Open Wide Podcast

Episode 22 - Group Dentistry Now

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Kim Larson and Bill Neumann of Group Dentistry Now. They dive into details of the birth and growth of GDN, and touch on all the various elements of the GDN business. The group discusses the ongoing trend of consolidation in dental, and some of the controversy that surrounds the DSO space. Kim and Bill share some advice for both dental practitioners and dental vendors, and reflect on the DSO conference scene, as well as the DSO media landscape. 
1:39 Introductions
5:08 Origin story of GDN
13:08 GDN behind the scenes and business components
31:56 Controversy around DSOs
48:36 DSO metrics that matter
52:28 The DSO conference craze
1:06:34 Most popular GDN content
1:08:01 Media competition in the DSO world
1:12:26 Advice from the Experts

Episode 21 - Dental Insurance, Medical-Dental Integration, and Consulting in Dental

In this episode, Jinesh and Scott chat with Dr. Hendrik Lai of Viturtal Consulting. They discuss Hendriks journey from dental surgeon in Australia to business constant in the US, the dental insurance landscape, friction between dental insurance companies and providers, and medical-dental integration. They also cover tech innovation in dental space, and review what went wrong at Smile Direct Club.  
0:00 Introductions
4:12 Dr Hendrik Lai's journey
9:25 Dentists vs. Insurance Companies
18:05 Practicing Dentistry vs. Business Consulting
24:30 Dental Insurance Business Fundamentals
32:14 Healthcare Clinic's KPIs
36:21 Dental Landscape in Australia
43:39 Medical-Dental Integration
55:21 Tech Innovation in Dental
58:07 SDC Post-Mortem
1:07:50 Hendrik's Advice

Episode 20 - Dental Health Awareness and Social Media

Scott and Jinesh discuss awareness (and perception of awareness) of dental health, particularly amongst Gen Zers. They chat about the quality of dental content on TikTok, as well as a new bill introduced in Michigan that aims at increasing access to dental care. They wrap up with some thoughts on dental events. 
 
0:00 Introduction
4:22 Dental health vs mental health awareness
8:45 Assessing dental content info on TikTok
19:28 Michigan introduces bill to better access to dental care
24:47 Scott opines on dental events

Episode 19 - States Pass Bills, and Dental Companies' Poor Performance

In this episode Scott and Jinesh cover a few recent news topics from the dental world, including new laws changing in Pennsylvania to increase dental coverage and restrict insurance companies from paying dentists via virtual credit card. They also discuss the state of Illinois trying to combat insurance companies not paying out doctors for pre-approved treatment, and chat briefly about dental office membership plans. They end by reflecting on the relatively poor recent performance of publicly traded dental companies.
 
0:00 Introduction
1:45 Pennsylvania course corrects, increases dental coverage
7:15 Pennsylvania insurers can't pay via virtual credit card
9:37 Illinois insurers must stick to their prior authorizations
15:35 Dental office membership plans vs insurance
21:26 Size of the dental market
26:50 Poor performance of public dental companies recently

Episode 18 - The Nifty Thrifty Dentist

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr Glenn Vo, founder of the Nifty Thrifty Dental group. They discuss Glenn's inspiration to become a dentist, early dental career, and success with the Nifty Thrifty group. He shares his negotiation tips and tricks, and advice for sales reps, owner docs, and associates. They wrap with Glenn responding to a few ridiculous questions posed by Scott and Jinesh.
 
0:00 Introductions
4:08 Decision to become a dentist
11:03 Early days in practice and career vision
19:09 Motivation to keep pushing further
26:16 Origins of the Nifty Thrifty Dentists
33:03 Nifty Thrifty scale, revenue, and relationship focus
41:43 Challenges of running the Facebook group
44:46 Glenn's negotiation advice and tactics
53:08 Glenn's advice for sales reps, owner docs, and associates
58:56 Positivity mindset
1:01:16 Just for kicks (Glenn responds to ridiculous questions)

Episode 17 - Treating People Not Patients

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Michael Sonick, periodontist and author of the book Treating People Not Patients. They discuss dentistry and healthcare as viewed through the lens of hospitality, and all of the little details that may contribute to a truly excellent patient experience. They also touch on practitioner social skills, patient communication, and how to best hire someone that is a perfect cultural fit. 
0:00 Introductions
3:13 Hospitality in dental and healthcare
14:48 Don't judge your patients (but they definitely judge you)
23:31 The scalability of excellence
32:18 Social skills and patient communication
47:24 The secret to hiring well
 

Episode 16 - Scaling a DSO and Selling to Heartland

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Ray Scott about his journey scaling American Dental Partners and eventually selling to Heartland Dental. They touch on a few of the many lessons learned along the way, including implementation of systems and processes, building culture, and alignment of incentives. They also discuss considerations around selling to DSOs of different sizes, the change management involved with a sale, and the importance of being both patient-centric and doctor-centric.
 
0:00 Introducing Dr. Ray Scott
4:44 Career launch
8:19 Accreditation figuring things out at ADP
22:52 Heartland acquisition and change management
30:07 Doctor incentive structures during and after acquisitions
45:24 Compliance, systems, and processes
58:20 Patient-centricity and doctor-centricity
 

Episode 15 - The Dental Trade Alliance

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Amy Moorman of the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA). They discuss all of the important advocacy work the DTA does in Washington DC on behalf of all of the dental manufacturers, distributors, and dentists in the country (and world). They also chat about the DTA conference and community. 
 
0:00 Introductions
4:40 Overview of the DTA
12:54 Advocating in Washington DC
18:12 Access to care, research funding, and medical-dental integration
 29:50 Industry alignment
33:25 DTA internal politics
42:30 Capitol Hill collegiality
46:19 Prior DTA wins