Our History: More Than 50 Years of Family Dentistry

It Started With a Frightened Dental Patient

Our Founding Dentist: Dr. Floyd Kasch

Long before Dr. Floyd Kasch became a dentist, he knew what it felt like to be afraid of one.

As a child, Dr. Kasch had painful and frightening experiences at the dentist. Instead of becoming easier with time, dental visits became increasingly difficult. He remembered worrying about an appointment for an entire week beforehand and being unable to sleep the night before.

Years later, those experiences would profoundly influence the kind of dentist he chose to become.

That simple idea became the foundation of a dental practice that has served generations of families in the Portland-Vancouver area: providing excellent, comprehensive dentistry while doing everything possible to make patients feel comfortable, respected, and safe.

Today, more than five decades later, that philosophy remains at the heart of Sleep Dentistry.

“I knew what had bothered me, so I was trying not to create that in anybody else.”

— Dr. Floyd Kasch

From Dental Patient to Dentist

Dr. Kasch was born in Nampa, Idaho, but his family moved to Southeast Portland before his first birthday. Portland became home.

Before entering dentistry, he worked with his father in the family’s commercial real estate development business. But Dr. Kasch realized his kind and relaxed nature was not a good fit for the hustle and bustle of commercial construction. He felt that something in the medical field that would allow him to use his craftsmanship skills aligned with his personality much better. Upon reflection, he decided dentistry would be an ideal choice and started on his career path.

1970

University of Oregon Dental School

Dr. Floyd Kasch Earned his DMD

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Dr. Kasch earned his DMD from the University of Oregon Dental School,
the predecessor of today’s Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry.

His education did not end with dental school. Throughout his career,
Dr. Kasch had an intense interest in learning new techniques and
expanding what he could offer his patients. Extensive continuing
education became a lifelong pursuit.

There was a practical reason for that breadth of knowledge.
Dr. Kasch knew that patients who had finally worked up the courage
to trust one dentist might find it extremely difficult to start
over with an unfamiliar office for another procedure. Whenever
practical, he wanted his patients to be able to receive the care
they needed from people and surroundings they already knew.

1972

Started Training in IV Sedation

Dr. Kasch Continued Education in Intravenous Psychosedation

Dr. Kasch's interest in sedation dentistry began almost immediately after dental school. In October 1972, he completed continuing education in “Intravenous Psychosedation” and "I.V. Analgesia" through the University of Oregon Dental School. His training continued over the following years.

By June 1975, he completed formal postgraduate lecture and clinical training series in both inhalation and intravenous sedation through the Northwest Analgesia Research Group and the University of Oregon Dental School's Continuing Education Department.

1973

The Beginning of the Practice

Opened his Dental Practice

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Dr. Kasch opened his dental practice in 1973 near the corner of SE 192nd Avenue and Stark Street in Southeast Portland. The first location was intended to be temporary, as a permanent dental facility was already being built nearby on Stark Street between SE 192nd and 194th Avenues.

His father built the building specifically with Dr. Kasch’s dental practice in mind, and Dr. Kasch helped influence its design. In 1974, the practice moved into its new permanent home.

The office opened with six private treatment rooms, a substantial dental facility for its time.

Private treatment rooms were an intentional choice. Rather than treating patients in an open clinical environment, Dr. Kasch wanted people to have privacy and a quieter, more personal experience—an approach that continues throughout Sleep Dentistry’s offices today.

1974

A Gentle Dentist for Fearful Patients

The Permanent Dental Office

From the beginning, this was a family dental practice—but one with a particular understanding of people who were afraid of dentistry.

Dr. Kasch frequently used the words “Gentle Dentistry” to describe his approach. Nitrous oxide was readily offered to apprehensive patients, and oral sedation provided another option for patients who needed additional help relaxing.

1975

Introducing Sedation to General Dentistry

IV Sedation Available For Patients

1975 IV Sedation CE Series Completion Certification

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During the early years of his career, Dr. Kasch made IV sedation available to patients on a limited basis. At the time, however, he did not make the option widely known, and relatively few patients received IV sedation. Not yet realizing how significant the need for this type of care really was, he later stopped providing IV sedation for a period of time. Sedation was only part of the philosophy.

Dr. Kasch believed the dentist, staff, surroundings, and manner in which treatment was provided all influenced a patient’s experience. Treatment rooms were individually decorated and deliberately made more interesting and inviting than the sterile clinical environments common at the time. Patients weren’t rushed simply because they were frightened. Patients weren’t judged for being afraid.

