While the dental industry has long been celebrated for its recession-proof stability, inflation has tested the resiliency of dental offices nationwide.
Shilpi Priyadarshini, DDS, the regional managing director at Dallas-based Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics, recently joined the Becker's Dental + DSO Review podcast to discuss how inflation can be one of the biggest barriers to success for dental practices.
Editor's note: This response was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What are some of the biggest issues that you are following in the dental industry this year?
Dr. Shilpi Priyadarshini: To be honest, the issues and challenges in our industry have always remained the same. The intensity might change depending on the economic climate, but if I have to choose the two most important challenges, the first one would be patient acceptance and winning the trust of the patient to accept the care beyond their chief complaint. Artificial intelligence [and] patient presentation tools like intraoral scanners, orthodontic simulators [and] Overjet, as well as the provider's confidence in holding the conversation, are really big keys to success.
The second thing I would say is dentistry is recession-proof, but are we inflation-proof? Having a strong financing option that is able to cater to a range of patients and the different credit histories that might come with our patient population is the need of the hour. So, a patient might have the willingness to take care of the prescribed treatment, but if they're not able to afford it, that can be our biggest barrier. So, having good financial options with flexibilities, with payment plans [and] with low interest rates could be very beneficial for the success of the practice.