DenMat Partners with Burkhart Dental Supply

The dental products manufacturer DenMat has announced a partnership with Burkhart Dental Supply.

This partnership will allow practices in the United States are now eligible to purchase an OrthoClear starter kit from a Burkhart Account Manager at a reduced rate. This starter kit includes a patient demonstration model, patient education materials, and a voucher to cover the cost of a basic OrthoClear case.

CEO of DenMat David Casper said that this will allow for an expansion on affordable clear aligners.

“OrthoClear Aligners represent a high-quality, affordable clear aligner solution for clinicians throughout North America,” Casper said in a press release from the company. “Burkhart’s commitment to excellent customer service makes them an ideal partner to expand our reach and help more dentists expand their services in this high-growth area of dentistry.”

Burkhart Dental Supply provides a variety of services for dental practices. This partnership with DenMat further solidifies its strength as a Dental Supply service, according to the press release.

Articles

DenMat will partner with Burkhart Dental Supply to provide various goods and services to the market. 

Park Dental Research Announces Acquisition of Orchestrate 3D

Park Dental Research has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Orchestrate, a 3D printing company that manufactures orthodontic software.

As clear aligners and dental implants become standard care in treating patients, Park Dental and Orchestrate have teamed up to offer best orthodontic treatment outcomes for patients. Known for its orthodontic treatment and planning software, Orchestrate will now act underneath Park Dental’s umbrella of solutions. President and CEO of Park Dental Ronald Bulard says that this acquisition will expand Park Dental’s ability to serve.

"Our combined digital products and expertise will enable a digital vertical integration approach with more options than ever, including Park Dental 3D printers and software, Orchestrate 3D tooth movement and treatment planning software, and Park Dental Implants and 3D surgical guide solutions to the digital workflow," Bulard said in a press release from the company. "Together, we will have an end-to-end digital solution, making the process easier, faster and better for dentists everywhere.In addition, allowing for the most competitive pricing and quality in the clear orthodontic OEM manufacturing space in North America."

Park Dental will utilize its worldwide network to manufacture and market 3D solutions from Orchestrate in the hopes that these dental and orthodontic services can be used to improve oral health.

This acquisition will make implant and orthodontic solutions easier and more efficient for dentists across North America. 

Kellie Nock is the assistant editor for Dental Products Report. She graduated from Kent State University in 2018 with a Bachelor's in Journalism. Kellie enjoys multimedia content creation with a focus on audio and video storytelling. 

5 Ways that COVID-19 Has Changed the Future of Dentistry

Slideshows

We take a look at some of the ways that the future of dentistry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Straumann Group Partners with Aspen Dental

Orthodontics solutions company Straumann Group has announced its partnership with Aspen Dental Management. This partnership was created to provide implant abutments, CAD/CAM options, and solutions to a variety of office across the United States, according to a press release from the Straumann Group.

Aspen Dental is a branded network of dental offices across 45 states. Aspen Dental aligned practices will now be able to utilize Straumann Group’s implant solutions as well as clinical training, educational material for patients, and market support. As part of Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers can provide leadership expertise in dental restorations.

Chairman and CEO of Aspen Dental Bob Fontana said that dental implant’s increasing importance in dentistry led to this partnership.

"Together with the dentists whose practices we support, we are excited to enter a strategic partnership that will significantly expand access to cutting-edge dental products, integrated digital workflows, as well as comprehensive education programs and value-added services," Fontana said in the press release. "At a time when dental implants are playing an increasingly important role in dentistry, partnering with Straumann Group will not only be instrumental in achieving our long-term strategic objectives, but also benefit the patients who turn to Aspen Dental and ClearChoice for their dental care needs."

This partnership of 2 industry leaders will allow patients across the country to have a wider range of implant solutions and education.

This partnership aims to make implant solutions available to a wider variety of patients across Aspen Dental and ClearChoice practices. 

Straumann Group Partners with Aspen Dental 

Dental job board, DentalPost has announced a new featured called SmartView. It is said to be a screening feature that will allow dental employers choose from a larger candidate group by way of reducing personal bias in early screening.

Personal biases such as appearance, age, ethnicity, or gender are initially hidden in the early evaluation stages and training. As hiring managers may have unconscious biases or personal preferences, with SmartView they can instead focus on important qualities that will bolster the practice, according to a press release from DentalPost. After the process is complete, the employer can then unveil the profile to see names and photos.

Tonya Lanthier, RDH, and DentalPost founder and CEO, said it was important to make things fair, something that they are sure SmartView can assist in.

“DentalPost has long been trusted and recognized as the first and biggest dental job board, focusing exclusively on the hiring and career needs of dental professionals,” Lanthier said in the press release. “We strive to also be the most fair job board, helping level the playing field for job seekers while positioning dental practices and dental service organizations to thrive by changing old ways of thinking and hiring that may not serve them anymore. With SmartView, we’re helping hiring managers get out of their own way in order to find the best matches for their practice and their team.”

