Saliva testing, medical loss ratios and robotics are just a few of the many trends dental industry leaders are following in 2024.
Here are six leaders who recently spoke with Becker's about the trends they're following:
The 'heartbeat' of a DSO: Q&A with PepperPointe Partnerships' new COO
Christy Englehart. COO of PepperPointe Partnerships (Lexington, Ky.): Definitely [artificial intelligence]. AI is here to stay and I think that helps us to replace manual processes that we've done in our past. AI allows us to be more accurate with data and more efficient as we process, so I continue to follow the AI opportunities that are out there in the business. I would also say the recent attack on Change Healthcare. That's something that's becoming more common, so I'm continuing to look at those situations and how we can ensure we are protected and secure and that we have solid coverage in the area of cyber risk [and] insurance coverage. That's not something anybody thought of 10 or 15 years ago, but it's important today and it's forever changing. So that's definitely something too as it's becoming very concerning around healthcare.
DSOs should prepare for increased patient demand in 2024: Exec
Barry Lyon, DDS. Chief Dental Officer for the Division of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry at Dental Care Alliance (Sarasota, Fla.): DSOs are constantly paying close attention to the economy and how it impacts their ability to serve their patients and grow revenue. Whether the economy has stalled or is flourishing, DSOs need to react positively to economic trends in order to grow.
Now that inflation has slowed, unemployment has decreased, and with the [Federal Reserve] lowering interest rates, DSOs will need to prepare for increased patient traffic by hiring more employees and expanding doctors’ schedules, and will need to consider enlarging facilities. Fortunately, dentistry has timed advances in technology to an improved economy and increased demand. Artificial intelligence has been refined to the point where it can streamline patient care with reliable diagnostics and sound treatment planning. 3D imaging along with artificial intelligence is a huge benefit to patients with better clinical outcomes.
ClearChoice's CEO on what's next after hitting 100 practices
Rahma Samow. CEO of ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers (Greenwood Village, Colo.): The DSO model is increasing in popularity, and in turn, DSOs are driving overall implant and orthodontic market awareness, which is great for patient education and patient care. I believe we will see the entire dental industry adopt the technology and clinical excellence that DSOs are championing. We are closely following advancements in technology, like 3D printing and AI/robotics and experimenting with new materials, to bring broader and better treatment solutions to more patients.
Inside Dental365's 'aggressive, yet selective' expansion plans
Robert Kolts, DDS, is senior vice president of clinical affairs at Premier Care Dental Management (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): We prefer not to follow trends. We like to be cutting edge and maybe create some of the trends. For example, we have artificial intelligence fully rolled out in all of our practices, which I think that's still an area where a lot of other organizations are just kind of dipping their toe in or evaluating. I've mentioned how [saliva testing is] expanding to test not just for periodontal disease but for oral cancer. Our big focus this year is we're trying to improve what we call our frictionless experience, both for our patients and our providers. We're improving our RCM protocols for our patients. We really want the patient to have a concierge-type experience in each of our practices. To that end, we do concierge training for our staff. How do you answer the phone, how do you greet a patient and how do you check out a patient in a way in which you're focused on what the patient's actually experiencing during one of those situations?
How Select Dental Management is elevating hygienists
Becky Kiddoo. Director of Hygiene at Select Dental Management (Florham Park, N.J.): I'm really excited right now about [artificial intelligence.] We have started partnering with some great AI technology companies to offer different AIs to our practices. Digital scanning is something we've been working with our teams to be able to implement and we're finding that hygienists are really loving it. It's enhancing their efficiency with their patients, and also the patient outcomes have been a lot better as far as being able to educate and show them what's going on with their oral health.
There's been a lot of talk about oral-systemic health and the link between that. Also, the increased scope of practice in some of the states for dental hygienists is something that's been really exciting too. I've had a lot of talks with hygiene providers about that and just how dental hygienists are playing a key role in identifying and helping prevent oral health issues before they escalate.
DSOs could begin to merge amid economic challenges, 1 exec predicts
Richard Hall. CEO of U.S. Oral Surgery Management (Irving, Texas): We're continuing to look at technology as a big goal to improve efficiency and the patient experience. We're looking at legislation, particularly around medical loss ratios and license portability. Those are two things the ADSO is supporting significantly and those are the primary trends we're keeping an eye on.
[MLRs] could certainly improve accessibility. I think the last time I saw the statistic, something like 50% of people who have dental insurance don't even use [it] because of the copays and limitations, so anything we can do to improve access to oral healthcare is something we should support.