An Interview with KöR Whitening Rod Kurthy, DMD
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Researcher, Evolve Dental Technologies, maker of the KöR Whitening System
INSIDE DENTISTRY (ID): How is the KöR Whitening System unique?
Rod Kurthy (RK): In addition to private practice, I’ve been involved in research since 1976.My first participation in a clinical whitening study was in 1977, so I’ve been investigating the science of whitening for a long time.Rather than following the typical approaches to whitening, most of which were developed by accident and not based on any science, I have developed a system that is based on what the laws of physics and chemistry dictate. The scientific approach and methodology make the system extremely effective, which is what most dentists already know about KöR Whitening.
ID: What are the three most important elements of your success?
RK: First, by following the science, we provide what dentists are truly after—predictable effectiveness, “wow” results, and lower sensitivity.Constant refrigeration is just one of many ways we ensure our whitening products provide amazing results. We’re the only company in the world to refrigerate a full line of whitening products from the instant of manufacture until received cold by dental practices. This means dentists always receive products that are as effective as the day they were made.
Second, we provide ongoing help for our dentist and dental staff customers in any way we can. Our Clinical & Marketing Specialist Team is incredibly knowledgeable, and their sole responsibility is to help our customers with virtually anything they need. Each office is assigned to one Specialist Team member, and they can think of that person as their concierge at KöR.
Third, KöR used to be a bit more time consuming and costly for dentists. With recent research and development and our rapid growth, we have been able to reduce the time involved as well as the cost.KöR is now no longer any more costly or time consuming than other whitening systems, yet it gets even better results than ever.
ID: What defines your approach to business?
RK: Having practiced for 35 years myself, I think like a dentist, not a “corporate guy.” We operate KöR just like a great dental practice.Like a dental practice, overhead and profit are important, but patient care is the most important thing.At KöR, extraordinary care of our dental professional customers is our number one priority.
ID: What inspires the forward motion of your company in today’s marketplace?
RK: Doing the right thing.We dentists are tired of all the misleading hype in the marketplace. When we buy something, we worry that it will end up collecting dust in the closet.For more than 2 years, we’ve offered a 100% satisfaction guarantee. No whitening company has ever done that before.If a dentist tries our system and doesn’t agree that it’s the most effective whitening system in the world, they can have a full refund.
I like the motto, “Say it like it is.” At KöR, we like to present our systems as they truly are. Because our system does exactly what we advertise it to do, we’re very comfortable with the guarantee. And dentists love that there is no risk of getting stuck with a “dust collector.”
ID: How is the global economy impacting your operations?
RK: We started KöR about 5½ years ago, at the same time that the bottom fell out of the economy. But judging by our rapid growth, you wouldn’t have any idea there was a bad economy. Six months ago we moved into our third facility.We just keep outgrowing them.Our current facility is twenty times larger than our first.
I believe if you provide something that really works and people love, and if you treat your customers like royalty, you can’t help but grow.
