1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,980 Hey there, dental professionals and industry enthusiasts. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,000 Picture this, it's October and you're in the 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,755 middle of one of the most transformative experiences 4 00:00:08,814 --> 00:00:11,134 of your career. You're at the Becker's Fall 5 00:00:11,134 --> 00:00:13,695 Future of Dentistry Roundtable in the vibrant city 6 00:00:13,695 --> 00:00:16,399 of Chicago, fresh off an incredible 3 days 7 00:00:16,399 --> 00:00:17,460 at the Hyatt Regency. 8 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,619 Imagine yourself inspired and invigorated after attending captivating 9 00:00:21,839 --> 00:00:24,344 keynote sessions by none other than the legendary 10 00:00:24,344 --> 00:00:26,524 boxing world champion and CEO, 11 00:00:26,824 --> 00:00:28,765 Lila Elite, and the extraordinary 12 00:00:29,144 --> 00:00:32,750 professional basketball player, Caitlin Clark. See yourself engaged 13 00:00:32,750 --> 00:00:36,030 in lively discussions, exchanging ideas, and collecting a 14 00:00:36,030 --> 00:00:38,850 stack of business cards from fellow dental experts 15 00:00:38,884 --> 00:00:40,024 and potential partners. 16 00:00:40,484 --> 00:00:43,765 You've networked with over 350 attendees and learned 17 00:00:43,765 --> 00:00:45,604 from more than 80 speakers who are at 18 00:00:45,604 --> 00:00:47,520 the forefront of dental innovation. 19 00:00:48,380 --> 00:00:51,500 You sat in on educational sessions exploring topics 20 00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:53,980 that elevate dental care as a critical element 21 00:00:53,980 --> 00:00:57,125 of whole person health. You've witnessed firsthand how 22 00:00:57,125 --> 00:00:59,065 digital technology is revolutionizing 23 00:00:59,524 --> 00:01:00,425 patient outcomes 24 00:01:00,804 --> 00:01:04,185 and how both large DSOs and independent practices 25 00:01:04,405 --> 00:01:07,280 are flourishing. Get ready to transform your career 26 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,780 and don't miss out on this incredible opportunity. 27 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,799 The Becker's Fall Future of Dentistry Roundtable is 28 00:01:12,799 --> 00:01:16,004 from October 30th to November 1, 2024. 29 00:01:16,465 --> 00:01:18,724 Get registered by going to beckersdental.com 30 00:01:20,145 --> 00:01:21,924 and clicking on the events page. 31 00:01:22,939 --> 00:01:25,180 Hello. This is Arianna Portallatin with the Becker's 32 00:01:25,180 --> 00:01:27,420 Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to 33 00:01:27,420 --> 00:01:29,420 be joined today by doctor Matt Carlson of 34 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:30,239 Comfort Dental. 35 00:01:30,685 --> 00:01:32,284 Doctor Carlson, thank you so much for being 36 00:01:32,284 --> 00:01:34,204 here today. Just to start off with, can 37 00:01:34,204 --> 00:01:35,965 you introduce yourself and tell us a little 38 00:01:35,965 --> 00:01:36,944 bit about your background? 39 00:01:37,939 --> 00:01:40,040 Of course. Yeah. My name is Matt Carlson, 40 00:01:40,420 --> 00:01:40,900 and, 41 00:01:42,180 --> 00:01:44,840 I went to Temple Dental School. I graduated 42 00:01:44,980 --> 00:01:45,799 in 2004, 43 00:01:46,180 --> 00:01:48,234 so I just hit 20 years 44 00:01:48,775 --> 00:01:52,534 being a practicing dentist. I currently practice in 45 00:01:52,534 --> 00:01:53,034 Denver, 46 00:01:53,575 --> 00:01:55,034 on South Denver location, 47 00:01:55,709 --> 00:01:58,269 with Comfort Dental. I've always been with Comfort 48 00:01:58,269 --> 00:02:00,369 Dental for my 20 years of clinical dentistry. 