“Hands-On Training Helps DSO’s Profit from Pediatric Dentistry” Boy, that’s a headline at Group Dentistry Now (GDN) that grabbed my full attention.
I felt no better when I read the following quotes from GDN page and The Institute for Pediatric Dentistry (IPD) website. IPD is the company offering this “training”. (more on IPD below)
“It’s often said, that children are the future, and that’s certainly true in the field of dentistry.”
“Dental benefits have increased dramatically to bring more children into dental practices, with all but 6% of children being insured by either government or private plans.”
“For DSOs and large group practices treating children, it’s hard to find qualified clinicians who can provide quality dental care while also being efficient enough to meet production goals.”
“As a leader in a DSO or large group practice, the demands on your time are constant. Developing and offering ongoing Continuing Education for your dentists and their staff that is relevant and capable of improving their skills and your bottom line is extremely challenging.”
The IPD website also asks “Why should you attend”. Their answer is “Unlock the potential of pediatric dentistry for your practice” WHOA!
Houston, Texas based, Institute for Pediatric Dentistry (IPD) calls it a “Game Changers in Pediatric Dentistry” (see screenshot below) which is a 2 day seminar, held at University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston offering 4 courses: Dentist Course, Dental Assistant Course, Behavior Guidance, and Practice Management. They offer discounts to DSO’s and large group practices, but the normal cost is $2795 plus hotel and airfare. Participants can earn up to 20 Continuing Education (CE’s) credits.
Here are some of the things the website describes:
• Pedonomics; (yes, it’s a whole economic system) Economic Impact of Pediatric Dentistry in Today’s Dental Practice
• The latest Caries And Management By Risk Assessment (CAMBRA)-based diagnosis and treatment planning methods
• New bioactive restoratives
• How to perform SSC plus latest zirconia crown restorations for all primary teeth (NuSmile Crowns is a sponsor, their parent company also owns IPD)
• Benefits and use of bioactive luting cements
• Affordable MTA treatments for pulp therapy
• Advancements in local anesthesia (DOCS Education is a sponsor)
• How to engage and influence your customers
• Boost staff loyalty and decrease turnover while also increasing child/ parent retention
• Key metrics that will drive cash flow and profitability.
• New ways to market your practice
• Recruiting pediatric dentists in a low supply environment
• Accelerate your practice metrics
• How offering comprehensive care can increase practice revenue
• Powerful pediatric patient behavior guidance techniques
• Guiding parental behaviors in the office
• Effectively presenting your treatment plan
• Flawlessly executing your plan with every team member
Who is IPD?
From my research, it is a private company and appears to be a division of NuSmile Crowns, which is a division of Orthodontic Technologies, Inc. (a Houston company) which recently merged with Specialty Appliances Orthodontic (a Georgia company).
(IPD address—3315 W. 12th Street, Houston, TX—is the exact same address for NuSmile Crowns, a division of Orthodontic Technologies, Inc., which, according to their website, recently merged with Specialty Appliances Orthodontic, NuSmile’s CEO is Diane Johnson Krueger, who is also the Director of IDP. (see bottom of the page))
What did this headline indicate to me?
For one thing It said, “Hey DSO’s, even though you don’t own dental clinics (wink), or practice dentistry without a license (wink), let us train your dentists to use our products and maximize your revenue by overtreating children—while we do the same—laughing all the way to the bank.”
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