From staffing to treatment approach and catching up with new technologies, here are some of the biggest aspects of the dental industry that dentists and executives feel are in need of a refresh.
The leaders featured in this article are all speaking at Becker's 2024 dental conferences. This includes our Spring Future of Dentistry Roundtable, which is set for June 19-21 at the Swissotel in Chicago, and the Fall Future of Dentistry Roundtable, which is set for Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.
If you work at a DSO or dental practice and would like to be considered as a speaker, please contact Randi Haseman at rhaseman@beckershealthcare.com.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is something in the dental industry that you feel is outdated or needs to be changed/updated?
Jeff Chaffin, DDS. Chief Dental Officer of Delta Dental of Iowa (Urbandale): From a clinical perspective, I think dentistry needs to stop treating all patients in a standardized manner and use a more personalized and risk-based approach. For example, I see a lot of dentists taking radiographs when the insurance benefit covers it — instead of using a risk-based method and taking them more often on some patients and implementing a philosophy of infrequent radiographs on low-risk patients. Not only do clinicians need to change, but the insurance benefit industry needs to change to be more risk-based as well in their coverage.
Jordan Cooper, DDS. Cooper Family Dentistry (Jacksonville, Ark.): In the dental industry, the outdated practice of valuing practices based solely on a percentage of collections fails to reflect crucial profitability factors. This approach overlooks operational efficiency, overhead costs and growth potential, leading to inaccurate valuations. Recognizing these limitations, there's a shift towards using multiples of EBITDA, favored by buyers like DSOs, as it provides a more comprehensive view of a practice's financial performance. By focusing on stable earnings and cash flow, EBITDA-based valuations offer more informed investment decisions and mitigate risks associated with fluctuating revenues.
Jeffrey DeBellis. COO of Max Surgical Specialty Management (Hackensack, N.J.): Technological solution alignment across the industry, specifically in the oral surgery space, comes to mind for me. While technological innovations are constantly emerging in both the clinical and management settings, the ability to link tools, gather useful decision-informing data quickly at a reasonable cost with minimal disruption of day-to-day operations that truly enhance performance, is challenging. While some pliable technological solutions may exist, none have truly captured the imagination of the industry just yet.
Alexander Einbinder, DDS. Dentist of Caterpillar Dental (West Babylon, N.Y.): Single-use plastics: The dental industry generates significant waste through the use of single-use plastic products such as disposable bibs, cups, syringes and packaging for instruments. Transitioning to eco-friendly alternatives, such as biodegradable materials or reusable options, could help reduce environmental impact and promote sustainability within the profession. Eco-friendly and biodegradable or reusable products would aid in waste reduction, decreasing plastic products with BPA which are harmful to the environment and our bodies. In the long run, offices will save money and reduce waste, which is a win-win.
A.J. Peak. CEO of Peak Dental Services (Colorado Springs, Colo.): Given the advancements in X-ray and AI technology such as Pearl, I believe the practice of relying solely on a dentist's eyes to review an X-ray without AI assistance is outdated. I’m not suggesting AI technology replaces the wisdom and training of a dentist, but rather it ought to be the standard of care dentists review and take into consideration the AI insights to make their recommendations.
Ronald Perry, DDS. Associate Dentist at Dentistry by Design (Boston): One area ripe for innovation within the dental industry lies in modernizing the process of taking dental impressions, traditionally conducted with cumbersome putty-like materials. These antiquated methods often lead to patient discomfort, along with messy and time-consuming procedures. Enter digital impression technology, a contemporary solution employing intraoral scanners to capture precise 3D images of the patient's teeth and gums. This cutting-edge approach boasts an array of benefits, such as heightened patient comfort, expedited turnaround times, and seamless digital storage and transmission of impressions for future reference. Although many dental practices have embraced digital impression technology, there remains ample opportunity for advancement, particularly in enhancing affordability and accessibility for smaller practices. Moreover, ongoing advancements in software and hardware hold the promise of further optimizing the capabilities and efficiency of digital impression systems. In essence, transitioning from traditional dental impressions to digital alternatives stands to significantly elevate the patient experience while streamlining workflows throughout the dental industry.
Daniel Romary. Chief Information and Analytics Officer of North American Dental Group (Pittsburgh): One key area that the dental industry should move away from is the use of traditional impression material to create molds for crowns, dentures and prosthetics in general. As newer digital technologies become available such as 3DD scanning, supported by AI modeling, the result is more precise, expedited and less expensive care. In addition, leveraging 3D scanners to create the prosthetics also cuts down on time to provide care and lab costs.
David Sopp. Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at First Choice Dental (Madison, Wis.): The dental industry needs to develop solutions for increasing the supply of hygienists and dental assistants. The ADA recently released its "Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry" report for Q1 2024, and in the report, 72% of dentists said that recruiting hygienists was "extremely challenging". Similarly, 47% of dentists said that recruiting dental assistants was "extremely challenging". Measures such as interstate dental compacts, increasing the number of dental hygienist and dental assistant graduates yearly and creating new paths to the professions such as hygiene assistants are helping, but more solutions are needed.