says “now we’ve entered into a new avenue” with the acquisition of the Milwaukee sites. The company opened its first office in Rock County earlier this year, and also brought on a corporate development specialist to handle mergers and acquisitions.
“We really wanted to expand our opportunities outside of Dane County … and knew that we wanted to be moving closer to the Milwaukee market, working our way east,” he said.
Looking ahead, the business aims to continue growing through acquisitions and is targeting opening another new office in the Pewaukee area in the near future.
“We want to complement that growth in Milwaukee … and we’ll continue to look through the state for other opportunities, for like-minded practice leaders that look and feel like a First Choice Dental office,” Thompson said.
The conversation explores some of the factors the company’s leaders look at when assessing a particular market.
“Is it a growing community? Is it an underserved community? Do we feel we can add providers, and add access in those communities as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Thompson weighs in on a shortage of dental hygienists the industry has been grappling with for years. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the issue, he said, but emphasized First Choice Dental’s efforts to recruit and retain these professionals at its offices.
“The more rural you get, the more challenged you are with provider staffing,” he said.
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
