Roderick Place was named COO of InterDent in 2017 and assumed Co-Leadership as Chief Executive Officer in 2018. Mr. Place has extensive experience transforming private equity backed healthcare companies through his strategic leadership, focus on operational excellence, clinical leadership collaboration, and structuring of field operations and corporate support teams. Mr. Place is also accomplished in leading boards and executive teams through expansive growth in mergers & acquisitions, DeNovo, due diligence and market consolidation. Before joining InterDent, Mr. Place served in executive level operations roles with Western Dental, MedQuest Associates and Alliance Healthcare. Mr. Place is also the Managing Director and Co-Founder of MedSummit Solutions, LLC. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from Grand Valley State University.
Matthew Wickesberg joined InterDent as EVP/CFO in 2016 and assumed Co-Leadership as Executive Vice Chairman two years later. In 2019, he was further elevated to Co-Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wickesberg is an experienced board member, executive officer, and lender with a deep background in multi-site hospitality and healthcare industries. He is also experienced working with lending institutions and private equity firms through structuring capital, due diligence, mergers & acquisitions, and uncovering portfolio synergies. Prior to joining InterDent, Mr. Wickesberg served in various senior finance roles with HOA Restaurant Group, ZTejas, Inc., and GE Capital. Mr. Wickesberg received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Dr. Heather Hawkins has committed her career to patient care while understanding current healthcare trends and value-based comprehensive care. Dr. Hawkins has an expansive clinical, academic and operational background, including leading medical-dental integration as well as quality and risk management for multi-site healthcare organizations. After 12 years of practicing general dentistry, she expanded her skills with several key roles in academia. In 2012 she joined the team at Adventist Health in Northern California, a multi-site health care organization with over 5,000 medical and dental staff physicians, as the Director of Quality. In her leadership role there, Dr. Hawkins led expansion and integration across the health system with medical and dental clinic management and an emphasis on comprehensive care models addressing patient risk factors, active disease and preventative measures. Dr. Hawkins earned her Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) from Nova Southeastern University in Florida and her Advanced Education in General Dentistry Certification from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Manu Chaudhry has dedicated his career in the pursuit of dental health care, improving clinical quality and access to care, and transforming delivery of care to improve overall health outcomes. He is a dynamic and mission-driven leader with extensive leadership experience over multi-region dental practices, and has also founded multiple collaborative organizations that reduce oral and overall health disparities. Dr. Chaudhry is a board member of Healthier Kids Foundation and holds a Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from University of the Pacific.
Sandra Lau is a seasoned legal adviser with over fourteen years experience acting as General Counsel of multiple dental healthcare corporations. Ms. Laus responsibilities include advising executive management, supporting strategic growth initiatives, overseeing all aspects of the corporate legal function including HIPAA, state and federal regulatory compliance, corporate transactions and governance, mergers and acquisitions, and risk and litigation management. Before Joining InterDent, Ms. Lau served as General Counsel at Western Dental. Ms. Lau holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Marymount University.
Bernard Piccione has extensive experience across a wide range of industries delivering complex enterprise-scale information technology solutions to achieve major global business value and objectives. Mr. Piccione excels at driving sustainable business growth through IT modernization, solution development, and global transformation initiatives while building strong partnerships to better leverage technology solutions. Prior to joining InterDent, Mr. Piccione served as CIO for Ingenuity Advisory Partners, Inc., Complex Care Solutions, Inc., and MagnaCare. Mr. Piccione holds a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science from Boston University.
Darrin Kellaris is a senior marketing executive with over 20 years experience specializing in digital marketing, social media, and brand strategy. Mr. Kellaris offers a record of success in creating and driving marketing strategies that strengthen revenue, margins, and market share by elevating brand authenticity and relevance. At InterDent, he leads all aspects of marketing including digital and social media, brand positioning, and performance analytics. Prior to joining InterDent, he led marketing efforts at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and IHOP. Mr. Kellaris holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from San Diego State University.
Diane Stern brings almost 20 years of dental services organizational experience specializing in organizational design and strategic partnering. Ms. Stern is responsible for Human Resources planning and strategy for recruiting, retention, benefits and performance management. She built her HR leadership experience through roles at Coast Dental, PrimeCo Wireless Communications and LabCorp where she focused on employee programs to increase engagement and satisfaction along with operational efficiencies. Ms. Stern holds a Bachelors degree in English Literature, Education, and Business from the University of Tampa and volunteers at KMR Group Foundation.