49 00:02:01,709 --> 00:02:02,689 I also have 50 00:02:03,275 --> 00:02:06,075 a different role in Comfort Dental in regards 51 00:02:06,075 --> 00:02:06,575 to, 52 00:02:07,674 --> 00:02:08,895 recruitment of dentists, 53 00:02:09,514 --> 00:02:11,134 trying to acquire new talent, 54 00:02:11,950 --> 00:02:12,849 help with marketing, 55 00:02:13,150 --> 00:02:13,650 and 56 00:02:15,069 --> 00:02:15,569 also 57 00:02:15,950 --> 00:02:17,889 just try to help our practices 58 00:02:18,750 --> 00:02:20,689 across the 10 states where we're located 59 00:02:21,495 --> 00:02:22,235 and manage, 60 00:02:23,175 --> 00:02:24,795 patient flow and, 61 00:02:25,575 --> 00:02:27,995 be as successful as they can. 62 00:02:29,049 --> 00:02:30,349 Great. Thank you for that. 63 00:02:30,810 --> 00:02:32,409 And what are some of the biggest issues 64 00:02:32,409 --> 00:02:34,409 that you're following in the dental industry this 65 00:02:34,409 --> 00:02:34,909 year? 66 00:02:36,085 --> 00:02:37,784 Due to my role in 67 00:02:38,324 --> 00:02:40,344 acquiring new talent for Comfort Dental, 68 00:02:40,805 --> 00:02:43,365 I have the opportunity to talk to a 69 00:02:43,365 --> 00:02:44,025 lot of 70 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,159 dentists, whether they are still in dinner school, 71 00:02:47,159 --> 00:02:50,139 they're recent grads, or kinda more seasoned docs. 72 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,099 We have the opportunity to speak with them, 73 00:02:54,055 --> 00:02:54,555 and 74 00:02:55,735 --> 00:02:58,215 we really try to focus on how we 75 00:02:58,215 --> 00:03:00,395 can help them become more successful. 76 00:03:02,129 --> 00:03:03,750 And as most people know, 77 00:03:04,370 --> 00:03:05,349 dental school, 78 00:03:05,969 --> 00:03:06,469 is 79 00:03:07,090 --> 00:03:09,889 a tremendous expense financially for many of these 80 00:03:09,889 --> 00:03:10,389 docs. 81 00:03:10,905 --> 00:03:11,405 And 82 00:03:11,864 --> 00:03:13,245 we try to help educate 83 00:03:13,784 --> 00:03:15,245 young docs on 84 00:03:16,025 --> 00:03:17,705 pitfalls that they can fall into, 85 00:03:18,990 --> 00:03:21,409 as far as making the right decisions 86 00:03:22,030 --> 00:03:23,569 upon completing their 87 00:03:24,110 --> 00:03:26,430 dental school and what they can do to 88 00:03:26,430 --> 00:03:27,810 be most successful. 89 00:03:28,735 --> 00:03:30,435 And we do this by 90 00:03:31,455 --> 00:03:31,955 explaining 91 00:03:32,655 --> 00:03:34,034 kind of the dental landscape 92 00:03:34,575 --> 00:03:36,415 and what it looks like for many of 93 00:03:36,415 --> 00:03:36,915 these 94 00:03:37,330 --> 00:03:39,810 of these new grads and how we feel 95 00:03:39,810 --> 00:03:40,949 like Comfort Dental 96 00:03:41,569 --> 00:03:43,349 and help them achieve 97 00:03:44,754 --> 00:03:46,694 clinical and financial success 98 00:03:46,995 --> 00:03:48,534 at a much faster pace 99 00:03:49,155 --> 00:03:49,655 than 100 00:03:50,275 --> 00:03:52,055 most of the other opportunities 101 00:03:52,674 --> 00:03:53,334 out there. 102 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:55,919 And once we have them in the organization, 103 00:03:56,540 --> 00:03:57,919 we talk a lot about 104 00:03:58,620 --> 00:04:01,260 kind of their recent trends in dentistry right 105 00:04:01,260 --> 00:04:02,800 now, whether it's, 106 00:04:03,465 --> 00:04:04,924 you know, technological 107 00:04:05,465 --> 00:04:08,125 proficiency or how we can focus things on 108 00:04:08,424 --> 00:04:10,264 the patients and how they can run a 109 00:04:10,264 --> 00:04:10,764 successful 110 00:04:11,759 --> 00:04:14,000 practice. We pride ourselves to comfort dental by 111 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:15,219 having a much lower 112 00:04:15,599 --> 00:04:16,579 average overhead 113 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:18,019 than 114 00:04:19,264 --> 00:04:20,645 the national average of 115 00:04:21,425 --> 00:04:23,845 of most general practice dental offices. 116 00:04:24,305 --> 00:04:27,205 K? And we really focus on 117 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,819 helping these young docs become leaders 118 00:04:30,439 --> 00:04:31,579 and how they can 119 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,740 run successful practices, 120 00:04:34,519 --> 00:04:35,714 how they can adapt 121 00:04:36,194 --> 00:04:37,814 to certain situations. 