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 4.1 out of 5 based on 162 reviews
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newest oldest highest lowestNorma Delgado
a year ago
Very unprofessional staff starting with front desk, 2 hour wait just to get an estimate. Staff and dr arguing in front of patients. Staff needs to be trained on how to be professional and respectful to patients. (N. Stephanie location)
Juan Torres
a year ago
Why do I keep coming back to this place? Up until two months ago I never had a problem. I was supposed to just go in for them to get my new tooth fixed after they messed up on my first one. As well as get a molding of my lower jaw, that's it. I waited a hour and watched three other people get taking back to do what they needed done but not me. The dentist is great but that's about it. This will be the third time I waited a hour or better for something so benign.
m marsengill
a year ago
Scheduled exam, cleaning and X-rays. X-rays taken, Dr reviews them and teeth and said all looks good . And that a hygienist will do the cleaning. I wait and wait ,no hygienist ever shows. Someone from the front office shows up and has a "treatment plan". A plan for 2 addionatl deep cleaning treatments at $ 250.00. I said no thank you ,just do the clean as scheduled. She said " we don't do those". My question was why? Her response was the hygienist measured and decided I needed it. What hygienist? This dental practice is another of the deep clean scam offices. Stay away.
M. King
2 years ago
If I could give this place a negative one million I would. They are liars and everyone who goes there requires a deep scale cleaning. They also have bogus charges that no insurance company will cover. When I ask the unpleasant lady at the front counter she could not explained it and finally said "I don't know it's just something we charge." They also do not understand or respect time. I was given a 8:00 appointment and verbally told do not come until 8:30 once I arrived I still had to wait 30 minutes to be called back to sit some more in the dentist chair. An apology in no way covers the bad service I received from this office. A full refund should be issued. Furthermore, the work they were supposed to do was not completed properly. Now I'm must fly to Virginia to have the work done properly. This will be a major expense to me, airfare, hotel for 30 days and unable to eat correctly.
Tehya elliott
2 years ago
Amazing!!! Came in for an exam and for my wisdom tooth to be taken out, and I was feeling very nervous about getting the shot to numb the area but Dr. Cressman made me feel very comfortable and I didn't feel a thing! It was quick and easy, and the whole staff was amazing, from the receptionist to the dentist. And I appreciated that his assistant thoroughly went over everything on how to best care for my tooth area. Overall, very impressed with this place and their staff. They did an amazing job!
Christina Thompson
2 years ago
I called Gentle Dental for an emergency situation for a very special friend of mine who was in severe pain with two teeth that needed to be extracted that we knew of. He was in desert springs hospital for nearly 10 hours this morning, which they did not assist him with his pain properly and ignored him, so I highly do not recommend you going to desert springs hospital. Therefore, I called Gentle Dental and they kindly assisted me setting an appointment for him today at 11:00 a.m. and that was fast. The process was very smooth. We arrived at the appointment and filled out the paperwork and within 15 to 20 minutes my dear friend was back in the office getting his examination. Everyone there was so kind and courteous, quickly attended to him to determine what they needed to do to help him out of his pain. All I can say is they are the kindest and truly gentlest people in a healthcare facility that I have seen in months; as I have had horrible experiences with desert springs hospital & sunrise hospital during my own devastating illnesses recently. Gentle Dental was just that, very gentle with his emotions and his pain. Thank you so much and we can't wait to get back there to take care of the rest of the process of getting him out of pain. Thank you to all the staff who attended him. On another note even though my dear friend was in severe pain and his jaw completely swollen from the infection, the nurse that attended the doctor made him laugh and that's hard to do when you're in such severe pain as he was. Thank you! Dr Cressman and his staff showed the true kindness and gentleness that all healthcare facilities need to extend. On the flip side I changed my 5 to a 4 because it's 3:15pm and we still have no order filled at Walgreens. I am very disappointed because when we left at 12pn were told that we would have our medication electronically sent and it should be there within 1 1/2hrs. We called Walgreens within that one and a half hours and they did not have him in the system. I waited another hour and I called them again and they still did not have his medication in the system. So, I called the doctor's office back 30 mins ago and spoke with Faith and she said that it generally takes by the end of the business day when they send ALL patient medications to the pharmacies. DEVASTATING! To say the least! Again, we were told the script would be electronically sent to the pharmacy within 1 1/2hrs from the time we left and that was 12:00 p.m. So for us to call back and receive different information, it was actually misinformation,(not everyone is on the same page apparently). We're very disappointed in that because he's sitting here now in excruciating pain with two very infected teeth, which the infection is moving through his system and that's poisonous & deadly. This is very dangerous so it's nice and as competent as they seemed, I would have hoped that his care would've been taken more seriously.
