1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,560 Hello. This is Arianna Portolatin with the Becker's 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,179 Dental and DSO Review podcast. 3 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:06,480 I'm thrilled to be joined today by doctor 4 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,800 Barry Lyon, the dental director for Main Street 5 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,679 Children's Dentistry and Orthodontics and the chief clinical 6 00:00:11,679 --> 00:00:14,384 auditor for Dental Care Alliance. Doctor Lyon, thank 7 00:00:14,384 --> 00:00:15,664 you so much for being here today. It's 8 00:00:15,664 --> 00:00:18,225 great to have you. Oh, thank you, Ariane. 9 00:00:18,225 --> 00:00:19,045 It's my pleasure. 10 00:00:19,585 --> 00:00:21,824 Yes. To start us off, can you introduce 11 00:00:21,824 --> 00:00:23,505 yourself for our listeners and tell us a 12 00:00:23,505 --> 00:00:25,204 little bit about your background as well? 13 00:00:25,910 --> 00:00:28,489 Sure. I'd be happy to. I'm a pediatric 14 00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:29,050 dentist. 15 00:00:29,350 --> 00:00:31,129 I reside in Baltimore, Maryland. 16 00:00:31,589 --> 00:00:34,229 I had a, very nice pedo ortho practice 17 00:00:34,229 --> 00:00:36,969 in a suburb of Baltimore that I affiliated 18 00:00:37,030 --> 00:00:39,770 with Dental Care Alliance in 2010 19 00:00:40,265 --> 00:00:43,145 and became a, dental director for them at 20 00:00:43,145 --> 00:00:43,804 that time. 21 00:00:44,344 --> 00:00:47,005 Prior to my affiliating with Dental Care Alliance, 22 00:00:47,465 --> 00:00:49,405 I was very active in organized dentistry. 23 00:00:50,024 --> 00:00:50,765 I was 24 00:00:51,784 --> 00:00:52,924 president of a couple 25 00:00:53,304 --> 00:00:54,445 of professional societies. 26 00:00:56,179 --> 00:00:57,780 I taught at the University of Maryland in 27 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:00,440 post grad pediatric dentistry for nine years, 28 00:01:00,820 --> 00:01:03,060 and I spent eight years on the Maryland 29 00:01:03,060 --> 00:01:05,859 State Board of Dental Examiners and served as 30 00:01:05,859 --> 00:01:09,079 president of the dental board in 02/2005. 31 00:01:09,594 --> 00:01:11,055 At one point, I was also 32 00:01:11,995 --> 00:01:14,474 a a lobbyist for the Association of Dental 33 00:01:14,474 --> 00:01:16,894 Support Organizations when there was legislation 34 00:01:17,674 --> 00:01:19,854 introduced in Maryland to, regulate, 35 00:01:20,234 --> 00:01:21,454 dental support organizations. 36 00:01:22,340 --> 00:01:22,840 Currently, 37 00:01:23,140 --> 00:01:25,219 my role with Dental Care Alliance, as you 38 00:01:25,219 --> 00:01:27,140 said, is a dental director for the Maryland 39 00:01:27,140 --> 00:01:29,079 Main Street offices, which are 40 00:01:29,539 --> 00:01:31,719 pediatric dentistry and orthodontic offices. 41 00:01:32,019 --> 00:01:33,939 And, again, I also serve as a chief 42 00:01:33,939 --> 00:01:34,920 clinical auditor 43 00:01:35,525 --> 00:01:38,724 for Dental Care Alliance. So I'm, again, very 44 00:01:38,724 --> 00:01:40,965 happy to be with you. My, my experience 45 00:01:40,965 --> 00:01:43,444 in dentistry was, quite a journey from beginning 46 00:01:43,444 --> 00:01:44,105 to end. 47 00:01:44,965 --> 00:01:47,365 Yes. Thank you for, for sharing a little 48 00:01:47,365 --> 00:01:48,564 bit of your background there. Great to hear 49 00:01:48,564 --> 00:01:51,120 about your extensive experience in dentistry as well. 50 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:53,359 First question for you here, what are some 51 00:01:53,359 --> 00:01:55,120 of the biggest issues you're following in the 52 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:56,579 dental industry this year? 53 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,000 Well, I guess, I I respond to that 54 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,079 with a rhetorical question, Ariane, is how much 55 00:02:02,079 --> 00:02:04,480 time do you have? Because I think there's 56 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:05,859 there are quite a few 57 00:02:06,224 --> 00:02:06,724 issues 58 00:02:07,185 --> 00:02:09,125 affecting dentistry. And quite honestly, 59 00:02:09,585 --> 00:02:12,384 I think since other than the pandemic in 60 00:02:12,384 --> 00:02:14,965 2020, I don't think dentistry has faced, 61 00:02:15,824 --> 00:02:18,784 the number of significant issues it's currently facing. 