122 00:04:39,394 --> 00:04:39,894 Because 123 00:04:40,274 --> 00:04:42,595 our docs get a lot of reps and 124 00:04:42,595 --> 00:04:44,294 they're able to see a lot of patients, 125 00:04:45,449 --> 00:04:48,189 We really want them to adapt to these 126 00:04:48,730 --> 00:04:49,710 clinical settings 127 00:04:50,410 --> 00:04:52,730 quickly and but there's a lot that goes 128 00:04:52,730 --> 00:04:55,035 into that. Right? We've gotta be compliant. We've 129 00:04:55,035 --> 00:04:55,355 gotta, 130 00:04:56,394 --> 00:04:56,894 understand 131 00:04:57,995 --> 00:04:59,855 some of the programs out there, 132 00:05:00,394 --> 00:05:02,095 how we can do everything 133 00:05:02,555 --> 00:05:03,055 properly. 134 00:05:03,660 --> 00:05:05,100 So there's a there's a whole lot of 135 00:05:05,100 --> 00:05:07,120 things, but mainly our focus 136 00:05:07,980 --> 00:05:10,139 is on younger docs and how we can 137 00:05:10,139 --> 00:05:12,080 help them become successful 138 00:05:13,024 --> 00:05:14,785 as well as our existing docs and how 139 00:05:14,785 --> 00:05:16,724 we can help them maintain their success. 140 00:05:17,904 --> 00:05:18,724 Okay. Great. 141 00:05:19,345 --> 00:05:21,185 And I'm also curious. What are you most 142 00:05:21,185 --> 00:05:23,290 excited about when it comes to dentistry right 143 00:05:23,290 --> 00:05:24,569 now, and is there anything that makes you 144 00:05:24,569 --> 00:05:25,069 nervous? 145 00:05:26,410 --> 00:05:28,410 Well, what am I most excited about? Well, 146 00:05:28,410 --> 00:05:29,764 I still practice clinically. 147 00:05:30,465 --> 00:05:32,465 So I I still feel like I'm in 148 00:05:32,465 --> 00:05:34,384 the trenches. I can still talk to these 149 00:05:34,384 --> 00:05:36,965 docs about emerging trends and things like that. 150 00:05:37,740 --> 00:05:39,120 You know, we try to, 151 00:05:40,220 --> 00:05:41,680 stay up with technology. 152 00:05:42,060 --> 00:05:44,220 There are a lot of technological advances that 153 00:05:44,220 --> 00:05:46,060 are going on right now, a lot that 154 00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:46,535 we're 155 00:05:47,014 --> 00:05:48,555 implementing into our practice. 156 00:05:49,014 --> 00:05:51,495 Comfort Dental, we do not consider ourselves the 157 00:05:51,495 --> 00:05:51,995 DSO 158 00:05:52,295 --> 00:05:54,849 because the docs own the practices 159 00:05:55,629 --> 00:05:56,129 100% 160 00:05:56,750 --> 00:05:58,909 in the offices. Comfort Dental does not own 161 00:05:58,909 --> 00:06:00,610 practices. We just help to 162 00:06:01,245 --> 00:06:03,105 run them efficiently. And so 163 00:06:03,485 --> 00:06:04,305 we introduce 164 00:06:04,685 --> 00:06:05,185 technological 165 00:06:05,564 --> 00:06:06,064 advances, 166 00:06:07,165 --> 00:06:09,959 to our docs while still helping to maintain 167 00:06:10,419 --> 00:06:11,479 access to care, 168 00:06:12,819 --> 00:06:15,939 for many, many patients. We're a new patient 169 00:06:15,939 --> 00:06:16,919 driven organization. 170 00:06:17,814 --> 00:06:18,475 And so, 171 00:06:19,654 --> 00:06:22,055 there's a lot of innovative ways that we've 172 00:06:22,055 --> 00:06:23,115 been able to drive 173 00:06:23,415 --> 00:06:25,115 new patients to our practices. 174 00:06:25,949 --> 00:06:28,110 I think what makes me most excited though 175 00:06:28,110 --> 00:06:29,949 is just to see the success of some 176 00:06:29,949 --> 00:06:31,709 of our younger docs and how they didn't 177 00:06:31,709 --> 00:06:34,625 think it was possible to achieve success and 178 00:06:34,625 --> 00:06:36,305 see so many patients and do so many 179 00:06:36,305 --> 00:06:38,464 procedures in such a short time out of 180 00:06:38,464 --> 00:06:40,645 out of dental school, and it it is. 181 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:42,620 Yeah. That's great. 