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 --> 00:00:07,779 middle of one of the most transformative 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,880 experiences of your career. You're at the Becker's 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,359 Fall Future of Dentistry Roundtable in the vibrant 6 00:00:13,359 --> 00:00:16,094 city of Chicago, fresh off an incredible 3 7 00:00:16,094 --> 00:00:19,154 days at the Hyatt Regency. Imagine yourself inspired 8 00:00:19,295 --> 00:00:22,974 and invigorated after attending captivating keynote sessions by 9 00:00:22,974 --> 00:00:25,714 none other than the legendary boxing world champion 10 00:00:25,774 --> 00:00:29,554 and CEO, Lila Elite, and the extraordinary professional 11 00:00:30,179 --> 00:00:33,399 player, Caitlin Clark. See yourself engaged in lively 12 00:00:33,460 --> 00:00:36,500 discussions, exchanging ideas, and collecting a stack of 13 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:39,560 business cards from fellow dental experts and potential 14 00:00:39,619 --> 00:00:42,119 partners. You've networked with over 350 15 00:00:42,659 --> 00:00:45,140 attendees and learned from more than 80 speakers 16 00:00:45,140 --> 00:00:47,524 who are at the forefront of dental innovation. 17 00:00:48,385 --> 00:00:51,585 You sat in on educational sessions exploring topics 18 00:00:51,585 --> 00:00:53,984 that elevate dental care as a critical element 19 00:00:53,984 --> 00:00:57,024 of whole person health. You've witnessed firsthand how 20 00:00:57,024 --> 00:00:58,965 digital technology is revolutionizing 21 00:00:59,424 --> 00:01:00,530 patient outcomes 22 00:01:00,909 --> 00:01:04,209 and how both large DSOs and independent practices 23 00:01:04,349 --> 00:01:05,170 are flourishing. 24 00:01:05,469 --> 00:01:07,790 Get ready to transform your career and don't 25 00:01:07,790 --> 00:01:10,609 miss out on this incredible opportunity. The Becker's 26 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:13,569 fall future of dentistry roundtable is from October 27 00:01:13,745 --> 00:01:16,004 30th to November 1, 2024. 28 00:01:16,465 --> 00:01:18,724 Get registered by going to beckersdental.com 29 00:01:20,145 --> 00:01:21,924 and clicking on the events page. 30 00:01:22,465 --> 00:01:24,864 Hello. This is Arianna Portolatin with the Becker's 31 00:01:24,864 --> 00:01:26,484 Dental and DSO Review podcast. 32 00:01:26,819 --> 00:01:28,579 I'm thrilled to be joined today by doctor 33 00:01:28,579 --> 00:01:31,459 Alexander Einbinder, owner of Grace Dental Smiles and 34 00:01:31,459 --> 00:01:33,859 Caterpillar Dental. Doctor Einbinder, thank you so much 35 00:01:33,859 --> 00:01:35,780 for being here today. To start us off, 36 00:01:35,780 --> 00:01:37,540 can you introduce yourself and tell us a 37 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:39,000 little bit about about your background? 38 00:01:39,704 --> 00:01:41,884 Yes. So my name is doctor Alex Ironbinder. 39 00:01:42,024 --> 00:01:44,104 I'm a dentist in New York focusing on 40 00:01:44,104 --> 00:01:47,625 implants, and I'm an entrepreneurial dentist. And I 41 00:01:47,625 --> 00:01:49,625 have 2 offices right now in New York, 42 00:01:49,625 --> 00:01:52,185 so working on managing those as well as 43 00:01:52,185 --> 00:01:54,284 going back and forth and practicing clinically. 44 00:01:55,379 --> 00:01:57,400 Okay. Great. Thank you so much for that. 45 00:01:57,780 --> 00:01:59,140 What are some of the biggest issues that 46 00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:01,319 you're following in the dental industry right now? 47 00:02:02,340 --> 00:02:04,760 Yes. I think one big issue is 48 00:02:05,219 --> 00:02:07,859 access to care because there's just not enough 49 00:02:07,859 --> 00:02:09,319 dentists in certain areas 50 00:02:09,905 --> 00:02:10,805 in the country 51 00:02:11,185 --> 00:02:13,025 as well as a lot of people can't 52 00:02:13,025 --> 00:02:15,185 afford the dentistry that they really need. And 53 00:02:15,185 --> 00:02:16,884 then there's the insurance problem 54 00:02:17,425 --> 00:02:19,344 where it's kind of a battle between the 55 00:02:19,344 --> 00:02:20,564 dentist and the insurance. 