This month, several dental industry leaders spoke with Becker's about the most pressing issues and trends in the field, including artificial intelligence, staffing shortages and inflation.
Here are is what five dental leaders told us in July:
Antoinette Finizio. Chief Administrative Officer at Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry (Cary, N.C.): We are a clinician-led organization, and we always try to include our champions. We have a lot of doctors who love technology ... It's great when we can have the champion doctors try the technology in their offices and win over their teams but also then be able to mentor and support other doctors in other areas to understand the value of the technology. I will tell you that there's been an incredible wow factor from our patients. They love the fact that we have the technology available, and they love how it supports the clinical findings of the doctors to help them accept treatment, so they have not just the esthetics, but the functionality they're looking for. We're seeing a lot of those "aha" moments. Sometimes people aren't experiencing discomfort, so it's hard for them to equate having to have treatment when they're not feeling pain, but when they can see it in black and white, it really helps them to understand the value of the care they're getting and why it's important for them to accept treatment.
The factors holding dentistry back
Owen Waldman, DMD. Waldman Dental Group (Scottsdale, Ariz.): The biggest thing is insurance reimbursement. Inflation is sky high, staff salaries are through the roof and the overall cost of doing business is going up. Meanwhile, insurance companies jack their premiums up every year and [have left] reimbursement rates stagnant for a decade.
While going all fee-for-service is the goal, it's not always possible in many instances and in some way, shape or form, the vast majority of offices have to deal with them. If they gave dentists [cost of living-adjusted] reimbursements on an annual basis like the way they jack up their premiums annually, dentists would be paid fairly for their skills and there would be much more money for innovation, office improvements, etc. Unfortunately, insurance companies pump advertising dollars into all the dental associations, so instead of going at them to give proper pay to dentists, they do nothing and promote these companies at the dental conventions because of the money they pay.
What the US needs to solve its dental workforce shortage
Manny Chopra, DMD. Center for Dental Health (Cincinnati): The U.S. won't resolve its dental workforce shortage until it implements a comprehensive strategy to increase the number of allied dental professionals. Having the Commission on Dental Accreditation work to change its educational guidance policies will assist in adding capacity to the educational centers. The American Dental Association can help address the dental workforce shortage by promoting initiatives that provide scholarships and loan forgiveness for dental students who commit to working in underserved areas. The ADA has information that can be used by all state dental associations on raising awareness about the dental profession to school age students. This then becomes a grassroots effort to show the value of a career in dentistry.
This DSO's objective: a win-win situation
James Jones. Vice President of Cal Dental USA (Los Angeles): Our partnerships with NBA players are a new but strategic initiative. I've always wanted to merge entertainment and sports with the dental industry, similar to Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg's venture capital endeavors. As someone who is half Black and Latino, I love showing kids that you don't need to be a basketball player or rapper to be cool. You can excel in business too. When we find partners like Lamar Odom who are committed to making a change in the community, we create win-win situations for everyone involved.
How 1 MSO plans to bounce back after a slower first half
Henry Moomaw. CFO at U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Irving, Texas): The surgeons with whom we partner, they're industry leaders. These are folks who were stars in their residency programs and have built strong practices. We're very careful who we partner with. We're not going to partner with a group that's low margin, low quality. We've got two chief clinical officers because we deem that area so important. Of our seven strategic initiatives, our first is not on growth or profitability. Our first initiative is parallel patient care and quality programs, and we live by that. We have [also] put in place over the past year a dedicated three-person learning and development team that will help lead webinars to help the practice leaders and surgeons.