The lack of dental-medical integration, not paying enough attention to patients’ experience and leadership development of younger dentists are just three of the many trends that leaders are saying the industry is overlooking.
The 16 leaders featured in this article are speaking at Becker’s 2026 Fall Future of Dentistry Roundtable, set for Sept. 14-15 at the Hilton Chicago.
If you work at a DSO or dental practice and would like to be considered as a speaker, please contact Scott King at sking@beckershealthcare.com.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is something in dentistry that you believe is currently being overlooked by the industry?
Catrise Austin, DDS. Owner of VIP Smiles Cosmetic Dentistry (New York City): One of the most overlooked issues in dentistry right now is a hard truth: many patients don’t fully trust us. We see it daily with patients second-guessing diagnoses, delaying treatment or arriving with screenshots from YouTube or ChatGPT asking for confirmation instead of care. There’s also increasing skepticism around fees, with many patients assuming recommendations are profit-driven rather than health-driven, especially as online narratives around “upselling” dentistry continue to grow. The industry often treats this as a communication issue, but it’s actually a trust gap that directly impacts case acceptance, outcomes and long-term patient relationships.
From my perspective, rebuilding trust requires intentional action, not better chairside scripts. First, dentists must lead with education before recommendation by clearly explaining the “why” behind treatment, not just the procedure. Second, we need radical transparency around fees and options so patients feel empowered, not pressured. Third, dentists should proactively address misinformation by becoming visible educators where patients already go for answers: online, on video and on social platforms. Fourth, practices must slow down enough to truly listen; patients who feel heard are far more likely to trust clinical guidance. Finally, trust today is built through consistent relationships — whether that connection starts online through social media or in the dental chair itself, patients need to experience alignment between what we say, what we show, and what we deliver over time. Authority alone no longer earns trust. Relationships do.
Phil Cassis. Co-founder and CEO of Providence Dental Partners (Atlanta): As the CEO of an emerging dental group, I believe the most overlooked opportunity in dentistry today is treating the patient experience as a core strategic system. Most practices define success based on clinical outcomes, production metrics or operational efficiencies. While those are essential, they are typically not what patients talk about, remember or base loyalty on. Patients judge us on how we make them feel and the experience we curate. This is core to our mission at Providence Dental Partners of delivering a dental experience that goes beyond traditional standards.
Joshua Everts, DDS, MD. Chief Clinical Officer of OMS360 (Alpharetta, Ga.): The leadership development gap is being overlooked. We train exceptional clinicians and then expect them to become organizational leaders through osmosis. The industry invests heavily in clinical continuing education but almost nothing in developing the leadership capabilities that actually determine whether practices thrive or struggle at scale. As consolidation accelerates and practice structures become more complex, the gap between clinical excellence and leadership readiness is becoming the primary limiting factor for growth. The future belongs to organizations that treat leadership development with the same rigor we’ve always applied to clinical training.
Jay Glazer. Director, Business Development of DC Dental (Baltimore): Clinical supply spend, and the hidden cost of the time spent managing it, is being significantly overlooked in dentistry. Practices often focus on big-ticket expenses like equipment and staffing, but clinical supplies quietly erode margins through inconsistent pricing, over-ordering, lack of standardization and unmanaged vendor relationships. Even more overlooked is the doctor and team time spent sourcing, ordering and troubleshooting supplies, which is time that should be spent on patient care and leadership.
Many dentists or office staff personally manage ordering, approvals and backorders, which is an expensive use of clinical time. There is often a lack of formulary and purchasing controls, leading to waste, expired inventory and rushed “emergency” orders. Delegating and systematizing supply purchasing improves both profitability and patient focus, without reducing clinical quality.
