From Devastation to Determination:
When historic floods swept through Asheville in September 2024, the damage was swift and widespread. Businesses were shuttered, power was out for weeks, and vital infrastructure lay in ruin.
Along the Swannanoa River near Biltmore Village, one of the hardest-hit areas, Mark Anderson, owner of Image Dental Arts, faced the unimaginable: a submerged lab, lost equipment, and an uncertain future.
“I couldn’t even reach the building until Saturday,” Mark recalls. “Haywood County was cut off completely. Roads were impassable, rivers over their banks. When I finally got into Asheville, I had to wade through knee-deep mud just to see the building from the railroad tracks.”
What he saw was heartbreaking—windows shattered, mud and debris choking the entrance, and the ever-present smell of spilled chemicals and fuel. But instead of despair, Mark chose action.
Within 48 hours, Mark and his contractor—Shick Construction, (Mark and David) out of Haywood County, who had helped build the original lab—were clearing trees just to reach the facility. A restoration crew from ServPro was on site that same Sunday, beginning the long process of cleaning out the muck and stabilizing what was left.
“I was here every day with my team,” Mark says. “We worked from daylight till dark for weeks, extracting over 500 patients’ worth of cases. Our goal was to salvage what we could.”
But cleanup was only part of the challenge. With no electricity, no water, and no clear timeline for recovery, Image Dental Art faced operational paralysis. That’s when something remarkable happened.
“Bob Savage of Drake Dental Lab in Charlotte—someone I’d never even met—called and said, ‘Bring your business here. Use my lab,’” Mark says. “That call changed everything.”
Over the next few weeks, Mark’s team of 48 employees made the weekly journey to Charlotte, working out of a borrowed lab facility while reconstruction began in Asheville. Staff members stayed in hotels and Airbnbs, working four-day weeks and making the best of an impossible situation. “The friendships that developed from this collaboration between us has has tremendous impacts on my life, and the lives of staff members from both companies, forging lasting relationships through this shared experience.”
“We had team dinners, hotel game nights, even parking lot chats,” he says. “We turned crisis into connection. It was seven months of unexpected team building.”
The temporary relocation cost nearly $100,000 a month—housing, travel, and lab rental all on Mark’s dime. Federal relief efforts never materialized. “Unlike COVID, there was no support for us,” he says. “No grants, no SBA loan approvals, nothing.”
But through it all, the business survived. Customers stayed loyal. Equipment was slowly replaced. And by early spring, the Asheville lab was up and running again—thanks to a relentless focus on teamwork and grit.
“Our lab has been part of this community since the 1970s,” Mark says. “My families heritage in the dental lab business started in the early 70’s. My dad started out in the basement of our house, and many years later—in 2002—I started my my lab. We’ve served hundreds of thousands of patients across Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, and South Carolina. This wasn’t just a building—it was legacy.”
Now back in their renovated space, Image Dental Arts continues to serve dentists and patients with handcrafted restorations and cutting-edge digital technology. But the emotional scars remain.
“There’s a sense of being forgotten,” Mark admits. “You feel like you’re living in a third-world country waiting for help that never comes. FEMA was a mess. SBA was silent. And yet we’re called an essential business—but where was the support?”
Despite those frustrations, Mark remains optimistic.
“We’re here. We’re open. And we’re stronger than ever. This community deserves to know the people who make their teeth—because it’s an art, and it’s our life’s work.”
