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This is R Hatton with the Becker's
Dental plus the O Podcast.

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I'm thrilled to be joined today
by Dr. Joseph Wyman, c e o,

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and owner of Wyman Dental. Dr. Wyman,
thank you so much for being here today.

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Riz uh, thank you for the invitation
to participate in today's podcast.

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So I'm all yours. Ask me questions. Uh,

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I'll be happy to answer
them as best I can.

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Fantastic. Could you start off, uh,

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by introducing yourself and telling
us a bit about your background?

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Sure. My name is Dr. Joseph Wyman.

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I'm a 1981 graduate of the University
of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.

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I'm a 22 year veteran and retiree of
the United States Army Dental Care

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System.

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And I currently run full-time
private practice since 2002 when I

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retired from the military. I also, uh,

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run a local study club and I'm a
diplomat of the American Board of General

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Dentistry. I'm married to my college
sweetheart for the past 45 years.

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I'm father, father of three grown
children, a grandfather of eight,

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ranging in ages from six to 18.

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And in my free time I spend
a lot of it on sports fields,

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cheering on my grandkids
or using my FAA part 1 0 7

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pilot license to fly
my drones around town.

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And I work out on a regular
basis at our local fitness club.

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Well, thank you so much for sharing.
My first question for you is,

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what are the biggest issues you're
following in dentistry today?

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I think the largest issue
that I'm following is the
unbelievable cost of getting

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a dental school education,

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specifically the debt levels of
new dentists graduating with from

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their professional training.

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Most of these young students
are paying more for one year

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than I paid for my four years going
to school at University of Pittsburgh

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in 19 80, 19 77 to 1981.

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Second thing that I think
I'm following is the, uh,

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the corporatization of
the business of dentistry.

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By that I mean the rise of the
DSOs and the decrease in private

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practice opportunities for young doctors.

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The third thing that I think is
the loss of our moral compass as a

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profession and our personal integrity
can be challenged as we chase

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production.

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That seems to be revenue driven
rather than what our patients need.

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And sadly, the fourth thing I'm,

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I'm concerned about is the
commoditization of our profession.

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I call it the race to the bottom where
we try to sell a service or a procedure

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cheaper than our neighbor down the street,

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but it's not necessarily better
in order to attract more patients

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than the practice around the corner.

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Interesting.

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And you brought up the cost of education
here as one of the primary issues that

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you're focusing on today.
How do you think, um,

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this high cost of education will
affect dentistry in the future?

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Well, if you graduate
from dental school with a,

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a debt load of four to $500,000,

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it's a little hard for you to look
into private practice as an option

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also for you to maybe have a
quality of life that you think

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you thought you were gonna have when
you graduated from dental school.

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I don't think many students go to dental
school thinking that they're gonna be

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an employee for the rest of their life,

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but with a high debt load that they must
carry the fact that that's gonna cost

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them maybe $5,000 a month
in payments for the next 10

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years.

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That certainly puts a strangle hold
on their ability to do what they want

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for their family. So that's what I mean
by the high cost of them education.

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Thank you.

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My next question for you is what are you
most excited about and what makes you

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nervous?

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Well, I think the most
exciting part of, uh,

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dentistry is the continued improvement
in technology and the forthcoming,

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um, artificial intelligence
development component of that.

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I also think that the civic revolution
known as the dental loss ratio

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enforcement,

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where patients should come
before profits is a key to

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allowing patients with dental
insurance support to get more treatment

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done rather than the CEOs or the profit

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margins of these insurance companies
thing as large as they have been in the,

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we just had that, uh, voting, uh,

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referendum in Massachusetts where uh,

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the public ma overwhelmingly
voted in support of a

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dental loss ratio of like 82%,

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where the insurance companies
have to spend 82% of their premium

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dollars on actual patient
care rather than profits.

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So that also is happening across
many different states to include

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mine here in Nevada.

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The thing that makes me most nervous is
the power that the insurance carriers

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have over the delivery of healthcare.

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I don't think that a doctor should
be told by an insurance company what

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the patient should have done. I mean,
obviously in my particular case,

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I've got 40 years of experience doing
dentistry and I think I know what's best

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for my patients,

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and yet insurance companies are quick to
tell me that that's not what they need

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or for whatever reason,

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their artificial intelligence
tells them that this is a better

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option if we do something along
these lines. I would certainly, uh,

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like to say that I think the doctor and
patient should decide what treatment

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is best and as long as the patient is
getting informed consent and they know

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the advantages and disadvantages
of doing the treatment,

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they should be allowed to select whatever
they think is best for themselves.

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Interesting.

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And what will the most
effective healthcare leaders
need to be successful in the

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next two to three years?

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Well, to be perfectly honest,

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I don't think they need much more
than what they're already doing.

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I think the primary thing that we
need to remember is that dentistry

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is a science and art that
is provided by people

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to other people.

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So a successful leader must have the
leadership as well as the managerial skill

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set to run an efficient and
effective dental practice.

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Not withstanding excellent
communication skills,

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dental leaders must be able to connect
with the patients on a personal level to

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gain their trust.

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You have to master the use of
analogies and stories simply in

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my opinion, you under promise
and overdeliver tell the truth.

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You show the patient what you see and
allow them to make the decision that will

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suit them best.

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The use of intraoral photography
and radia radiographic

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uh,

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techniques to allow you to visually share
with the patient what you see in their

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mouth, I think is critical.

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And then the final thing is that
you cannot forget the regulatory

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responsibilities and do what is expected.

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You don't shirk the duties which
ownership demands radiation

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protection, infection control,
doing things the right way,

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making sure that your staff
is taken care of properly.

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All these things are what leaders should
do to maintain the level of success

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as they move forward in their careers.

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Overall,

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would you say that you're hopeful for
the next generation of dental leaders or

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are you more nervous when
you, uh, look at your outlook?

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I think every generation will
have their own learning curve.

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I'm not worried about the next
leaders in organized dentistry.

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I think the students of today are
smart. I think they're well trained.

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I think they just need experience to
know what works and what doesn't work.

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I think that any young group
needs mentorship from those

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that have gone before them,

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and I think that's important that every
doctor graduating from dental school

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finds a senior dentist in
their community that they can

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sort of latch onto,

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ask questions and become
familiar with all the things

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that's not taught in dental school.

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But I'm not worried about the next
generation. I think they'll do great.

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Fantastic. Well, Dr. Wyman,

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thank you so much for your
time and your insights today.

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I look forward to connecting
with you again in the future.

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Well, thank you, Riz. I hope I answered
your questions, uh, as you anticipated.

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Again, these are my opinions, not
necessarily those of anybody else,

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but I've been doing this a long time
and I know what works and what doesn't

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work,

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and I'm happy to share whatever knowledge
I have with whoever wants to connect

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with me, uh, in any way, shape or
form. And I do look forward to, uh,

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to parti participating in another
podcast with you whenever you think it's

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valuable for me to do so.

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Fantastic. Well, thank you so much.