Mark Censoprano, Co-Chief Executive Officer of MAX Surgical Specialty Management

Summary

Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast – Interview with Mark Censoprano, Co-CEO, MAX Surgical Specialty Management (Sep 7, 2025)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, hosted by Ariana Portolatten, features Mark Censoprano, Co-Chief Executive Officer of MAX Surgical Specialty Management. The conversation focuses on the current landscape of the dental industry, talent acquisition challenges, patient trends, how specialty management organizations can support surgical practices, the impact of technology (especially AI), and essential leadership qualities for the future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Mark Censoprano’s Background

• Wide-ranging career starting in consumer products, moving into hospitality, and then healthcare, with significant experience at Aspen Dental and Guardian Dentistry Partners before joining MAX.
• MAX Surgical Specialty Management supports surgeons in the Northeast, emphasizing preservation of surgeon identity and optimal operational support.
  • [00:19]

    "Had the pleasure of helping start up Guardian Dentistry Partners which is a support organization...and now I'm at MAX helping support surgeons in the Northeast." – Mark Censoprano

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Biggest Issues in Dentistry: Talent & Patient Trends

• Talent acquisition and retention are major concerns across the industry.
• The state of the consumer/patient, particularly their ability and willingness to access care, is another area of focus.
  • [01:16]

    "Talent acquisition continues to be an issue. I think the other one is the general state of the consumer and the patients and their ability to take on the care that they need." – Mark Censoprano

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Strategies for Talent Acquisition & Retention

• Building a strong recruitment function and cultivating an attractive workplace culture are central to talent success.

• Retention minimizes recruiting needs; an authentic, solid culture helps retain top talent.

  • [01:42]

    "You have to build a really strong recruitment function and make sure that you have...a culture at your company that's attractive...There’s definitely limited resources out there and they have to really buy into who you are." – Mark Censoprano

• Retaining talent by making the workplace genuinely supportive means less need to constantly recruit.

  • [02:09]

    "...if you make sure that your culture truly is solid, then you can hopefully have a better retention rate, which hopefully then will prevent your needing to recruit as much." – Mark Censoprano

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Patient Hesitancy & Industry Worries

• Patient volumes are down; many are putting off dental care, impacting both general and specialty practices.

• Causes include financial pressures and general anxiety, particularly given current world events.

  • [03:54]

    "I think it's probably part financial and it's also part anxiety...when the world seems like it's a little bit of a scarier place. One of the things that unfortunately tends to drop to the bottom of the to do list is to make it to the dentist." – Mark Censoprano

• Notable statistic: An ADA survey shows over 50% of US adults haven’t visited the dentist in the past year.

  • [04:16]

    "...some still to this day, I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% or north of 50% of US adults haven't made it to the dentist in the past 12 months." – Mark Censoprano

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Exciting Developments: Supporting Surgeons & Unlocking Potential

• At MAX, meaningful impact comes from enabling surgeons to thrive, providing support systems while preserving their identity.

  • [04:46]

    "Helping oral surgeons to unlock their real, true potential and to help them, support them in the right way with the right culture, preserve their identity while putting in really strong systems and support processes so they can do what they do best is always fun." – Mark Censoprano

• When the partnership is right, surgeons are "rejuvenated" and passionate about work again.

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Technology & Trends: The Role of AI

• Technology as an enabler is top of mind—especially AI, which is now present in nearly every aspect of the business (marketing, operations, etc.).
• MAX evaluates and pilots new technologies by their potential to enhance patient experience or improve surgeon efficiency.
  • [05:37]

    "AI has found its way into almost every crack and crevice of the business now...we look at that and we evaluate what's really going to help the surgeons to deliver the best patient experience...and then we pilot test it." – Mark Censoprano

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Keys to Leadership in Healthcare Moving Forward

• The formula for effective leadership remains unchanged:

  • Listening to dentists, surgeons, and teams.
  • Centering the patient experience.
  • Staying true to organizational purpose.

