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The Value of DSOs
It’s no surprise that more and more dental professionals are joining a dental service organization. Many solo practitioners are tired of dealing with the day-to-day administrative responsibilities that take them away from practicing dentistry. They miss a work-life balance. Indeed, there’s much to be said for being able to leave the office at the end of the day, without having to worry about administrative responsibilities.
For this issue of EGP, we asked several DSO-affiliated practices about common concerns dentists raise when it comes to running a practice. Implementing new technology, addressing the oral-systemic health connection and working with the growing number of young dental professionals entering the industry are high on their list. As William Johnson, DDS, a general practitioner at Metro Dentalcare (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.), an affiliate of American Dental Partners, Inc., points out, “Metro Dentalcare is very interested in seeing its team members pursue new technologies and achieve a work/life balance, which I believe many millennials value. Belonging to a dental service organization makes it possible for us to accomplish this.”
Patients who seek dental care at DSO-affiliated practices are often rewarded with affordable, quality care. DSO-supported clinicians often accept benefit plans, they are conveniently located and they offer more convenient hours, notes Danielle Moody, senior manager of practice management and medical integration for Pacific Dental Services.
Jacob Masters, DMD, who practices at Mortenson Dental Partners’ (MDP) Shelbyville, Ky. location, concurs. “As a company, we try to provide as many services inhouse as possible, knowing our patients value seeing the same practitioner and developing consistent relationships,” he says.
Additionally, DSO support enables dentists to broaden their scope of treatment. “Instead of just treating teeth, we have shifted our focus to treating the whole body,” says Michael Acierno, DDS, co-founder and chief medical officer of Acierno Family Dentistry, DecisionOne Dental Partners (Chicago, Ill.). That includes taking patients’ blood pressure and screening for sleep apnea, diabetes and several other health risk factors.
For Mark (Jay) Ruark, II, DMD, Marquee Dental Partners, Embassy Hillsboro Village office (Nashville, Tenn.), belonging to a dental service organization affords him the best of two worlds. He can make his practice his own, and at the same time, he benefits from the support that Marquee Dental Partners offers.
All that said, the dentists we surveyed agree: No matter how large or small a dental practice is, what matters most is that patients are treated with the best possible care.