Reviews
Rating 4.2 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestCorinne Kneser
a year ago
Horrible experience for my kids first appointment. They were not gentle and compassionate, they treated my son and I who's on the spectrum like a number and we're irritated when he was nervous and not wanting to cooperate for strangers whom he just met. They spoke down to me when I expressed my concerns.. I also watched the dentist working on my son, jab my child in the gums intentionally for squirming so he would stop fighting with a sharp tool. On top of which he was held down. I decided to swap dentists and they called DHS on me.. I then called them to ask for a referral to a new dentist because the one I swapped to wanted a referral for care, they told me they don't do referrals and that their manager Macy would call me back.. I have not received a call back yet. I find this place to be sketchy, they advertise to be gentle and compassionate, and that they embrace a no trauma zone for kids.. my kid absolutely has trauma now, as do I. The front desk is very kind. But I don't find the doctor we worked with to be very kind, compassionate at all. And I feel calling DHS was retaliatory behavior for switching dentists. My experience here sucked. I'm glad to see others had a good experience. However we will not be returning and I'm still awaiting a call back.
Corinne Kneser
2 years ago
Horrible experience for my kids first appointment. They were not gentle and compassionate, they treated my son and I who's on the spectrum like a number and we're irritated when he was nervous and not wanting to cooperate for strangers whom he just met. They spoke down to me when I expressed my concerns.. I also watched Dr. McHuggins jab my child in the gums intentionally for squirming so he would stop fighting with a sharp tool. On top of which he was held down. I decided to swap dentists and they called DHS on me.. I then called them to ask for a referral to a new dentist because the one I swapped to wanted a referral for care, they told me they don't do referrals and that their manager Macy would call me back.. I have not received a call back yet. I find this place to be sketchy, they advertise to be gentle and compassionate, and that they embrace a no trauma zone for kids.. my kid absolutely has trauma now, as do I. The front desk is very kind. But I don't find "Dr McHuggins" to be very kind, compassionate at all. And I feel calling DHS was retaliatory behavior for switching dentists. My experience here sucked. I'm glad to see others had a good experience. However we will not be returning and I'm still awaiting a call back.
Jessica Schwarz
2 years ago
The Staff and Dr. Huggins are great! Very friendly and caring!
Alexis Benn
2 years ago
Dr Huggins is a dream dentist! She did so great with my 5 year old. Her assistant Brian was very helpful & kind. Melanie at the front desk is super helpful. The whole team is positive, caring, and very kid friendly.
Amanda Dietrich
2 years ago
Dr.Huggins and staff made my very nervous 7 yr old feel very welcome and even got him to laugh and smile! Thanks for a great dental experience for a little boy who had dreaded coming!
Rebecca Turley
2 years ago
They worked really well with my special needs son and everyone was super patient.
Christopher Lang
3 years ago
We were referred to this office for pediatric dental service. My child has so much fear of dentists period due her previous encounter with unpleasant dental operation. Surprisingly she came out of the office smiling and telling me how she enjoyed talking to her dentist. We really like this office. The office is nice. The primary dentist is so wonderful. She is very professional and she knows how to talk to kids. We also appreciate very much the explanation of the dental services and the follow up on upcoming appointments--great communication from the assistant at the front desk.
Anya
3 years ago
My daughter, 3 yrs was going for her first appointment-we went somewhere else first and she was in a corner screaming NO! They recommended Dr. Hugs here. This was a dream visit- finally- children treated with respect, humor, gentleness they need, and honor!!! Now if only I could find a doctor that honored children in this way. This was- a step into a dream story: my daughter was relaxed, they played dentist the children's way- and in the end, my daughter told me that they were so kind to her- and at the end of the day, she said, that it had been a good day. I could tell that she felt so proud of herself! It was a great accomplishment for us. Thank you dearly.
Anya
4 years ago
My daughter, 3 yrs was going for her first appointment-we went somewhere else first and she was in a corner screaming NO! They recommended Dr. Hugs here. This was a dream visit- finally- children treated with respect, humor, gentleness they need, and honor!!! Now if only I could find a doctor that honored children in this way. This was- a step into a dream story: my daughter was relaxed, they played dentist the children's way- and in the end, my daughter told me that they were so kind to her- and at the end of the day, she said, that it had been a good day. I could tell that she felt so proud of herself! It was a great accomplishment for us. Thank you dearly.
Christopher Lang
4 years ago
We were referred to this office for pediatric dental service. My child has so much fear of dentists period due her previous encounter with unpleasant dental operation. Surprisingly she came out of the office smiling and telling me how she enjoyed talking to her dentist. We really like this office. The office is nice. The primary dentist is so wonderful. She is very professional and she knows how to talk to kids. We also appreciate very much the explanation of the dental services and the follow up on upcoming appointments--great communication from the assistant at the front desk.
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