1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,159
Hello, and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast.

2
00:00:02,159 --> 00:00:04,000
My name is Chanel Banger, and I'm currently

3
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,779
recording live at the Becker's Healthcare

4
00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:07,620
Future of Dentistry roundtable.

5
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,240
Currently, I'm sitting down with Troy Beige, the

6
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,160
CEO of 10 Dental. Troy, thank you so

7
00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:13,994
much for joining me today. Yes, Chanel. It's

8
00:00:13,994 --> 00:00:15,434
great to be here. Thanks so much for,

9
00:00:15,594 --> 00:00:17,274
giving me the time to talk with you.

10
00:00:17,274 --> 00:00:18,714
Perfect. Well, to get us started, could you

11
00:00:18,714 --> 00:00:20,394
please introduce yourself and tell us a bit

12
00:00:20,394 --> 00:00:22,634
about your background? Sure. My name is Troy

13
00:00:22,634 --> 00:00:25,594
Beige. I'm the CEO of TEN Dental. We're

14
00:00:25,594 --> 00:00:26,094
a

15
00:00:26,980 --> 00:00:30,119
27 location DSO based out of Nashville

16
00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:31,879
with locations in Nashville,

17
00:00:32,420 --> 00:00:33,320
New York City,

18
00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:34,600
Atlanta,

19
00:00:35,460 --> 00:00:35,960
DC,

20
00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:37,239
and Boston.

21
00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:41,134
Perfect. And what key experiences have shaped your

22
00:00:41,134 --> 00:00:44,114
leadership journey in the dental and DSO industry?

23
00:00:44,575 --> 00:00:46,814
Yeah. Well, I've been in distributed health care

24
00:00:46,814 --> 00:00:49,295
services for over 30 years, so I've had

25
00:00:49,295 --> 00:00:52,335
such a great run with wonderful mentors and

26
00:00:52,335 --> 00:00:53,934
leaders that I've gotten to know over the

27
00:00:53,934 --> 00:00:56,450
years. I only joined dental a little over

28
00:00:56,450 --> 00:00:57,350
a year ago,

29
00:00:57,729 --> 00:00:59,890
and one of the areas that was most

30
00:00:59,890 --> 00:01:02,609
influential in me learning about the industry but

31
00:01:02,609 --> 00:01:04,930
learning about leaders in the industry was spending

32
00:01:04,930 --> 00:01:07,030
time visiting all of our studios

33
00:01:07,329 --> 00:01:09,375
in the 1st month and a half. So

34
00:01:09,534 --> 00:01:12,334
at the time, we had 25 studios, and

35
00:01:12,334 --> 00:01:15,454
so going in, talking with our dentist, our

36
00:01:15,454 --> 00:01:15,954
hygienist,

37
00:01:16,495 --> 00:01:17,635
our studio managers,

38
00:01:18,254 --> 00:01:20,334
and and working with our regional directors and

39
00:01:20,334 --> 00:01:22,290
our chief dental officer to be able to

40
00:01:22,290 --> 00:01:24,229
learn about the industry, but also

41
00:01:24,609 --> 00:01:27,009
learn about how they shaped their leadership and

42
00:01:27,009 --> 00:01:29,009
how I could support them in that. So

43
00:01:29,009 --> 00:01:31,109
it's been wonderful. I've been,

44
00:01:31,729 --> 00:01:33,189
a little over a year now,

45
00:01:33,489 --> 00:01:35,649
and it's a wonderful team and with a

46
00:01:35,649 --> 00:01:37,484
great mission behind what we're trying to do.

47
00:01:37,885 --> 00:01:40,045
Absolutely. And can you maybe tell us a

48
00:01:40,045 --> 00:01:42,064
little bit about your growth strategy at Tend?

49
00:01:42,605 --> 00:01:44,605
Sure. You know, it we're a little different

50
00:01:44,605 --> 00:01:45,665
than most DSOs.

