Florham Park, N.J.-based Select Dental Management has ensured the success of its network in a challenging economy by focusing on new technology, staffing and patient care.
SDM CEO Stephen Saukaitis recently spoke with Becker's to discuss the company's growth and goals for this year.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: How would you describe Select Dental Management's growth so far this year?
Stephen Saukaitis: Select Dental Management has experienced robust growth in 2024, surpassing our planned targets and building on the momentum of a strong performance in 2023. We are driving strong organic practice growth and profitability despite inflationary pressures, while supporting our partner practices in delivering high-quality patient care. We’ve accomplished this by incorporating new services and technology into our partner practices, working hard to recruit top talent and keeping our focus on supporting great patient care.
Q: What does the company have planned for the rest of 2024?
SS: We recently partnered with two practices in Maryland and are adding new practices through the end of the year. We will continue to invest in projects including new facilities and expansions that help provide our communities with additional access to high-quality, local healthcare.
For the rest of 2024, we are focused on several initiatives to support our partners and enable growth. This includes enhancing practice performance through investments in training and technology, such as leveraging AI for radiographs and in our RCM process, to ensure that our practices have the tools they need to deliver remarkable patient experiences.
Q: What are some of the core focuses for SDM right now?
SS: First and foremost, ensuring our practices have all of the tools they need to deliver remarkable patient care. We are also keeping the focus on great patient care through education with our hygiene program and supporting the role hygienists play in preventing and treating disease.
At the same time, Select continues to experience very strong patient demand, so we are adding providers and capacity in practices to keep up with that demand. We also launched a membership plan to help keep treatment affordable for patients. Our specialty in-sourcing program continues to grow, helping patients to get the comprehensive care they need, and the patient experience they want. We’re also receiving great feedback from implementing AI in many of our practices as well, including AI-assisted voice notes for periodontal charting and AI radiograph review.
Q: What are the top challenges facing dental practices this year? How about DSOs specifically?
SS: Dental practices continue to face challenges with rising wages and expenses, integrating advanced technologies and recruiting and retaining top talent. Additionally for DSOs, challenges also include managing scalability while ensuring consistent quality across practices, addressing IT security concerns and focusing on organic growth. By building an organization centered on partnership, collaboration and growth, we've been able to overcome many of these challenges and continue to be excited about the future.
Q: Many DSOs are preparing for more activity during the second half ahead of predictions for a more optimistic economy. Is this something you are following closely?
SS: Select continues to see strong demand across our practices despite economic challenges. We anticipate that borrowing costs will continue to decrease through the end of the year, which may encourage more deal activity for DSOs.
Q: What do you think DSOs will need to be successful and finish 2024 strong?
SS: To finish 2024 strong, DSOs need to focus on scaling effective processes, leveraging advanced technologies and maintaining strong partnerships with their supported practices. Focusing on recruiting and retaining top talent, being adaptable to economic changes and investing in information security and technology will be crucial to avoid disruptions and ensure continued growth.
Q: Are there any other trends you're following in the DSO field right now?
SS: We are continuing to follow and implement useful new technology, including AI for clinical applications and revenue cycle enhancement. We're also mindful of the growing threat of IT security concerns and the continued consolidation of the broader industry. While keeping an eye on these trends, we emphasize measured and validated rollouts of new programs and technologies to ensure the success of our partner practices.