This platform comes after continuous DentalPost industry surveys that indicated the lack of diversity on dental teams, particularly in areas such as age, gender, and race. Evaluation insights will help connect employer to job seeker in an inclusive and diverse fashion.

SmartView from DentalPost will help employers find the best candidate for the job by putting biases aside. 

DentalPost Launches SmartView Feature

Imagen Dental Partners Announces Premium Sponsorship of Dentsply Sirona World.

Imagen Dental Partners announced their premium sponsorship of Dentsply Sirona World 2021. In this sponsorship, Imagen will debut its Dental Partnership Organization (DPO) at the upcoming event.

 is a group of dental practices across 9 states that is focused on providing business and educational support to dentists. There is a particular emphasis on providing support for independent dentists, particularly in areas of creating long-term, sustainable growth.

Dentists that have partnered with Imagen are able to maintain personal growth and providing education and experienced insight for the other dentists in the community. The CEO at Imagen Rezwan Manji said in a press release that Imagen can help independent dentists get on their feet.

“Every independent dentist will need a strategy to survive and thrive in a very rapidly consolidating dental industry,” Manji said in the press release. “We are delighted to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of our launch, having entered nine states In the past year and partnering with some of dentistry's very best, and we can't wait to share the opportunity our DPO provides to thousands of more practices at Dentsply Sirona World 2021.”

Imagen Dental Partners is the official sponsor of the closing party at Dentsply Sirona World 2021, as well as having 12 speakers at the event. DS World 2021 takes place September 23-25, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Imagen Dental Partners will sponsor Dentsply Sirona World 2021 to debut its Dental Partnership Organization. 

Imagen Dental Partners Announces Premium Sponsorship of Dentsply Sirona World

Two of the larger manufacturers of dental equipment and instruments look ready to join forces with news this week of Planmeca Oy’s plans to acquire the KaVo Treatment Unit & Instrument business from Envista Holdings Corporation.

The acquisition will complement Planmeca’s extensive product portfolio and enhance the growth and competitiveness of both companies, allowing them to offer the best possible modern digital workflow to dental professionals around the world.

KaVo Treatment Unit and Instruments is a renowned manufacturer and supplier of dental care units and instruments with a strong worldwide brand presence. The company’s treatment units include dental chairs, dental units and dentist stools featuring beautiful lines, patient comfort, and simple operation. Designed to provide everything you need to perform any procedure—all in 1 solution. KaVo’s new generation of treatment units are packed with smart, innovative features to boost productivity and deliver a state-of-the-art platform for technology integration.

Both companies will continue to operate as independent businesses, while future synergies will be sought in products, technology innovations and distribution network, according to a press release from Planmeca Oy on Sept. 7.

“This partnership will make us a very strong player in the dental field. I believe our companies are a great match–we share the same standards and passion for high technology, quality and innovation, and for offering a complete digital workflow for our customers. We also share similar company cultures with a strong family business heritage. Caring for our employees and focusing on our customers have always been important values for us both,” says Heikki Kyöstilä

 the owner, founder and CEO of Planmeca Group.

“We have always had great admiration for KaVo as a premium brand. This partnership will allow us to provide exceptional value to both our customers and distributors. Our mission is to become the world’s leading provider of digital dental solutions,” states Tuomas Lokki, senior vice president of Planmeca Group.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of 2021. A 51 percent stake of the KaVo Treatment Unit and Instrument business will be acquired by Planmeca Oy, and the remaining 49 percent by Heikki Kyöstilä as a private individual. After acquisition completion, Planmeca Group will employ a total of 4,500 people worldwide.

Established in 1971, Planmeca Oy is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The acquisition will strengthen Planmeca’s and KaVo’s positions as leading providers of innovative dental solutions and increase Planmeca Group’s annual revenue to more than EUR 1,1 billion, or about $1.3 billion. 

Planmeca Oy Planning to Acquire KaVo Treatment Unit and Instrument Business

Since its introduction 2 decades ago, each generation of ProTaper from Dentsply Sirona has stood for a trusted, reliable and predictable preparation method that enables excellent clinical outcomes for patients worldwide. The company now is introducing its latest endodontic system, the ProTaper Ultimate.

With advances in endodontic treatment, dentists enable patients to keep their natural teeth for many years—ideally for a lifetime. This makes it even more important to have a complete set of products that can help ensure treatment success from root canal treatment to restoration.

With ProTaper Ultimate, the company is now introducing a technologically driven fourth generation system. The treatment concept is based on 3 pillars: shaping, 3D cleaning, and filling root canal systems. The standard sequence of the shaping pillar includes 3 file types; namely, slider, shaper and finishers. These feature specific files are designed to safely prepare a full range of endodontic anatomy. Novel auxiliary files are available for larger and straighter canals and all files are available to prepare canals mechanically and/or manually.