51
00:01:46,125 --> 00:01:48,765
We're very focused on building from the ground

52
00:01:48,765 --> 00:01:50,704
up. So all of our 27

53
00:01:51,165 --> 00:01:51,665
studios

54
00:01:52,204 --> 00:01:52,704
are

55
00:01:53,359 --> 00:01:54,900
ground up start ups. So

56
00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,060
we are focused on,

57
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,159
being in urban core, which is very different.

58
00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:02,480
Most of the DSOs have steered away from

59
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,980
urban core. So we think there's an incredible

60
00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,965
population there that that benefits from our brand

61
00:02:07,965 --> 00:02:10,544
of dentistry that's very tech enabled.

62
00:02:11,004 --> 00:02:13,344
It's very service and experience oriented.

63
00:02:13,805 --> 00:02:16,044
And it's one where we're trying to do

64
00:02:16,044 --> 00:02:18,444
dental differently. So when you walk into our

65
00:02:18,444 --> 00:02:20,865
studios, it's more like walking into a spa

66
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,919
than walking into a a traditional dentist clinic.

67
00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,159
And it's really resonated with the population in

68
00:02:26,159 --> 00:02:28,639
those markets. So we wanna continue to grow

69
00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,800
in those markets. Let's say we're focused on

70
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,919
the NFL cities. So, the these these larger

71
00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,055
major metro areas, we think there's a lot

72
00:02:36,055 --> 00:02:37,814
of green space in the markets that we're

73
00:02:37,814 --> 00:02:40,294
currently in. And we're gonna continue to be

74
00:02:40,294 --> 00:02:42,375
able to open de novos there. We open

75
00:02:42,375 --> 00:02:45,094
our 28th studio next week in the East

76
00:02:45,094 --> 00:02:46,395
Village in New York City.

77
00:02:46,935 --> 00:02:49,254
Got it. And moving forward, can you talk

78
00:02:49,254 --> 00:02:52,110
about some challenges that dental and DSO leaders

79
00:02:52,110 --> 00:02:53,870
are facing right now? And how are you

80
00:02:53,870 --> 00:02:56,110
addressing them at TEND? Sure. It's a great

81
00:02:56,110 --> 00:02:58,750
question. Look, mine's not gonna differ from what

82
00:02:58,750 --> 00:03:00,290
most would say out there.

83
00:03:01,069 --> 00:03:03,284
We are all dealing with the challenge of

84
00:03:03,525 --> 00:03:04,264
wage inflation,

85
00:03:04,965 --> 00:03:05,465
particularly,

86
00:03:06,324 --> 00:03:07,784
with our our hygienists,

87
00:03:08,485 --> 00:03:10,344
with our front office, teammates,

88
00:03:10,645 --> 00:03:12,824
and then also with our our DAs.

89
00:03:13,365 --> 00:03:13,865
And

90
00:03:14,324 --> 00:03:15,544
that's coupled with

91
00:03:15,980 --> 00:03:17,360
flat to down reimbursement.

92
00:03:17,819 --> 00:03:20,159
And so when you have increasing cost

93
00:03:20,540 --> 00:03:22,159
and flat reimbursement,

94
00:03:22,699 --> 00:03:23,360
those lines

95
00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:26,060
intersect at some point. So we're really figuring

96
00:03:26,060 --> 00:03:27,740
out how do we create the right level

97
00:03:27,740 --> 00:03:28,480
of efficiencies

98
00:03:29,004 --> 00:03:29,824
for our providers?

99
00:03:30,205 --> 00:03:32,625
How do we ensure that we're we're operating

100
00:03:33,245 --> 00:03:36,284
a good cost structure while also doubling down

101
00:03:36,284 --> 00:03:38,525
on the focus for our patients? Now we

102
00:03:38,525 --> 00:03:40,444
improve the care for them. And I'll give

103
00:03:40,444 --> 00:03:41,965
you a great example of one way that

104
00:03:41,965 --> 00:03:43,805
that we found a way to to do

105
00:03:43,805 --> 00:03:47,479
that, to decrease cost while also improving service,

106
00:03:47,699 --> 00:03:49,400
and that's through 3 d printing.

