DSOs that prioritize culture may have a big advantage over those that don't over the next 10 years.
Trevor Lines, DDS, a dentist at Dentists of Chandler (Ariz.), connected with Becker's to discuss how culture can be a DSO's biggest asset.
Note: This response has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: How will dentistry today be viewed by dentists 10 years from now?
Dr. Trevor Lines: Culture is a technology. What is super interesting to me about that is that the DSOs that figure out how to use culture in an effective way to promote the flourishing of their teams, they're the ones that are going to have less of a challenge with recruiting and they're going to have a big advantage when it comes to talent acquisition. Dentists that are practicing in DSO-supported environments where they don't have to worry about payroll or supplies, they're really just there to take care of the patients. All the administrative burdens of being a dentist have been lifted, and they're also in settings where those DSOs have optimized for culture and they just enjoy going to work. I think they're going to look back and go, "That was a lot harder 10 years ago than it is today."
I do think that there's a big challenge in the next 10 years of how do we integrate all those changes into the DSO setting? Making anything different than it is is always hard. It's always hard to make change happen. I think the DSOs that figure out project management also are going to end up being at a significant advantage over the ones that don't because they'll be able to incorporate the changes that need to happen for them to stay relevant and competitive in the marketplace.