The ProTaper Ultimate Solution offers extensive options: The cleaning pillar is focused on eliminating pulp, bacteria, debris, and breaking down products, when present. To facilitate cleaning, a highly flexible, polymer canula with a bifid apical flow channel can safely deliver irrigant deep into the apical portion of the preparation. With a fluid-filled canal, a reagent of the clinician’s choice can be exchanged into both the instrumentable and uninstrumentable portion of the root canal space, utilizing the novel SmartLite Pro EndoActivator, which will be launched in the coming months, according to Dentsply Sirona.

The SmartLite Pro platform offers 3 attachments; namely, the SmartLite Pro curing light, the transilluminator, and the EndoActivator. Finally, the obturation pillar will enable dentists to successfully fill and seal the root canal system thanks to predictable shaping and cleaning. The ProTaper Ultimate Solution also includes dedicated gutta-percha master cones based on the unique Conform Fit concept and technology. Jointly used with a Conform Fit gutta-percha master cone, the new AH Plus

Bioceramic Sealer will help ensure filling root canal systems where the sealer bonds to the cleaned dentin walls to ensure healing.

“From its inception so many years ago, our thinking has always been continuous improvement,” says Santa Barbara, California endodontist Clifford Ruddle, one of the inventors of ProTaper Ultimate. “ProTaper Ultimate has been designed to provide confidence and predictability for the clinician and patient alike. This comprehensive file system balances safety and efficiency when preparing canals that range from easy and straightforward, to large and open, or that exhibit challenging curvatures and recurvatures.”

“In endodontics, the files themselves have primarily set the agenda in the past,” explains Greg Sheehan, Vice President Global Endodontics Procedure at Dentsply Sirona. “With the ProTaper Ultimate Solution, we are now focusing more on the entire treatment process, in which all steps and details are precisely coordinated with each other. This simplifies the treatment itself, saves time and gives the user certainty that each procedural step will be implemented successfully.”

ProTaper Ultimate, Conform Fit master cones, and AH Plus Bioceramic Sealer are available beginning September 2021 in the United States and following in other countries as per local registration time.

Clinical education is paramount to empowering dental professionals to provide the best possible care to their patients, and the company’s extended program will combine product demonstrations and experiences from experts from all over the world. Dentsply Sirona World 2021, later this month in Las Vegas, offers engaging and dynamic speakers, educational sessions, networking opportunities, health and wellness sessions and educational webinars and more.

As a complete solution, the ProTaper Ultimate Solution comes with files, absorbent points, Conform Fit gutta-percha master cones, and is jointly launched with a next generation sealer, the AH Plus Bioceramic Sealer.

ProTaper Ultimate is the Latest Endo Solution Offered by Dentsply Sirona

Dental Products Report Teams Up with Greater New York Dental Meeting. 

(DPR) has announced a partnership with the Greater New York Dental Meeting taking place November 28, 2021-December 1, 2021. The Greater New York Dental Meeting will host a product showcase to show off and demonstrate the types of cutting-edge innovations that are often the subject of Dental Product Report’s online and print content.

This event will provide educational opportunities ranging from half- and full-day seminars, workshops, and live product demonstrations for dental professionals. The meeting will also feature the World Implant Expo, the Annual Global Orthodontic Conference, a 3D printing conference, an Oral Health Symposium a Pediatric Summit, the Women’s Program, and Dental Laboratory Education.

Vice President of Healthcare at MJH Life Sciences

, Eric Temple-Morris said that this was an opportunity professionals will not want to miss out on.

"In partnership with Greater New York Dental Meeting, this event is an amazing opportunity to display the numerous educational offerings of the product showcase theater," Temple-Morris said in a press release. "We urge all interested vendors to take advantage of this incredible chance to demonstrate their talent while simultaneously learning from some of the top professionals in the dentistry industry."

DPR will lead 8 demonstrations sessions with continuing education credit on each day of the meeting, available on a first come first-served basis. Preregistration is free and available now.

Dental Products Report Teams Up with Greater New York Dental Meeting 

Robert Elsenpeter is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Dental Products Report and Dental Lab Products. He is also the author of 18 technology books, including the award-winning Green IT: Reduce Your Information System's Environmental Impact While Adding to the Bottom Line. As such, he’s particularly interested in the technological side of dentistry.

Chill Out: Managing Infection Control in the Heat. Photo courtesy of Framestock / stock.adobe.com

Last week, my wife was getting ready for a dental appointment, and she said, “It’s hot outside, but I’m going to bring a sweatshirt, because they always keep it so cold.”

