Consolidation in the dental industry can be seen as both a threat to dentists’ independence or an opportunity for growth and expansion.
In some cases, consolidation can remove the stressors of operating a dental practice for dentists, allowing dentists to focus on patient care. Others see consolidation as harmful for new dentists and damaging for the profession as a whole.
These five dentists recently connected with Becker’s to share their thoughts on consolidation throughout dentistry and whether it is helping or hindering independence.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: Do you see consolidation as a threat or an opportunity for dental independence?
Corey Anderson, DDS. Dentist of Affordable Dentures & Implants (Bridgeport, W.Va.): Consolidation in dentistry is a threat in that smaller, unaffiliated offices do not fully capture the potential economies of scale possible with consolidation, cannot provide administrative support to address everyday responsibilities such as IT or allow a larger strategic vision to shape organizational behaviour. However, large organizations are not a threat to dental independence where consolidators engage in wasteful and self-limiting behavior that creates opportunities for smaller, independent offices to exploit such as; not passing through savings from economies of scale to lower levels, needless overcharges for services provided from corporate offices, overhead either easily outsourced or entirely unneeded for smaller offices in the form of redundant administration and management, departments unresponsive to the needs of lower levels of the organization, market analysis that is incomplete or lacking local knowledge, larger level corporate/investor financial requirements that are unnecessary for smaller organizations to address, larger organizations not aggressively or quickly making nimble or fully informed decisions, and levels of management outside of the clinic making decisions that can unexpectedly impact clinical practices which needlessly creates confusion in the clinic. To the extent that independent dental organizations can exploit limitations of consolidated organizations there are opportunities abound.
David Blanchard, DDS. Dentist of Riverside Family Dental (Menomonee Falls, Wis.): I personally feel that the words consolidation and independence are antithetical. We’ve seen consolidation lead some dentists to incredible wealth and financial independence, but that won’t be true for the dentists who come after them, as consolidation has lowered dentists’ incomes, placed artificial ceilings in place and turned new dentists into low level employees. Not only is it a threat, it is actively inflicting damage on the future of our profession.
Krista Kappus, DDS. Dentist of Fitch Mountain Dental (Healdsburg, Calif.): This really depends on how you look at it. Many see consolidation as the shift from smaller, mom-and-pop dental offices into larger group practices. There are certainly benefits to this model: reduced overhead through stronger bargaining power with dental supply companies, shared building and staffing costs and unified billing systems to name a few. These efficiencies can allow dentists to focus more on what they do best: practicing dentistry. However, there are downsides. As smaller practices disappear, some of the personal charm and sense of community often go with them. Larger organizations can sometimes feel impersonal, and patients may feel like just another number rather than a known and valued individual. Additionally, consolidation can bring limitations to how dentists are allowed to practice. In some group or corporate settings, providers may be restricted in the types of procedures they can perform, the technologies they can access or even the materials they’re permitted to use. This can hinder innovation or customization of care and limit a clinician’s ability to make the best decision for each unique patient. Still, for many dentists, the business side of dentistry, HR, insurance billing, compliance, operations, is a major source of stress. Consolidation can relieve that burden, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care without needing to become business experts. So, whether consolidation is a threat or an opportunity for dental independence really comes down to your perspective.
Richard Oldham, DDS. Dentist of Oldham Dentistry (Lynchburg, Va.): I see consolidation as an opportunity. Dental patients have become more discerning. They value trust, communication and excellent service. Seeing the same faces every visit helps build that foundation.
Almost weekly, we welcome a new patient referred to our office after becoming disillusioned with a corporately owned practice, typically because one or more of those core needs were not met. While I’m sure many patients are satisfied with corporate-owned practices, we’ve found our niche by doing less, not more: no insurance, hour-long hygiene appointments, quality time with patients and trust built over years of consistently excellent care.
In my opinion, most dentists would prefer our model, if they experienced the same practice freedom.
Barry Sporer, DMD. Dentist of 80 Park Avenue Dental (New York City): I see consolidation as an opportunity for dental independence.