56 00:02:21,185 --> 00:02:22,639 The cost of insurance 57 00:02:23,019 --> 00:02:25,180 is going up, and they're not paying as 58 00:02:25,180 --> 00:02:27,120 much money back to the dentist. So, 59 00:02:27,419 --> 00:02:29,280 you know, there's kind of that battle going 60 00:02:30,459 --> 00:02:32,219 on. Going into I I know you mentioned 61 00:02:32,219 --> 00:02:34,425 dental care accessibility. I know a big issue 62 00:02:34,425 --> 00:02:36,025 in the industry right now. What do you 63 00:02:36,025 --> 00:02:37,705 think has what are some of the things 64 00:02:37,705 --> 00:02:39,165 that you think have led up to, 65 00:02:40,025 --> 00:02:42,185 this kind of large shortage of of dentists 66 00:02:42,185 --> 00:02:43,724 that we've had, recently? 67 00:02:46,105 --> 00:02:47,625 I think a lot of dentists, you know, 68 00:02:47,625 --> 00:02:49,145 they wanna work in they wanna live and 69 00:02:49,145 --> 00:02:50,969 work in certain areas of the country. 70 00:02:51,830 --> 00:02:54,310 So there's like geographic disparity, there's a lot 71 00:02:54,310 --> 00:02:56,250 of rural areas that are just very underserved 72 00:02:56,949 --> 00:02:58,810 where there's patients who need it, 73 00:02:59,269 --> 00:03:01,110 but not enough dentist who want to actually 74 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:01,769 be there. 75 00:03:02,224 --> 00:03:04,965 And then there's obviously like the cost barriers 76 00:03:06,224 --> 00:03:09,044 that prevent patients from getting the proper care. 77 00:03:09,585 --> 00:03:13,585 And so the provider shortages plus patients can't 78 00:03:13,585 --> 00:03:15,125 afford to have dental insurance. 79 00:03:15,909 --> 00:03:18,729 So they're stuck with other insurances like Medicaid, 80 00:03:18,870 --> 00:03:21,270 which really doesn't have the best coverage as 81 00:03:21,270 --> 00:03:21,930 we know. 82 00:03:22,550 --> 00:03:25,509 So that's another big barrier of entry to 83 00:03:25,509 --> 00:03:26,569 get proper care. 84 00:03:27,750 --> 00:03:28,569 Yeah. Definitely. 85 00:03:29,189 --> 00:03:30,330 And I know you mentioned, 86 00:03:30,924 --> 00:03:32,784 issues with insurance challenges 87 00:03:33,084 --> 00:03:34,704 also. What are some of the, 88 00:03:35,164 --> 00:03:37,084 the challenges that you're seeing there with providers 89 00:03:37,245 --> 00:03:38,704 or with payers? Excuse me. 90 00:03:40,125 --> 00:03:41,424 From insurance carriers, 91 00:03:42,125 --> 00:03:43,965 I think the big problem is that a 92 00:03:43,965 --> 00:03:44,864 lot of their 93 00:03:45,219 --> 00:03:46,919 fee schedules are pretty outdated. 94 00:03:47,860 --> 00:03:50,580 So the reimbursement rate is very low compared 95 00:03:50,580 --> 00:03:53,060 to the cost of running a dental office, 96 00:03:53,060 --> 00:03:55,400 which has been going up because of inflation. 97 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:57,860 We see that across the board, but especially 98 00:03:57,860 --> 00:04:00,599 in dental, I think buying the necessary supplies 99 00:04:01,115 --> 00:04:03,294 to offer the best care for our patients. 100 00:04:03,675 --> 00:04:05,514 But then if you're also taking insurance, you're 101 00:04:05,514 --> 00:04:06,574 not getting paid 102 00:04:07,275 --> 00:04:09,514 as much as it costs. And another big 103 00:04:09,514 --> 00:04:10,735 problem is that 104 00:04:11,115 --> 00:04:12,974 salaries of assistant hygienists, 105 00:04:13,435 --> 00:04:14,655 front desk managers, 106 00:04:15,194 --> 00:04:16,574 they all want more money. 