Why Technology Will Redefine Modern Dentistry with Barry Lyon

Oral health is finally being recognized as part of whole person care and at the same time, digital tools in AI are reshaping how practices prevent disease, engage patients, and grow. DSO is expanding, independent practices are proving their staying power and investment is accelerating across the sector. Dentile leadership has never been more complicated or more consequential. Eccrace 5th annual future of dentistry roundtable brings together more than 250 executive level attendees and 90 plus speakers. For two days of sessions in Chicago, all build to help leaders benchmark their priorities, stress test their strategies, and walk away with a clearer picture of where this industry is heading and how to position for it. Join us September 14th and 15th in Chicago. Register on our events page at www.beckerstentil.com by clicking on the events tab. Hello, this is Ariana Portellata and with the Becker's Dentile and DSO Review Podcast. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr. Barry Lyon, the director of Provider Recruiting and on-boarding at Dental Care Alliance. Dr. Lyon, thank you so much for being here today. It's a pleasure to have you. Hi, Ariana. Nice to meet you again and thanks for inviting me to your podcast. Yes, of course. It's great to have you on again. To start us off, can you introduce yourself to our listeners and tell us a little bit about your background? Sure. I'm happy to. I am a pediatric dentist. I received my DDS degree and my certificate in pediatric dentistry from the University of Maryland. I practiced in a suburb of Baltimore. I taught for nine years at the University of Maryland in Postgrad Pediatric Dentistry. I also served two terms on the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiner's. I was elected Secretary Treasurer twice and served one year as president of the board. In 2017, I was a registered lobbyist for the Association of Dental Support Organizations. But in 2010, I affiliated my practice with dental care alliance. I've had a number of different roles with the CA. I've been general director, chief dental officer, chief clinical auditor, and currently, I'm a director, provider of recruiting and onboarding, as you said. And as you know, I'm a weekly contributor to Becker. So again, I'm happy to be here. Yes, of course. All right. We're looking forward to getting into this conversation. So first question for you. What are the biggest issues that you're following in dentistry today? Well, you know, it's often said, Ariana, that we live in interesting times. And I think that's very true for dentistry today. I believe there's no shortage of issues. First, it is my concern over the rising operating costs of dental practices, whether you're an independent owner or the COO of a DSO. We currently have an annual inflation rate in the US of 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending in May. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there's that's a 0.5 increase from the previous month. Tariffs have raised operating costs. It's a great deal of dental equipment and supplies, not from outside the United States. On top of that, there are increased costs for construction materials, affecting building new dental offices, and expanding existing locations. Dental care is compressing margins because reimbursement rates don't rise as quickly as expenses. Another issue facing dentistry today is access to care and to affect on public health. You know, millions of Americans still lack dental care. And rural and underserved urban communities are facing provider shortages. Making matters worse is the fact that Medicaid reimbursement doesn't cover practice costs, which means there are fewer providers for those in most of care. For DSOs, recruiting and retaining new dentists continues to be a challenge. There's so much competition for hiring dentists today, and it's clearly a seller's market. According to the ADA, there are about 2,000 DSOs today. Versus about 100 when I first became dental director for dental care alliance in 2010. At that time, recruiting was relatively easy. Today, recruiting teams have to employ increased sophisticated methods to hire candidates and fellow openings. And finally, the big beautiful bill signed by Trump almost exactly a year ago is going to affect the ability of DSOs to sponsor foreign dentists. Work for a shortage should occur because of the new tighter immigration policies. It will also affect the ability to obtain student loans, and it's going to increase the financial burden young dentists have. As a result, DSOs are going to need to be creative when offering compensation. They're going to need to offer higher salaries. They're going to need to provide loan repayment assistance, and they're going to need to include signing bonuses. Also making ownership opportunities more attractive if they want to attract and retain candidates. Okay. Interesting thoughts from you there. What are you most excited about when it comes to dentistry right now and what makes you nervous? Well, let's talk about what makes me excited first. I'm very excited about how technology is going to be impacting dentistry. There was a time not that long ago when dentists were trained for four years to repair damage. They received very little education on preventing damage. In dental school, there was a lot of, this is how you repair a problem and very little of this is how you prevent the problem. So it was no wonder that dentists were called molar mechanics. Dying no single dental care he said the time was based on looking at a one and a quarter inch by one and five eighth inch piece of polyethylene while holding up to a light. Today we have artificial intelligence to do that in much more. In my mind, AI has been absolutely revolutionary. It's increased diagnostic accuracy. It's provided more appropriate care. It's streamlined dental workflow and it's made case presentation much, much more effective. But AI is not the only advancement waiting for dentists. We're soon going to see robotics makes their way into the hands of dentists and not only with robotics aid and implant placement, but in endoprocedures, automated tooth