At Becker's Dental and DSO Conference Feb. 19, industry leaders discussed top priorities for DSOs and how to create a culture of success.
Here are four key takeaways:
1. "Pay attention. Everyone is guilty of having their head down in daily work, but the dental sector is extremely active right now," said Bart Walker, an attorney specializing in the dental and DSO space at McGuireWoods. "Educate yourself on what's going on or it will pass you by very quickly. Get different perspectives because it still very much is a local business that varies by region, state, competitive threats."
2. "Pick the right partner for you," said Brian Colao, director of Dykema's Dental Service Organizations Industry Group. He said picking the best cultural partner is the best long-term choice to make, even if another one has a higher purchasing price.
"If your culture isn't good, people are going to pass on the transaction," he said
3. "Operational components and modules are imperative," said Diana Thompson, founder and CEO of Dental Performance Institute. She added that an existing patient base can be a "platinum mine," but only if staff is trained properly, personalities are understood and the process is clear.
4. "To see dentistry boom, we have to make the connection between mouth and body," said Joseph Feldsien, senior vice president of professional partnerships at Pacific Dental Services. "The mouth-body connection is real — it's causative, not just a correlation."