.svg)
Share.svg)
Tweet.svg)
Post.svg)
MailAugust 2021--The Dykema DSO conference in July 2021 was the perfect time and place for Patient Prism’s CEO, Amol Nirgudkar, and Charles Moser, DDS, of the Dental Entrepreneur Organization (DEO) to talk about dental practice growth throughout the pandemic and how the DEO is helping entrepreneurial dentists achieve their next level of growth.
DEO members rally around the power of collaboration, within a community of like-minded dentist entrepreneurs, to learn the best way to grow their businesses. Through expert webinars, remotely conferenced mastermind groups, and community events that bring everyone together, members learn from peers that went before them. Dr. Moser leads DEO expert webinars, mastermind groups, and accountability calls, as well as coaches DEO members.
What’s changed for the DEO since the pandemic?
“I think that our north star really hasn't changed,” says Moser. “The DEO has always helped dental practice groups of all shapes and sizes grow and scale. The one thing I keep in mind whenever I'm talking with our groups is how to have better days. Whether we're talking about financing, whether we're talking about the acquisition of more locations, whether we're talking about looking for talent, it's really all about having better days. For me, it’s going to work, enjoying what I do, the predictability of the day, and then being able to share that with my team. And that's really been the focus of the DEO since before the pandemic and then through the pandemic.”
Because there was so much uncertainty through the pandemic, the DEO became a conduit of information for everybody, not just DEO members. Everyone was invited to webinars and podcasts because the information needed to be disseminated. Now the DEO has returned to focusing on its own members.
What’s the current greatest challenge to growing a dental group?
“From my vantage point, the industry's undergoing a new Renaissance,” says Amol Nirgudkar. “I think the next five to 10 years, we're going to see tremendous consolidation and the advent of new DSOs. Once when we look back, we'll hopefully see this was a time when the industry changed for the better, because I think DSOs will improve access to care and the quality of care if they do it correctly.”
“The industry will still continue to consolidate,” says Moser. “But right now, we have a huge labor problem, and I fear wages are going too high.”
One of the priorities Moser is helping DEO mastermind groups deal with, is to how to do the same amount of work with fewer people. If they don’t find ways to do this, the P&Ls of small groups “are going to look terrible because their salaries and wages are going to be way too high. And then consolidation might be forced.”
One aspect of working with fewer people is leveraging technology to create more time for the teams that exist to accomplish what’s needed. Another aspect is optimal scheduling to accomplish more in precious time.
Optimizing human resources requires leadership from the top
Moser says, “It's leadership that flows downstream, which creates culture, which allows the team to buy into that schedule. Right? We’ve got to have a cohesive team that understands the mission and the vision of the organization. Why are we here in the first place? And let's go out there and do this. I really think it starts at the top with leadership and culture and core values…It's the idea of moving patients towards health.”
Moser spends a lot of time helping dentists with case acceptance. If the case acceptance of a young associate dentist is 60%, it means that 40% of the patients are not following through with treatment recommendations to move towards health. “How does that make you feel as a healthcare provider?” asks Moser. “I think it hits new dentists between the eyes when they start to think about why they went to dental school to begin with… to help people.” This conversation leads to saying, “It's not about the filling. It's not about the crown. It's about health.”
DEO members have been talking about the fact that diagnosis is “all over the place.” This is symptomatic of a lack of leadership from the top. Most dental groups don’t have a defined philosophy of practice or recommended approach for diagnosis and treatment that they give their associates. The DEO helps its members discern what they do well to bring patients back to health, then place focus on patient health instead of production and the revenue follows.
“At the end of the day,” agrees Nirgudkar, “if your folks haven’t bought into ‘we’re moving patients to optimal oral health,’ then no matter how hard you try, no training is going to actually stick… The DEO helps entrepreneur dentists, growing multi-location groups, center practice around optimizing patient health.”
DEO Fall Summit – Orlando, November 11-13
If you are a single doctor who is thinking about growing a group, an entrepreneur dentist who has started a group, or a group practice that is looking to scale, the DEO Fall Summit in Orlando will be a great place to learn from experts and peers who are open and honest about their failures and struggles, not just their success.
“If you want to really grow your business, scale your business in the right way, and find fulfillment in your career, facilitate fulfillment in your team's careers, and give the gift of health to people, the Orlando conference is a place to start,” says Nirgudkar.
The meeting is open to non-members and members alike.
When: November 11-13, 2021; Live & Virtual
Where: Orlando, FL - JW Marriott, Grande Lakes
Register Now > https://deodentalgroup.com/summit-fall/
Additional Dykema & DSO Patient Prism Blogs:
- DykemaDSO 2021 Conference - Amol Nirgudkar interviews Mark Costes of Dental Success Network on dental practice growth >
- DykemaDSO 2021 Conference - Amol Nirgudkar interviews Wardah Inam of Overjet on AI enhancing the patient journey >
- How to create a DSO that dentists want to join >
About Patient Prism
Patient Prism holds five utility patents issued by the USPTO and is the only call tracking company that leverages artificial intelligence and human call coaching validation to deliver patients directly to your dental practice. Successful dental groups use Patient Prism’s award-winning platform to track and analyze new patient calls, identify and schedule high-value patients, receive alerts and expert call coaching to win back missed new patient opportunities, train team members, and receive real-time intelligence to improve their staffing, patient experience, and practice marketing.
Free Checklist to schedule more patients!
