First Dental Health Tops San Diego Chamber of Commerce List for Most Innovative Product or Service

San Diego, CA, July 7, 2011 – First Dental Health, a full-service dental network management company, has taken top honors in the category of Most Innovative Product or Service at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce 2011 Small Business Awards ceremony held on June 9. The company was also a finalist in the Emerging Business of the Year category.

"It is an honor to be recognized along with many other successful local businesses, and it's especially gratifying to have won this award," says Dr. Michael S. Grossman, President and CEO of First Dental Health. "We've been providing convenient access to affordable dental care for over 15 years, not only in San Diego, but throughout California."

First Dental Health is the largest independent dental network management company in California, More than 750,000 insured and uninsured Californians now access First Dental Health's networks. Its discount dental plan, New Dental Choice, was created to provide affordable dental services to people who aren't covered by dental insurance. New Dental Choice was the first discount dental plan to be licensed by the state of California in 2006, and plans to become a national product by the end of 2011.

The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce announced the 2011 Small Business Award winners at the annual San Diego Small Business Awards event. This event was held in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration and ESET.

About First Dental Health: First Dental Health is a full-service dental network management company, offering access to products, networks, and related services. The company began leasing both its PPO and EPO networks in California in 1995. The PPO network has become one of the largest independent dental networks in California with over 17,000 provider locations and the EPO network also acts as a subset fee-for-service network as part of a Point-of-Service (POS) product. Other products include a Mexico network, a fee-for-service discount network for larger employers and groups, and New Dental Choice, the first state-licensed discount dental plan, offering uninsured individuals, families and groups access to affordable dental care.