September 09, 2008 17:26 ET

American Dental Partners Announces the Accreditation of Arizona's Tooth Doctor for Kids

WAKEFIELD, MA--(Marketwire - September 9, 2008) - American Dental Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADPI) announced today that Arizona's Tooth Doctor for Kids has achieved accreditation status with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care ("AAAHC").

Arizona's Tooth Doctor for Kids is a dental group practice which provides dental care to children through six locations and two mobile dental units in metropolitan Phoenix and Globe, Arizona and participates in health plans contracted with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System ("AHCCCS"), the state's Medicaid program. "Arizona's Tooth Doctor for Kids' accreditation is well-deserved and is recognition of its dedication to clinical excellence and the quality patient care it provides to the children of Arizona. The structure and processes required of accreditation will be the foundation for the intended national expansion of our pediatric, Medicaid business," said Gregory A. Serrao, Chief Executive Officer.

American Dental Partners encourages its affiliated dental groups to pursue AAAHC accreditation as a means to set and maintain measurable quality benchmarks and achieve the highest possible standard of patient care. Dr. Jesley C. Ruff, Senior Vice President and Chief Professional Officer of American Dental Partners, works with the Company's affiliates in the pursuit of accreditation. "We hope that by having our affiliated dental groups be part of a select group of dental practices accredited by the AAAHC, American Dental Partners will be at the forefront of promoting clinical excellence in the dental profession," said Dr. Ruff. "While AAAHC accreditation is a rigorous and demanding process, we believe it will help our affiliated dental groups continue to recruit high quality professionals and enhance relationships with patients and local dental communities," Dr. Ruff added.

The AAAHC was formed in 1979 to assist ambulatory health care organizations improve the quality of care provided to patients. Accreditation is a voluntary process through which ambulatory health care organizations are able to measure the quality of their services and performance against nationally recognized standards. Currently accrediting over 3,800 organizations, the AAAHC is the leader in ambulatory health care accreditation.

American Dental Partners is one of the nation's leading business partners to dental group practices. The Company is affiliated with 27 dental group practices which have 242 dental facilities with approximately 2,097 operatories located in 18 states.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein contain "forward-looking" statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or collectively impact the matters herein described, including but not limited to the possibility that we may not realize the benefits expected from our acquisition and affiliation strategy, economic, regulatory and/or other factors outside the control of the Company, settlements or judgments of pending litigation, which are detailed from time to time in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's SEC reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.