• MAX’s purpose, quoted by every team member:

  • [06:51]

    "To passionately support and serve our surgeons and teams and their delivery of the optimal patient experience each and every time." – Mark Censoprano

• Leaders need a grounded, responsive approach and must work with heart and soul to meet the evolving needs of their teams and patients.

  • [07:32]

    "...you always make sure that you are listening to what your surgeons need and the team members need...you're working hard with all of your heart and soul to make that happen, to meet those needs. Then generally, I think you'll be okay." – Mark Censoprano

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “You have to build a really strong recruitment function and make sure that you have...a culture at your company that's attractive." – Mark Censoprano [01:42]
• "One of the things that unfortunately tends to drop to the bottom of the to do list is to make it to the dentist." – Mark Censoprano [03:57]
• "It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% or north of 50% of US adults haven't made it to the dentist in the past 12 months. So that's, that's a sign of the times." – Mark Censoprano [04:16]
• "When surgeons partner with an organization, it's the right organization, it's the right partnership. You just watch them thrive...they get a spring back in their step.” – Mark Censoprano [04:46]
• "AI has found its way into almost every crack and crevice of the business now..." – Mark Censoprano [05:37]
• "Our purpose at MAX is...to passionately support and serve our surgeons and teams and their delivery of the optimal patient experience each and every time." – Mark Censoprano [06:51]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Background and introduction – [00:19]
• Top industry issues: talent & patients – [01:16]
• Talent acquisition & retention strategies – [01:42]
• What’s exciting or worrisome about the industry – [02:35]/[03:54]
• Why patients are putting off care – [03:54]
• Surgeon support and partnership impact – [04:46]
• Tech trends and AI in dentistry – [05:37]
• Leadership qualities for the next 2–3 years – [06:27]

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Conclusion

This episode offers a succinct yet insightful take on the present and future of dental specialty management. Mark Censoprano emphasizes the importance of recruiting and retaining strong talent, adapting to evolving patient needs, leveraging new technologies like AI, and above all, maintaining a patient- and purpose-focused approach. The conversation provides grounded wisdom for both healthcare leaders and practitioners seeking to navigate the changing dental landscape.

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Transcript

[A]

Hello, this is Ariana Portolatten with the Beckers Dental and DSO Review podcast. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Mark Cinciprono, the co CEO at Mac Surgical Specialty Management. Mark, thank you so much for being here again today. It's great to have you back.

[B]

My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

[A]

To start us off, can you introduce yourself for our listeners and tell us a little bit about your background?

[B]

Sure, absolutely. My name is Mark Sunseprano. I'm currently the co CEO of Max Surgical Specialty Management. Started my career in consumer products many moons ago, have worked in hospitality with a couple of restaurant companies and have worked for a few different healthcare organizations in dental. So I worked for Aspen Dental and led marketing and a number of other functions over there. Had the pleasure of helping start up Guardian Dentistry Partners which is a support organization mainly in about 12 or 13 states now. And now I'm at max helping support surgeons in the Northeast. Great.

[A]

Thank you so much. Great to hear about your extensive background here. First question here, what are some of the biggest issues that you're following in the dental industry this year?

[B]

Yeah, I think the issues are not a surprise to anybody. I think talent acquisition continues to be an issue. I think the other one is the general state of the consumer and the patients and their ability to take on the care that they need.

[A]

Okay, great. Has there been anything different that you've been doing at Max to help with talent acquisition this year?

[B]

Yeah, for sure. I think everybody is probably focusing on this and doing the same things. You have to build a really strong recruitment function and make sure that you have, you know, a culture at your company that's attractive because the, you know, I don't want to call it a war for talent, but there's definitely limited resources out there and they have to really buy into who you are as a company, what you stand for if they're going to join. And then the other thing is kind of on the flip side. If you make sure that your culture truly is solid, then you can hopefully have a better retention rate, which hopefully then will prevent your needing to recruit as much.

[A]

Yes, definitely. That makes a lot of sense. Also curious, what are you most excited about when it comes to dentistry right now? And is there anything that's making you nervous about the industry?