preparation, orthodontic wire bending and surgical guidance, wall benefit for robotics. As printable ceramics and stronger resins become are developed, same day restorations are going to be the rule and not the exception. We will also see regenerative dentistry moving dental practice more into the realm of medical practice rather than replacing disease tissues dentists are going to be able to regenerate it using stem cells, so excuse me stem cells growth factors tissue engineering, bio printing and gene based therapies with dentists using salivary diagnostics. Dentists are going to be able to test for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and changes in the oral microbiome. This is just a small sampling technology is going to absolutely transform the practice of dentistry and take it clearly to another level than where it is today. But let's talk about what makes me nervous and I don't want this to be overly political area, but the current administration of Washington has negatively impacted dentistry and oral health care more than any other administration. Now let's begin with the double whammy of removing fluoride from the community water supplies while also cutting Medicaid funding. The potential impact of this on public health is going to be measurable. While it's not surprising that a Republican administration is going to cut wealth or spending, the removal of an effective and safe means to control tooth decay justifies logic when according to the CDC tooth decay affects nearly everyone in the United States. Over 90% of adults aged 24 to 64 have had tooth decay. About 26% of adults live with untreated decay. This equals 50 million Americans. By age 17, about 78% of teens have had at least one cavity. And to me, as a pediatric dentist, what's even more appalling is approximately 46% of all American children aged 2 to 19 have tooth decay. And that makes it the most common chronic childhood disease in the United States. It's distressing to think that children today, especially those in underserved areas, are going to have a lifetime of oral health problems, especially those in underserved areas. On top of that, they're going to struggle to obtain care if funding is cut and fluoride is removed. So I see this as a public health nightmare, quite honestly, in the making. As dentists, work participants in public health. And we've been tasked for making life better for people. But what we're facing is losing the ability to do that based on species decisions made by those without any health care experiments. So clearly, that is what makes me nervous today. Okay. And what will the most effective dental leaders need to be successful in the next 2 to 3 years? Well, I think in the next 2 to 3 years, we'll likely reward dental health care leaders who can balance clinical excellence with technology adoption, workforce stability, financial discipline, and organizational culture. I think it's also critical that leaders adapt to the generational changes that are occurring within their patient base. You know, as generation X is currently replacing baby boomers and millennials are replacing them, health care has got to adapt to their ways of thinking and their standards in order to attract and retain the patients. You know, their consumer experience. has to align with what their expectations are, offering digital scheduling, online payments, transparent pricing, and personal communication, we'll go a long way to meeting those expectations. Recruiting and retaining dentists will be crucial to their success in the next two or three years. Just as adapting to the generational needs of patients, DSOs need to adapt to the generational needs of their candidates, providing mentorship, offering support, and allowing for a work like that was a critical. Once hired, successful leaders are going to have to create career pathways, we're going to have to reduce burnout, and achieve, having doctors working with you, and not just for you. One thing that I do think is critical is understanding and appreciating the unique dynamics of a dental office. DSO leaders are very bright. They're very well educated, and they have that charisma that's made them leaders and move them to the top. But most of them have never worked an hour in a dental office. I think it would be who have a successful leader to really get in there in no firsthand how a dental office thinks eats in breath. All right. What dental specialty today is getting the most attention right now? Well, this is an easy one for me. I think it's pediatric dentistry, clearly, for a lot of different reasons. From the DSO perspective, pediatric dental practices are attractive. The operating cost of operating a pediatric practice is less than a general practice with much lower lab costs, less expensive technology, and a less expensive selection of various restorative materials. If there's an orthodontist in the office, which they really should be, then lab costs are going to increase, but they're going to be offset by your orthodontist. A strong hygiene program is the heartbeat of a pediatric practice, and it's a consistent and predictable source of revenue. A busy and a culturally sound pediatric practice builds the foundation of multi-generational patient relationships, which eventually finds its way into DSO's general practice. Combining pediatric dentistry, orthodontist, and oral surgery creates a firm foundation for continuing revenue stream. One of the biggest reasons new dental graduates are gravitating towards pediatric dentistry is that it offers personal fulfillment, a unique combination of purpose, opportunity, and career stability. Many dental students discovered during dental school that they generally enjoy working with children. And such is the idea. I mean, that's why I went into pediatric dentistry, that in hitting working on dentures. But that's another story. But building long-term relationships with families is really a hallmark of being a pediatric dentist. Pediatric dentistry is also highly preventive, allows dentists to make lasting impact, a lasting impact on a child's oral health from an early age. This specially continues to expand, experience strong demand. The many communities facing shortage of pediatric