Sherry Hassler. COO and EOS Integrator of Today’s Dental Nebraska (Omaha): We have an opportunity to humanize the experience for each of our patients by leaning into the technology while leveling up on the human touch. During my time at the 2025 Becker’s Roundtable, I noticed that there were two overarching themes: AI and Culture. I believe that by using AI in spaces where it makes sense, we can free up our time to create deeper, more meaningful relationships. We can free up time to analyze our patient experience; put ourselves in our patient’s shoes to get an unfiltered look at what our patients truly experience when they call the office. What do they go through in order to fill out forms? What do they see when they park their car? How does the office look when they come into the waiting room/lobby/reception? How about the treatment room? What are the five senses receiving during that visit? Does that truly fit the culture we are delivering or are we being aspirational when it comes to delivering to our patients? How can we lean into AI or other tech to help free us up for better culture?
Haim Haviv. Founder and CEO of Hudson Dental (New York City): One thing often overlooked in dentistry is what happens after an acquisition. Many groups are focused on deal-making and forget the importance of clinical alignment, team cohesion and re-establishing culture post-close. The real work begins after the ink dries — integrating teams, retaining trust with patients and staff and ensuring continuity in care and performance. Without a thoughtful operational and cultural integration plan, even a strong acquisition can quietly underperform.
Jessica Lo. Vice President of Operations of Urgent Dental Center & Family Dentistry (Indianapolis): As an industry, we’ve become overly fixated on rigid schedules, time blocks and how the day is supposed to go. Structure has value, but when it becomes inflexible, it limits care and growth. There is far more opportunity for same day conversion than we often realize. A restorative patient overdue for a cleaning. A hygiene patient with outstanding restorative or elective treatment. A walk-in patient who needs care now and is ready to move forward. Today can be the day. When we allow adaptability, the focus shifts from what can’t be done to what can.
Many of the barriers we face are self imposed. Instead of accepting them as fixed, we should identify what the team sees as obstacles including clinical timing, schedule assumptions and how urgency is communicated to patients and work through them together. When assumptions are challenged, the ceiling lifts, production increases, we save the patient from having to return again and future schedules open up with more capacity.
Adaptability shifts the mindset from protecting the schedule to prioritizing the patient. Dentistry becomes more dynamic and collaborative when we break down walls and lean into the natural pace of a busy practice. When we lead with patient-first thinking instead of fear of disruption or working harder, everyone wins patients, teams and the business.
Start simple and build momentum. Adaptability doesn’t have to happen all at once. Make small changes, set clear goals and celebrate often. Recognition is free, energizing and one of the fastest ways to build momentum. Most importantly, don’t do it alone, empower the team. Give them permission to think differently, to raise barriers they see and to solve challenges together. When teams feel trusted and supported, flexibility becomes energizing and performance follows.
Leann May. COO of Iowa Dental Associates (Spirit Lake): Dentistry continues to advance through technology and systems designed to improve efficiency and outcomes. However, technology and systems hold little value without the people responsible for using them effectively. Too often, practices invest heavily in tools while underinvesting in the development and empowerment of their teams.
When leaders are equipped to genuinely support, develop and empower team members, performance improves naturally. Empowered teams take ownership, solve problems proactively and elevate both the patient experience and practice results. This level of engagement is not accidental — it is the product of intentional leadership.
Equally important is investing in leaders themselves. Supported leaders build cultures rooted in trust, accountability and belief. Teams that feel genuinely supported by their leaders will always perform at a higher level, making empowered leadership one of dentistry’s most overlooked opportunities.
Tia Meyer. Clinical Director of NBD Partnerships (Sioux Falls, S.D.): One thing I believe is often overlooked in dentistry is the true power of alignment and culture across the entire care team. We talk a lot about technology, growth and efficiency, but sustainable success really comes down to how well people feel seen, supported and connected to the mission behind the work. When teams are aligned around purpose, communication and shared accountability, everything improves…patient experience, case acceptance, retention and outcomes. Dentistry is still very much a people-first profession, and when we invest intentionally in our teams, the impact reaches far beyond the operatory.
Ian Miller. Director, Procurement of FrontStage DSO (Chicago): The most overlooked thing in dentistry right now isn’t AI, tech, staffing or EBITDA…it is the patient’s nervous system. Nobody is seriously addressing how a patient feels in the chair — neurologically. Roughly 60% to 70% of adults have dental anxiety or fear (and many don’t admit it). That anxiety silently drives things like case rejection, price sensitivity, missed appointments and a myriad of other symptoms leading to lower EBITDA. We keep pitching logic to emotions and it doesn’t work.
