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
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.
Get registered by going to beckersdental.com
and clicking on the events page.
Hello. This is Arianna Portolatin with the Becker's
Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to
be joined today by Doctor. Matap Sadgimelli of
Spouse of Naperville. Doctor. Sadgimelli, thank you so
much for being here today.
Arianna, thank you for having me. It's a
pleasure.
Yes, great to have you.
To start us off, can you just introduce
yourself and tell us a little bit about
your background?
Absolutely. I received my dental degree from University
of Florida, where I also did my undergraduate
degree in residency.
I also have an MBA from University of
Illinois Champaign Urbana. I've been in private practice
for over two and a half decades,
majority of which in San Francisco. I've done
everything from being an associate to owning a
boutique practice to having multiple practices to consulting,
and the last 4 years, I've owned and
operated a multi specialty practice in the suburbs
of Chicago.
Great. Thank you for that.
What are some of the biggest issues that
you're following right now in the dental industry?
Obviously, staffing is a top issue. There's a
shortage of talent out there and given dentistry
requires a team approach, offices can't function at
their maximum capacity,
if they're short staffed or don't employ the
right person. We are in a profession where
some of our staff is required to have
appropriate licensing
and when we can't find the right challenge,
we have to find solutions to address those
restrictions.
This challenge also plays into the development
of the new Interstate Compact, allowing reciprocity and
mobility of dentists and hygienists across the state
lines.
Compact could potentially address staff shortages in some
of the southern states where most people are
flocking to, but it could be devastating for
the offices in the states that are losing
residents worsening the problem.
Another issue making me nervous is the dental
loss ratio and insurance transparency, as well as
network leasing and network merging of third party
payers,
which can become challenging when it comes to
reimbursement. [SPEAKER UNIDENTIFIED COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE:] Yeah, yeah, definitely.
I know you mentioned that you've been in
the field for quite some time now, how
have you seen the sort of dental workforce
evolve during your time in the industry?
Well, definitely post pandemic,
there is
less
talented people in the market and so it
is very hard to
find the right person for the offices.
At the same time, a lot of people
are looking for a better work life balance.
So it just makes it very hard overall
to find the right person for the office
and also that causes efficiency
and productivity
office to,
be less.
Okay, yeah. And you, I know you mentioned
the interstate compact, we've been following that pretty
closely. And I know a number of states
have recently joined the compact.
A lot of people are seeing it as
a
large beneficial solution, but you're saying that, there
could be some downsides to it, right?
You know, when I first became a dentist,
we had to take boards in order to
be certified in a particular state.
And so I had to take 5 different
boards in order to be able to practice
where I wanted to practice as I was
moving a little bit when I first graduated.
So at the time, I was hoping that
there would be just a universal board where
I could essentially go anywhere that I wanted
to. But as a business owner, now all
these years later, it's definitely my mindset has
changed because now it's definitely
affecting the talent pool out there as well,
because more people are moving across the state
lines in order to
have a change of lifestyle. And so it
is making it a little bit harder to
find the right talent for the office, especially
in a market where,
the talent pool has been diminished.
Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting.
What do you think can be done to
solve or prepare for some of the issues
that might come up with the compact being
added in different states?
I don't really think there is something to
do. I mean, I like the fact that
mobility
does exist these days or can exist.
But as a business owner, I really don't
think that there's much that we can do
in regards to that.
Okay.
And I know you mentioned a couple of
things already that make you nervous about the
industry.
What is exciting to you right now?
I'm excited about all the technological
advancements since I graduated from dental school like
laser dentistry, digital dentistry and 3 d printing
and moving away from the analog workflow.
One topic that gets me excited, but simultaneously
makes me nervous is AI.
We know that with the improvement in AI
technology, diagnosis and treatment planning can improve as
well as potentially help alleviate some of the
challenges with the staff shortages.
But at the same time, AI makes me
nervous as more and more third party payers
invest in the technology for reimbursement
and claim processing as and as it stands,
there are no mandated regulatory or ethical standards.
Another issue making me nervous is that despite
the high cost of technologies available,
the reimbursement rates are decreasing year after year
when the cost of running your practice is
increasing astronomically,
affecting the bottom line and the profit of
the office.
And we know that without profit, dental offices
can invest in their staff or those expensive
technologies we just talked about.
Also post pandemic, the workforce is interested in
a better work life balance,
while at the same time patients are interested
in going to the dentist after hours or
on the weekends.
So balancing the desire of the workforce and
that of the patients is becoming more challenging,
and makes me nervous about navigating that dichotomy
and pleasing everyone.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And I know you mentioned, a lot of
the things that other dental execs are following
right now. And there's a lot going on
in the industry versus,
you know, when it comes to challenges and
new developments and
updates. With all of that in mind, what
will the most effective healthcare leaders need to
be successful within the next 2 to 3
years?
It is vital for leaders to have vision
and goal and share that vision and goal
with their staff. Hiring should also be based
on core values
and culture of the practices in order to
be able to create that A team and
ensure the success of the practice.
On the people side, for the very first
time in this country, we have 4 different
generations in the work same field throughout
their career and grow with that office, while
Gen Zs and millennials may
their career and grow with that office, while
Gen Zs and millennials may want short term
employment,
because to them changing careers may be a
stepping stone for a better future job. So
understanding the objectives, the priorities and mindset of
each generation is vital for the leaders when
it comes to staffing.
So much has changed since the pandemic and
leaders need to remain adaptable
and think outside of the box to find
solutions.
Also, leaders must engage in data driven decision
making and constantly measure themselves, their staff, their
businesses to remain successful.
Great. Well, thank you so much for joining
us today, Doctor. Sadrimeli. It's been a pleasure
speaking with you and I look forward to,
connecting with you again in the future.
I appreciate the invitation and the chance to
talk to you, Arianna. Thank you. Yes. Thank
you so much. Have a great day.