62 00:02:18,784 --> 00:02:20,245 I mean, we're talking about 63 00:02:20,569 --> 00:02:22,669 still the lingering effects of the pandemic. 64 00:02:23,290 --> 00:02:25,310 We're talking about tariffs 65 00:02:25,849 --> 00:02:26,349 and 66 00:02:27,530 --> 00:02:30,010 inflation affecting the practice of dentistry and the 67 00:02:30,010 --> 00:02:31,629 support from dental support organizations. 68 00:02:32,569 --> 00:02:34,810 We're talking about the cost of operating dental 69 00:02:34,810 --> 00:02:38,284 practices now. We're looking at the prospect of 70 00:02:38,284 --> 00:02:39,745 cuts in Medicaid funding, 71 00:02:40,284 --> 00:02:43,185 the elimination of fluoride from public water supplies, 72 00:02:43,884 --> 00:02:45,504 leading to a public health crisis. 73 00:02:45,965 --> 00:02:48,604 We're looking at the reduction in the ability 74 00:02:48,604 --> 00:02:50,944 of prospective dental students for obtaining 75 00:02:51,489 --> 00:02:53,750 loans, federal loans for dental school. 76 00:02:54,050 --> 00:02:55,969 And, we're still as I said, we're still 77 00:02:55,969 --> 00:02:57,889 dealing with the effects of the pandemic, and 78 00:02:57,889 --> 00:02:58,870 the dental workforce, 79 00:02:59,330 --> 00:03:03,269 unfortunately, is declining and providing a huge challenge 80 00:03:03,485 --> 00:03:05,805 for any practicing dentist or DSO to be 81 00:03:05,805 --> 00:03:07,664 able to properly support their practices. 82 00:03:08,125 --> 00:03:09,164 So there's really, 83 00:03:09,564 --> 00:03:11,245 no shortage of things we could talk about 84 00:03:11,245 --> 00:03:12,305 on today's podcast. 85 00:03:13,564 --> 00:03:15,645 Yeah. Yeah. Definitely a lot to dig into 86 00:03:15,645 --> 00:03:17,724 there, and I'm sure we'll get into that 87 00:03:17,724 --> 00:03:20,129 with the next question as well. So, I 88 00:03:20,129 --> 00:03:21,730 was interested to know, what are you most 89 00:03:21,730 --> 00:03:23,969 excited about when it comes to dentistry right 90 00:03:23,969 --> 00:03:25,730 now, and what part of dentistry is making 91 00:03:25,730 --> 00:03:26,310 you nervous? 92 00:03:27,650 --> 00:03:29,490 Well, I think the biggest thing that makes 93 00:03:29,490 --> 00:03:31,754 me nervous right now and again, there really 94 00:03:31,754 --> 00:03:33,115 are a number of different things, but I 95 00:03:33,115 --> 00:03:34,555 think the first thing that comes to my 96 00:03:34,555 --> 00:03:35,055 mind, 97 00:03:35,834 --> 00:03:37,995 are the proposed tariffs and the tariffs that 98 00:03:37,995 --> 00:03:39,055 we're currently facing. 99 00:03:39,675 --> 00:03:40,175 Dental 100 00:03:40,875 --> 00:03:42,175 offices and DSOs 101 00:03:42,955 --> 00:03:44,574 are very dependent on 102 00:03:45,340 --> 00:03:47,659 supplies and materials coming from outside of this 103 00:03:47,659 --> 00:03:50,080 country. The majority of of supplies, 104 00:03:51,019 --> 00:03:52,959 that dental offices and DSOs, 105 00:03:53,819 --> 00:03:54,319 obtain, 106 00:03:55,979 --> 00:03:58,219 about 75% of them come from outside The 107 00:03:58,219 --> 00:03:59,199 United States. 108 00:03:59,634 --> 00:04:02,694 We're talking about countries like China, Germany, Poland, 109 00:04:03,074 --> 00:04:03,574 Mexico, 110 00:04:03,875 --> 00:04:05,495 Italy, France and even Japan. 111 00:04:06,194 --> 00:04:08,675 We depend upon those countries for the majority 112 00:04:08,675 --> 00:04:09,974 of our supply. So 113 00:04:10,354 --> 00:04:13,199 as tariffs are affecting these countries, obviously, the 114 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:15,300 cost of these supplies are going to increase, 115 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,540 and it's going to make it very difficult 116 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,180 for practicing dentists and DSOs 117 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,819 to be able to adequately support their practices 118 00:04:22,879 --> 00:04:24,899 because the cost of running their practices 119 00:04:25,439 --> 00:04:26,660 is going to be increasing. 