[B]

Yeah, I think honestly when you look at any of the surveys that have come out or any of the analytics in the industry, I think the patient counts haven't been quite as strong for general dentistry. And I think folks are working really hard to create a great Patient experience. So the patients feel comfortable coming in and accepting their care. And that challenge for the patients to be able to come in and get the care they need finds its way eventually even into some of the specialties as well. And you know, all of the strong DSOs that support dentists in the industry all really want the same thing, which is the patients to get the care that they need and to truly take care of their oral health. So you hate to see folks having to put off care. So that's probably something that's concerning and hopefully it will come back and the consumer will feel better about their status.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I know your company works closely with general dentists as well. Obviously oral surgery is a big referral based specialty as well. Have you spoken with any general dentists or any of your colleagues, Even in other DSOs about what has caused patients to put off care?

[B]

Yeah, I think it's probably part financial and it's also part anxiety generally when the world seems like it's a little bit of a scarier place. One of the things that unfortunately tends to drop to the bottom of the to do list is to make it to the dentist. Yeah, I think it's not for most people. It's not something that you look forward to. Some do, but most don't. Yeah, I just saw a good, I just saw a good stat too. And I think it was put out by the ADA that some still to this day, I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% or north of 50% of US adults haven't made it to the dentist in the past 12 months. So that's, that's a sign of the times.

[A]

Yeah, definitely. That makes a lot of sense. And was there anything that was exciting about the industry so far?

[B]

It's always exciting. I mean, helping, you know, at MAX right now, helping oral surgeons to unlock their real, true potential and to help them, support them in the right way with the right culture, preserve their identity while putting in really strong systems and support processes so they can do what they do best is always fun. And I know it's well appreciated when, you know, when surgeons partner with an organization, it's the right organization, it's the right partnership. You just watch them thrive. They do what they do best. They, they get a spring back in their step, they're rejuvenated, whatever expression you want to use. And we see that at max and it's. And it's fun. It makes you feel good that you're doing the right thing.

[A]

Yeah. Is there anything that you're looking ahead to as far as the oral surgery field. Any trends that you're following right now?

[B]

Yeah, of course. Technology. I think we're all looking at how we can use technology as an enabler for better performance. Whether it's in marketing or it's in operations. AI has found its way into almost every crack and crevice of the business now. So we look at that and we evaluate what's really going to help the surgeons to deliver the best patient experience. And those are the ones that make the list. Or if it's greater efficiencies for the surgeons, those make the list, too. So we, we take them on, we evaluate them, and we figure out what. What's really going to work, and then we pilot test it.

[A]

Great. Thank you for sharing that last question here. What will the most effective health care leaders need to be successful in the next two to three years?

[B]

Probably not different than what's helped them all along is an ability to listen and to understand the needs of their dentist, the needs of their surgeons. The surgeons, first of all, the patients are the ones who really are the singular most important person in all of this. Then it's the surgeons and the teams. Right. So the people who take care of the patients. So similarly, what are their needs? How can you help them? Because technology will always continue to evolve and it will continue to accelerate, too. But you have to be an organization that truly has your ear to the ground and truly makes sure that you have a purpose. And our purpose at MAX is. And everybody, every one of our support team members can quote it, it's to passionately support and serve our surgeons and teams and their delivery of the optimal patient experience each and every time. And if you, if you stick to that purpose and if you always make sure that your ear is to the ground and you always make sure that you are listening to what your surgeons need and the team members need, and you're working hard with all of your heart and soul to make that happen, to meet those needs. Then. Then generally, I think you'll be okay. So I don't think it's any different the next couple of years. What it takes to be a great leader in. In healthcare. Same formula.

[A]

Yes. Yeah. Well, that is all I have for you today. Mark, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure speaking with you and looking forward to connecting with you again in the future.

[B]

Yeah, my pleasure. Good to see you.

[A]

Good to see you. Thank you so much.

[B]

Bye. Bye.