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Specialty Integration in Style OrthoDent Management implements orthodontics into its practices.
: BY DANIEL BEAIRD
Integrating specialties in DSOs is a hot topic. Everyone’s schedules are busy, and people enjoy modern conveniences. “They want a one-stop shop,” said Dr. Tarek Aly, COO of OrthoDent Management, a DSO based in Austin, Texas. “It’s a natural progression to have different types of services in a DSO.” OrthoDent was founded by pediatric dentists, Drs. Kyle Raymond and Nieku Manshadi, in 2012 on the basis of delivering superior dental care to rural and suburban communities with limited access to high-quality care. When orthodontics was added to its mix, Dr. Dustin Roden-Johnson, an orthodontist from Austin, provided specialty leadership as CFO and clinical director of operations and Dr. Aly led the team’s administrative and management mettle to maintain consistency and quality assurance throughout the DSO. OrthoDent is ingrained in its local communities, giving it a sense of identity rather than a corporate feel and allowing each practice to maintain its own character.
“If patients already love your practice, you are their comfort zone,” Dr. Aly said. “They’re used to everyone at the front desk and to their dentist. Why not continue that service instead of making another appointment at a different place? The team’s already there. You’re giving away all of this potential service to someone else and you can do it in house. Maximize the real estate and the skills of your team.” OrthoDent’s specialty is pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. “Orthodontics is an unusual beast relative to most other specialties,” Dr. Roden-Johnson said. “A mistake often made is trying to put orthodontics into a practice with the same tools used for other specialties. But it isn’t like the rest.” Orthodontics is contractually based and built through long-term relationships with patients. “Most of what we do in dentistry is transactional,” Dr. Roden-Johnson said. “But in orthodontics, there’s a higher level of commitment. If you open an ortho practice within your facility, you must be committed to it for years. It’s a train and it has a lot of momentum, and once that momentum’s going it’s hard to shut it off.”
It takes a village “It takes a village to get an orthodontic patient to start because there’s a high level of commitment on the team's part to deliver this
54 MAY/JUNE 2022 • DENTIST ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZATION
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