182 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,280 Is there any specific technology that you've, added 183 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:48,040 recently at your organization that you could speak 184 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:48,540 to? 185 00:06:49,454 --> 00:06:51,935 Yeah, sure. So, most of our practices have 186 00:06:51,935 --> 00:06:54,595 introduced CBCTs into their offices. 187 00:06:55,055 --> 00:06:57,134 You know, at some point that will become 188 00:06:57,134 --> 00:06:58,514 standard of care for 189 00:06:58,949 --> 00:07:01,449 many different procedures if it isn't already. 190 00:07:02,629 --> 00:07:04,409 We also have introduced, 191 00:07:06,229 --> 00:07:09,204 Overjet Interrupt, many of our practices, which is 192 00:07:09,204 --> 00:07:10,185 kind of the AI 193 00:07:11,045 --> 00:07:13,704 version of helping you, just to identify, 194 00:07:15,045 --> 00:07:17,830 any pathologies on x rays and things like 195 00:07:17,830 --> 00:07:18,330 that. 196 00:07:19,110 --> 00:07:20,250 You know, when I started 197 00:07:20,709 --> 00:07:23,110 dentistry as many of your listeners did, everything 198 00:07:23,110 --> 00:07:24,649 was PDF to do, 199 00:07:25,509 --> 00:07:26,795 you know, any type of fixed 200 00:07:35,115 --> 00:07:37,550 result now because we're scanning any of our 201 00:07:37,550 --> 00:07:38,449 crowns or 202 00:07:38,909 --> 00:07:40,289 implants or bridges 203 00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:41,490 and we're 204 00:07:41,949 --> 00:07:44,029 always staying ahead of it. I think one 205 00:07:44,029 --> 00:07:46,425 thing that we're trying to look ahead and 206 00:07:46,425 --> 00:07:49,384 introduce is how we can communicate and interact 207 00:07:49,384 --> 00:07:50,125 with patients 208 00:07:50,745 --> 00:07:52,664 on a digital level and not just the 209 00:07:52,664 --> 00:07:55,220 old traditional phone calls. We're trying to interact 210 00:07:55,279 --> 00:07:57,519 with patients and engage them in ways that 211 00:07:57,519 --> 00:07:58,019 will 212 00:07:59,199 --> 00:07:59,839 keep them, 213 00:08:00,479 --> 00:08:02,639 in the in the office and keep them 214 00:08:02,639 --> 00:08:03,134 engaged 215 00:08:03,535 --> 00:08:04,675 and regularly attending 216 00:08:06,014 --> 00:08:06,915 their dental visits. 217 00:08:07,935 --> 00:08:08,435 Okay. 218 00:08:09,134 --> 00:08:11,550 And what will the most effective healthcare leaders 219 00:08:11,550 --> 00:08:13,389 need to be successful in the next 2, 220 00:08:13,389 --> 00:08:14,050 3 years? 221 00:08:14,589 --> 00:08:16,930 I think there's a tremendous amount of competition 222 00:08:16,990 --> 00:08:18,610 in the dental field right now. 223 00:08:19,004 --> 00:08:21,245 When I graduated from dental school back in 224 00:08:21,245 --> 00:08:21,745 2004, 225 00:08:22,125 --> 00:08:23,024 there were approximately 226 00:08:23,485 --> 00:08:23,985 3,200 227 00:08:24,524 --> 00:08:26,545 to 3,300 graduates nationwide. 228 00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:29,000 And here in 2024, 229 00:08:29,860 --> 00:08:31,399 I think it's close to 7,000. 230 00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:34,179 So there's a tremendous amount of competition for 231 00:08:34,179 --> 00:08:36,565 many of these organizations. And so we need 232 00:08:36,565 --> 00:08:37,705 to maintain 233 00:08:39,445 --> 00:08:41,545 our practices and make them attractive 234 00:08:42,004 --> 00:08:43,865 to some of these younger docs because 235 00:08:44,259 --> 00:08:47,139 these younger docs they are concerned about many 236 00:08:47,139 --> 00:08:49,000 of the trends of over saturation 237 00:08:49,379 --> 00:08:51,940 of making sure that the office they choose 238 00:08:51,940 --> 00:08:53,480 is up to date with technology 239 00:08:54,075 --> 00:08:55,615 and that they're able to see, 240 00:08:56,315 --> 00:08:57,294 enough patients 241 00:08:57,595 --> 00:08:58,095 because, 242 00:08:59,115 --> 00:09:01,120 you know, they do need to service this 243 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:03,600 debt. Right? When you graduate from dental school 244 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:05,220 and and you've got $500,000 245 