Some patients came in after avoiding dental treatment for 10 or 20 years—or even longer. For these patients, getting through the door could be an accomplishment in itself.

The goal wasn’t simply to get them through one appointment. It was to help them regain their oral health and, over time, change what going to the dentist meant to them.

1981

Dental Office Making Headlines

Recognized for Caring for Fearful Dental Patients

news paper publishing of sleep dentistry

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In 1981, The Oregonian featured Dr. Kasch and his Rockwood dental practice, focusing specifically on his approach to helping people who were frightened of dental treatment.

The article described an office quite different from the stereotypical dental practice of the era. Treatment spaces included plants, artwork, music, and individually decorated rooms. One room was even known as the “Jungle Paradise.”

The decorations were memorable, but the philosophy behind them mattered more: make the dental office feel less frightening.

At the time, much of the practice still served families from East Portland and Rockwood. As its reputation grew, however, patients began coming from throughout the Portland metropolitan area. Some drove hundreds of miles—and occasionally people would fly in from out of state—just to receive his care.

Full Service Dental Office

Comprehensive Care Under One Roof

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Dr. Kasch also recognized a recurring problem among patients with severe dental anxiety.
Someone who had avoided dentistry for many years often didn’t need just a filling or a cleaning. They might need extensive restorative dentistry, oral surgery, or comprehensive reconstruction. Sending a highly anxious patient from office to office could create another barrier to completing treatment.
So Dr. Kasch continually expanded his education and the scope of treatment available within the practice. Comprehensive restorative and surgical dentistry became an important part of the practice early in its history.
That philosophy—providing as much of a patient’s dental care as practical in one familiar practice—continues at Sleep Dentistry today.

2003

Sleep Dentistry of Portland

New Name, Same Dental Services

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By approximately 2003, the practice began publicly using the name Sleep Dentistry of Portland.
The new name made something that had been part of the practice’s identity for decades much easier for patients to understand: this was a place specifically prepared to help people who had difficulty receiving conventional dental treatment.
Importantly, Sleep Dentistry did not stop being a family dental practice.
Routine preventive and general dentistry remained central to the practice. The difference was that patients who needed additional help overcoming dental anxiety had options.

2006

Sedation Dentistry & Dental Surgery for All

Reintroducing IV Sedation and Expanding Surgical Dentistry

DFTH Dr. Floyd Kasch - dentist in portland

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In 2006, Dr. Kasch returned to offering IV sedation dentistry, a service he had incorporated into his practice more than three decades earlier. He completed the updated education and credentialing to once again provide IV sedation and made it a consistent option for patients who needed additional help receiving dental care comfortably.
It was, in many ways, a return to the practice's roots. Dr. Kasch had first started his continuing education in IV sedation back in 1972 and by 1975 it was offered it on a limited basis. What had changed by 2006 was his understanding of just how many patients could benefit from having this option available.
Once patients were consistently made aware that IV sedation was an option, the need became much more apparent. For some people with significant dental anxiety, nitrous oxide or oral sedation did not provide enough help for them to comfortably receive the care they needed. IV sedation also provided another option for patients facing lengthy or complex treatment.
From that point forward, IV sedation became a consistent part of Sleep Dentistry's approach to caring for patients who needed additional help receiving dental treatment comfortably.The practice also began placing dental implants in 2006, further expanding the comprehensive surgical and restorative treatment that could be provided in-house.
At approximately the same time, Dr. Kasch began bringing associate dentists into the practice and personally helping them develop their skills in treating fearful patients and providing sedation dentistry.
That mentorship helped turn what had originally been one dentist’s philosophy into an enduring practice culture.
The commitment to sedation education continues today. Sleep Dentistry’s doctors pursue advanced education in sedation dentistry, and one of our associate dentists serves as an instructor for DOCS Education, an organization dedicated to professional education in dental sedation.

2007-17

Giving Back to the Community 2007-2017

Dentistry From The Heart

paitents waiting for sedation dentist portland

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From 2007 through 2017, Sleep Dentistry of Portland participated in Dentistry From The Heart, an annual event in which the doctors and team volunteered their time to provide dental treatment at no charge to people in the community who otherwise might have difficulty accessing care.

Over the course of nine events, the Sleep Dentistry team provided free dental treatment to 744 patients, representing $242,140 in donated dental care.

