Hey there, dental professionals and industry enthusiasts.
Picture this. It's October, and you're in the
middle of one of the most transformative
experiences of your career. You're at the Becker's
fall future of dentistry roundtable in the vibrant
city of Chicago, fresh off an incredible 3
days at the Hyatt Regency. Imagine yourself inspired
and invigorated after attending captivating keynote sessions by
none other than the legendary boxing world champion
and CEO, Lila Elite, and the extraordinary professional
basketball player, Caitlin Clark. See yourself engaged in
lively discussions, exchanging ideas, and collecting a stack
of business cards from fellow dental experts and
potential partners. You've networked with over 350
attendees and learned from more than 80 speakers
who are at the forefront of dental innovation.
You sat in on educational sessions exploring topics
that elevate dental care as a critical element
of whole person health. You've witnessed firsthand how
digital technology is revolutionizing
patient outcomes
and how both large DSOs and independent practices
are flourishing.
Get ready to transform your career and don't
miss out on this incredible opportunity. The Becker's
fall future of dentistry roundtable is from October
30th to November 1, 2024.
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and clicking on the events page.
Hello. This is Cameron Cortejano with the Becker's
Dental and DSO review podcast.
I'm thrilled to be joined today by doctor
Jordan Cooper, owner of Cooper Family Dentistry and
partner at MB2 Dental.
Doctor Cooper, thank you so much for being
here today.
Cameron, thank you for having me.
To start us off, can you introduce yourself
and tell us
a little bit more about your background?
Sure, Cameron. So I'm a dentist.
I was actually born to a dental family.
My dad is a a dentist. My mom
was a practicing hygienist for several years.
I started in here with my dad
in Cooper Family Dentistry in 2006
after I graduated from the University of Tennessee.
And then I started my first,
practice outside
of Cooper Family
in 2007
and I went on to build a DSO,
over the next decade,
which I then sold in 2015
to a local private equity backed group here.
And then after that,
I actually,
I published a book about the saga of
all that called Chasing the Blue Marlette, and
it it became a bestseller on Amazon. I
think maybe we can put a link to
that in the show notes.
And, then in 2018,
I ended up joining MD 2. And
since then, I've helped
them do some acquisitions here in Arkansas, and
I have several clinics here through MB2.
And,
I have a real estate company that I
have developed during that time that's doing really
well. And I plan to write a second
book over the next couple of years. I've
actually found a publisher, and we're getting started
on that right now.
It's been a it's been a fun adventure.
Awesome. Thanks. Thanks for that introduction.
What are some of the biggest,
issues that you're following
in the dental industry
this year?
Well, of course, I am keeping my eyes
on the consolidation
of dentistry across the United States.
This has been going on for about a
decade now, more or less. And
as we look at the industry, as it
becomes 30%, 40%, maybe even 50% consolidated
over the next 5 or 10 years, kind
of looking at the lay of the land
and just kind of monitoring
the future
of practice ownership, I would guess,
is one of the biggest issues we are
going to say
as more and more students
graduate dental school without planning on owning,
their own dental practice or having a partner
to to grow with.
So, we're kind of watching the landscape change
and seeing the preferences
of younger dentists and
how the how the future will,
dictate
the business model here.
Yeah, definitely. I think that,
at least so far in 2024,
the consolidation of the industry
has not been as rapid as maybe,
in years past, especially with COVID and all
those things.
Do you
anticipate that the consolidation will kind of swing
back,
and increase
over the last couple of months of 2024
and kind of headed into the next couple
of years?
Well, I do, Cameron.
You know, in the fall, the merger and
acquisition activity tends to pick up, so we
do see more closings in the fall.
I've heard of a few groups recently getting
some funding. With MB2, we acquired a huge
debt facility
in March of this year, so we are
able to continue acquiring practices
for the foreseeable future.
There are a few others out there that
are still
acquiring practices right now.
I feel like it's going to pick up
a little bit the next 6 months and
then,
you know, everybody's eyes are on the presidential
election, which is super pivotal
for the economy. So I think a lot
of
that activity
will be affected by,
the next president of the United States
and, their temperature on business here.
Yeah. I think that that is a sentiment
that
is being shared by a lot of dentists
and DSOs, kind of just being patient right
now,
and kind of waiting to see how the
landscape
shapes up, like you said,
over the next coming months, especially
with the upcoming
presidential election will obviously play play a big
role into that?
Yeah. I think so. I think the banking
industry has been upended a little bit, and
I think there's some cards left to play
there. Hopefully,
things will
continue being okay and maybe the Fed can
drop the rate a little bit over the
next year, but
the banking industry is
is going to have to back a lot
of this stuff. So just have to kind
of see how that plays out.
Yes, definitely. That makes sense.
Something that I'm curious about
is to know what you are most excited
about when it comes to the dental industry
right now and what are some things that
are potentially making you a little bit nervous?
Well,
you know, we we're excited about AI. We
looked at all the things it could
do for dentistry.
