This is R Hatton with the Becker's Dental plus the O Podcast.
I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr. Joseph Wyman, c e o,
and owner of Wyman Dental. Dr. Wyman, thank you so much for being here today.
Riz uh, thank you for the invitation to participate in today's podcast.
So I'm all yours. Ask me questions. Uh,
I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.
Fantastic. Could you start off, uh,
by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about your background?
Sure. My name is Dr. Joseph Wyman.
I'm a 1981 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.
I'm a 22 year veteran and retiree of the United States Army Dental Care
System.
And I currently run full-time private practice since 2002 when I
retired from the military. I also, uh,
run a local study club and I'm a diplomat of the American Board of General
Dentistry. I'm married to my college sweetheart for the past 45 years.
I'm father, father of three grown children, a grandfather of eight,
ranging in ages from six to 18.
And in my free time I spend a lot of it on sports fields,
cheering on my grandkids or using my FAA part 1 0 7
pilot license to fly my drones around town.
And I work out on a regular basis at our local fitness club.
Well, thank you so much for sharing. My first question for you is,
what are the biggest issues you're following in dentistry today?
I think the largest issue that I'm following is the unbelievable cost of getting
a dental school education,
specifically the debt levels of new dentists graduating with from
their professional training.
Most of these young students are paying more for one year
than I paid for my four years going to school at University of Pittsburgh
in 19 80, 19 77 to 1981.
Second thing that I think I'm following is the, uh,
the corporatization of the business of dentistry.
By that I mean the rise of the DSOs and the decrease in private
practice opportunities for young doctors.
The third thing that I think is the loss of our moral compass as a
profession and our personal integrity can be challenged as we chase
production.
That seems to be revenue driven rather than what our patients need.
And sadly, the fourth thing I'm,
I'm concerned about is the commoditization of our profession.
I call it the race to the bottom where we try to sell a service or a procedure
cheaper than our neighbor down the street,
but it's not necessarily better in order to attract more patients
than the practice around the corner.
Interesting.
And you brought up the cost of education here as one of the primary issues that
you're focusing on today. How do you think, um,
this high cost of education will affect dentistry in the future?
Well, if you graduate from dental school with a,
a debt load of four to $500,000,
it's a little hard for you to look into private practice as an option
also for you to maybe have a quality of life that you think
you thought you were gonna have when you graduated from dental school.
I don't think many students go to dental school thinking that they're gonna be
an employee for the rest of their life,
but with a high debt load that they must carry the fact that that's gonna cost
them maybe $5,000 a month in payments for the next 10
years.
That certainly puts a strangle hold on their ability to do what they want
for their family. So that's what I mean by the high cost of them education.
Thank you.
My next question for you is what are you most excited about and what makes you
nervous?
Well, I think the most exciting part of, uh,
dentistry is the continued improvement in technology and the forthcoming,
um, artificial intelligence development component of that.
I also think that the civic revolution known as the dental loss ratio
enforcement,
where patients should come before profits is a key to
allowing patients with dental insurance support to get more treatment
done rather than the CEOs or the profit
margins of these insurance companies thing as large as they have been in the,
we just had that, uh, voting, uh,
referendum in Massachusetts where uh,
the public ma overwhelmingly voted in support of a
dental loss ratio of like 82%,
where the insurance companies have to spend 82% of their premium
dollars on actual patient care rather than profits.
So that also is happening across many different states to include
mine here in Nevada.
The thing that makes me most nervous is the power that the insurance carriers
have over the delivery of healthcare.
I don't think that a doctor should be told by an insurance company what
the patient should have done. I mean, obviously in my particular case,
I've got 40 years of experience doing dentistry and I think I know what's best
for my patients,
and yet insurance companies are quick to tell me that that's not what they need
or for whatever reason,
their artificial intelligence tells them that this is a better
option if we do something along these lines. I would certainly, uh,
like to say that I think the doctor and patient should decide what treatment
is best and as long as the patient is getting informed consent and they know
the advantages and disadvantages of doing the treatment,
they should be allowed to select whatever they think is best for themselves.
Interesting.
And what will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the
next two to three years?
Well, to be perfectly honest,
I don't think they need much more than what they're already doing.
I think the primary thing that we need to remember is that dentistry
is a science and art that is provided by people
to other people.
So a successful leader must have the leadership as well as the managerial skill
set to run an efficient and effective dental practice.
Not withstanding excellent communication skills,
dental leaders must be able to connect with the patients on a personal level to
gain their trust.
You have to master the use of analogies and stories simply in
my opinion, you under promise and overdeliver tell the truth.
You show the patient what you see and allow them to make the decision that will
suit them best.
The use of intraoral photography and radia radiographic
uh,
techniques to allow you to visually share with the patient what you see in their
mouth, I think is critical.
And then the final thing is that you cannot forget the regulatory
responsibilities and do what is expected.
You don't shirk the duties which ownership demands radiation
protection, infection control, doing things the right way,
making sure that your staff is taken care of properly.
All these things are what leaders should do to maintain the level of success
as they move forward in their careers.
Overall,
would you say that you're hopeful for the next generation of dental leaders or
are you more nervous when you, uh, look at your outlook?
I think every generation will have their own learning curve.
I'm not worried about the next leaders in organized dentistry.
I think the students of today are smart. I think they're well trained.
I think they just need experience to know what works and what doesn't work.
I think that any young group needs mentorship from those
that have gone before them,
and I think that's important that every doctor graduating from dental school
finds a senior dentist in their community that they can
sort of latch onto,
ask questions and become familiar with all the things
that's not taught in dental school.
But I'm not worried about the next generation. I think they'll do great.
Fantastic. Well, Dr. Wyman,
thank you so much for your time and your insights today.
I look forward to connecting with you again in the future.
Well, thank you, Riz. I hope I answered your questions, uh, as you anticipated.
Again, these are my opinions, not necessarily those of anybody else,
but I've been doing this a long time and I know what works and what doesn't
work,
and I'm happy to share whatever knowledge I have with whoever wants to connect
with me, uh, in any way, shape or form. And I do look forward to, uh,
to parti participating in another podcast with you whenever you think it's
valuable for me to do so.
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much.