It's official: The team behind mobile dentist office Studio Dental will be opening a brick-and-mortar clinic this fall. The clinic will be located at 25 Taylor St., the ground floor of coworking company WeWork's Golden Gate location.
Studio Dental launched its mobile dental clinic in 2014, with the goal of making the experience of seeing the dentist more convenient. Since the beginning, business has boomed, says CEO Lowell Caulder. Cleanings and root canals may not be glamorous, but the demand for them is outstripping the two exam rooms in the company's trailer.
Caulder says Studio Dental chose the space at 25 Taylor because its operations team is based out of an office on the seventh floor of WeWork. When the company got wind of WeWork's plans to lease the ground-floor space, they jumped on it before one of the many other companies in the building could. (Full disclosure: Hoodline is also based out of WeWork Golden Gate.)
With the new space, Studio Dental will have about 1,800 square feet for five new exam rooms—more than triple its current capacity. Caulder envisions the clinic at 25 Taylor becoming the company's headquarters for intensive procedures, especially those that require multiple visits, while the mobile clinic continues to focus on new patient intake and routine cleanings.
The permanent clinic will also provide patients with more stability, especially those who aren't employed by one of the companies that partner with Studio Dental to regularly park its dental trailer outside their offices.
While the mobile aspect of Studio Dental's operation is quite novel, that's just one element of its appeal, Caulder said. Through conversations with "smart people" who just don't go to the dentist, he and his team learned that many avoid regular cleanings because of the inconvenience of finding a dentist locally, and the fear of being surprised with steep fees after a visit. To combat these barriers, Studio Dental allows patients to do everything online: viewing estimated costs for services, scheduling an appointment, and paying their bill.
While out-of-pocket costs are determined by clients' individual insurance policies, first visits at Studio Dental are covered 100 percent, and most patients' insurance policies cover about 80 percent of any visits after that, Caulder said.
In addition to being just an elevator ride away from its operations team (and seven floors of busy professionals), opening a dental office on the edge of the Tenderloin is a strategic move for the company. Most of the city's dentists are located in the Financial District, and there are only a few in SoMa, making the Tenderloin a "dental desert."
That's especially true in the current real estate market. The former Western Dental at Market and Larkin is closing to become a mental and behavioral health center, and Little Saigon's Pacific Dental Services is soon expected to vacate after 15 years, due to a rent hike. Throw in the up-and-coming office culture of Mid-Market, and there's clearly a high level of demand for dentistry.
To give back to the community, Caulder says the company is currently working with the Department of Public Health on a plan to offer free dental services at the city's Project Homeless Connect events. With their added space, they'll have more capacity to potentially work with low-income neighbors in-house as well.
Studio Dental is hoping to open its brick-and-mortar office in the fall. We'll have more information on the opening date as it becomes available.
