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- [00:01]
A
Hello, this is Ariana Portolatten with the Becker's Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Annie Sawyer, the director of 3D Dentists. Annie, thank you so much for being here today. It is great to have you.
- [00:12]
B
Thank you so much.
- [00:14]
A
Great. To start us off, can you introduce yourself for our listeners and tell us a little bit about your background and your role at 3D Dentist?
- [00:20]
B
You bet. So I currently work for 3D Dentists. Dentists. 3D Dentists is a dental education and practice growth company. We offer courses, workshops to help dental professionals improve their practices by combining clinical techniques with business strategies. And so Prior to joining 3D, I spent the last 15 years in the DSO space with two very large DSOs, served in various leadership roles. And in the fall of 2024, I was introduced to Dr. Tarun Agarwal, founder of 3D Dentists, and Dr. Sully Sullivan. He's one of the 3D partners and 3D dentists. It's a dentist owned and operated company that. But both T Bone and Sully have successful private practices based on the 3D fundamentals. So, you know, at 3D, the dentists and teams that, you know, join and collaborate with us, they have somebody that's still working, you know, in their practices. They understand that the everything that's happening right in the day to day life, whether it be employees or, you know, patient demands and also along with technology. So we really reach out to, you know, build a strong community of dentist professionals that have a desire to excel.
- [01:41]
A
Great. Thank you so much for sharing a little bit more background there. First question for you here, what are some of the biggest issues that you're following in the dental industry this year?
- [01:51]
B
So staffing challenges, mental health and access to care are, you know, the biggest issues that I'm currently following, mainly because they're what I'm, you know, constantly coaching to and seeking solutions for. They all combine, you know, and play into each other in one way or another because it's putting such a tremendous strain on the owners, the teams and even the patients, you know, for, you know, being able to actually get the care right.
- [02:20]
A
Yeah. Can you tell us a little bit more your role at 3D dentist? How are you working with staffing challenges right now? How does it affect 3D dentists also?
- [02:31]
B
Sure. So in the private practice for both T Bone and solely, you know, turnover rate is high at times depending on, you know, what the. And that we're seeing kind of across the board because the, the landscape has changed with employees. So you know, it's a time of pivot for everybody, you know, in a leadership role in how they're approaching, you know, the work life balance. And so then we're seeing the same thing with all the dentists, you know, and we saw this in the DO space, DSO space as well, is that, you know, there's. That the. Typically the owner, you know, has one way they want to do something or the dso. But our employees are, you know, and staff are putting a lot of pressures into, you know, the time that they want to work, the days they want to work. And so really being adaptable and helping others find solutions to, you know, work a schedule differently, operate in a, you know, a more efficient way is, you know, what we're striving to be better at and be more attuned to, you know, for the sake of longevity and loyalty.
- [03:48]
A
Yeah, definitely. And I know you mentioned mental health challenges as well, and how that, how that kind of plays into staffing challenges a lot of the time. I know during the pandemic, we saw a lot of dental professionals, particularly hygienists, leave the field. A lot of what people were dealing had to do with burnout as well. What are you seeing now as far as mental health challenges in dentistry?
- [04:13]
B
Well, you know, as we all know, you know, dentists have always had a, you know, a higher, you know, listing or percentage of, you know, reporting of mental health challenges. And, you know, people, it can be to, you know, perfectionism or even, you know, the patient expectations. But along with that are now that we, the hygienists have kind of taken a different route. It. The pressure that is putting on the dentist because it might be, you know, the patient's now urging, you know, and wanting to be seen, yet we don't have the capacity to see them in. 70% of dentists report being burnt out. And so that's crazy, you know, and so the, you know, the. The great and exciting thing is, you know, where AI and technology are kind of taking us. I think that's starting. We're starting to see how, you know, if we implement some of these resources that are out there that can actually replace somebody. You know, just dental insurance, for one. Right. That is something where the technology is gone. So we are, you know, leveraging technology to help with that.
- [05:30]
A
Great. Next question for you here. What are you most excited about when it comes to dentistry and what makes you nervous about the industry right now?