107 00:04:17,410 --> 00:04:17,910 And 108 00:04:18,529 --> 00:04:20,710 the problem with that is that we're getting 109 00:04:20,770 --> 00:04:23,810 the same insurance reimbursement, but we're paying out 110 00:04:23,810 --> 00:04:25,029 more money for supplies, 111 00:04:25,569 --> 00:04:26,710 for good staff, 112 00:04:27,089 --> 00:04:27,589 for 113 00:04:27,889 --> 00:04:29,430 rent, for everything. 114 00:04:30,084 --> 00:04:32,084 So that's a big barrier and issue that 115 00:04:32,084 --> 00:04:33,685 we have right now that has to be 116 00:04:33,685 --> 00:04:34,185 tackled. 117 00:04:34,564 --> 00:04:36,084 I think there's also just to add on 118 00:04:36,084 --> 00:04:38,324 that, there's also all the patients that always 119 00:04:38,324 --> 00:04:40,564 come in and they're just frustrated and they 120 00:04:40,564 --> 00:04:42,964 don't understand, well, I pay for insurance, why 121 00:04:42,964 --> 00:04:44,024 isn't this covered 122 00:04:44,589 --> 00:04:45,949 Or how come I have to pay out 123 00:04:45,949 --> 00:04:46,610 of pocket? 124 00:04:47,310 --> 00:04:48,689 So that's another issue. 125 00:04:49,229 --> 00:04:49,729 Or 126 00:04:50,029 --> 00:04:51,789 they need a necessary treatment, but it's not 127 00:04:51,789 --> 00:04:53,550 covered by the insurance, but they're paying for 128 00:04:53,550 --> 00:04:54,209 the insurance. 129 00:04:54,750 --> 00:04:57,009 So that's a big struggle right now, 130 00:04:57,355 --> 00:04:59,035 kind of educating the patients on why they 131 00:04:59,035 --> 00:05:01,675 need the treatment and educating them about how 132 00:05:01,675 --> 00:05:03,915 insurance works. You know? It doesn't it's not 133 00:05:03,915 --> 00:05:04,975 a perfect world. 134 00:05:06,074 --> 00:05:08,634 Right. Okay. And next question here. What are 135 00:05:08,634 --> 00:05:10,235 you most excited about when it comes to 136 00:05:10,235 --> 00:05:12,074 dentistry right now? And is there anything that 137 00:05:12,074 --> 00:05:13,519 makes you nervous about the industry? 138 00:05:15,259 --> 00:05:17,019 Yeah. I would say I'm most excited about 139 00:05:17,019 --> 00:05:18,779 a lot of these new technologies that are 140 00:05:18,779 --> 00:05:20,639 coming out. There's a lot of 141 00:05:21,180 --> 00:05:24,639 new exciting technologies such as, artificial intelligence. 142 00:05:26,564 --> 00:05:29,045 And that's from like the clinical perspective as 143 00:05:29,045 --> 00:05:30,824 well as running a front desk effectively. 144 00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:32,884 It's saving us a lot of time and 145 00:05:32,884 --> 00:05:34,025 becoming more efficient. 146 00:05:35,045 --> 00:05:36,964 And there's also a lot of 3 d 147 00:05:36,964 --> 00:05:38,264 printing going on 148 00:05:38,629 --> 00:05:41,209 and we're actually being able to print crowns 149 00:05:42,310 --> 00:05:43,689 and dentures as well. 150 00:05:44,470 --> 00:05:46,789 So I think that's awesome. At the same 151 00:05:46,789 --> 00:05:49,829 time, technology costs more money and I think 152 00:05:49,829 --> 00:05:51,050 a lot of dental offices, 153 00:05:52,355 --> 00:05:55,555 if we're taking insurance or Medicaid offices, they're 154 00:05:55,555 --> 00:05:57,875 not going to have enough available money to 155 00:05:57,875 --> 00:06:00,535 buy the technology. And then there's also 156 00:06:01,154 --> 00:06:03,975 technology fails sometimes and you have to call 157 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,279 support and something breaks and somebody has to 158 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:08,639 come in and fix it and these are 159 00:06:08,639 --> 00:06:09,779 all, you know, extra 160 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,480 costs to the dentist. But at the same 161 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,240 time, I think the technology is making a 162 