In this podcast episode, our hosts dive into the distinctions between the medical and dental industries. As the discussion unfolds, Nate interviews Bob drawing on his experience in medicine as a hospital and surgical center CEO, highlighting the trajectory in which medical doctors have found themselves, where doctors have lost almost all control over their careers, primarily becoming indirect government employees working for large hospital systems. They sound an alarm on the risk that if DSO’s are successful in dental industry consolidation, dentistry will follow a similar path, leading to government-driven pricing, and dentists and dental specialists becoming mere cogs in a larger machine. They argue that this outcome is both self-induced and avoidable.

Through personal anecdotes, Bob and Nate underscore the long-term relationships dentists build with their patients and the potential repercussions of capitulating to larger corporate entities. As the episode draws to a close, they pose a poignant challenge to dentists: to ponder deeply on the significance of preserving the integrity, autonomy, and quality of the dental industry for the sake of its future. They encourage reflection on the consequences of dentistry following the path of medicine and the impact of such a devolution to future dentists, their teams, and patients.