- [05:37]
B
Okay. So exciting is AI and technology. And I, I don't think that is, you know, anybody. I don't know how anybody can't be excited, you know, whether or not they want to write an email or send, see what they've maybe perhaps missed clinically, you know, in diagnosing, there's so much out there that people can, you know, participate in. And, you know, specifically we work with Overjet and Care Stack and Voice Stack, which, you know, kind of covers the things that I talk to. But, you know, with the demands of the daily grind, AI has been a game changer for us. And what excites me, you know, even more is how well the dental profession has embraced the new technologies that, you know, I can remember probably 12 to 15 years ago working with dentists and they just wanted to do the same thing the same way every day. And trying to present something new was absolutely not right. So much more rigid. And now we're seeing, you know, how flexible the dental leaders are becoming. It's amazing.
- [06:46]
A
Great. Yeah, definitely. And was there anything that makes you nervous about the industry?
- [06:51]
B
I think because of how much, you know, technology is out there and, you know, every day, you know, whether you're scrolling social media, reading an article in a new, you know, dental, you know, magazine or, you know, online, there's something new that's always being advertised. And so getting caught in the weeds is something that us in the dental professional can very easily do. So it makes me nervous if dentists do not have, you know, a coach, you know, or a trusted professional to, you know, really talk through these things to find out what is worth investing in and, you know, what should we wait a little bit longer to see? And so, you know, T bone Tarun. That's t bone for at 3D dentists, Dr. Tarun and Dr. Sully. I mean, I'm impressed with how they are able to do this. And that's where like a lot of our dentists and why they are so trusted is because they, they test these things, they work with this, they, they know to not boil the ocean, right, to. In order to, you know, change the way they're doing dentistry. Their workflows are proven and consistent and get beautiful results. So, you know, this is kind of one of the big reasons why, you know, I went with them was their innovation and their desire and passion to really serve other dentists and their teams.
- [08:24]
A
Last question for you here. What will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the next two to three years?
- [08:31]
B
People centric. It is, you know, so important right now, as you know, to overcome some of the staffing and loyalty challenges that we've been facing. Leaders, you know, will need to be empathetic. We, you know, have a genuine interest in the well being and development of their employees and then transparency, collaboration with the teams as well. That'll be a good starting point. And then we've gotta be data driven. You know, people in general have become so savvy in regards to, you know, how they get answers. And so instead of relying on our intuition or our opinions, it's important for us leaders to use the data and analytics to set the goals or improve, you know, somebody's performance or process and really help guide us in the decisions that we make. And then I'd say the third would be if a headwind would be they've got to be tech savvy. Dental has become digital and where, you know, the last DSI was at, we were not as digital as we could be. And that was my, you know, really the next thing that I was excited to join 3D about was, you know, adopting some of the processes and procedures so that I can help dental practices grow more as well with their digital approach to dentistry and how they're helping everybody do that. So they're very unselfish with what they've learned and really encourage the embracing of the technology at it. So I think the leaders will need to speak to this and invest time in finding the best solutions for their specific needs.
- [10:13]
A
The quick follow up question for you there. I thought what you said was interesting about being tech savvy. What's at risk for companies who don't take the time to invest in new technology?
- [10:25]
B
There's, I love that question because if we, if they don't take the time to do that, they one, you know, time and efficiencies will, you know, go away. But even the best solutions, you know, for what, you know, dentistry, dentistry isn't slowing down from a tech standpoint. And so the sooner they get into this now, like is the better. I mean I look at what, you know, Taruna and solely have done and I felt behind even though I was in a large DSO space at the time. And so, you know, they're, they have, you know, they're overjet. You know, they, they adopted that, they adopted care stack, all of these things that, you know, we hear about, I mean these things are like, you know, the processes and the procedures that they have are so elevated for it to not be a DSO. And so, you know, there's some DSOs that have really catapulted, you know, their tech space and the others that happen. But I think they'll get left behind. And I think that, you know, with how everything's changing, I think that you'll see different names leading the way in the DSO space. And, you know, as far as private, I think you'll see private practices survive because they've adopted this. Okay.
- [11:51]
A
Yeah. Super interesting thoughts that you shared there. That's all I have for you today. Annie, thank you so much for joining us. Been a pleasure speaking with you and covering these different topics that you're following. And I'm looking forward to connecting with you again in the future.
- [12:03]
B
Thank you so much for having me.
- [12:04]
A
Thanks.