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,480 lot of treatment much better as well at 163 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,319 the same time. So there's a lot of 164 00:06:18,319 --> 00:06:20,019 cool things coming out right now. 165 00:06:20,524 --> 00:06:22,125 Yeah. And I'm sure technology plays a big 166 00:06:22,125 --> 00:06:23,884 factor in your role as a dental implant 167 00:06:23,884 --> 00:06:25,024 specialist as well. 168 00:06:26,045 --> 00:06:28,225 Regarding your 2 practices that you have, have 169 00:06:28,285 --> 00:06:30,464 you found it challenging to add new technology 170 00:06:30,605 --> 00:06:31,105 there? 171 00:06:32,045 --> 00:06:33,899 I think the challenge for me is that, 172 00:06:33,899 --> 00:06:36,071 you know, you have to learn it. So 173 00:06:36,071 --> 00:06:38,242 there's a little bit of barrier in the 174 00:06:38,242 --> 00:06:40,413 beginning. You have to train your staff on 175 00:06:40,413 --> 00:06:42,585 how to use it. It's like coming up 176 00:06:42,585 --> 00:06:45,028 with, an effective and efficient method of, like, 177 00:06:45,028 --> 00:06:47,199 if you're gonna print crowns in the office, 178 00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:48,845 like, the assistants have to know how to 179 00:06:48,845 --> 00:06:50,365 do some of the work or else you're 180 00:06:50,365 --> 00:06:52,444 stuck doing all the work. You know, they 181 00:06:52,444 --> 00:06:54,524 have to help out with, you know, pouring 182 00:06:54,524 --> 00:06:57,024 the resin and all that thing, cleaning 183 00:06:57,644 --> 00:06:59,644 and setting up for new prints and all 184 00:06:59,644 --> 00:07:00,705 that stuff. So 185 00:07:01,449 --> 00:07:02,270 there's also 186 00:07:02,889 --> 00:07:04,889 digital scanning. You have to train your systems 187 00:07:04,889 --> 00:07:05,790 how to scan. 188 00:07:06,330 --> 00:07:08,490 So while it is better, there also is 189 00:07:08,490 --> 00:07:09,770 like a little bit of barrier in the 190 00:07:09,770 --> 00:07:11,449 beginning. And then I've also had a lot 191 00:07:11,449 --> 00:07:12,430 of issues with, 192 00:07:12,730 --> 00:07:14,910 like I said, technology, things break 193 00:07:15,435 --> 00:07:17,835 or a wire breaks or the Internet goes 194 00:07:17,835 --> 00:07:19,595 out for a little while or something's just 195 00:07:19,595 --> 00:07:21,915 not working properly. You have to call support. 196 00:07:21,915 --> 00:07:23,774 It all takes energy and time. So 197 00:07:24,555 --> 00:07:26,314 that's one thing is that you always have 198 00:07:26,314 --> 00:07:27,083 you could always take an impression that's not 199 00:07:27,083 --> 00:07:29,100 going to get That's not gonna get messed 200 00:07:29,100 --> 00:07:30,460 up. But if you're taking a scan and 201 00:07:30,460 --> 00:07:31,920 there's something wrong with the scanner, 202 00:07:32,540 --> 00:07:34,060 you know, you're offline for a week or 203 00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:34,560 whatnot. 204 00:07:35,500 --> 00:07:36,480 Right. Okay. 205 00:07:37,020 --> 00:07:38,620 And was there anything in particular that makes 206 00:07:38,620 --> 00:07:40,480 you nervous about the industry right now? 207 00:07:42,675 --> 00:07:44,834 I would say what makes me nervous is, 208 00:07:44,834 --> 00:07:47,415 you know, the insurance problem, lack of care, 209 00:07:50,115 --> 00:07:52,435 and I would say just adapting to the 210 00:07:52,435 --> 00:07:53,175 new technology, 211 00:07:53,555 --> 00:07:55,235 you know, because like I said, not all 212 00:07:55,235 --> 00:07:57,850 practices are, like, ready to be equipped with 213 00:07:57,850 --> 00:07:59,850 the new technology, but some people I think 214 00:07:59,850 --> 00:08:01,770 you get ahead of yourself, you want the 215 00:08:01,770 --> 00:08:03,850 newest technology, but at the same time, you 216 00:08:03,850 --> 00:08:05,449 just don't have like the space in your 217 00:08:05,449 --> 00:08:07,449 office to do it. And it starts to 218 00:08:07,449 --> 00:08:09,449 just lead to like you just invested all 219 00:08:09,449 --> 00:08:11,050 this money, but you can't really use it 220 00:08:11,050 --> 00:08:11,550 effectively. 