Improving work culture, industry burnout and DSO consolidation were a few of the topics dental leaders addressed with Becker's in October.
What we heard this month:
How to create a better work culture for dental hygienists
Jess Gibel. Professional education manager at OraPharma and dental hygienist: When you think about what a dental hygienist does to make a dental office run smoothly, it's a team effort. Dental hygienists do a lot there every day. I think a lot of people don't realize that. So for them to feel valued and respected is going to be a huge part of that.
Rajdeep Randhawa, DDS, of Innovative Dentistry (New Jersey): Corporate dentistry is burning out dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and other support staff on a daily basis to a point of no return, causing real damage to their whole support network while boldly claiming work-life balance in their elaborate organizations, whose goal is to extract a decent amount of profit for themselves, their private equity and other investors.
The biggest roadblock facing new dentists today
William Kottemann, DDS, of Kottemann Orthodontics (Minnesota): Orthodontically speaking, I certainly do see consolidation coming in the next five years for larger practices, which is going to be an interesting dichotomy in the sense that the larger practices are obviously the ones that private investment is interested in as opposed to the small guy or gal.
Where will technology take dentistry? 2 dentists' predictions
Manny Chopra, DMD. Center for Dental Health (Cincinnati): The future of dentistry involves the integration of software platforms used with our electronic dental health records and a vast variety of support industries. We are now implementing digital scanner technology into everyday dental practice, and patients are getting comfortable with the utilization of scanning technology, not only with diagnostic evaluations, but for treatment outcomes.
Where dentistry needs more independence, per 1 professional
Charles Rim, DDS, dentist at Oregon State Hospital (Salem): In the upcoming years, the dental industry will evolve more into integrated health services, especially in the public health sector. As more people are under care for chronic health conditions with an increased number of aging population, there will be a greater need for interdisciplinary healthcare professionals providing health services to improve health outcomes and quality of life.