TruDent
MacDent AG was founded in Eckernförde in 1999 as the first German franchise system in the health sector for dental practices and dentists. In December 2007, the company was renamed TruDent AG . It is based in the Carlshöhe district in Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein .
Litigation
TruDent / MacDent has been the subject of numerous disputes since it was founded. For example, the Schleswig-Holstein Chamber of Dentists complained against the use of the AG's "quality seal" on the dental practice sign as advertizing, misleading and thus unprofessional. The district court of Kiel, and on appeal the higher regional court of Schleswig, dismissed the actions of the Dental Association (AZ: LG 15 O 47/05, OLG: 6 U 60/05).
There were also disputes with the now insolvent competitor McZahn over the naming rights. McZahn was warned in December 2006 by the then MacDent AG and the deletion of the "McZahn" brand demanded. The application has been submitted to the European Patent Office in Alicante (Spain). Since the clarification is dragging on, MacDent renamed itself TruDent at the end of 2007 in order to avoid further confusion.
Name change
Since McZahn was founded in 2006, the two corporate groups have been confused with one another or lumped together. They took completely different approaches. TruDent / MacDent tries to establish itself on the market with verifiable quality. Participating dentists must regularly undergo further training, have a certified quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001: 2008 installed in their practice and comply with contractually agreed professional guidelines for examinations and therapy. In addition, there is a three times longer guarantee period for dentures, crowns and inlays. A follow-up examination of treated patients takes place annually as part of a random sample of three patients per dental practitioner.
McZahn, on the other hand, started out as a discount provider of dentures. He tried to get his way through the cheapest price. The dentures were manufactured inexpensively in China, the minimum benefits were covered by health insurance. Since McZahn's appearance on the German dentist market - especially in the press - there have been repeated reports of "low-cost providers like MacDent and McZahn". The general association of the syllable "Mac" with "cheap" also prompted TruDent AG to change its name in 2007.
Board of Directors and Supervisory Board
The sole director of TruDent AG is the dentist Armin Jäkel, who was formerly President of the German Association of Private Dentists (PZVD).
Are supervisory boards of TruDent AG
- Peter Oberender, Bayreuth, (Chairman)
- Peter Müller, Hamburg
- Reinhard Wingral, Eckernförde