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:07,759 in student loans and then you have no 246 00:09:07,759 --> 00:09:08,259 idea 247 00:09:08,615 --> 00:09:10,294 how you're gonna pay it off or even 248 00:09:10,294 --> 00:09:12,075 the process to pay it off, 249 00:09:13,495 --> 00:09:16,235 you need to plan ahead. And 250 00:09:16,580 --> 00:09:18,759 you need to be in a situation where 251 00:09:19,539 --> 00:09:22,340 you're able to successfully service that debt. So 252 00:09:22,340 --> 00:09:24,039 we as dental healthcare leaders 253 00:09:24,664 --> 00:09:27,485 aren't aware of that, then it's gonna stagnate 254 00:09:27,625 --> 00:09:28,745 growth and, 255 00:09:29,384 --> 00:09:31,705 dental graduates will choose to to work somewhere 256 00:09:31,705 --> 00:09:32,205 else. 257 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,299 Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's definitely interesting. 258 00:09:35,839 --> 00:09:38,639 And, you know, saying that you have been 259 00:09:38,639 --> 00:09:40,565 in the industry for about 20 years, what 260 00:09:40,565 --> 00:09:42,245 do you think has been your biggest takeaway 261 00:09:42,245 --> 00:09:44,024 from your your time in in dentistry? 262 00:09:46,404 --> 00:09:47,464 My biggest takeaway. 263 00:09:48,085 --> 00:09:48,585 Well, 264 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:51,360 I I still enjoy dentistry immensely. 265 00:09:52,139 --> 00:09:53,600 Mhmm. I think that 266 00:09:53,980 --> 00:09:54,460 it's, 267 00:09:54,779 --> 00:09:55,840 it's such a 268 00:09:57,044 --> 00:09:57,544 undervalued 269 00:09:57,924 --> 00:10:00,644 asset in in many regards that you can 270 00:10:00,644 --> 00:10:02,664 include increase the quality of life 271 00:10:03,044 --> 00:10:04,664 of patients with not, 272 00:10:05,149 --> 00:10:07,629 you know, not a full mouth rehab, but 273 00:10:07,629 --> 00:10:09,309 there's simple things that you can do to 274 00:10:09,309 --> 00:10:12,049 help patients live a better quality of life, 275 00:10:12,190 --> 00:10:14,690 whether it's a geriatric patient or whether it's 276 00:10:15,225 --> 00:10:17,465 a young adult. There's there's simple things that 277 00:10:17,465 --> 00:10:19,545 can be done to help them. And access 278 00:10:19,545 --> 00:10:21,725 to care is important. With Comfort Dental, 279 00:10:22,299 --> 00:10:24,539 our doctors can choose to accept any type 280 00:10:24,539 --> 00:10:26,860 of dental insurances that they do, but we 281 00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:29,259 end up seeing a lot of kinda low 282 00:10:29,259 --> 00:10:33,285 income blue collar patients where many other offices 283 00:10:34,384 --> 00:10:34,884 almost 284 00:10:35,424 --> 00:10:37,105 not shut the doors, but they don't see 285 00:10:37,105 --> 00:10:38,919 many of those types of patients. And so 286 00:10:38,919 --> 00:10:41,639 we have the ability to see patients from 287 00:10:41,639 --> 00:10:42,459 all socioeconomic 288 00:10:42,919 --> 00:10:45,639 groups, and it's very rewarding to be able 289 00:10:45,639 --> 00:10:47,445 to see the changes that have come in 290 00:10:47,445 --> 00:10:50,085 the dental health care industry where those patients 291 00:10:50,085 --> 00:10:52,404 now have much more access to care, and 292 00:10:52,404 --> 00:10:54,750 they're able to receive adequate treatment, and the 293 00:10:54,830 --> 00:10:57,309 doctors are able to be reimbursed properly for 294 00:10:57,309 --> 00:10:58,370 that type of care. 295 00:10:59,389 --> 00:11:00,129 Yeah. Great. 296 00:11:00,830 --> 00:11:02,485 Well, thank you so much for joining us, 297 00:11:02,804 --> 00:11:04,725 today, doctor Carlson. It's been a pleasure working 298 00:11:04,725 --> 00:11:06,565 with you, and speaking with you today, and 299 00:11:06,565 --> 00:11:07,924 I look forward to connecting with you again 300 00:11:07,924 --> 00:11:08,664 in the future. 301 00:11:09,284 --> 00:11:10,725 Thank you for having me on. I really 302 00:11:10,725 --> 00:11:12,480 appreciate it. Yeah. Definitely. Have a good 303 00:11:12,860 --> 00:11:13,360 day.