The growth of itinerant dental specialists

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The Growth of Itinerant Dental Specialists Itinerant dental specialists are growing in numbers and popularity. Due to dentists’ declining income and patients’ increased demand for special dental services, these specialists are in high demand. Still, many dentists are reluctant to work with an itinerant dental specialist. They have questions about how it works, or are not sure if it is right for their practice. In this article, we will talk about what an itinerant dental specialist does and how they can help your business.

What is an Itinerant Dental Specialist? An itinerant dental specialist travels to other dentists’ offices to perform services. Itinerant dental specialists may rotate between several different dentists’ offices on a weekly or monthly basis, or they may be contracted on an as-needed basis. This differs from the traditional model, where dentists refer patients out to specialists. A wide variety of specialists choose to travel—periodontists, endodontists, and oral surgeons can all be itinerant dental specialists. They perform services such as dental implants, extractions, or root canals, all in the offices of a general dentist.

Itinerant Dental Specialists vs. the Traditional Referral Model How does using an itinerant dental specialist compare to the traditional model of referring patients out? There are several advantages to working with a travelling specialist. First, general dentists lose money when they refer patients out. Each year, dentists refer out billions of dollars’ worth of services to specialists. By using an itinerant dental specialist, these services are kept in office. The dentist now controls the billing and contracts with the local traveling specialist to perform the treatment services. The dentist and specialist will agree on a treatment sharing percentage which typically includes sharing the costs associated with performing the treatment. Without an itinerant dental specialist, dentists may feel that the only way to keep their clients in house is to hire a full-time specialist. This can leave already struggling dentists paying another salary. Other dentists have chosen to perform minor procedures themselves, such as extractions. While this may work financially, it means patients are not receiving the high-quality services they would get from a dedicated specialist. The assumption of treatment liability becomes a major hurdle for private practice dentists who feel compelled to perform specialty dental services. When case treatment becomes compromised such as when there is a catastrophic failure of an implant, the cost and complications of remediating these cases rises substantially. It is simply a matter of numbers. Private practice dentists typically do not see enough cases in a month or year to provide the patient with the necessary care and experience when cases become unexpectedly challenged. An oral surgeon, on the other hand, will often see 10-50 times more implant cases in a month then the average individual dentist. In addition, the ongoing education that an oral surgeon goes through every year is utterly dedicated to these types of specialty treatments whereas a general dentist may have different educational and training priorities.


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The growth of itinerant dental specialists by williamwiggins - Issuu