Nimesh Patel, DMD. COO of Brite Dental Partners (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.): What’s being overlooked right now is the effect turnover has on the productivity of the practice.
Vilas Sastry, DMD. CEO of Teledentistry.com (Las Vegas): While we as dentists have mastered the ‘break-fix’ model, we are missing the opportunity to use continuous oral-systemic management as a permanent triage and monitoring layer that connects oral health to a patient’s overall medical data in real-time. By moving beyond the traditional six-month visit toward a virtual-first care philosophy, we can address the workforce shortage while finally treating oral health as a critical, 365-day component of systemic wellness.
Alex Sharp, DDS. CEO of Shared Practices Group (Scottsdale, Ariz.): Dentistry too often overlooks that we’re, at our core, a service industry. That said, overdelivering relative to patient expectations is how we fight being viewed as an undifferentiated commodity.
Kevin Smith. Director, Operations of Total Dentistry (Palatine, Ill.): What’s being overlooked is the effect of the insurance companies and policies on the industry. Perhaps “overlooked” does not characterize the issue properly, as much as its people in the industry, especially in the trenches, are not putting enough pressure on the situation to effect change.
Because of how the industry works, it becomes a “shell game” of codes, pricing and manipulation mostly in the attempt to stay profitable. The net effect is on the patient and the quality of care received-to the negative. Most patients don’t make the connection between their minimal benefits and how this is driving care and decisions and the goal of insurance to be as profitable as possible. In my opinion, it actually works against the patient. This has a trickle-down effect to many segments of the industry including people, doctors and access to care.
Curtis Swogger. CEO of North Pittsburgh Oral Surgery (Pittsburgh): While changes in technology and challenges around insurance continue to dominate the conversations, company culture is most important. It may not be entirely overlooked; however, it does not receive the same recognition as other results. I believe they all go hand in hand.
With a strong company culture centered on attracting, retaining and developing top talent, not only will you have a team in place to weather external stresses that hit the company, but you can expect higher revenue growth as this team continues to grow in their roles and improves.
In the past, I remember discussions about a 3% to 4% top-line improvement by keeping the same team in place. With how complex our industry is, retaining your staff could be much closer to 8% if not higher, not to mention the savings you would realize by reducing turnover.
Mariz Tanious, DDS. Chief Dental Officer of Affinity Dental Management (Holyoke, Mass.): I believe two key issues are often overlooked. First, it’s time to expand hygienists’ roles to officially include diagnosing and treating certain dental diseases. Hygienists are highly trained professionals with the knowledge and clinical skill to identify conditions like caries and periodontal disease accurately and early. Allowing them to formally diagnose and initiate appropriate treatment would close the gap between hygiene and dentistry, increase access to care, and prevent delays or unnecessary repeat assessments.
The truth is, many hygienists are already equipped to do this work, but most state practice acts still reflect outdated models of care. Modernizing these regulations to match current education and training standards, while maintaining appropriate collaboration and oversight, would bring policy in line with reality. This change would not only streamline patient care but also support a more efficient, preventive and team-based approach to oral health.
The second area that’s being overlooked is the persistent separation between medical and dental care. Despite strong evidence linking oral and systemic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, our healthcare systems still operate in silos. Limited data sharing and disconnected treatment planning make it difficult for providers to see the full picture, and incompatible electronic records keep essential information like medications, diagnoses and risk factors hidden in separate systems.
Insurance structures often compound the issue by treating dental benefits as optional add-ons with limited caps, rather than integral components of overall health coverage. To close these gaps, we need coordinated changes across regulation, technology, and policy — updating scope-of-practice rules, improving health IT interoperability and redesigning insurance models to reward integrated, preventive care rather than isolated procedures.
Moving in this direction will strengthen the connection between oral and overall health, ensuring that patients receive care that’s timely, coordinated and truly comprehensive.