The program grew considerably over its early years. At the 2009 event, for example, the team cared for 75 patients and provided more than $20,000 in treatment in a single day. By 2012, 129 people received approximately $42,000 in donated care, and in 2013 the team provided more than $46,000 in treatment.
Everyone participating—from the doctors to the clinical and administrative team—volunteered their time. For Sleep Dentistry, Dentistry From The Heart was one way of extending the practice's philosophy of compassionate dental care to members of the community who needed additional help receiving it.

2009

Expanding The Portland Dental Office Location

Making More Rooms To Serve Patients

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By 2009, Sleep Dentistry of Portland had outgrown its original space.
The practice expanded into the adjoining suite of the Stark Street building, increasing the Portland facility from six to 12 private treatment rooms and roughly doubling its size.
Yet growth did not change the fundamental approach to care.
Patients continued to receive treatment in private rooms, and the practice continued combining routine family dentistry with comprehensive restorative and surgical treatment and catering to people with dental anxiety.

2013

Dr. Kasch Retires

Passing the Philosophy to the Next Generation

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Dr. Kasch continued practicing actively through 2012.
In 2013, he substantially reduced his clinical schedule and carefully transitioned his patients to the associate dentists he had worked with and mentored. He then retired from clinical dentistry after a career spanning more than four decades.
Although Dr. Kasch stepped away from the practice after retirement, the principles he established remained:
Be gentle. Listen to the patient. Don’t judge someone for being afraid. Provide excellent dentistry. And whenever possible, give patients the care they need in a place where they already feel comfortable.

2018

Sleep Dentistry Opens Location in Vancouver

Sleep Dentistry Expands to Vancouver, Washington

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In 2018, Sleep Dentistry crossed the Columbia River with the acquisition of an established dental practice in Vancouver, Washington.
The acquisition included the existing doctors, staff and facility, allowing the organization to expand while maintaining the continuity of an established local dental team.
The Vancouver office became Sleep Dentistry of Vancouver, while the organization increasingly became known collectively as Sleep Dentistry of Portland & Vancouver.
The expansion brought the practice’s model of comprehensive general dentistry, patient comfort and sedation dentistry to more families throughout Southwest Washington.

2024

Third Dental Office Opens in Vancouver East

A New Sleep Dentistry Office in Camas

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In August 2024, another major chapter began with the opening of a newly constructed Sleep Dentistry facility in Camas, Washington.
The facility was commissioned in partnership with another local dental practice and built by a local developer. Sleep Dentistry’s portion was designed with 15 private treatment rooms, making it the organization’s largest individual clinical facility.
Like the Portland practice Dr. Kasch helped design 50 years earlier, the new facility was planned around the way the practice wanted to care for patients rather than simply adapting to an existing clinical space.

Today

Sleep Dentistry Today

Innovative Dental and Sedation Dentistry

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What began with one dentist and six treatment rooms in East Portland has grown into a three-location dental practice serving Portland, Vancouver, and Camas.
Today, Sleep Dentistry encompasses approximately:

3 dental offices
37 private treatment rooms
30 team members
5,000–7,000 active patients

All three locations provide sedation dentistry, and all continue to provide comprehensive family and general dental care.
Our patients come to us for routine exams and preventive care as well as restorative dentistry, dental implants, surgical treatment, full-mouth rehabilitation and other complex dental needs. For patients who need help with anxiety, sedation options allow treatment to be tailored to their individual needs.
Most of our patients live in the Portland-Vancouver area, although some still travel considerable distances for care—just as patients did during Dr. Kasch’s years in practice.

Today

Care, Quailty, and Dental Expertise

More Than 50 Years Later, the Principle Is Still the Same

Technology has changed enormously since 1973. Dental materials have changed. Sedation techniques have advanced. The original six-treatment-room practice has become a multi-location organization.
But the fundamental idea behind Sleep Dentistry hasn’t needed to change.
Dr. Kasch became a dentist who cared deeply about patient comfort because he remembered what it was like to be the frightened patient in the chair.
More than 50 years later, we still believe that excellent dentistry and compassionate dentistry should be the same thing.
We treat our patients with the same level of care, comfort and quality dentistry that we would provide for members of our own families.
That was the foundation of the practice in 1973.
It remains our standard today.

Our History: More Than 50 Years of Family Dentistry

It Started With a Frightened Dental Patient

Our Founding Dentist: Dr. Floyd Kasch

From Dental Patient to Dentist

Dental Services At Sleep Dentistry

Sleep Dentistry of Portland

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Sleep Dentistry of Vancouver West

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Sleep Dentistry of Vancouver East

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