Mark Blanchfield
2 years ago
I wouldn't recommend gentle dental went in for a cleaning and check up. The lady in billing was supposed to get back with us in 48 hours from what she said about bill never received any call. I ended up getting a root canal and (crown extension? ) which I was billed fifteen hundred dollars for, then for the next 3-4 weeks in crucial pain wouldn't you think they would do the cleaning first and then the root canal so ended up with a infection and on 600 and 800 mg ibuprofen.
Crista H
2 years ago
I was treated very kind by the dentist and the dental assistant.
Rebeca
2 years ago
As a returning patient, I have never been treated so poorly anywhere. The front lady Anna was extremely rude. I was left in tears with the words she gave me. I really hope they record phone calls so they can re train her. I tried calling another number and for some weird reason the same location answered. I told the lady that answered what happened with Anna, and she did not care and simply gave me another number to try. I just can't believe how disrespectful they were with a RETURNING patient!
Anonymous
2 years ago
It was a horrible experience from ana
Londa Lane
2 years ago
My Significant Other waited for over a hour in the back for scheduled root canal When ask Why, the Office Manager tred to patronize me, speaking to me like I was a child, she said "he said it was okay", of course he did, he was in pain, scheduled his job accordingly, not to mention when I ask, the the The girl tried to say"who" So O you have more them one male patient waiting hack there for over an hour, they saw he & I when we came in and the only other male patient walk out and stood in front of my car frying to motion to me. This visit seemed like all kinds of wrong from The moment faces broke when we walked in together. Regardless if appt's for a Specialist or Hygienist Overbooking/Overlapping patients is never a good business practice, 1 difficult patient is all it will take and the entire schedule is blown. Well most staff had gone home and it was dark when he (can you all follow who "he" is...) But he was relieved to finally be out of pain and I don't ind if he wants to keep this dental location bc being so close to home. Just a little more forthrightness and Not we're right bc we say so, you never know what line of work someone else is in and after all it's just the adult kind thing to do and would make for a much better review at the end of the day.
Maria
2 years ago
Horrible customer service from Anna. Please check your recorded lines, she is very rude and was not apologetic at all! It's so upsetting because I've been a patient for years!!
Rose
2 years ago
From start to finish everyone at this office was friendly and professional.
Shiela Beavers
2 years ago
This is one of the best dentist I've ever gone to everybody was so amazing that assistant was awesome and he made sure I felt comfortable I thought relaxed my whole experience was just amazing and I hate going to the doctors and all that but everybody was super nice and they really cared and they really took care of my tooth and got me in quick fast I was able to get appointments right away very clean very sanitary just amazing
Asia Walker
2 years ago
Very friendly staff that makes you feel at home. Their name rings true because they are very gentle and they make sure to provide as much information as possible for the treatments you receive.
Mr Polo
2 years ago
Wife enjoyed the Dr and hygiene assistant but only issue may be with billing and insurance. Yet to be determined. The interior and bathrooms were immaculate. Was very busy which says to me they have return clientele. Jesus cares say your prayers. Amen
nicole blinn
2 years ago
I understand they may get behind. But waiting over 30 mins just to be brought back is ridiculous. I left work early to make sure my kids got here on time. Been waiting over and hour and half... still not done with a cleaning.
robert stanley
2 years ago
I felt very comfortable at the office today the people at the front desk and the technicians working with me maybe feel comfortable and very professional and that means a lot to me when dental work is rather personal So thanks and have a merry Christmas to all of you an a safe and happy New Year
P Localdemon
2 years ago
Came in to reattach a cap and a cracked tooth. Though I hate to go to the dentist. I was happy that Gental Dental took care of me. The experience was great and I have a new dentist.
ShoottheDK
2 years ago
Received great care and I didn't feel pressured I to my fillings or the scaling and flush. They simply told me what they believed needed to be done. The best part was they told me every single co-pay and cost prior to each procedure. There were no surprises. This will be my dental office from now on.
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