Free Dentistry and Corporate Dentistry

The Proliferation of Corporate Owned Dental Practices

I am lucky to own my dental building and office. The dentist owning the dental office is becoming a rarity these days. The trend in dentistry is that dental offices are owned by Corporations. Recently, I got a flyer from a Corporate owned dental chain. They have a location not too far from my office.

Some highlights of the recruitment flyer:

• We have more than 70 offices throughout Texas and Oklahoma
• You’ll earn more with our high patient flow, focus on comprehensive care, and bonuses
• We have the highest patient flow in the industry
• We offer commission when you hit crucial metrics

I have had numerous patients come to me from this nearby Corporate Dental Office. All of the patient-reported they were made to wait for long times and saw different dentists each time. Some brought their treatment plans. Almost always when a patient comes in with a Corporate Treatment Plan or proposed work, the plan is bloated and numerous unnecessary work is proposed. Furthermore, we see so much Bad Dentistry being done at Corporate Dental Offices.

Now to translate the above recruitment flyer highlights:

• We are a huge Corporation that needs to make tremendous profits for Corporate shareholders and CEOs.
• You will get bonuses for selling more dentistry.
• We take every insurance plan out there to get high patient flow. We have huge turnover of patients and need high patient flow.
• You have quotas that need to be achieved.

My office takes any insurance where you get to choose the dentist that is best for you. My office can’t be in-network with insurances as the reimbursement would not even cover my expenses. For example, some in-network insurances will pay 30 to 40 dollars for a routine dental cleaning. I pay my Hygienists more per hour than what these in-network dental insurances pay out. If I was to take in-network insurance your dental cleanings would be 20 minutes long. We would have to increase the volume tremendously to make up for the poor reimbursement. Do you think you will get a better teeth cleaning in 20 minutes our an hour? My office schedules an hour for normal teeth cleaning. Quality work takes time.

Furthermore, Corporate Dental Offices take every dental insurance available taking deep discounts from the insurance companies. These deep discounts have to be made up somewhere, usually in overtreatment of the patient. The Corporate Dental Office needs the high new patient influx because the long-term care patients receive is very questionable. Patients leave the Corporate Dental Offices when they get frustrated with their dental care.  This is why Corporate Dental Offices usually advertise FREE Exams and X-rays because they need a constant influx of patients.

Corporate Dental Offices incentivize over-treatment by paying their doctors on commissions. Therefore, Corporate Doctors earn more when they recommend more (and often unnecessary) dental treatment. At my office, everyone is on an hourly rate. Therefore, it does not matter what treatment is being performed as the Doctor or Hygienist is paid by the hour.  We don’t have office monthly quotas or bonuses when financial metrics are met.

We believe in the Golden Rule, treat others like you would want to be treated. Our office has generations of family members. Be honest, do good work and always have the patients dental health as the number one factor.

When looking for a new dental office ask your family and friends who they use? Ask if they are happy with their dental office. Ask if the office is a privately owned dental office or Corporate owned. Will you see the same dentist each time?

I invite you to see why my dental office has been a leader in dental care for Pasadena, TX, and the surrounding area.