Private equity in the dentistry and oral surgery space has become more and more prominent over the past few years, driven by DSOs and dental groups backed by private equity firms.
One executive believes that we may just be getting started when it comes to the impact of private equity in the industry.
Blair Primis is the chief marketing officer for Flagship Specialty Partners, a private equity-backed management services organization focused on the oral surgery space.
He recently connected with Becker's to discuss the influence that private equity has had in dentistry up until now, how it could change the industry moving forward and the ways it can benefit dental professionals.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What impact has private equity had on dentistry and oral surgery?
Blair Primis: I think it is incredibly valuable. I see several things that point towards its importance. At the high level, it allows for the doctors in our practices to be doctors by taking services like marketing, communications, accounting, IT, HR, finance, revenue cycle management off their plate. They don't go to training for that — they spend a dozen years training to become an oral surgeon, not do a marketing plan. The alignment of incentives is there. They are aligned to practice their craft, and they have a support team behind them. The second thing is, you can see investment and support into things such as in-office procedures. A big differentiator from smaller groups or groups that don't have that support or investment is that they can't focus on enhancing things for the patients. It also allows the physicians to be innovative and creative and try new solutions and develop new technologies to improve patient care.
Q: What effect do you predict private equity will have in the future?
BP: I see it continuing to grow. We're still climbing up the rollercoaster. I think there is still a lot we haven't discovered yet in the industry. One thing that is exciting for my role is to be able to be on the forefront of that growth and be able to lean into some of that innovation and determine what we can do to make it better. I would anticipate that more groups will continue to lean into the opportunity. In oral surgery, there is a subset of DSOs and MSOs developing specifically in the oral surgery space.
Q: How does private equity benefit dentists and oral surgeons? Are there any potential drawbacks to being partnered with private equity?
BP: The dedication to hiring the best surgeons and allowing them to practice at the top of their license and getting some of the things that they are not trained to do out of their way. At the end of the day, that is really the key benefit. Because we are investment partners and aligned financially, our incentives are aligned and we are all aligned to do best by the patient. If there was a drawback, I would say that it is the myth that private equity and service platforms are not helpful. We are majority-owned by the doctors that we work with; we are not a corporate entity, we are a partnership model, and the physicians are the partners in the business and they make the decisions. They make the decisions on how we spend, invest and expand. I think sometimes when we are talking with oral surgeons, the biggest drawback is the myth that we can't be supportive, help them grow and be patient-centric.
Q: What are some dentistry and oral surgery trends that you are keeping an eye on?
BP: The obvious one is generative AI — everyone has their eye on that, and we are seeing how we can use it in multiple ways. A second one is focusing on the consumer. I think a lot of healthcare is not consumer-centric; it is typically hospital or provider-centric. Millennials and Gen Z have very little interest in the things that Gen X and the baby boomers did. It is phone-based, text-based, easy of use and we have to get there as an industry. This is not just oral surgery, but all practices. I'm very keen and bullish on innovating in the ease-of-use space and empowering the consumer to make their own choices. Finally, innovation in materials and devices, from 3D printing to long-lasting materials to different tools for surgeons to use in the OR.