107
00:03:49,860 --> 00:03:51,860
We're currently in a in a pilot with

108
00:03:51,860 --> 00:03:53,479
the SprintRay 3 d printers,

109
00:03:54,180 --> 00:03:56,739
and it's going phenomenally well. All of our

110
00:03:56,739 --> 00:03:57,239
nightguards,

111
00:03:58,019 --> 00:04:00,280
our retainers, we're able to do through there,

112
00:04:00,395 --> 00:04:04,094
some inlays onlays, some crowns, particular emergency crowns.

113
00:04:04,635 --> 00:04:06,875
And it's it's been such a gift for

114
00:04:06,875 --> 00:04:08,955
our patients to be able to get same

115
00:04:08,955 --> 00:04:09,935
day care treatment,

116
00:04:10,314 --> 00:04:12,155
not having to have a temporary crown. So

117
00:04:12,155 --> 00:04:14,770
it improves the service for them, And it's

118
00:04:14,830 --> 00:04:15,489
a significantly

119
00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:18,669
lower cost for us than having to go

120
00:04:18,669 --> 00:04:21,310
to a traditional lab and wait anywhere between

121
00:04:21,310 --> 00:04:23,230
1 3 weeks for the product to come.

122
00:04:23,230 --> 00:04:24,509
So it's a great way where we're able

123
00:04:24,509 --> 00:04:26,750
to use innovation to help us improve the

124
00:04:26,750 --> 00:04:28,370
experience and decrease cost.

125
00:04:28,745 --> 00:04:30,264
Love to hear it. Well, Troy, I wanna

126
00:04:30,264 --> 00:04:31,865
thank you for your time today. But before

127
00:04:31,865 --> 00:04:33,865
I let you go, could you share some

128
00:04:33,865 --> 00:04:37,165
essential qualities or skills emerging leaders should cultivate

129
00:04:37,305 --> 00:04:39,324
in order to be successful in this industry?

130
00:04:39,785 --> 00:04:42,105
Sure. I you know, I'm 54 years old

131
00:04:42,105 --> 00:04:43,705
and so I'm a little old school in

132
00:04:43,705 --> 00:04:46,680
this. But I love Angela Duckworth's work on

133
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:47,180
grit.

134
00:04:47,639 --> 00:04:49,420
And, I I see leaders,

135
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,000
who excel and wind up having, a lot

136
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,460
of success. They typically

137
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,004
have that quality. And grit isn't just about

138
00:04:58,004 --> 00:05:00,805
working hard. It's not about working long, but

139
00:05:00,805 --> 00:05:03,205
it's this dogged determination that I'm going to

140
00:05:03,205 --> 00:05:05,125
figure out a way to win. I'm gonna

141
00:05:05,125 --> 00:05:07,144
figure out a way to solve the problem

142
00:05:07,605 --> 00:05:09,524
and get a good result. And so,

143
00:05:10,004 --> 00:05:12,345
for for me, that's a quality that I

144
00:05:12,519 --> 00:05:13,240
try to,

145
00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,800
exude myself, but it's also one that I

146
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,719
look for in leaders of those who are

147
00:05:17,719 --> 00:05:20,279
gonna figure out the whether they've gotta go

148
00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:23,079
through, around, or over. They're gonna solve whatever

149
00:05:23,079 --> 00:05:26,144
problems in front of them. And that ultimately

150
00:05:26,444 --> 00:05:29,404
is what, you know, changes businesses and and

151
00:05:29,404 --> 00:05:30,365
evolves them into,

152
00:05:30,844 --> 00:05:32,384
into long term sustainable,

153
00:05:32,764 --> 00:05:33,264
companies.

154
00:05:33,961 --> 00:05:36,761
Absolutely. Excellent advice. I wanna thank you once

155
00:05:36,761 --> 00:05:39,001
more for joining me today, Troy, and for

156
00:05:39,001 --> 00:05:41,101
sharing your insights on the Becker's Healthcare podcast.

157
00:05:41,161 --> 00:05:42,621
Thanks so much. It was a pleasure.