North Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2016 | Page 29

opportunity for professional interaction, and enjoy collaborating on complex cases. Perhaps most importantly, doctors in multi-doctor or multi-specialty practices find that the patient experience is improved by collaborative, patientcentered care. This translates into greater patient confidence, higher levels of satisfaction, and more referrals to friends and family. As a pleasant side effect, staff stress levels are reduced when patients are happy, and patient accounts tend to be paid promptly. The Corporate Practice Corporate practices are experiencing tremendous success, and there has been some concern among private practice owners about competing with the corporate giants. However, since other dental practices compete based on patient experience, while the corporate model of practice markets their services to patients based on pricing, privately-owned practices and corporate practices are appealing to different demographics. More Choices = Better Fit The economy has put new pressures on dentists to compete for a successful niche, and the lifestyles of new graduates are evolving to accommodate modern values. As a result, dentists are considering alternatives to the traditional model of private dental practice. One thing is certain – the emergence of different practice models is changing the way dentistry is practiced, and offers both patients and dentists an expanded set of options, and the ability to choose what fits them best. In the corporate model of practice, the dentist provides clinical care in a facility owned and managed by a corporation. Corporate practices hold a number of advantages for dentists and patients. Dentists in the corporate setting are able to offer convenient care at lower cost to patients in underserved and less affluent areas. The corporate dentist that accepts government insurance may be an important means to access care for many patients with limited incomes. New dentists typically enter the profession with burdensome educational debt, and are more likely to opt for another point of entry that involves a lower capital investment. Corporate dentistry often offers relatively high pay for recent graduates, and is a good fit for many dentists who seek a practice model that allows them to hand off administration duties and other business functions so they can devote their time to patient care. The numbers of corporate dental practices is growing and will continue to grow as baby boom dentists sell their practices and retire, since corporations have ready capital to make those purchases. For some dentists, the corporate model provides the freedom to maximize potential and minimize time spent on activities they enjoy less. Dentists have responsibility for clinical care while the corporation provides sales, marketing, IT support, human resources, and bulk purchasing of materials, equipment and supplies. Corporate owners also handle real estate development and replicate facility design at each new location (usually in busy retail areas) to drive down costs. www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 29