Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1491661
17 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW // VOL. 2023 NO. 1 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 1 dental practice's secret to reducing operating costs By Riz Hatton L uke Morgan, DDS, connected with Becker's on Dec. 1 to discuss what his practice, Luke M. Morgan, D.D.S. and Associates in Mechanicsville, Md., is doing to reduce operating costs. Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for clarity and brevity. Question: What are you doing to reduce operating costs? Dr. Luke Morgan: Our practice first obtained intraoral scanners for crown and bridge in 2019. We now have three scanners (two iTero and one Medit), cutting out a large volume of impression material, material waste, shipping and logistics. We have had such good success with this implementation that we are now fully operational with 3D printing (Sprint Ray), having two printers in the office for model fabrication, denture and night guard fabrication. We are leveraging the technology to help provide the most up-to-date care and methods to our patients. The decrease in materials cost and need for less office visits is having an impact overall in efficiency and slight reductions in certain areas of operational expenses. It might seem counterintuitive, but we can deliver care to more patients, more efficiently, thus increasing our productivity and collections, thereby lowering the operational costs. All the while feeling less stress over the production, logistics and lab work we are making in the office or outsourcing. n Navigating the dental 'tsunami': 3 dental leaders' goals for 2023 By Ariana Portalatin P ractice growth and maintaining financial stability are just a few goals for dentists, dental executives and their practices in 2023. Here, three dental leaders discuss the goals they've set for their organizations this year: Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Matt Carlston, DMD. Vice President of Marketing and Partner Recruitment at Comfort Dental: Comfort Dental has always prided itself on offering quality dental care at an affordable price. We also pride ourselves on growing our brand while continuing to maintain the consistency of our excellent doctors. In 2022, Comfort Dental opened up four new dental offices. This has expanded our reach into communities and given us even more brand recognition. Because we are a true dental franchise, we do not grow at the same pace that many DSOs grow. We receive no private equity dollars, so we are able to develop strong bonds with our doctors and they are able to develop strong bonds with their communities. At Comfort Dental, we have 480 dentist partners. They have an average of approximately 10 years in the organization. Our founder, Rick Kushner, DDS, emphasizes loyalty, and it is reciprocated by our dentists. In 2023 we will grow. We will grow steadily. Our practice will be a consistent space for patients to come and develop a relationship with their dentist that will last for many years. Sodabeh Etminan, DMD. Dental Director at Mile Square Health Center (Chicago): At the Mile Square Health Center, we have seen a tremendous amount of growth in 2022. For 2023, we are looking forward to building our team and maintaining quality healthcare services as we scale our dental department. We also use past historical data to assist with future decisions, and the pandemic skewed a lot of our data points. We are hoping to have more consistency with metrics in 2023. Joshua Zissman. COO of the Oral Surgery Group (Meadowbrook, Pa.): We intend to navigate through the turbulent waters of healthcare (especially the dental/DSO tsunami) as carefully as possible. With the many changes occurring throughout the "dental space" we are carefully considering all our options. Our primary goals are to continue to grow, give great patient care and ensure that we position ourselves operationally and financially to come out ahead of where we ended up in 2022. n