Western Dental Services Hires Veteran Exec as Chief

Western Dental Services Inc., a large dental health maintenance company, hired an industry veteran Tuesday as its new chief executive to help manage its growth and boost profits.

Robert C. Schur, a former chief operating executive of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.’s dental plan, replaced Michael Silva, a consultant who had held the posts of president and chief executive on a temporary basis since February 1995, according to a Western Dental official.

Schur, 48, joins a managed-care company that has experienced rapid growth in membership but declining profits in recent years, said Robert Ganiere, its chief financial officer. The plan, which has 370,000 members across California, operates about 100 dental clinics, contracts with outside dentists and had revenue of $146 million last year, Ganiere said.

Schur and Silva couldn’t be reached for comment.

Ganiere said that while Silva was in charge of Western Dental, he continued to provide consulting services to other companies. Ganiere added that although he wasn’t personally involved in the management change, he said he believed that the company’s biggest concern was that “we needed somebody who’d be working full-time for Western Dental.”

For five years, Schur has headed the Tustin-based California Dental Health Plan, which PacifiCare bought in 1993. According to officials at Western Dental, Schur worked to improve customer satisfaction at California Dental and oversaw its growth from about 200,000 members to 900,000.

Western Dental officials said Schur likely will push ahead with marketing of group plans and expansion into other states. The company is seeking regulatory approval to offer managed dental plans in Arizona and Colorado.

Western Dental’s California clinics generally serve people on low incomes and provide care on extended credit terms, company officials said. About 40% of its members are on public assistance.