120 00:04:27,034 --> 00:04:28,875 So this creates an awful lot of added 121 00:04:28,875 --> 00:04:31,274 stress that dentists normally face in the course 122 00:04:31,274 --> 00:04:32,014 of the day 123 00:04:32,394 --> 00:04:34,794 because they're looking at what the impact of 124 00:04:34,794 --> 00:04:36,794 these tariffs are going to have on running 125 00:04:36,794 --> 00:04:37,534 their practices. 126 00:04:37,914 --> 00:04:39,514 The other part of that is that tariffs 127 00:04:39,514 --> 00:04:40,175 are inflationary. 128 00:04:40,930 --> 00:04:41,750 And when 129 00:04:42,610 --> 00:04:44,789 prices go up as they have, 130 00:04:45,169 --> 00:04:48,050 then we're looking at consumers looking at how 131 00:04:48,050 --> 00:04:49,189 much they're spending 132 00:04:49,649 --> 00:04:51,269 their available dollars. 133 00:04:52,129 --> 00:04:54,289 And again, this is something that could certainly 134 00:04:54,289 --> 00:04:54,789 affect 135 00:04:55,814 --> 00:04:58,375 dentists and DSOs. I mean, the cost of 136 00:04:58,375 --> 00:05:00,214 living went up 2.7% 137 00:05:00,214 --> 00:05:00,875 in July. 138 00:05:01,254 --> 00:05:02,875 And as it increases, 139 00:05:03,175 --> 00:05:03,995 along with, 140 00:05:04,615 --> 00:05:06,074 employment rates decreasing, 141 00:05:06,694 --> 00:05:08,694 it doesn't look good for the economy, which 142 00:05:08,694 --> 00:05:10,470 ultimately is going to affect every health care 143 00:05:10,470 --> 00:05:13,050 provider, including dentists, in the country. 144 00:05:14,710 --> 00:05:16,389 Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. A lot of good points 145 00:05:16,389 --> 00:05:17,449 that you make there. 146 00:05:18,230 --> 00:05:19,689 With all of that in mind, 147 00:05:20,069 --> 00:05:22,069 what, just to look at some more of 148 00:05:22,069 --> 00:05:23,509 the the positive things, what are you most 149 00:05:23,509 --> 00:05:25,029 excited about when it comes to dentistry right 150 00:05:25,029 --> 00:05:25,529 now? 151 00:05:26,824 --> 00:05:29,805 Well, I think that, dentistry as a science 152 00:05:29,865 --> 00:05:30,764 is involving 153 00:05:31,064 --> 00:05:33,404 and, in very sophisticated ways. 154 00:05:34,185 --> 00:05:36,185 I you know, they used to be I 155 00:05:36,185 --> 00:05:38,524 remember when dentists were called molar mechanics, 156 00:05:38,930 --> 00:05:39,750 and that's because all we 157 00:05:40,050 --> 00:05:42,069 did was drill, fill, and repair. 158 00:05:42,689 --> 00:05:45,730 But dentistry has evolved significantly and quite and 159 00:05:45,730 --> 00:05:48,610 we are definitely not molar mechanics any longer. 160 00:05:48,610 --> 00:05:50,389 I mean, we're looking at a lot of 161 00:05:51,134 --> 00:05:53,214 scientific advances over the next ten to fifteen 162 00:05:53,214 --> 00:05:55,774 years that are going to radically change the 163 00:05:55,774 --> 00:05:56,514 way dentists 164 00:05:56,894 --> 00:05:57,794 practice dentistry. 165 00:05:59,214 --> 00:06:01,474 We're looking at using regenerative dentistry, 166 00:06:02,414 --> 00:06:02,914 increases 167 00:06:04,740 --> 00:06:06,759 in imaging techniques that are going 168 00:06:07,139 --> 00:06:10,120 to make diagnosing dental disease that much more 169 00:06:10,740 --> 00:06:11,240 precise. 170 00:06:11,860 --> 00:06:14,900 We're looking at advances in dental education and 171 00:06:14,900 --> 00:06:17,220 technology influencing that. That's going to be able 172 00:06:17,220 --> 00:06:17,879 to train 173 00:06:18,605 --> 00:06:20,605 dental students better than they were trained in 174 00:06:20,605 --> 00:06:21,185 the past. 175 00:06:21,645 --> 00:06:22,625 So there 176 00:06:23,085 --> 00:06:24,525 is a lot to look forward to in 177 00:06:24,525 --> 00:06:27,185 terms of advancing science, advancing technology. 