Izmirlian Eurasia Foundation Small Business Loan Program Armenia

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Yerevan’s 21st Century Dental Clinic:
Loans from the Izmirlian-Eurasia Foundation Small Business Loan Program
Help Armenian Dentists Provide Quality Care

By Armenhuie Petrosyan,
Yerevan, Armenia

Cosmetic dentistry is a new service in Armenia--bringing hope to thousands of people suffering from severely damaged teeth. One clinic, 21st Century, has emerged as an industry leader with help from the Izmirlian Eurasia Foundation Small Business Loan Program.

Karen Muradyan and Kima Galstyan, both qualified dental specialists, founded the 21st Century clinic in 1996 with the goal of offering affordable cosmetic and reconstructive care to the public. With the logistical support of the neighboring Dental Clinic #5, they were soon able to set up an office and gather a complete team of other highly qualified dentists and technicians. Many of the first patients at the 21st Century clinic came as referrals from Dental Clinic #5.

In 1997, as dentistry steadily improved throughout Armenia, the 21st Century clinic produced 25 percent more dental prostheses than the year before. The company signed contracts with seven dental clinics across Armenia and soon faced a dilemma common to small businesses: meeting growing demand meant upgrading technical equipment -- a large expense that the clinic could not afford. Muradyan and Galstyan knew that the advantages of acquiring new equipment included being able to produce higher-quality dentures, unlike those produced elsewhere in Armenia that contain disease-causing metals -- diseases such as gastritis, colitis, ulcers, and enteritis.

"We wanted to introduce higher-quality products without making them more expensive," recalls Muradyan, the Director of the 21st Century clinic. "We needed to expand and upgrade our equipment to offer a better product and catch up with back orders. We knew we had to take a risk, but we also knew we could make it."

Their instincts were right. In 1997, the clinic obtained a $15,000 loan from the Izmirlian Eurasia Foundation Small Business Loan Program (SBLP). The loan helped the company not only to acquire equipment manufactured in Germany and immediately increase production, but it also helped them install a laboratory at the Dental Clinic #5 and organize training courses for about 70 dental technicians a year.

Since then, the 21st Century clinic has continued to grow, with increased revenues helping to repay the SBLP loan in full. Providing a wider range of manufacturing and training services than ever before, the clinic applied for and received a second, more substantial SBLP loan. With these funds -- totaling $34,700 -- the company was able to purchase materials for aesthetic crowns made of metal, ceramic, and plastic and to offer more complex dental bonding procedures.

Today, the 21st Century clinic takes pride in offering its patients attractive and natural-looking cosmetic restorations at reasonable prices. The company also plans to meet the dental health needs of more diverse groups of patients by offering a wider range of services. Currently, most 21st Century patients are senior citizens, as the company concentrates on manufacturing and placing partial and complete dentures, as well as crowns and bridges. Should the clinic also be able to provide orthodontic (prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities) and implantologic (implanting dentures or separate teeth) services, it will be the only dental clinic in Armenia offering complex prosthodontic services for all age groups. With an eye on putting these plans into action in the near future, the 21st Century clinic has already applied for a third SBLP loan.

January 2000