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This is Riz Hatton with the Becker's Dental Plus dsso podcast.
I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dave Salli,
chief Strategy Officer of Singing River Dental Partners. Dave,
thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
Fantastic. Could you start off by just telling us a bit about yourself?
Yeah, absolutely. I, uh, I have grew up in Bend, Oregon,
and, uh, tiny little mountain town that's certainly exploded and, um,
three kids and, uh, entered into the dental space, uh,
kind of from a unique side, uh, more from a consulting, uh, practice.
Um, got really engaged with a, what a particular client, uh, Dr.
Jimmy Gardner, the owner of Steam River Dental Partners,
and was so inspired by their commitment to their mission and vision to take care
of people that, um, that I decided to, to jump on and, and help, uh,
help to grow their practice. So it's been, it's been an incredible journey and,
um, and it's been really fun to be in this dental space.
Fantastic. Thank you for that introduction there.
So what are the biggest issues you're following in dentistry today?
Well,
I know that probably previous guests and others have obviously talked about
labor shortages. So when I was thinking about, um, some areas to discuss, uh,
I didn't want to spend the whole time on that,
but certainly finding and growing and developing, uh,
talent is always going to be a challenge.
But I think the broader issue there is really one that contributes to just
margin compression from all sides. Um, you have,
certainly the labor costs are rising, uh, depending upon, you know,
sort of how regional you are or how, you know, remote you are versus, uh,
maybe in a more urban setting where talent might be more readily available, but,
um, that certainly contributes to it,
but then still have rising costs of supplies, ppo, uh,
reimbursement rates. Uh, it's hard to, to get those to move a little bit.
Um, and, and so I think that it's just margin compression on all sides.
I think what we definitely saw through Covid is that the dental space was very
resilient to recession, but it's not resilient 100% to inflation.
Um, and so I think, uh, we've just been working to, to try to, uh,
to mitigate those risks of margin compression so that we can continue to put
fuel in the tank of the business to, uh, take care of more people.
So that's been a big focus for us, uh, that we we're, that we're staying, uh,
keeping our pulse on.
Interesting. Thank you.
So what are you most excited about and what makes you nervous when you think
about the future of dentistry?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So most excited about is that, uh,
there are so many new technologies that are entering into the space,
everything from AI enabled technologies to, uh,
greater diagnostic tools. So I'm excited about that space. I think,
um, the, the growth of new technologies, uh,
is going to be a huge game changer for, um, for, you know,
many practices and it certainly has been for ours. Um,
everything from 3D printing, which we're investing in heavily right now to, uh,
faster ways to produce same J Crowns. Um, and so I'm just excited about the,
the various technologies that are coming into the space. Um, you know,
certainly the challenge with those is being able to invest and integrate those
new technologies. Um, and, uh, you know, we, we've,
we've seen that as well, but, um,
I'm excited about those new technologies that are, that are coming in. Um,
in terms of a more, you know,
the second part of your question around what makes you nervous,
I think as we look out the next 12, 18, 24 months, the economic,
uh, there's a little bit of economic uncertainty, um,
certainly as it already has been. And so, um,
I'm interested to see how that affects the, the, uh, our patients,
their ability to invest in their total health, their ability to invest in, um,
in, you know, maybe some of the cosmetic dentistry that they've been hoping for.
So I'm interested to see how the, you know, maybe the,
the tightness of available, you know, uh, cash for them may,
may impact their ability to invest in, in their dental care. Um,
so that, I think that'll be an interesting space. One that, that I'm not,
I'm not sure how it's gonna go. Um, but, uh, I,
I think that our approach has been that regardless of, um,
of what happens out there in market conditions,
we're gonna keep providing world class dental care,
taking care of people going the extra mile on that patient experience. And,
and I think that, we'll, we'll do fine through that, but certainly something to,
to watch.
Interesting. Thank you. Could you touch on and,
and kind of go into depth about the number one technology you're keeping your
eye on at the moment?
Yeah, so, uh, 3D printing is the one that, that we've most recently invested in.
And I'm, I'm really interested in this space because, uh, I think it's going to,
it's going to allow us to, uh,
3D print our dentures eventually.
And I know that there's even some conversation around the technology to be able
to 3D print crowns, um, and, uh,
on at a cost basis that's much less than what it takes right now.
So I'm interested in that, that 3D printing space that, um,
that has made huge leaps and bounds from, uh,
what dense supplies invested in it and sprint ray and others.
And so I'm interested to see how that space continues to grow and allows us to
increase patient outcomes, bring down our own costs, and, um,
and be able to do it faster and, and, and more accurate. Um, uh,
so that digital dentistry space, including the 3D printing is one that,
that we're really excited about.
Fascinating, thank you.
So what will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the
next two to three years?
Yeah, great question. I, uh,
will take this from the approach of my role as the chief strategy officer,
and I think,
I think one discipline that many organizations have struggled with
certainly, um, going through covid and post Covid and now into this space where,
again, the dental industry is changing so quickly, is,
is how do I lead and adapt to the rate of change that that is now present within
our industry? And, and so I put a lot of emphasis on,
I think there's really change.
Leadership is really the skill that any effective, uh, healthcare leader or in,
in another organization really needs to be able to build the discipline within
their organization around, and, and really comes down to four things.
How do I create a culture of innovation where we're constantly seeking and
finding new, effective and innovative ways to, to do our work?
How do I then translate a vision or an idea into a strategy that
has steps and milestones in, in,
in it that has multiple people engaged in that space? Um,
how do I then engage those individuals and helping me push that change forward
guide that change,
and then how do I make sure we execute it all the way through?
It's not just an idea that is up in the air,
but we actually execute those steps to make us better on the other side.
And so I think that's a, that's a skill set, um,
that it's not just managing change,
it's actually being proactive around seeing where we can grow,
how we can get better,
and then building a discipline within leadership within your office managers,
practice managers who, whoever those stakeholders might be,
to be able to really translate vision into strategy,
strategy into executable items and, and then into reality. So,
um, that's a, i I think that's a skill that has to be, um,
has to be thought about and built, uh, for healthcare leaders, uh,
to be successful.
Fantastic. Well, Dave,
thank you so much for all of your great insights today and for joining us on the
podcast. I look forward to connecting with you again in the future.
Okay. Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity.