Dr. Hillary Abel, Doctor Development Advisor at SALT Dental Partners and President of the District of Columbia Dental Society

Summary

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Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode features Dr. Hilary Abel, Doctor Development Advisor at SALT Dental Partners and President of the District of Columbia Dental Society. The discussion centers on current challenges and trends in dentistry, including Medicaid cuts, workforce issues, the evolving role of technology (especially AI), the future of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), and the importance of engagement in organized dentistry.

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Guest Introduction

• Dr. Hilary Abel introduces herself as a practicing general dentist, graduate of Tufts (2009), current President of the DC Dental Society, and Doctor Development Advisor at SALT Dental Partners.
• Key Quote:
  “What really ties it all together for me is being able to help strengthen the profession and also helping both patients and doctors thrive in that situation.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [00:42]

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Key Issues in Dentistry (2025)

Medicaid Cuts and Fee Schedule Challenges

• Dr. Abel highlights Medicaid cuts as a significant concern, especially in D.C. where a large population relies on Medicaid and the federal match is high.
  • Any cuts deeply impact patient access to care, provider operations, and the city health infrastructure.
• She notes that dental coverage is particularly vulnerable to budget cuts.
• A major advocacy win:
  “We had previously gone for more than 15 years without a meaningful fee schedule update. ...We’re finally able to secure one this year. So our advocacy in that area has been incredibly important.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [01:47]

Workforce Turnover and Training Challenges

• Workforce turnover is a persistent problem: recruiting and retaining team members is increasingly difficult.
• Training and supporting dental assistants “to the top of their certifications” is seen as a crucial step.
• However, inconsistent state regulations for dental assistants and hygienists (notably across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) cause inefficiencies and increased costs.
  • “These inconsistencies make things less efficient and more expensive. So I really believe that more alignment and investing in trainings and certification through that alignment would go a long way towards stabilizing those teams and ultimately improving patient care.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [02:52]

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Excitement and Concerns in Dentistry

Excitements: Technology and DSO Evolution

• Dr. Abel is optimistic about technology, especially AI:
  • “We've seen radiologists use AI successfully, and I think in dentistry, it can just really help us with diagnosis and treatment planning...” [03:26]
  • Emphasizes that AI is not about replacing doctors, but enhancing clarity, confidence, and outcomes.
• Highlights positive shifts in how DSOs support practices:
  • Moving from “cost-cutting and rebranding” models to “preserving what's special about a doctor's practice while giving them the support that they need.”
  • “At Salt, for example, we've worked hard to build a culture that protects doctor's autonomy, but just adds efficiency where it's needed. And to me, that's the future of DSOs.” [03:52]

Concerns: Engagement in Organized Dentistry

• Dr. Abel expresses worry about declining engagement in dental societies, which advocate for the profession.
  • “If fewer dentists get involved, the collective voice really gets weaker, and that has real consequences for the profession.” [04:30]
• Clarifies that “fewer engagement” refers to fewer dentist memberships. [04:56]

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The Evolving Role of Healthcare Leaders

• Leaders will need to enthusiastically embrace technology without losing the human touch:
  • “Patients still want really great experiences and team members want to feel supported.” [05:12]
• Simplification is critical as practices now juggle many tech platforms for operations.
  • Leaders need to “simplify that without losing what makes the patient experience and team so great.” [05:22]
• Advocates for robust collaboration between DSOs and organized dentistry:
  • “I believe it's really shortsighted for societies to ignore the role that DSOs play now, and it's just as shortsighted for DSOs to not encourage their doctors to be engaged locally.” [05:37]
  • The goal: advocacy, business support, and clinical excellence working together.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I'm really excited about the technology, especially AI. ...It’s not about replacing the doctor. It's really just another tool to help give us and our patients more clarity and confidence in their care.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [03:26]
• “At Salt, for example, we've worked hard to build a culture that protects doctor's autonomy, but just adds efficiency where it's needed. And to me, that's the future of DSOs.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [03:52]
• “If fewer dentists get involved, the collective voice really gets weaker, and that has real consequences for the profession.” — Dr. Hilary Abel [04:30]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 0:22 — Guest introduction and background (Dr. Hilary Abel)
• 1:11 — Major industry issues: Medicaid, fee schedules, workforce
• 3:18 — What excites and worries Dr. Abel (technology, DSO evolution, dental society engagement)
• 5:08 — What effective healthcare leaders will need in the next 2-3 years

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Tone and Style

The conversation is straightforward, insightful, and solution-oriented, with Dr. Abel balancing technical expertise with emphasis on care, advocacy, and proactive leadership.

