Corporate Dentistry

[lex1489]

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http://www.firstchoicedental.com/

What kind of person or group of people would own a practice like this? Could this have been a small group of people who made a large capital investment to run a large group of doctors? Or is there a different path to 'ownership' of a practice this size?

Thanks,

A curious pre-dent

 

[sfrice80]

Well your title is appropriate because thats what it is. These types of multi-practice businesses are usually started and owned by a dentist, from my experience and location. I'm sure it goes both ways. People probably invest and some are started by dentists who get investors. Around where I'm from, they are popping up everywhere.

 

[sfrice80]

Good luck on your DAT!

 

[sfoksn]

My general dentist owns a chain of 6 dental practices all under the same name so I guess he is an example of this.

He just started out as a general dentist (he had a wealthy background, though), expanded his business, hired some associates to work for him (1 general associate and 1 endo associate), then funded another pedo clinic.

He worked in the pedo clinic for a while as GP (since his original clinic's GP procedures are covered by the associate), and then he hired another associate GP for the new pedo location and bought another ortho clinic.

He just kept on expanding on and on like that.

 

[lex1489]

Thanks, sfrice80. I wonder if the ADA/dentists as a whole have any fear of a Wal-Mart-esque monopolization of low-end services. As technology improves and procedural costs go down, the bottom line becomes easier to monopolize. Might not happen for ~30 years, but it's still something to think about..

@sfoksn. Do you know how often he works weekly? I wonder if chains like this can build patient bases to the point where the owner no longer has to personally practice to make a good living. It would seem possible, save for the fact that I would think associates would eventually open up their own practices and take their patients with them.

 

[sfoksn]

Thanks, sfrice80. I wonder if the ADA/dentists as a whole have any fear of a Wal-Mart-esque monopolization of low-end services. As technology improves and procedural costs go down, the bottom line becomes easier to monopolize. Might not happen for ~30 years, but it's still something to think about..

@sfoksn. Do you know how often he works weekly? I wonder if chains like this can build patient bases to the point where the owner no longer has to personally practice to make a good living. It would seem possible, save for the fact that I would think associates would eventually open up their own practices and take their patients with them.

Uh.. He doesn't practice much any more. He just talks to the patients to get them to go through certain expensive procedures to profit upon. He's much more like a businessman than anything, he is the largest stock holder of Washington Mutual. He makes much more profit from his stock investments than anything. He always tells me that dentistry is just a resource to start up initial investment funding as well as a back up revenue generator if the investment fails.

 

[lex1489]

Seems like a smart man. Though it kind of sucks that he pushes patients towards profitable procedures rather than the best. There's gotta be middle ground there that sacrifices the excess wealth for better morals while still allowing your money to make itself..

 

[sfrice80]

Thanks, sfrice80. I wonder if the ADA/dentists as a whole have any fear of a Wal-Mart-esque monopolization of low-end services. As technology improves and procedural costs go down, the bottom line becomes easier to monopolize. Might not happen for ~30 years, but it's still something to think about..

I've thought of the same thing before but I think there will always be small practices everywhere because most of the US is still relatively rural. I see these usually popping up in larger cities. You could say they would suck some of the patient base out of rural areas but then again how often do you see people shopping for dentists? It's usually out of convenience of location instead of cost.

@sfoksn. Do you know how often he works weekly? I wonder if chains like this can build patient bases to the point where the owner no longer has to personally practice to make a good living. It would seem possible, save for the fact that I would think associates would eventually open up their own practices and take their patients with them.

.

 

[lex1489]

I honestly don't know how people look for dentists. I went to my pedo and now I go to the same GD my parents do. We have good insurance and money isn't often an issue when seeking healthcare. On the other hand, many people seek out cheap healthcare -- especially dentistry.

Do you include suburban with rural? I don't see myself ever living in a rural area.

 

[hopefullyadent]

every dentist in that group u mentioned is white!!!

http://www.firstchoicedental.com/

What kind of person or group of people would own a practice like this? Could this have been a small group of people who made a large capital investment to run a large group of doctors? Or is there a different path to 'ownership' of a practice this size?

Thanks,

A curious pre-dent

 

[lex1489]

every dentist in that group u mentioned is white!!!

It's Wisconsin..

 

[sfrice80]

Hey there is diversity in Wisconsin. Its just in the city of Milwaukee but only on the North and South side and west of the Milwaukee River!

 

[WiscoRDH]

I live in Wisconsin and I would say that the bigger cities are very diverse, especially Milwaukee. Though I would admit that our state as a whole is primarily white, I have worked with many diverse doctors and educators during my time here. I can also say that we are very diverse with our cheese and beer. 😉