DSOs will need to concentrate on recruitment and retention of staff in order to finish the year strong, according to one exec.
Barry Lyon, DDS, is a chief dental officer for the division of orthodontics and pediatric dentistry at Sarasota, Fla.-based DSO Dental Care Alliance. He recently spoke with Becker's about what DSOs need to focus on during the fourth quarter of 2023.
Editor's note: This Q&A is part of a weekly series featuring Dr. Lyon focused on topics in the dental industry and DSO field. This response was lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What do you think DSOs will be most focused on during the fourth quarter to finish 2023 strong?
Dr. Barry Lyon: School children learned their "three Rs," but DSOs will need to learn their "two Rs," recruiting and retention, to finish strong in 2023.
A major factor holding back DSOs from finishing 2023 strong is a pervasive lack of providers and auxiliaries. While patient demand continues to be strong, meeting that demand continues to pose challenges for DSOs. Driving this is the shortage of providers and auxiliaries. According to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the shortage of dentists in the U.S. has increased from 2022 to 2023. With the DSO market valued at $424.59 billion in 2023 and projected to grow to $761.09 billion by 2032, DSOs can expect the competition for hiring providers to continue to be fierce. To make matters even worse, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that job growth for dental assistants will only be about 7% from 2022 to 2032.
How will the successful DSO deal with these shortages? The answer lies in recruiting and retention. DSOs will need to employ an effective talent acquisition team and think outside the box when offering competitive compensation, attractive benefits packages and signing bonuses. But that’s only half the battle. If a DSO is lucky enough to have hired a provider or auxiliary, they must be retained. In a time when many dental assistants stay only until the dentist across the street offers more money, DSOs must work to develop positive cultures to retain their employees. This is especially true of millennials. Research from LinkedIn found that 86 percent of millennials would take a pay cut to work at a company with the same values as them.