221 00:08:12,245 --> 00:08:14,504 So you're back to, like, the traditional way. 222 00:08:14,725 --> 00:08:16,245 So I think it's, you know, having every 223 00:08:16,324 --> 00:08:18,485 having the workflow down first and, you know, 224 00:08:18,485 --> 00:08:19,845 you have to study some of the stuff 225 00:08:19,845 --> 00:08:21,145 to be able to use it. 226 00:08:21,925 --> 00:08:22,425 Okay. 227 00:08:22,964 --> 00:08:24,105 Yeah. That makes sense. 228 00:08:24,569 --> 00:08:26,729 Last question here. What will the most effective 229 00:08:26,729 --> 00:08:28,889 health care leaders need to be successful within 230 00:08:28,889 --> 00:08:30,110 the next 2 to 3 years? 231 00:08:31,129 --> 00:08:33,049 Yeah. I think, you know, adapting to all 232 00:08:33,049 --> 00:08:34,829 the change that's going on with the workflows, 233 00:08:35,690 --> 00:08:36,829 you know, onboarding 234 00:08:38,084 --> 00:08:40,485 good marketing companies because people have to know 235 00:08:40,485 --> 00:08:42,644 about you and then having the right staff 236 00:08:42,644 --> 00:08:44,804 that stays and knows how to run the 237 00:08:44,804 --> 00:08:45,865 office effectively 238 00:08:46,644 --> 00:08:47,304 as well 239 00:08:47,764 --> 00:08:50,264 as embracing new technologies such as 240 00:08:51,129 --> 00:08:53,370 in office keeping things in office such as 241 00:08:53,370 --> 00:08:54,669 like the 3 d scanner, 242 00:08:55,850 --> 00:08:58,350 your in house using digital scans 243 00:08:59,610 --> 00:09:00,750 and 3 d printing 244 00:09:01,529 --> 00:09:03,449 and as well as just having good systems 245 00:09:03,449 --> 00:09:04,189 in place. 246 00:09:05,049 --> 00:09:05,549 And 247 00:09:06,745 --> 00:09:09,725 one issue would be like the 248 00:09:10,184 --> 00:09:12,264 staffing issues going on. But if you get 249 00:09:12,264 --> 00:09:13,945 the right staff in place, I think that's 250 00:09:13,945 --> 00:09:14,764 very important. 251 00:09:15,545 --> 00:09:16,684 And just 252 00:09:17,465 --> 00:09:18,365 using data 253 00:09:18,750 --> 00:09:20,669 to make decisions. I think there's a lot 254 00:09:20,669 --> 00:09:22,509 of different companies out there that you could 255 00:09:22,509 --> 00:09:24,990 use that track all the metrics and just 256 00:09:24,990 --> 00:09:26,429 staying up to date on like how many 257 00:09:26,429 --> 00:09:27,889 new patients, how many cancellations, 258 00:09:29,629 --> 00:09:31,409 all your appointments, just knowing 259 00:09:31,884 --> 00:09:32,784 what's your treatment 260 00:09:33,164 --> 00:09:35,245 percentage that you're selling your treatment, what is 261 00:09:35,245 --> 00:09:37,345 your closing rate all that, just 262 00:09:37,884 --> 00:09:38,384 effectively 263 00:09:38,764 --> 00:09:41,245 seeing that data and adjusting to the times 264 00:09:41,245 --> 00:09:42,625 because we're constantly 265 00:09:43,725 --> 00:09:46,704 going up and down with dental treatment and 266 00:09:47,319 --> 00:09:49,480 staying staying abreast the numbers and and being 267 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,500 able to run an effective office is critical. 268 00:09:52,279 --> 00:09:53,259 Mhmm. Definitely. 269 00:09:53,639 --> 00:09:55,240 Well, thank you for joining us today, doctor 270 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,079 Einbinder. It's nice speaking with you, and I 271 00:09:57,079 --> 00:09:58,519 look forward to connecting with you again in 272 00:09:58,519 --> 00:09:59,100 the future. 273 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:01,579 Yeah. Thanks so much for having me.