DSO growth, artificial intelligence and workforce diversity are just a few of the topics dental execs and professionals spoke with Becker's about in April.
What we heard this month:
Where are all the Black dentists?
Cherae Farmer-Dixon, DDS. Dean of Meharry Medical College's School of Dentistry (Nashville): I think that when you look at the number of people that are going to college and then going into the sciences, it's a challenge. And the cost of dental education. There's [also] that thing of educating the community on seeing dentistry as a viable profession to pursue. A lot of times, people model what they see. If they don't see within their communities or in their environment people that look like them in that profession, then that's not something that may even be on their radar — whether it's teaching, sports, nursing, or other professions. So it's about the process of working with elementary, middle, high school, and college teachers as well and being involved at those levels, so that you're educating the teachers and the counselors on dentistry as a profession and the role that they can play in guiding their students into those [careers].
Can DSOs and private dental practices coexist?
Scott Asnis, DDS. Founder, CEO and Director of Dentistry at Dental365 (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): I think that with technology changing so quickly and younger dentists really wanting and demanding all these new technologies, that all these private practices are gonna be consolidated into DSOs that know how to support private practices. There's a great paradigm shift in dentistry — molecular dentistry is here to stay. It's very hard as private practitioners to be able to keep up with all the new technology, and to be able to implement it is very expensive.
'It's not going to be fun': The fate of private practice in dentistry
Trevor Lines, DDS. Dentists of Chandler (Ariz.): I don't know how many holdouts there are going to be. Because I've run my own private practice before, I know how hard it is and how much stress it is. The job of being a dentist is very stressful as it is. It's a hard job. And when you add on top of that keeping up with compliance issues, making sure you're recruiting and maintaining a team and keeping up with technology, that's going to be a huge problem for private practices.
Current challenges facing dentists compared to 2022 issues
Dani Benyaminy, DDS. Dr. Dani Benyaminy (Los Angeles): The biggest hurdle in my practice currently is hiring a full-time hygienist. I have noticed a trend towards more temp work as it allows the hygienist to be more flexible and in charge of their own schedule versus being committed to an office. I also believe hygienists prefer temp work as it allows them accountability. This affects the office in terms of continuing ready care, and most importantly, development of the patient hygienist relationship.
4 ways ChatGPT can be used at DSOs: Q&A with Dr. Barry Lyon
Barry Lyon, DDS. Chief Dental Officer for the Division of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry at Dental Care Alliance (Sarasota, Fla.): ChatGPT is potentially very beneficial, but we have to keep in mind it's not perfect. Some of the early reports are that it may provide very eloquent responses, but with questionable accuracy. It also raises questions of integrity. Dentists are responsible for the info they distribute to patients. Checking the accuracy of the info before we distribute is essential. Because of the way chatbots are programmed, they may have biases that could color the accuracy of the response and pass on to our patients.
Out to turn the industry upside down: Q&A with Espire Dental CEO Tim Hill
Tim Hill. CEO of Espire Dental: What we are doing is bringing together an elite group of dentists and teams that are located all across the country. Our goal is to bring them together into an integrated group space that elevates the provider and team member experience as well as the patient's clinical outcomes. When you think about private practices and the roll up that is happening in the dental industry, there are a lot of small and large groups. What we're doing is partnering with elite practices and dentists that would not typically affiliate with a group. They've been incredibly successful — their practice is more elevated than a lot of times what you will find in a group. The experience is what it all comes down to — our provider and team member experience, which equally translates to our patient experience.