Investments, consolidation, student debt and staffing were among some of the topics dental leaders discussed with Becker's this month.
Here are eight insights dental leaders shared with us in November:
Why dentistry is attractive to investors: Q&A with Revere Partners' Dr. Jeremy Krell
Jeremy Krell, DMD. Founder and a managing partner of Revere Partners: [Dentistry is] not necessarily on every investor's roadmap; it's niche by definition. Some have called it a cottage industry. Those in it, and who know it, know that it's bigger and capable of much more than that but those outside who are even aware sort of tag it that way, and then there's a whole swath that is unaware. A large part of what we do is educate and build awareness for this great space. So the returns are really what, at the end of the day, is most relatable to people.
The 'trifecta' driving dental evolution: Q&A with Dr. Lorin Berland
Lorin Berland, DDS. Founder and CEO of Dr. B Dental Solutions: When I started doing this, everybody goes, "Dentures are going to be obsolete." And I said, "I don't think so." Now, what's driving a lot of this [is] social media. It would be hard to get a job or date with jacked up teeth. Now you can't even use your phone with jacked up teeth. It's driving it. So when people would be missing a couple teeth or something and you replace them with implants, it's like, "Okay, but now I've got different colored teeth," or whatever. They want everything to look great. Again, dentures were the original cosmetic dentistry. The other thing that I think that's changing dentistry besides digital technology is the aging population and social media. People having teeth removed and implants placed and spending $50,000, that would've been unheard of. But nowadays the people are older, they have more money and they want to look good. So I would say that's the trifecta changing dentistry: digital technology, aging of America and the craving for cosmetics.
Why 1 CEO is trying to 'democratize private equity' in dental
Dan Hosler. Founder and CEO of Allied OMS (Southlake, Texas): One of the ways that we've tried to define [the role of private equity in dentistry] is by making sure that there are a couple nonnegotiables, and clinical autonomy in the hands of the providers, to us, is a nonnegotiable. We want our doctors to always be in control of providing care to patients, full stop. Not every group is like that. Some people talk about it and maybe act differently. We lead with that to say, "We want you to be comfortable." The biggest question we get asked is, "What changes when I join a group? There's some things I don't want to change." So we really like to lead with that. Clinical autonomy is truly something that cannot change in these models.
Why pay is no longer enough to recruit staff: Q&A with Dr. Larry Stone
Larry Stone, DDS. Doylestown (Pa.) Dental Solutions: The single biggest problem right now is staffing. COVID really just exacerbated some of the problems. But the dental industry is being challenged on so many fronts. Student debt; staffing; the takeover by franchises, corporates and DSOs; the insurance industry. I've never quite seen anything like this. I've been at this for 50 years now. Next year will be my 50th year. And we've seen challenges before, but I don't remember seeing anything quite like this. In addition to the economy and inflation, I've been through it all, but I think it's extremely challenging now.
Dental practices aren't the only ones consolidating. Laboratories are following suit.
David Block. CEO of Aesthetic Porcelain Studios (Los Angeles): There is a lot of consolidation going on. A lot of my competitors have been bought up by larger conglomerates that own multiple dental laboratories across the country. Being an individual that is very quality oriented, there's a lot of things about it that kind of disgruntles me. When they buy all these laboratories, a lot of these smaller types of laboratories are being affected. Because ultimately, what happens is that with this consolidation, a lot of the laboratory work is being sent overseas to Vietnam or China. There's no way that I can compete with that type of a market.
'Soul-crushing' student debt leaves some feeling 'trapped,' dentist says
Trevor Lines, DDS. Dentists of Chandler (Ariz.): The biggest current issue I see is the crushing student debt. People are graduating with half a million dollars in debt, and that's a giant payment. On top of that, you have to either buy a practice or buy into a practice or just be employed. One thing that I have felt in my own life, and I'm sure many dentists feel, is just very trapped. There's not much room for growth. I don't know how we solve this problem because its scope is just so large. The idea of graduating in your mid- to late 20s with half a million dollars of debt that you're paying over 30 years, and then you can only be a dentist in order to meet your income needs is very — I don't want to say soul crushing, but I'm going to, because it really can be. There's only so much room for personal growth within that profession because you're doing the same thing in a very highly repetitive manner for decades. That's a problem that needs to be solved.
'In the end, it's all about our culture': How Heartland Dental makes staff a priority
DeAnn McClain. COO of Heartland Dental (Effingham, Ill.): We're constantly doing everything we can to make sure that our culture stands true, especially with growth. I think that's one of our biggest challenges as we grow, making sure that culture is strong. That goes into how we attract and retain doctors and team members. We just finished our engagement surveys. We're digging into the feedback from our doctors and team members. I think that definitely helps us to stay very pertinent on what they're looking for and any feedback they have for us to make our services better. Whether it's creating more robust diversity and inclusion applications or whatever [else there] might be, all of those things will come out in that survey, as well as compensation and all the things that we want to make sure stay top of mind.
What dentistry needs from the next generation of leaders
Mladen Kralj, DMD. ORA Dental Studio (Chicago): This is without a doubt the most exciting time in dentistry. Dentistry is becoming more consumer driven than ever before; patients have options and are looking for an overall better dental experience. I want the next generation of dental leaders to understand dentistry is no longer about what procedures we provide, but rather how we provide those procedures. Improving the dental experience depends on four key components: beautiful design, cutting-edge technology, minimally invasive philosophy and memorable service. Dentists are no longer just oral healthcare professionals; we are also in the business of hospitality.