As the leading provider of integrated business services to orthodontic and pediatric dental practices, with more than 850 affiliated centers in which nearly 500,000 patients are in treatment, OCA has developed a time-tested business model. On the patient side, it means a dedication by our affiliated practitioners to delivering top-quality, convenient services at an affordable price. On the business side, it means that OCA takes care of the details so that our affiliated practitioners can take care of their patients. The net result: high patient satisfaction rates and strong returns for our affiliated practitioners and shareholders.

Increasing Operating Efficiencies
The cornerstone of OCA’s operating model is an emphasis on helping our affiliated practitioners increase the operating efficiency of their practices. We offer a powerful portfolio of services, including marketing, operations and technical support, information technology, purchasing and real estate services. These are tangible support services that produce measurable results and help make a practice more efficient.

A Powerful Suite of Services
Our technologically oriented services, driven by proprietary accounting, payroll, purchasing and practice management systems, create efficient, robust operations and provide valuable information needed to take action. Scheduling, training and staffing systems streamline operations and enable centers to increase productivity. If a center is not operating at full capacity, we can assist in building business. If an orthodontist’s schedule is overloaded, we can help find an associate, a general dental assistant or additional clinical staff to work under the orthodontist. By taking advantage of OCA’s assistance with routine management functions and delegating certain clinical tasks to capable staff, OCA affiliated orthodontists are able to handle more patients more efficiently. These services improve the quality of life for OCA affiliated practitioners, take multiple burdens off the practitioner and improve profitability, while enabling the practitioner to maintain quality care.

Lower Operating Expenses
Our systems reduce operating expenses. As the world’s largest single purchaser of orthodontic supplies, OCA provides access to more than 40,000 products from over 300 vendors through a vast, Internet-based purchasing system, delivering significant economies of scale to affiliated centers. Our sophisticated technology applications streamline business and deliver day-to-day feedback on practice performance relative to other practices affiliated with us. As an example, we measure and grade the performance of affiliated practices each quarter based on eight key criteria, and we deliver an analysis, including recommendations, to the practice. This electronic report card is simple and is invaluable in improving practice operations.

Adding Value
The average annual pre-tax income of a mature practice affiliated with OCA is significantly higher than that of the average traditional practice. That, in turn, translates into significantly higher annual compensation for OCA affiliated practitioners. Through sophisticated scheduling and staffing systems, OCA affiliated orthodontists are able to see significantly more patients per day on average than do traditional orthodontists.

Quality Practices
We help our affiliated practitioners create quality environments. OCA affiliated offices are generally better equipped than most standard practices. We continuously invest in new equipment for OCA affiliated centers and update office space to improve the environment and provide better service to patients. In fact, we invested a significant portion of our capital expenditures for 2001 in improvements to new and existing centers to facilitate same center revenue growth. We help monitor the quality of care through a variety of quality assurance programs. In 2001, OCA affiliated centers achieved extremely high patient satisfaction ratings in patient surveys. State-of-the-art facilities, state-of-the-art technology and state-of-the-art management practices—that’s what OCA is all about.