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my experience, I’ve found that most dentists want to be really good dentists. So we
want to provide an environment where they can be as good as they want to be.
MD: And you guys do that. I think every dentist would love to have a practice where he
or she is able to afford digital X-rays and a CEREC machine and a cone beam machine.
Every dentist would love to have that stuff around, but sometimes they don’t have the cash
flow or the patient flow to justify it. So it’s got to be a fantastic way to practice.
And I think you’re right: Dentists do want to do the best dentistry they can. But there are
things that get in the way. I think it helps to have multiple dentists in one location, like you
do in your centers, for reasons as simple as other people might be looking at your impressions!
When I started working at the lab, all of a sudden I was forced to get better because
I had hundreds of technicians looking at my impressions. For the first time, I couldn’t
hide back in my office because they knew where I was and they knew I might be working
on them soon. Being part of that group absolutely forced me to get better. So I agree that
every dentist wants to be a good dentist. We want to put things in that are going to be long
lasting for the patient. We want to put in a crown on tooth #9 that is going to blend in
esthetically because being able to reduce enough and take a good shade and a good digital
photograph is a skill. That’s what is fulfilling for dentists. It sounds like PDS is the perfect
partner for dentists who want to pursue that kind of dream without having to worry so
much about the business side of things.
ST: We try to do that in a very nice, structured format. We have a structured regional
and national dental advisory board. Everyone on the board is a licensed dentist of the
group. Every decision goes through a process. A lot of eyes look at it so we don’t make
bad decisions. We try to make very focused, thoughtful decisions on technologies and
about different supplies or whatever dentists want to use. We are very thoughtful about
the approaches. It is helpful that we have so many specialists in the organization, too.
MD: I know you guys have had me come over a couple of times and do some programs
with the dentists. You can just tell that the commitment is there. The dentists are at those
continuing education courses voluntarily. The few times I’ve been over to PDS, it has been
with a group of dentists where it’s definitely a different vibe than if you were to step onto
the floor of the CDA meeting and interact with a group of dentists. The dentists at PDS
are some of the most excited, intelligent dentists that you’ll meet. If you were looking for a
group of dentists who love dentistry, and who would encourage their children to go into
the profession, it would have to be the group of PDS dentists that I’ve met over the years.
ST: Thanks. I take that as a great compliment. I appreciate it.
MD: Really! I get the feeling that you guys are as concerned about the dentist’s happiness
in life and his or her career as much as you are concerned about the success achieved in
the practice. Is that true? I remember seeing a mission statement or some of your guiding
principles on the wall at PDS headquarters.
ST: Absolutely. Maybe this goes back to some of the early education and training I
received, but dentistry is a tough job, physically and mentally. You’re working on
generally stressed out people, and the patient’s stress level reverberates from the
patient to the dentist. You’re working in a hole the size of a silver dollar. People
expect perfection. They don’t want to be in pain. So it’s a physically demanding job.
It’s a stressful job. And I don’t think, as a whole, we put enough weight on that in
order to create a balanced approach to the career and lifestyle of being a dentist.
Think about how many dentists you and I know who are burnt out at age 45!
We had a dentist come aboard — he’s an owner who obviously got on quick —
who is 72 years old. He just signed up at 72 years old, and he’s got the energy of a
30-year-old dentist! So it’s really cool to see. We do try to take a lifestyle approach
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