Why cost-cutting isn’t cutting it anymore for dental practices
By Cameron Cortigiano
Originally at beckersdental.com
Summary & scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol (Drill-Down Score) — not the original publisher.
Why it matters for dental
Dental practices facing reimbursement growth of 19% versus 27% inflation since 2021 must shift from cost-cutting to workforce flexibility; owners and DSOs risk margin erosion and care-access limits if they cannot adapt staffing models to maintain productivity.
Key points
- Manu Chaudhry's Capitol Dental Care network doubled utilization since 2020 by using expanded-practice hygienists and dental therapists after Oregon legislation allowed interim therapeutic restorations and created a dental therapy training program.
- A pilot at a Southern Oregon community health center trained dental assistants to administer injections, increasing daily patient volume by two per provider.
- Anna Pelak's TotalDentistry uses cross-training, staggered scheduling, AI-assisted radiograph reading, and in-house labs to reallocate staff time and reduce external lab costs.
- Massachusetts and Idaho are considering capping or eliminating adult Medicaid dental benefits due to federal budget pressures from H.R. 1, which could shrink payer mix for practices serving those populations.
Who should care
Read the original on Becker's Dental + DSO Review
Full reporting and any paywall content live on beckersdental.com. We summarize and score; we do not republish.
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