The rise of artificial intelligence, insurance pressures and the oral systemic link are just a few of the most pressing issues dentists say are flying under the radar of the industry.
Five dentists recently spoke with Becker's to discuss the issues that are not getting enough attention and their impact on the dental industry.
Editor's note: These responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What issue in dentistry is not getting enough attention?
William Almoney, DDS. Almoney Dental Group (Kettering, Ohio): One major issue in the dental industry that lacks attention is the vital connection between patients' oral health and their overall wellbeing. Poor dental health has been linked to serious medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, respiratory infections and pregnancy complications. Yet, many patients view dental care as merely cosmetic or low priority. Raising awareness of this connection could lead to greater acceptance of treatments that would improve both oral and systemic health. This responsibility shouldn’t fall solely on dental professionals. Physicians, insurers and policymakers must also play a role in promoting the importance of dental health as part of overall healthcare.
Edward Balasanian DDS. Orange County (Calif.) Center for Oral Surgery & Dental Implants: Artificial intelligence is going to have a huge impact on the overall healthcare system, both in terms of the delivery of healthcare and the administration of healthcare. Oral healthcare and dentistry will also be greatly affected by AI and I don't think it is getting enough attention. AI has the ability to apply a level of objectivity and standardization that does not currently exist in our field, both in general dentistry and across all of the specialties. In terms of delivering dental care, AI will allow for a more standardized diagnosis of radiographs, which is already being used in our field, and over time I expect third-party payers will also use AI to verify the diagnosis and treatment provided to their patients. All aspects of our practices will be affected, including diagnosis, treatment, billing and collections.
AI will have a huge impact on our field. AI has the potential to streamline many processes and improve the delivery model. I think most dentists today have not taken the time to explore AI in their personal lives such as with ChatGPT or in terms of their practices. Change of this magnitude is not easy and will be difficult for some. Those who are early adopters and learn to incorporate this technology as a resource and tool in their practices have much to gain. Like it or not, AI is here and will become more pervasive in our practices. The future belongs to those who incorporate AI and other technologies that will ultimately help them deliver better care to their patients. Patients in turn will start looking for AI tools in our practices, and if a practice is not adopting or using AI tools, that may be a turnoff for patients and over time affect the productivity and value of those practices.
Justin Harlow, DDS. Harlow Dental (Charlotte, N.C.): One issue not getting as much attention is the movement toward getting out of network from insurance carriers and returning dentistry to fee-for-service. Not all practices are doing this, but many owners are making business decisions to drop plans and phase out network participation as various economic indicators and rising costs continue to force offices to find ways to maintain profitability.
Phillip Isaacman, DDS. Bluff City Dental (Memphis, Tenn.): As a general owner-operator, every day has issues. We love the things that are good for dentistry. I love the DSOs. They increase access to care and give young dentists a first step into the world. What everyone’s sleeping on is how much profit is being made off people by the dental insurance companies. We’re trying to help people and get paid, but now we’re spending 2 hours on admin for every 1 hour of clinical. Getting a breakdown of benefits is a shell game. Negotiating requires losing patients. We’ve seen [insurers] change the rules of periodontal classifications. We’ve seen them deny payments on predetermined procedures. We’ve seen them use unlicensed people to decide whether to pay claims or not. Our office sees people with special needs. These big profit centers are even harder on that population. I would like to see some light shined onto those big, shady buildings in 2025.
Robert Trager, DDS. JFK Airport (New York City): One of the many issues concerning me is how the providers are treated by the supply house vendors. I can understand why the vendors give big discounts to the DSOs and big clinic providers. They play too many gimmicks with the solo and small providers. If we are good customers and pay our bills on time, there is no reason why we shouldn't receive some type of big discounts also. One of the hidden gimmicks they use is the shipping and handling fees for small providers. They all have contracts with FedEx and UPS, so what's the difference if it's shipped to a small provider versus a large provider? The fees should be the same. They shouldn't be charging the long-term providers who have been loyal to them over the years.
Another hidden gimmick is to foster incentive buying to the smaller providers. They foster incentive buying to the small provider so that they won't be stuck with inventory that will expire in their warehouse versus our office. They incentivize the small provider by offering you to buy one of their items, and the 2nd one is half price. [Another offer is] if you buy two or three of their items, the next one is free. It all sounds like a good deal dollar-wise, so most of us will take advantage of the deal and buy it. [However,] unless we use these items constantly, these products will expire in our office versus theirs. If you think about it, these items are 25 to 30% less if you figure in the free item. So, why can't they sell them to us at this discount instead of trying to incentivize us to buy more? An example would be if I buy two items at $150 a piece and get the third one free; in reality, if I buy two at $150 a piece it would cost me $300. But now I'm getting all three for an average price of $100. Why should I pay another $100.00 if I don't intend to use it immediately? This is an incentive to buy more. The other problem with the vendors is that they sell the same product under a different brand name and many of them are interchangeable but not disclosed to the provider. They hype these products to sell more but don't disclose that many of these products are interchangeable.