The Problem With Dentists...

Let me rant here for a while on one of my favorite topics: dentists and dentistry.

But before that, lets talk a bit about the economy.

Unless you have been hiding with the witness protection program in the mountains of Inner Mongolia, you have probably heard/read/felt that we are in the throws of a tough global economy. Many businesses have struggled and continue to do so in the middle of this economic malaise. The bad news is that I see this economy as our reality over the next ten years. Get used to it!

Yet I see opportunity.

Even in the great depression of the 1900's, businesses grew as others declined. It was a period when those who really knew what they were doing flourished and those who were floating along with the tide ... well, they drowned.

What can one do?

1. Clarity - Be clear and focused on your goals. This is the time to be efficient in your efforts and resources. Clearly define your goals and don't waste time, talent, resources on the things that don't move you towards your objectives.

 2. Talent - there has never been a better time over the last decade to find talented employees. This is the time to build a winning team not only with your employees, but also with your suppliers.

3. Competition - the "fakers" will disappear. What do I mean by that? Businesses that only succeeded because times were good will likely flounder (if they have not already). That creates a customer base that will be looking for an alternative. The alternative might as well be you or your company.

3. Marketing - many competitors will cut back on their sales and marketing spend. This creates an opportunity to create a brand with less "noise" to compete with.

4. Innovation - as dynamics change, it creates opportunities for people who see them. Keep your eyes peeled.

Remember, even in the great depression, businesses flourished over others.
(If you are reading this and not involved in dentistry, you may want to exit at this point :))


Now back to dentistry.

The problem with dentistry is that, for over a decade, times were quite frothy. High employment, an aging population, and availability of credit led to some very good years for dentists and associated industries. Because of that, the industry and the profession, I believe, became complacent from a business perspective.  Dentists attended clinical programs in droves but hardly spent any time on learning the "business principles" behind successful practices. Marketing, Operations (including employee selection and hiring, customer service) and financial management were largely ignored as patients were plentiful.

To misquote Bob Dylan......the times they are a changing.

I still maintain that the field of dentistry is a highly fragmented industry and dentists are not dependent on the economy as much as they are dependent on taking market share from their competition. Only now, they have to learn how to do it and execute like most businesses do. However, what I see is that a majority of the dentists still have not changed their habits - they are still carrying on waiting for the good times to come back. They have not changed how and what programs they study. They have not adapted to the new reality. Hence I see opportunity.

The same goes with the dental laboratory industry. Five years ago, there were over 16,000 dental laboratories in North America. Now, there are over 10,000. The times, they are a changing.

At Frontier Dental Laboratories, we are innovating along with the changing times. Our focus is three fold:

a. Provide the best products for patients - we believe that this is a professional and social responsibility.
b. Support the dentists that deal with us through innovative, high value educational programs like the California Center For Advanced Dental Studies (CCADS).
c. Launch innovative marketing campaigns to increase the visibility and awareness of the dentists that are part of CCADS and Frontier Dental Laboratories.
d. Provide a referral system to connect patients with quality dentists that have been accredited by CCADS and whose restorations are certified by Frontier.

Our commitment to our clients is that we will only support the practices that support us. We also select our customer base - focusing our resources on the right clients as the wrong clients are often a distraction.

As we have seen, despite the changing times, many of our clients are flourishing.

I am also very excited about the advancements in our CCADS educational programs and our patient referral programs.

CCADS will be announcing a major partnership with one of the leading universities in the world. The CCADS program is about to be incorporated into their dental school. Stay tuned - I will post it on my blog this week. This is a big deal!

In the next few months, we are launching a patient referral system to dentists that are accredited through CCADS and Frontier.

Exciting times are ahead.

If you are a dentist and you can relate to the strategy I outlined, contact me via the comment box below. We would love to work with you. I call it natural selection - we are building a community of like minded  individuals.

Through all this, it pays to remember ...

Don't Sweat The Petty Stuff And Don't Pet The Sweaty Stuff  :)

But then again, what do I know? I'm just making my way in this world.