178 00:06:28,125 --> 00:06:30,800 The problem is that, you know, this 179 00:06:31,100 --> 00:06:33,339 the the challenges that dentists are facing between 180 00:06:33,339 --> 00:06:34,240 now and then 181 00:06:34,699 --> 00:06:35,600 are are going to be 182 00:06:36,139 --> 00:06:37,360 quite possibly significant. 183 00:06:39,019 --> 00:06:41,819 Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. And, overall, you know, with 184 00:06:41,819 --> 00:06:43,040 everything that you mentioned, 185 00:06:43,579 --> 00:06:45,285 are you optimistic about the industry 186 00:06:55,845 --> 00:06:57,064 undergone recessions, 187 00:06:57,810 --> 00:06:58,310 dentistry 188 00:06:58,850 --> 00:07:01,189 has been one of those industries that survived 189 00:07:02,050 --> 00:07:03,029 better than most. 190 00:07:03,410 --> 00:07:05,970 So I I I I I, again, I 191 00:07:05,970 --> 00:07:07,910 realize the challenges that we're facing, 192 00:07:08,210 --> 00:07:10,290 but I also feel that the strength of 193 00:07:10,290 --> 00:07:11,990 dentistry is in its people 194 00:07:12,375 --> 00:07:14,055 and the fact that we have some very, 195 00:07:14,055 --> 00:07:15,514 very, very smart people 196 00:07:15,895 --> 00:07:16,795 running DSOs. 197 00:07:17,175 --> 00:07:19,495 We have some very, very smart people educating 198 00:07:19,495 --> 00:07:21,895 dental students, and we have some very, very 199 00:07:21,895 --> 00:07:22,395 motivated 200 00:07:22,855 --> 00:07:25,355 and highly intelligent dentists that are practicing. 201 00:07:25,870 --> 00:07:27,870 Putting all those three things together, I think 202 00:07:27,870 --> 00:07:29,949 there's a very good chance that dentistry is 203 00:07:29,949 --> 00:07:32,529 gonna weather this storm that we're currently facing 204 00:07:32,589 --> 00:07:34,670 and continue to show that it is a 205 00:07:34,670 --> 00:07:35,490 very resilient, 206 00:07:36,029 --> 00:07:36,529 profession. 207 00:07:37,724 --> 00:07:38,464 Okay. Great. 208 00:07:39,404 --> 00:07:41,004 Last question for you here. What will the 209 00:07:41,004 --> 00:07:43,004 most effective health care leaders need to be 210 00:07:43,004 --> 00:07:44,944 successful in the next two to three years? 211 00:07:46,284 --> 00:07:47,805 Well, I think that's a great question. I 212 00:07:47,805 --> 00:07:49,564 think they need to take a very, very 213 00:07:49,564 --> 00:07:51,584 strong look at what's happening now 214 00:07:52,229 --> 00:07:53,449 and prepare themselves 215 00:07:53,750 --> 00:07:54,250 for 216 00:07:54,789 --> 00:07:56,550 what we can expect over the next year 217 00:07:56,550 --> 00:07:57,029 or so. 218 00:07:57,750 --> 00:08:00,149 I think it requires vision on the top 219 00:08:00,149 --> 00:08:03,110 of dental leaders to understand what's happening. And 220 00:08:03,110 --> 00:08:05,189 I also think it's very important for dental 221 00:08:05,189 --> 00:08:06,810 leaders to understand 222 00:08:08,284 --> 00:08:10,524 who they are dealing with, the generation that 223 00:08:10,524 --> 00:08:12,284 they're dealing with. You know, the leaders in 224 00:08:12,284 --> 00:08:12,784 dentistry 225 00:08:13,245 --> 00:08:15,564 may not be the same generation as those 226 00:08:15,564 --> 00:08:18,044 entering the profession and those that are currently 227 00:08:18,044 --> 00:08:19,644 in the profession. And I think to be 228 00:08:19,644 --> 00:08:20,704 able to better 229 00:08:21,089 --> 00:08:23,670 recruit and retain dentists, I think it's important 230 00:08:24,050 --> 00:08:25,189 that dental leaders 231 00:08:25,490 --> 00:08:27,649 understand the generation that they're dealing with and 232 00:08:27,649 --> 00:08:29,350 adjust the way they do things accordingly. 233 00:08:31,089 --> 00:08:32,610 Alright. Well, that is all I have for 234 00:08:32,610 --> 00:08:34,210 you today, doctor Lyon. Thank you so much 235 00:08:34,210 --> 00:08:36,125 for joining us. Been a pleasure speaking with 236 00:08:36,125 --> 00:08:37,565 you, and I'm looking forward to connecting with 237 00:08:37,565 --> 00:08:39,004 you again in the future. Thank you so 238 00:08:39,004 --> 00:08:39,504 much. 239 00:08:40,045 --> 00:08:41,745 You're very welcome. Thank you.