dentists. That translates into excellent job security, competitive compensation, and a wide range of career options, whether it's in private practice, in a hospital, academic setting, or with a dental sport organization. Today's graduates also place a greater value on mentorship, work-life balance, and practicing in environments where they can focus on patient care rather than running a business. In pediatric dentistry and pediatric dentistry in a DSO, checks many of those boxes. In a residency, it's provide advanced training, and behavior management, sedation, trauma care, and treating children with special healthcare needs. This gives new specialists a high level of confidence when they enter practice. At the same time, pediatric focused DSOs and multi-specialty organizations have expanded significantly, offering structured mentorship, modern technology, reduced administrative responsibilities for pediatric dentists. For new dentists, pediatric dentistry represents a chance to really build a meaningful, financially rewarding career while making a positive difference in children's lives. There aren't that many careers out there where you really have the opportunity to make an impact on the life of a child and medicine, teaching, that sort of thing. You have to include pediatric dentistry in that. The great point. Speaking of dental grads, what are some of the challenges facing new graduates today? Well, you know, I read on a dental school as a long four-year journey, and it requires hard work, learning totally new concepts, and being especially skilled at time management. No wonder finally obtaining that degree is so satisfying. However, the learning isn't over. There are totally new challenges to face, and the expectations of what practicing dentistry must be like, must be like, are not often met. There's a saying recent grads don't know what they don't know. Practicing dentistry is not easy for seasoned practitioners, and for new dentists, it can be daunting. Perhaps the most important decision a new grad makes is selecting the first job, and that could be a make-it-or-break-and-decision. Beginning a career in the wrong office is at the very least discouraging, while landing in the right place, that's really a tremendous advantage. I think the greatest benefit to the newly hired dentist is being mentored by a successful seasoned practitioner, who can take what the new dentist learned in that artificial environment of dental school, and show how to make it work in real life. There's more to practicing dentistry than repairing replacing teeth, learning to work with an assistant, understanding the needs of the patient, developing the correct treatment plan, and avoiding cases beyond their experience level is really what practicing dentistry really is. Success, both professional financial, is readily achievable by just simply providing the patient with what they need without the specter of education loans, education loans repayments influencing their decisions. And I want to touch on leadership a little bit more since you mentioned that earlier. How do you define leadership in dentistry, and why is it so important? Well, you know, there's got to be a dozen different definitions of what leadership is. You know, some are very vague and some are right to the point. So for the sake of our discussion, let's define leadership as the ability to positively influence those around you, to align for establishing common goals, furthering the purpose of an organization, and achieving the respect of those you're managing. In a dental office, that definition narrows a bit. You know, we automatically think of the dentist as the leader, but it could be anyone in the office. So now let's define a leader in the context of a dental office as anyone in the office with expertise, the ability to motivate, conduct themselves ethically, and has the ability to enhance patient care. The successful dental office likely has multiple leaders. You know, the front desk manager, at least by example, and develops a cohesive team. A hygienist exhibits leadership qualities with their patients and motivates them towards better oral health. A dental assistant demonstrates the qualities of leadership to outline the other assistants to properly support the care the other dentists provide. So clearly, leadership promotes a positive office culture, and it's an atmosphere of success easily recognized by patients. The absence of leadership in a dental office is costly. Patient dissatisfaction, financial stagnation, lack of accountability, and employee turnover, all signs that office is lacking leaders. The more moving parts there are in an organization, the steeper that climb to establish leadership. You know, a DSO leadership is critical, and it's often affected by variables and influence out of anyone's control. Nevertheless, every aspect and every level of a DSO is going to suffer without effective leaders. And although it's on a larger scale than a private dental office, the qualities of a leader in DSO are the same as those in a private practice. You know, quite simply, I think this strong leader is a role model, and someone who sets an example for others so that all can enjoy success. Okay. And I'm very interested to know your answer to this next question. If you were to blow off the candles and make a wish for dentistry, what would it be? I'd like to see an end to the politicalization of healthcare. You know, healthcare should be professionally managed in a way that promotes better quality of life and well-being for everyone. But it's based on science, research, and evidence. And it's not based on unfounded scare tactics, political opposition, or about unproven fears. The politicalization of healthcare has affected how dentists are able to care for their patients. You know, stop the politicalization and let us do our jobs. Let us do what we were trained to do. All right. Well, that is all I have for you today, Dr. Lyon. This was such a great conversation. So thank you so much for joining us again on our podcast. I've been a real pleasure speaking with you and looking forward to connecting with you again in the future as always. You're very welcome. I really enjoy this so coming any time.