And I look at it as a great
tool for younger dentists,
a great tool for patient communication.
I think that it's gonna play into all
of our practices. We piloted,
one of the AI systems,
earlier this year.
It it's really it was getting close to
being ready, but I didn't feel like it
was ready. So we piloted it in, I
think, 5 or 6 offices that we have
here in Arkansas.
And I decided to hold out for a
little while longer as they're getting those those
softwares more integrated with our operating systems, our
practice management software. But I think within the
next year or 2, we will definitely jump
on that. And I think it's gonna transform
the industry
from our perspective. And also, I think after
that, you're gonna see insurance companies and dental
offices having to communicate,
in a different way. So,
I'm excited about it. I think it'll be
good long term. I think there will be
some growing pains with that, and I'm looking
forward to seeing
how we incorporate that to make the experience
better for the patients than the younger dentists.
It does make me a little nervous as
well because I think it's gonna change the,
the way we we do billing and coordinate
with the insurance company. And, you know, the
other things that make me nervous, like we
mentioned, are just
the economy. You know, private equity has been
involved in now for 8 or 10 years,
and and private equity is looking at things
like AI as well. You know? And so
those AI investments are really sexy,
and the the returns if you pick the
right AI investments may be really great.
So I'm hoping that the private equity stays
in our sector long enough to continue to
consolidate the industry
in a way that's beneficial for everyone.
Yeah, definitely. I've it seems like
almost every
dentist or DSO exec that I speak to,
kind of their top trend that they're always
following is,
AI and the implementation of that. Just because
it is still so new in dentistry,
we don't know exactly what kind of form
it's gonna take when it comes to that
integration
implementation. But it seems like, for pretty much
everyone, they're excited to see,
what form it takes. And
most feel like it'll be very beneficial for
for everyone involved, especially
dentists when it comes to their diagnosis.
But also patient communication
is gonna be a huge thing,
and AI will definitely
seem to be able to help in that
aspect as well.
You know, I I agree with that because,
you know, when we're talking about younger dentists,
which a lot of CSOs and grapes employ
quite a few younger dentists,
when you diagnose
a tooth with a cavity or need in
a root canal and the patient says, well,
I don't know you. I didn't have this
6 months ago,
and you have a screen there where the
AI has confirmed your diagnosis,
it's more readily accepted by the patient. And
I think in the long run, it's better
for the doctor, it's better for the patient,
to go ahead and address those things. And
it it just it helps build confidence in
the diagnosis
of the younger dentist,
which I have seen that be a problem
as
some of the older dentists have transitioned out.
You have a a younger dentist comes in,
and they find certain treatments that need to
be done. Maybe the older dentist was being
ultra conservative
or they're close to retirement and weren't maybe
fixing everything. And the patient says, well, I
didn't have this before.
And it sure is nice to have an
AI with a bright red example,
the caries or the decay on the tooth,
there to show the patient. So that just
brings a little bit more confidence for the
the younger dentist.
I think that'll be a big help for
everybody, honestly.
Yeah. Definitely.
It it definitely helps when,
you can kinda show the patient exactly what's
going on, and it's,
not just like a 2 day 2 d
x-ray that
they've probably never seen anything like that before.
So
being able to,
implement I AI definitely will help. That's right.
And then, you know, your other staff can
do it as well, and I think it's
a more efficient model because maybe the people
are getting their teeth cleaned,
and the hygienist can show them what the
AI says before the doctor even comes in.
I think that's the future of all that.
Yeah. Absolutely. I agree.
What
do you think the most effective healthcare leaders
need in order to be successful within
the next 2 to 3 years going forward?
I know we talked about consolidation
and AI being those big trends in dentistry,
but
anything
outside of that, you think?
Well, beyond AI,
I just feel like it's really important
for healthcare leaders, medical,
dental
and beyond
to keep
all of us keep our eye on the
ball with the macro picture. The world is
changing very rapidly.
And,
you know, we may be looking at
some systemic changes
throughout the world,
the way that we do a lot of
things. And
like we talked about earlier, a lot of
it depends on the government. And
I I really I'm hoping for good outcomes
with all that stuff. But I think it's
important to be focused on
how all those things play out the next
2 or 3 years,
so we can see what the future will
hold for everyone.
You know, it's easy to get in a
rut and just see what's in front of
your face, but
I I feel like we have to look
to the future and see
what some of these alternative
health care
plans
may hold for dentistry for us.
Definitely. That makes sense.
I try not to get real political. I
I just think it's important for everybody to
keep their eye on the ball, if that
makes any sense.
Yeah. Definitely. Makes sense.
Well, doctor Cooper, thank you for joining us
today and and sharing your valuable
expertise and insights
into the dental industry, especially when it comes
to
private equity and consolidation
in AI.
It's been a pleasure speaking with you today,
and I look forward to connecting with you
again in the future.
Thank you for having me, Cameron. Have a
great afternoon.