Innovation and Disruption Accelerated in Dentistry

Maggie Augustyn, FAAIP, FICOI

As I was growing up, I was advised to find a job that would be relevant and needed, one with significant security of provider-ship for my future family. My upbringing, though not uncommon is not that of an average American. I moved to this country with my mom, dad, and sister at the age of 14, with nothing more than a suitcase or two. And so, in capitalizing on the sacrifices and efforts that my parents made, that we made, I was taught to be safe in my pursuits.

I did well in science and loved the subject, and thus I chose healthcare. I loved working with my hands and had a knack for art, thus I chose dentistry. I had convinced myself, as had my advisors, that there is not going to be a time in the near future where first world countries will not need a human dentist.

The job of a dentist was not going to be taken over by robots nor was it going to be moved overseas. My choice of career was conservative, realistic, and held certainty. But not everyone thought like me. I saw people who took risks, who were innovators, individuals who caused a disruption; they left me in awe. Their courage, for me, was unfathomably uncomfortable.

Picturing myself in the position of an entrepreneur has me uneasy, distressed, disquieted, and most of all–unsettled. I like my comfort and routine, I like my safety and security. Starting a company that has never existed before, one that interferes with the status quo, and also improves systems, rid of inefficiencies, leverages new technology, and lives in the future is something that I left to other people. And I watched, and I learned from those incredibly brave people.

One of these people, one to watch, and learn from is Yasin Abbak, an eternal entrepreneur who had recently started a company called GroupUps. Their mission? To ‘help dentists save more, together.’ The company specializes in price transparency for practice owners. It negotiates the cost of equipment including, but not limited to, CBCTs and panoramic machines, sterilizers and autoclaves, dental chairs, cabinetry, x-ray machines and sensors, 3D printers, and lasers.

What also makes the company unique is its brand neutrality. It doesn’t have agreements with select manufacturers. They work with distributors who continue giving commissions to their team. The sales force and distributors aim to attract customers they’d never met before, ones who might become a loyal fol-

lowing. In this way, the company creates positive change. They create opportunities for networking and collaboration amongst many sectors of our industry.

I have recently worked with GroupUps, having met them through Dental Nachos, on two large purchases: a Cone Beam machine and a handheld X-ray unit, and am hoping to add more in the near future. Many practitioners work with the company on start-ups which can even include office build-outs.

The average savings the company offers its clients is just a few dollars short of $9000. Again, this is not the savings off the MSRP; this is the savings taken from the average cataloged invoice cost throughout the country. And that number continues to increase client after client.

At the end of January 2024, the company had $1M worth of sold equipment, with a projection of $20M to be completed by year’s end. But the company is much more than a cost-saving vehicle. It is uniquely innovative. Its owner has the courage to bring about real change, fueled by a deeply rooted passion to see independent businesses thrive on Main Street.

INNOVATION

When I started to consider the purchase of a cone beam machine, I was overwhelmed with the amount of choices I had present within the market. Beware where you enter your email address, because it felt like each day I had another independent salesperson knocking on my door offering me ‘the deal of a lifetime.’

I didn’t know or understand the differences between brands, the technology they offered, their functions, or their reputations. Learning all of that was terribly overwhelming and, above all, time-consuming. I spent hours and days researching manufacturers and their unique technology just to narrow down what it was that I thought needed.

I spent hours on calls with manufacturing reps, taking notes to later compare and decide which machine was worthy of the hefty investment. Now, I know that the process of consideration can

be disrupted by using Artificial Intelligence (AI). GroupUps is on the cutting edge of implementing this.

In a short 19-question session, or rather a conversation with AI, the process of choosing which machine works for your particular office takes between 5-10 minutes. All pertinent questions are asked by the software with the purchaser being able to inquire back. The AI might ask ‘What field of view do you need?’ The purchaser can ask back ‘What is a field of view?’ and so on.

I was in disbelief when I learned that a 7-minute conversation with what is essentially a robot saved me more than 8 hours of research time. If the average hourly production for a general dentist in the United States hovers at $450 an hour, that is a potential savings of $3600.