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Transcript

[A]

Hello, this is Ariana Portolattan with the beckers Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr. Hilary Abel, a doctor development advisor at Salt Dental Partners and president of the District of Columbia Dental Society. Dr. Abel, thank you so much for being here today. It is great to have you on our podcast. To start us off, can you introduce yourself for our listeners and tell us a little bit about your background?

[B]

Sure. As you said, I am Dr. Hilary Rasa Abel. I graduated from Tufts in 2009 and I've been a private practice general dentist since then. Right now I'm the president of the DC Dental Society and I also work with SALT Dental Partners in their doctor development team. I've been able to stay connected in clinical dentistry, but also supporting other doctors and helping practices grow, which has been really exciting for me. Obviously, I've now worn a few different hats over the years. What really ties it all together for me is being able to help strengthen the profession and also helping both patients and doctors thrive in that situation.

[A]

Perfect. Thank you so much for that first question here for you. What are some of the biggest issues that you're following in the dental industry this year?

[B]

One of the biggest ones for me this year has been discussing current and future Medicaid cuts. In D.C. in particular, a really large percentage of our population relies on Medicaid and our federal match is also very high. So any cuts have a major impact. So that really doesn't just affect our patients access to care, but also how hospitals and providers are able to deliver care, how our city runs. And on another hand of that, on another note, all of us know that dental coverage can very, very easily go on the chopping block. So that's been heavy on our minds this year. Also, we had previously gone for more than 15 years without a meaningful fee schedule update. So. So that obviously created financial strain for participating doctors. We're finally able to secure one this year. So our advocacy in that area has been incredibly important. So I think besides the Medicaid issues, another big challenge that is always on everyone's mind is obviously workforce turnover. It's harder to find and keep great team members and that just has an impact on how well we can serve our patients. So I believe that, really believe that making sure dental assistants are trained and supported to the top of their certifications is a great step. But there's a little hinge point in this. And the tricky part is that every state has different rules about what they can do, which makes this like, really hard to manage right and this is consistently a problem in D.C. where people live in one state and work in another. Maryland, Virginia, D.C. all have different roles, they have different levels, different certifications for dental assistance and sometimes even hygienists. So these inconsistencies make things less efficient and more expensive. So I really believe that more alignment and investing in trainings and certification through that alignment would go a long way towards stabilizing those teams and ultimately improving patient care.

[A]

What are you most excited about when it comes to dentistry right now? And what makes you nervous about the industry?

[B]

So I'm really excited about the technology, especially AI. We've seen radiologists use AI successfully, and I think in dentistry, it can just really help us with diagnosis and treatment planning and execution of that treatment. It's not about replacing the doctor. It's really just another tool to help give us and our patients more clarity and confidence in their care and also to just ensure the best outcomes. I'm also very excited about how DSOs are evolving. We're moving away from old models of pure just cost cutting and rebranding and moving towards preserving what's special about a doctor's practice while giving them the support that they need. And so at salt, for example, we've worked hard to build a culture that protects doctor's autonomy, but just adds efficiency where it's needed. And to me, that's the future of DSOs. So not changing a practice's ethos, but just about strengthening it. So on the flip side, though, I'm feeling nervous and I do worry about the declining engagement in dental societies. These are the groups that are the ones fighting for our ability to practice the way that we want and hire who we need and push forward on the issues that really matter to us. So these are the ones, people on the ground that are reinforcing the legislation that's really important for how we practice. So if fewer dentists get involved, the collective voice really gets weaker, and that has real consequences for the profession.

[A]

Okay, and by fewer engagement, do you mean like fewer dentists becoming members?

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Oh, okay. Yeah. That's super interesting. Thank you for sharing that. And last question for you here. What will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the next two to three years?

[B]

So I think that the best leaders will be the ones who embrace the technology. But don't lose sight of the personal side of dentistry. Patients still want to really great experiences and team members want to feel supported. So right now, most practices are using 7, 8, 9, 10 different platforms just to manage communication, scheduling, billing, HR all of it. So leaders really need to simplify that without losing what makes the patient experience and team so great. And the other thing that I really passionately care about is I think that DSOS and organized dentistry really need to evolve together. I believe it's really shortsighted for societies to ignore the role that DSOs play now, and it's just as shortsighted for DSOs to not encourage their doctors to be engaged locally. So if we get that right, we'll have the advocacy, the business support, and the clinical excellence all working in tandem, and that's what keeps the practices strong.

[A]

Great. Well, that is all I have for you today. Dr. Awel, thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure speaking with you. Great discussion today, and I'm looking forward to connecting with you again, hopefully in the future.

[B]

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.