CLEAR LAKES DENTAL

The vendor opportunity at Clear Lakes Dental

Clear Lakes Dental is a health services franchise headquartered in Minnesota, operating 8 total locations — 5 franchised and 3 company-owned. For software vendors, the addressable market is those 5 franchised units, each generating an average unit volume of $5,342,664. While the network is small by unit count, the high AUV signals well-capitalized operators who can invest in technology. The franchise charges a 7.0% royalty and operates under 10-year initial terms, with 5-year renewal periods available to franchisees in good standing.

Year-over-year unit growth is not disclosed in the most recent FDD, and no operator footprint is mapped in our corpus. Ownership appears independent, with no parent company on file. This concentrated structure means a single HQ-level decision can roll out software across the entire system quickly, making it an efficient target for vendors who can align with the leadership team's priorities.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2025 FDD identifies five executives who form the buying center at Clear Lakes Dental. David Park serves as President, CEO, and Member-Manager, giving him ultimate authority over strategic vendor relationships. Matthew Park is the CFO and Business Manager, likely controlling budget approvals for software expenditures. Ying Thao holds the COO role, which typically oversees day-to-day operations and the tools that support them. Nancy Yang is Director of Internal Auditing, a function that may influence compliance-related software decisions. Most relevant for technology vendors, Austin Fraune is listed as Director of Innovations — a title that strongly suggests ownership of technology scouting, evaluation, and implementation.

For SaaS vendors preparing to pitch, Fraune is the natural first point of contact, with the CFO and COO as key stakeholders in any purchasing decision. The small executive team means fewer layers of approval, but also less tolerance for solutions that do not directly address operational or financial pain points.

Mandated and current tech stack

Clear Lakes Dental mandates two categories of software across its system: online accounting software and online dental practice management and scheduling software. The FDD does not name specific vendors for either category, which means the franchise may allow franchisees some flexibility within those mandates, or the preferred vendors are communicated through the operations manual rather than the disclosure document.

For vendors selling into this account, the mandates signal both opportunity and constraint. If you offer accounting or practice management solutions, you are competing against an incumbent — named or not — that already has system-wide adoption. If you sell adjacent tools (patient engagement, revenue cycle management, analytics, cybersecurity, or IT infrastructure), the mandates confirm a technology-forward operating philosophy but do not block your entry. The absence of a named POS or hardware vendor in the FDD is also notable; many dental franchises specify these, and the omission here may indicate an open or lightly specified procurement environment for non-mandated categories.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD — which typically discloses whether franchisees must purchase from designated suppliers or may use approved alternatives — contains no extract in our corpus. This means the procurement model is not publicly known from the most recent filing. Vendors should clarify during discovery whether Clear Lakes Dental operates a closed supplier program or an open procurement environment.

Contract timing offers a structural entry point. The initial franchise term is 10 years, and Item 17 specifies that renewals are available for 5-year periods. Franchisees must give notice between three and six months before expiration, sign a new agreement that may contain materially different terms, and potentially undergo retraining. These renewal windows — occurring every 5 years after the initial term — are natural moments when franchisees reassess their technology stack. For a system with 5 franchised units, even a single renewal cycle can represent a meaningful sales opportunity if the franchisor is open to vendor changes.

How to read the Clear Lakes Dental FDD

The 2025 Clear Lakes Dental Franchise Disclosure Document is filed with state franchise regulators and available in the embedded viewer below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team and ownership), Item 11 (franchisor assistance and mandated technology), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, if disclosed), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). These sections reveal who buys, what they must use, how they must buy it, and when contracts come up for renewal. For a more complete picture of how Clear Lakes Dental ranks alongside other franchise targets, FranCloud can provide a scored, ranked list of the best-fit franchise systems for your software category.