Literature Review

ORGANIZATION FEATURE Dental Practice

by Anish Reddy, class of 2022

Leadership Association

What is the actual job description for a dentist?

When most people consider this question, they immediately think of the obvious answer: a dentist is a doctor of the oral cavity. Just like any doctor, a dentist must understand a patient’ s medical status, diagnose current and potential future ailments, and perform complex procedures to maintain or improve the patient’ s situation. Like a doctor, a dentist must have a good chairside manner, and an excellent understanding of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology.

However, there is one major difference between the way that the average dentist and the average doctor: the way that they practice. On average, only 31.4% of doctors identify themselves as independent practice owners to partners, compared to about 77% of dentists. That means the average graduating dentist today is more than twice as likely as the average doctor to be involved in the management of their own practice.

Dentists who are involved in the management of their practice need to understand a multitude of topics, ranging from financials (balance sheets, cash flows, taxes) to leadership (hiring, staff management, patient satisfaction) and more. Being proficient in these skills is a large factor in the success of a dentist’ s practice. A dentist who is excellent clinically but who manages their practice poorly is less likely to have a sustainable business than an average clinician who manages their practice effectively.

However, despite practice leadership skills playing such a large role in the career of a practicing dentist, dental schools place minimal importance on exposing students to these topics. As a result many students graduate school as excellent clinicians who are confident in their ability as dentists, but who feel overwhelmed by the idea of managing their own practice. This is unfortunate as an ever-increasing number of new dentists have chosen to work as associates for Dental Service Organizations (DSO) long term, as they are unwilling or unable to manage a practice on their own. This has several drawbacks, including that DSOs may place production requirements on associates that may not allow them to practice dentistry in the way that they would prefer. Furthermore, the DSOs will collect the majority of the profit, even though it is the dentist who has the education and experience to treat the patient.

With this in mind, a few of my classmates and I decided to start the Dental Practice Leadership Association, a student organization at UTSD dedicated to understanding everything that is involved in leading a dental practice. The goal of the organization is to expose members to the situations they ’ll encounter as a practice owner, and the information they ’ll need to handle these situations in the future. Through presentations, case studies, and guest lectures from practicing dentists, DPLA aims to make students more confident in their potential to lead a practice one day. By getting students thinking about practice management in school, we hope that students will start early directing their career and life plans towards starting or purchasing a practice in the future.

Dental Practice Leadership Association covers a variety of topics in our meetings. These topics range from understanding dental financials, such as balance sheets, cash flow statements, and practice valuation methods, to interpersonal skills, such as managing staff and keeping patients satisfied. We also review topics related to dental technology and marketing involved in a practice. The organization hopes that by giving interested students an outlet to get a head start on understanding dental practice leadership, we can become more confident practice owners later in our careers. We hope you consider joining!