Becker's Dental + DSO Review

29 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW // VOL. 2022 NO. 2 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Where have all the dental practice owners gone? By Riz Hatton Practice ownership has fallen 11.7 percent from 2005 to 2021. Four voices from the dental industry weighed in to answer: "Why do fewer dentists own practices?" Editor's note: Responses have been edited lightly for length and clarity. Rich Gilbert, DMD. Private practice (Bonita Springs, Fla.): More practice owners are leaving due to a shrinking bottom line for the average private practice owner. Rising operating costs, most significantly wage inflation, are unfortunately occurring simul- taneously with decreasing insurance compensation in the form of both a decrease in reimbursement rates and an increase in downgrades and rejections of claims. Recently, corporate buy- ers dominate in practice acquisitions because they are able to offer a price higher than what a private buyer could borrow from a traditional lender — all to the long-term detriment of our profession. Lee Harris, DDS. Harris Dental Solutions (Los Angeles): There are many reasons that solo dental offices are disappearing. Fol- lowing COVID-19, many older dentists have sold their practices and are retiring. I also see a consolidation of solo offices into smaller DSOs. With the cost of opening a new office and huge student debt following graduation, I don't see these trends changing in the short term. Bradley Dykstra, DDS. CEO of MI Smiles Dental Group (Hud- sonville, Mich.): 1. Increased compliance requirements – HIPAA, the Oc- cupational Safety and Health Administration and human resources 2. Increased cost of supplies and lab costs for the solo practitioner 3. Continuing decline in insurance reimbursements for the little guy most of all 4. Increased cost and difficulty in finding quali- fied team members 5. Fear of another pandemic and going through it alone Jerry Popeck, DMD. Popeck Family Dentistry (Pennsville, N.J.): Corporate dentistry is slowly winning because dentists can step into the corporate umbrella and lose a lot of the headaches of being a solo owner/practice owner. [They can] just do the den- tistry, and they will cover everything else. [It's] not always the case, but looks good. n The complex reasons for falling practice ownership: 2 dentists weigh in By Riz Hatton Practice ownership is declining, but there isn't just one single cause. Two voices from the dental industry an- swered the question, "Why do fewer dentists own practices?" Editor's note: This piece was edited light- ly for clarity and brevity. Steve Kuchuris. COO of Yellowstone Family Dental (Billings, Mont.): · 1. Heavy dental school debt. Younger dentists are leaving dental school with more in debt than in the past, sometimes as much as $500,000 dollars in student loans before they start working. This heavy debt makes it difficult for them to open their own practices. Startup costs include securing real estate and buying equipment such as a 3D imaging cone beam, digital scanner, a Cerec machine and lasers which greatly add to the debt. 2. Growth in DSOs. The ability to prac- tice dentistry without the hassle of run- ning a business, having access to in-of- fice specialists and high-tech equipment that many new dentists could not af- ford on their own. 3. Younger dentists often want a work- life balance that today's practice owner- ship doesn't provide. By joining a DSO as an employee, the dentist is free from the stress of running the business (hu- man resources, accounting, marketing, etc.) and can just come to work, do their dentistry, and leave at the end of the day without the responsibility and stress of managing the business itself. 4. The increasing complexity and ev- er-changing landscape of human re- sources, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, HIPAA regula- tions (and now add COVID-19 to this list), and dental insurance companies, makes navigating these areas difficult for the solo practice owner-operator. DSOs can negotiate better supply costs and better insurance reimbursements, and shoul- der the administrative burden with their own highly seasoned teams of human resource specialists, accountants and operations managers, to name just a few. Robert Trager, DDS. Dentist for Airport Employees (New York City) : Ever since [COVID-19], many dentists have walked

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