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I know a huge issue is access to care, but am not aware of any other major issues. Can anyone give more information on important issues in dentistry?
What are current events/key issues in dentistry right now?
- Thread starter acvdental937
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Insurance
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What are DSO's? Also, what are dental therapists? I've never heard of them
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What problems do people have with insurance?
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For patients: dental insurance is not really insurance. It's more like a maintenance plan that only covers basic care. The maximum annual benefits have remained the same ($1-1.5k) for all six decades of its existence.
For dentists: it's a huge hassle to deal with the insurance companies, and they're always cutting fees.
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This will pass and leave us with a new normal on infectious disease protocols in the dental setting. Everything evolves. I still remember when dental offices were mandated to be wheel chair (ADA) compliant. Backflow preventers for the mercury scare. At the start of my ortho career .... we used disinfectants to disinfect our ortho pliars. Not anymore. Dentists originally never used gloves. Can you imagine that?
This is always cited. Access to care. Exactly what does this mean? If you paid a dentist enough .... you could find a dentist to work anywhere.
I work at a DSO that sees low income patients. You would think that a DSO trying to save money would hire these dental therapists. I don't see it. Maybe it's coming.
YEP.
The main problem right now is the ridiculous cost of dental school. When you graduate with too much debt ... it will be difficult for you to obtain lender financing to buy a practice. So these new grads with all this debt end up working as associates or working for the DSO (Corporate dentistry). The DSOs know this and are happy that they have an endless supply of desperate new dentists willing to work for them. Why hire or keep older dentists when you can hire cheaper young dentists? As a result ... the older, more experienced dentists at these DSOs have no leverage for advancement. I'm seeing this now at the Corp I work at. Many experienced, under-valued and under-appreciated older dentists were asked to take a paycut (Thx Covid). Alot of them are quitting and the DSO is replacing them with new grads at the new lower compensation.
Cheap labor force leads to more DSO proliferation.
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Proprietary Dental Schools dumping a large amount of dentists into the workforce. Many schools are not producing the traditional experience but are saddling the young graduates with a tremendous amount of debt.
DSO's
Insurance
DSO's and Insurance trying to erode the traditional Doctor/patient relationship
Perception of dentistry as a commodity.....this I feel is a new phenomenon( Last 15 years or so). In part to the rise of corporations and advertising.
That's just getting started. A lot of dentists will not recommend their kids become dentists due to the uncertain future.
Note** I feel privileged to be a dentist and there will always be success if you are talented and charismatic. I just hate to see pre-dents going in without understanding the future will continue to be very challenging for most young dentists. If your family will pay your tuition, then you may be fine.
I would also say if you can specialize, do it. It will shrink the pool of professionals you are competing with. Orthodontics may be the exception to this statement.
Covid has been no fun but hopefully we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We should be very proud of our safety record. Losing an employee due to being scared of covid was no fun, but something a lot of offices have dealt with.
There is no doubt a significant amount of patients are choosing not to go to the dentist currently.
What baffles many dentists is that Dschools will fill their class no matter how high the tuition is.
I am far from an disenchanted old dentist, I probably have achieved "the dream practice", as much as one can exist. I have overall enjoyed being a dentist. It is a hard job with a lot of stress. It will affect some people more than others.
I just wonder if that same opportunity will exist in the future. IF you understand all that and still go to school, that is great.
DSO's
Insurance
DSO's and Insurance trying to erode the traditional Doctor/patient relationship
Perception of dentistry as a commodity.....this I feel is a new phenomenon( Last 15 years or so). In part to the rise of corporations and advertising.
That's just getting started. A lot of dentists will not recommend their kids become dentists due to the uncertain future.
Note** I feel privileged to be a dentist and there will always be success if you are talented and charismatic. I just hate to see pre-dents going in without understanding the future will continue to be very challenging for most young dentists. If your family will pay your tuition, then you may be fine.
I would also say if you can specialize, do it. It will shrink the pool of professionals you are competing with. Orthodontics may be the exception to this statement.
Covid has been no fun but hopefully we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We should be very proud of our safety record. Losing an employee due to being scared of covid was no fun, but something a lot of offices have dealt with.
There is no doubt a significant amount of patients are choosing not to go to the dentist currently.
What baffles many dentists is that Dschools will fill their class no matter how high the tuition is.
I am far from an disenchanted old dentist, I probably have achieved "the dream practice", as much as one can exist. I have overall enjoyed being a dentist. It is a hard job with a lot of stress. It will affect some people more than others.
I just wonder if that same opportunity will exist in the future. IF you understand all that and still go to school, that is great.
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Insurance. Pts get insurance and think they're dental needs will be covered in the same way their medical needs are. Problem is dental and medical insurance are not even close to comparable. Dental insurance is more like a benefit plan when you pay x amount each month and get y and z for free or reduced price.
The annual maximums are a joke. 1 crown, 1/2 a denture, or 5 fillings and the patient is maxed out for the years. And once maxed out, pt isn't going to want anything else until their next benefit year.
From our side, the reimbursement rates have stayed the same or dropped, never going up. Imagine charging $1000 for a crown and insurance company says 'nah, that crowns only worth $500.'
The annual maximums are a joke. 1 crown, 1/2 a denture, or 5 fillings and the patient is maxed out for the years. And once maxed out, pt isn't going to want anything else until their next benefit year.
From our side, the reimbursement rates have stayed the same or dropped, never going up. Imagine charging $1000 for a crown and insurance company says 'nah, that crowns only worth $500.'
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This is just a temporary issue, right? I assume that once we resume back to normal life, there's going to be tons of people with dental issues they neglected since they didn't want to visit the dentist during a pandemic. So I can imagine there will be a massive influx of patients once the pandemic is over, which means that there will also be more procedures done. Things will likely be busier and more stressful, but with that comes more income.
many, many people lost or will lose their jobs/businesses, get evicted or go bankrupt, etc, etc, etc
