TAKING KARE TO PATIENTS

When asked if he ever imagined his life’s journey taking the course it has, Dr. Kwane Watson (‘99), shares he never anticipated being where he is today— the founder and CEO of Kare Mobile and current president of the American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance (AMTA).

As the first doctor on either side of his family, Dr. Watson speaks about initially focusing on becoming and serving those in need of care as a dentist—not being a business owner or entrepreneur.

But becoming a business owner and entrepreneur is exactly what he accomplished.

TAKING

KARE to Patients

Left: Dr. Kwane Watson (‘99), CEO of Kare Mobile

“It’s been a journey. It really has. Everything I have done prior as an entrepreneur and a dentist, from franchising and the logistics side of my medical transportation company and owning a couple of practices…I took previous experience and incorporated it into this model,” shares Watson speaking of Kare Mobile.

Following UKCD, Dr. Watson worked as an associate in three dental practices and provided emergency care at a correctional facility in the evenings. It didn’t take long for him to start looking for an opportunity to grow, selecting and taking advantage of an opening to acquire his first practice.

“Associating one or two days a week in a practice that I was considering acquiring or partnering in allowed me to truly see beyond the numbers—see the culture, the patient mix—and determine how I would tweak the practice as opposed to acquiring it and not having a plan in place,” shares Watson.

“Everything I have done prior as an entrepreneur and a dentist...I took previous experience and incorporated it into this model,”

Dr. Watson increased his success, growing the practice he acquired by moving to a new location that provided space for more operatories and room to house a sandwich franchise. Business was good, which prompted him to expand further in 2007 to open a second, upscale practice. While the second dental practice was profitable, a tightening economy and the initial investment required worked against profit margins. Dr. Watson also realized that his passion was serving working-class and underserved populations more so than high-end clientele. Ultimately, he would sell both practices and embark on a path to something entirely different.

While working as the State Dental Director for Community Dental of Kentucky, a non-profit oral health provider serving Kentucky’s families and Medicaid population, Dr. Watson gained a clearer view of access issues and demand for dental care while traveling between western Kentucky and west end Louisville.

“Practicing in western Kentucky was an eye-opener. You think the west end of Louisville is underserved. I didn’t realize the degree of need in western and eastern Kentucky…how long people have to wait to get an appointment because there are no Medicaid provider available. The state will pay for patients to be transported to Louisville or Lexington to get emergency services.”

During this time, Dr. Watson began working on some other efforts, including a medical transportation company and a mobile app to connect dental patients to dentists for same-day treatment— matching availability, the skillset for the needed treatment, insurance, proximity, and more factors. When original plans for the app did not come to fruition, Dr. Watson began to rethink how to monetize the app and recoup his investment. With an extra van in his medical transportation company and a friend with experience in completing food truck renovations, Dr. Watson’s first mobile dental operatory was created, and a plan for a new comprehensive service began to take shape.

Dr. Watson continued expanding his concept to create Kare Mobile, a Dental Support Organization dedicated to mobile dentistry. He describes Kare Mobile as a turnkey, concierge, mobile dentistry option for dentist and hygienist licensees. Licensees benefit from a field-tested mobile clinic design, practice onboarding and launch support, operational services, and software geared toward supporting mobile dentistry service, and more.

“I would never have thought this would have been my journey, but I’m very excited about the impact that we’re having. We’re trying to help younger doctors maybe consider practice ownership a different way and create opportunities for people to be able to receive care in areas that may not make economic sense to set up a big brickand-mortar practice in this day and time,” shared Watson.

While he believes there is still an opportunity for success in opening new fixed location practices, Dr. Watson shares that mobile dentistry helps avoid factors that could cause some to shy away from practice ownership. Interested in sharing this opportunity with others, Dr. Watson sought to secure investors and build awareness of Kare Mobile.

“I started talking to venture capital firms to help with the capital necessary to scale this model. Talking with people who are in a higher socio-economic level about mobile dentistry for a community with less access, you are talking to rich people about access issues. They are like, ‘I don’t have any problems getting to the dentist…I don’t understand the problem.’ If they can’t understand the problem, they’re not going to invest in it.”

Dr. Watson turned his attention to making connections at numerous events and conventions to grow more awareness of the offering. While attending a Smiles at Sea cruise, he met Sonya Dunbar, known by many as the Geriatric Toothfairy, who invited him to speak at an American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance event—a move that would not only help to propel Kare Mobile further but also serve to help elect Dr. Watson as the alliance’s first president. Upon starting this new role, Dr. Watson shared that he was focused on increasing industry awareness, advancing supportive legislative policy on mobile and portable dentistry, and building an inclusive environment in the alliance to foster collaboration to improve oral health access.

“I’ve met so many marvelous people that really care about their patients and providing access and thinking outside the box to solve things. It’s very easy for us to keep chugging along and doing things the way we’ve always done them. Even though the outcomes aren’t ideal, we’re not willing to take the risk to try something new. And, sometimes, we’ve got to try something new.”

Today, Dr. Watson spends his energy working to support the goals of AMTA, caring for dental patients, and focusing on improving aspects of and growing participation in Kare Mobile. Later this year, through the non-profit arm of Kare Mobile—On Demand Kare—he looks forward to increasing participation in Michigan. With the support of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ford Motor Company, and Lightship Foundation, two dentists in the southeast Michigan area will be selected to receive a free 2021 Ford Transit mobile dental van and services from Kare Mobile. In exchange, the winning dentists will commit to improving oral health care access by serving patients in southeast Michigan for at least 50 percent of their time for two years.

“It is huge to have the support of an insurance company… to have their buy-in, for them to understand we have to try things differently, we have to continue to innovate. We believe that the nimbleness of the mobile units will allow us to reach populations that would otherwise not be able to be reached in Michigan,” shares Watson.

“I would never have thought this would have been my journey, but I’m very excited about the impact that we’re having.” HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY OR A SUCCESS YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH CLASSMATES? SHARE YOUR NEWS WITH THE COLLEGE AT DENTISTRY.UKY.EDU/CLASSNEWS.