Dr. Roger G. Sanger

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Sanger received a BS and DDS (1970) from the University of Southern California as a Trustee Scholar. As a Mott Foundation Fellow, he completed a three-year residency (Pediatric Dentistry -1972) and fellowship (Craniofacial Anomalies/Genetics -1973) and obtained a postdoctoral certification in Pediatric Dentistry from USC and its hospital systems (1972). He then served as Residency Program Director and attending staff at USC Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with research in Craniofacial Syndromes. He was a NIH Fellow and obtained a MS in Healthcare from the USC Schools of Education and Medicine (1975). He then went on faculty at the University of Colorado Medical Center and School of Dentistry where he attained the rank of tenured Full Professor in Pediatric Dentistry as well as Chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry/Orthodontics and Assistant Dean for Hospital Programs. He attended the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology obtaining certification in Forensic Dentistry and was the first Forensic Odontologist for the State of Colorado. He was awarded a WHO Fellowship (1981) for sabbatical oral health research in the Far East. Dr. Sanger coauthored two clinical textbooks in Pediatric Dentistry and hundreds of scientific articles and textbook chapters.

With a familial business background, he left academic career (1982), and cofounded a private practice that became over the next three decades one of the largest regional multidoctor, multifacility pediatric dental groups in California with over 150 employees, two surgicenters, a hospital based practice, and an orthodontic alliance practice. He cofounded a non-profit 501(C)3 foundation with private grant support for affiliated school based mobile dental clinics. Dr. Sanger sold this practice internally in 2011 to devote more time to other dental entrepreneurial business activities. At the time of his departure, this group was billing over 34 million dollars per year through provider participation in Medicaid, CHIP, Headstart, Migrant Headstart, and other commercial indemnity and PPO insurance plans. Over 40% of which being enteral conscious sedation administered full mouth rehabilitation care. He was a founding member of one of the first management service organization (MSO) in dentistry, the precursor to today’s DSOs.

In 1982, Dr. Sanger and his wife, a USC BS RDH dental hygienist founded The Sanger Group which offered practice management seminars and workbooks for national study groups and dental consulting companies. He authored in 2008 a management textbook “The Entrepreneur’s Children’s Dental Practice”. He has been a Contributing Editor for Dentistry Today and a contributing author for Dental Economics. Dr. Sanger is both a “wet fingered, in the trenches dentist” as well as a “leader in innovative practice endeavors.” Dr. Sanger trademarked the terms “Pedonomics” and “Pedometrics” which conceptualizes the financial impact of game changing technology with time economics and business systems in today’s pediatric dental practice.

In 2009, Dr. Sanger became the first Director of Pediatric Sedation curriculum for DOCS Education of Seattle lecturing at numerous multiday courses each year as well as being involved in personal learning experiences courses at his group practice. Besides being intravenous sedation trained, he has performed over 15,000 cases of in-office pediatric enteral sedation with full mouth reconstruction.

In 2014, Dr. Sanger was cofounder and course director/faculty for NuSmile’s Institute for Pediatric Dentistry bringing didactic and simlab education in today’s “gamechanging” clinical pediatric dental procedures through hands on education at many dental schools, dental organizations and DSO groups.

In 2016, Dr. Sanger became the Exec. Dir. of MCNA Dental Plan of Idaho, the administrator for the State of Idaho dental Medicaid/CHIP program. In 2017, Dr. Sanger also became the Director of Dental Operations for MCNA in establishing new state contracts. MCNA Dental is a MCO specializing in the administration of state dental Medicaid/CHIP programs. MCNA is a subsidiary of United Healthcare where presently Dr. Sanger is a consultant.

In 2020, Dr. Sanger joined the board of directors at Execudent, a leading company founded by Dr. Joel Berg in bringing talent to opportunity in the dental profession. Dr. Sanger is a Life Member of the ADA/CDA/ISDA and AAPD/WSPD/CSPD/ISPD having served on many of their boards and committees. He is on the board of one of the critical care hospitals in St Luke’s Health System of Idaho.

Dr. Sanger is an Eagle Scout and former dental officer in the USAFR Dental Corps. He lives in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Carmel-by-the-Sea, California with his wife Kathy, and maintains interests in writing, historical research, and vintage firearms.