How concerned are you about corporate dentistry?

[fantasy football pro]

Could it go the way of optometry and pharmacy?

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[Str82th]

It will. It's going to be tough to stop it.

 

[fantasy football pro]

Why would you say that? Isn't the ADA a very strong lobby?

Also, the quality of care that you would get at a corporate chain would be less than what you could find in private practice. For example, why would people not just go to dental schools for all of their dental work if cost was all that mattered?

 

[number22]

Why would you say that? Isn't the ADA a very strong lobby?

Also, the quality of care that you would get at a corporate chain would be less than what you could find in private practice. For example, why would people not just go to dental schools for all of their dental work if cost was all that mattered?

For one, there isn't a dental school in every city? And not everyone enjoys being treated by students, and having to be at the dentist's office for what, 2 3 hour sessions for a crown?

 

[Str82th]

Why would you say that? Isn't the ADA a very strong lobby?

Also, the quality of care that you would get at a corporate chain would be less than what you could find in private practice. For example, why would people not just go to dental schools for all of their dental work if cost was all that mattered?

No, it seems like the ADA is in bed with corporate dentistry.

Patients still trust dentists, in general, so they don't know the usually poor quality of care they receive at the corporate chains.

That's not to say there aren't bad private practitioners as well.

Most things in life fall along a bell curve. There are average dentists, excellent dentists and poor dentists. They are spread through all types of practice.

 

[cooliyak]

No, it seems like the ADA is in bed with corporate dentistry.

Patients still trust dentists, in general, so they don't know the usually poor quality of care they receive at the corporate chains.

That's not to say there aren't bad private practitioners as well.

Most things in life fall along a bell curve. There are average dentists, excellent dentists and poor dentists. They are spread through all types of practice.

The ADA is far from in bed with DSOs (or "corporate" dentistry). In fact, sometimes they have a hard time being civil with them. Their hands are just tied because a high percentage of new grads are going into corporate due to the benefits it offers. They used to perpetuate the negative views and stigma about corporate dentistry/dentists (unofficially of course), but unfortunately, the new grad demographic is also the least retained as far as membership goes. Now they are biting their tongues and trying to work with DSOs a little bit more to retain the new grad members because they realized that fighting them would tear the profession apart faster than DSOs would damage it (although I don't personally think that DSOs are damaging the profession anyway, but that's just my opinion).
Also, as far as lobbying against DSOs, not much can be done because it's just another practice model. People can say or think what they want about them, but they aren't doing anything wrong necessarily. Some of them just have internal workings that may pressure the dentist to overtreat, etc., but those pressures can be found in any practice model. It is up to the dentist to either resist the pressure or quit, especially since it is their license. And then like you said, there are bad dentists everywhere. Lobbying efforts would be better utilized fighting certain mid level provider models.