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17 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 2021 NO. 2 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Top dental priorities for spring 2021: 5 leaders weigh in By Gabrielle Masson F ive dental leaders shared with Becker's what their No. 1 pri- ority is for this spring. Tim Torbenson. President of evo820 (Rancho Mission Viejo, Calif.): I represent dental laboratories and there is a concern that DSOs will incorporate additional requirements adding ex- penses to the laboratory restorations and appliances. These additional requirements would be to list the origin of manufac- turing and contents of the restoration or appliance. Every DSO is looking for quality at reasonable fees from the laboratories. If these additional laboratory activities are re- quired, there will be an increase in the costs to the DSOs. Den- tal laboratories have maintained a high-quality device and see no reason for such additional requirements. John Button. Cofounder and CEO of CollectiveCare Dental (Moorestown, N.J.): While we have myriad activities under- way, our No. 1 priority for spring 2021 is resuming our growth trajectory, and paying careful attention to maintaining our cul- ture by providing a safe, compassionate and communicative environment for patients, doctors and staff. Complacency has no place in the group practice dental industry as we emerge from such a challenging year. Scott Becker. Cofounder and COO of CollectiveCare Den- tal (Moorestown, N.J.): Continuing to improve our overall patient experience while building long-term loyalty, especially as we come out of COVID-19. We also want to take this oppor- tunity coming out of COVID-19 to bring new talent into our organization across all elements (doctors, hygiene, treatment planning, dental assistants and front-desk patient interaction). John Luther, DDS. Chief Dental Officer and Executive Vice President at Western Dental (Orange, Calif.): The top prior- ity is regaining patient volume following the COVID-19 pan- demic. Offices were entirely closed initially except for emer- gency triage, then slowly ramped up with substantial safety protocols, modifications in workflow and staffing adjustments. Although the dental profession has always done a good job with infection control, many of the new protocols and workflow modifications charted new territory for us. Scott Kalniz, DDS, Founder and board member of Elite Den- tal Partners (Chicago): Here are a few priorities: 1. Re-engaging existing patients and getting them sched- uled. 2. Educating patients on the safety protocols we employ in offices to keep everyone safe. 3. Evaluating and implementing new systems and processes to make it easier for patients to say yes to treatment. 4. Utilizing chair time more efficiently by doing more proce- dures per appointment and more same-day dentistry. n High patient demand, low acquisition costs: 3 takeaways from Shawn Wherry, Dental Care Alliance's VP of marketing By Gabrielle Masson S hawn Wherry, vice president of marketing at Sarasota, Fla.-based Dental Care Alliance, discussed current trends related to marketing and acquisition in the dental industry on "Becker's Dental + DSO Podcast." Here's what Ms. Wherry had to say about how the pandemic is affecting dental marketing, along with mergers and acqui- sitions: • DCA is seeing some of the highest levels of patient demand/acquisition ever. The DSO is focusing on increasing ca- pacity to meet demand. • From a market standpoint, the cost for acquisition of new patients is the lowest it's ever been for DCA. • There's a tremendous amount of activity regarding new affiliations. There's lots of interest in joining an organization like DCA, especially because it has a successful track record for both single practices and multi-location practices. n