MORE COMPANIES WITH COURAGE TO STAY ON MAIN STREET

At a time when company after company is hyper-focused on profits, and redesigns systems to leverage working their employees to the brink of exhaustion, some companies have the courage to turn that backwards. We need more websites to remember that ‘independent businesses are the lifeblood of a local economy.’ And more than just stating, we need companies to embody that with every cell of their existence.

We need to return to creating jobs, reinvesting in the local economy, and pursuing the American dream. We need to

make that pursuit easier and help good people build good things. By bringing price transparency and the opportunity to stray away from paying sticker prices, companies need to relevel the playing field.

Leveling the field brings an opportunity for more innovation. There is more. When single practice owners save money, that money stays on Main Street. The capital trickles down to the team in the way of increased wages, health insurance, paid time off, and retirement plans.

Independently owned businesses recirculate funds back into a local economy while national chains siphon them out. This isn’t

anecdotal, either; a study out of Salt Lake City shows how much revenue flows back into the local economy when indie businesses are compared to national chains(1). In retail, 52% of revenue goes back to the locals, as opposed to only 13.6% with chains. In the restaurant industry, it’s 78.6% compared to 30.4%(2).

DISRUPTION

Writing about company disruption is probably the most intriguing topic for me. Many of us are stuck in routines, in conventional and habitual activities. Imagining stepping outside of what we do on a daily basis seems to require too much effort, and thus, we don’t veer off programs or patterns.

That’s why having disruptors within our industry, or for that matter any industry, is such a gift. So few of us have the talent, the ability, the motivation, and the wherewithal to be that. The disruption of GroupUps comes in several ways.

It starts with the time savings of using AI and goes into being transparent and honest about pricing. And last, they go straight to the manufacturer and still share the spoils with the middle person, the sales person.

This last part might be the biggest disruption, and here is why: Boomers have essentially left private practice and gone into retirement, COVID-19 having accelerated that. Gen-X’ers have another decade or two to go. Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are about to run the show. Research shows that they don’t like to do business the same way as we do. Millennials and Gen-Z’s feel that their time is limited, their attention span is narrowed, and they want to go straight to the point.

They aren’t interested in working with salespeople, in spending hours on Zoom calls watching demos that can be boiled down into 5-minute YouTube videos. They embrace technology and digital tools to speed up the process of choice, demonstration, and delivery.

Change is coming, and we need to meet the demand, ahead of the curve. Gartner research shows that 44% of Millennials prefer no interaction with the sales force. Moreover, interest is shifting from in-person interactions to that of digital channels,

as only 17% of buyer time is occupied by a sales rep(3). By 2025, it is expected that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur solely through digital channels(4) . There is also proof that only 24% of B2B high-quality deals were completed with sales reps, as opposed to 65% that were self-navigated in the purchase process(5).

Yasin, the founder of GroupUps doesn’t necessarily hide behind the servile leadership he brings into the industry. He is fully aware that his operation is of a capitalist nature. He wants to make money. He wants to make a lot of money. He sees the future as being wide, spanning industries beyond dentistry: into medicine, veterinary medicine, chiropractic medicine, and who knows what else. He feels no discomfort as he pictures this as a billion-dollar venture. If he does get there, or rather, when he does get there, his vision driven mission will have brought multibillion dollar savings to others. He’s settled into the role of an innovator and disruptor quite comfortably. I simply can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.

Dr. Maggie Augustyn, FAAIP, FICOI is a Dawson-trained practicing general dentist, owner of Happy Tooth, author, and inspirational speaker. She researches, writes, and speaks on the things that make us human, make us hurt, and make us come alive. She evokes emotion in her audiences, awakening all to the beauty of our chosen paths. Dr. Augustyn is one of dentistry’s most prolific writers with a “Mindful Moments” column in Dentistry Today and a frequent contributor to Dental Entrepreneur Woman, AGD’s Impact, and DentistryIQ.

1. https://ilsr.org/key-studies-why-local-matters/#3

2. https://nebula.wsimg.com/09d4a3747498c7e97b42657484cae80d?Acce ssKeyId=8E410A17553441C49302&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

3. https://www.naw.org/how-distributors-can-deliver-the-experience-b2b-buyers-want/#:~:text=Digital Channels: Gartner research shows, occupied by a sales rep

4. https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/future-of-sales

5. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-0622-gartner-sales-survey-finbds-b2b-buyers-prefer-ordering-payingthrough--digital-commerce