“There’s a good reason for that,” Karen Daw, “The OSHA Lady”, speaker and consultant, later told me. “Team members wear so much personal protective equipment (PPE) that they have to keep the air conditioning turned up to keep themselves comfortable.”

In the summer months, practices must contend with several environmental challenges – including heat, humidity, and air quality – to keep themselves comfortable and their patients safe.

Finding the temperature that’s right for everyone – clinical staff, front desk staff, and patients – can be somewhat of a juggling act.

“What can we do to make the clinical team comfortable,” Daw says. “And 1 of the first things I like to suggest is, can we make it cooler in the office, in general? And then I get team members saying, ‘But, the doctor doesn’t want it too cool, because the patients complain. What can we do to resolve that?’ Why don’t we manage expectations? What if, during the text, email or phone confirmation, we let our patients know, ‘Hi, Mr. Smith, we’re looking forward to having you back in our office for your dental cleaning, and by the way, we’re following the high standards of safety in our practice for your benefit and the benefit of our team members. As a result, you may notice it a little bit cooler in our practice than you’re used to. So, we’re recommending to just bring a light jacket for your appointment.’ What if we did that? And then we could make everyone happy and we’re managing those expectations ahead of time.”

PPE exists to keep everyone safe, but that equipment can become uncomfortable and potentially hazardous to use in warmer temperatures.

“If your goggles are fogging up when you’re wearing a mask, it means that your exhalation air is escaping. Be sure to crimp the nose band of your mask securely” infection control consultant and speaker Leslie Canham, CDA, RDA, says. “I know, for myself, if my N95 respirator is not sealed properly around my nose, when I exhale, my regular glasses fog up. This means that my PPE doesn’t fit well.

“Many times,” she continues, “we have 3 people in a treatment room – the dentist, an assistant, and the patient – and they’re all in close proximity to one another. In addition, an overhead light may give off a little heat, as well.”

PPE does not need be stifling. Team members can still wear appropriate PPE with an element of comfort in mind.

“You can wear blue jeans and a t-shirt for all OSHA is concerned,” Daw says. “It doesn’t matter, because you’re putting on PPE over them once you get into the workplace. That PPE cannot leave the workplace. So, what can you wear underneath it? Do you 

 to wear scrubs underneath it? I know of dental offices that have gone with the scrub pants, but as far as the top goes, they switched to wicking runner tops, for example – something that kind of wicks away moisture from the body and helps to regulate your temperature a little bit more, so that it is a little bit more comfortable underneath that gown and other PPE. It doesn’t matter what you have on underneath that, as long as your PPE on the outside protects your skin and the clothing underneath from contamination or exposure.”

Ensuring that team members are comfortable is an important consideration, but there are safety concerns that go hand-in-hand with the right temperature.

“It can present a problem when temperature is crucial in certain circumstances,” Canham observes. “For example, some dental materials are adversely affected by temperature.”

Further, some PPE is impacted by environmental extremes.

“Exam gloves, and other disposable items, can be affected by heat and humidity,” Canham says. “It’s a good idea to store these items, especially exam gloves, away from extreme heat, direct sunlight, or sterilizers. For example, the steam from an autoclave can cause damage.”

Team member wellbeing is important not just from a comfort standpoint, but also as a safety concern.

“You add the extra steps of extra physical exertion, along with the extra PPE, and we have team members who are really getting hot and at risk,” Daw observes. “They might not be as attentive or they’re just uncomfortable. And when they’re not comfortable or if they’re sweating all over the place, then their minds are elsewhere. ‘Gosh, I am just super hot.’ We could, potentially, be at increased risk for injury in the workplace. What can we do to make our team members comfortable? Because certainly, if it’s too warm, it could increase the possibility that somebody might stick themselves with contaminated instruments or they might skip a step in infection control, because their mind is not on the task at hand.”

It’s also valuable to build some breaks into team members’ days.

“My recommendation is to take breathing breaks from your PPE throughout the work shift,” Canham advises. “Stay hydrated and perhaps even stock up in the staff lounge refrigerator with some electrolyte drinks to replenish if you are getting dehydrated during your workday.”

“A good work practice control might be to give your team members breaks,” Daw adds. “Maybe a little bit more frequent breaks, especially if they’re wearing N95s and you’re breathing through a filtering facepiece respirator all day. And just being mindful of, ‘What can we do to make our team members comfortable’.”

Air quality concerns are also important considerations. Between SARS CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and the effects of wildfires, practices find themselves ensuring that the air is safe to breathe. Some may opt to use a fan to circulate air. For some, the use of a fan may be confusing.

“A common question I get is whether or not fans are allowed in the operatory because of the concern around aerosols,” Daw says. “And what’s interesting is that I have not found anything specific by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or OSHA that specifically states that you cannot have a fan. A lot of our team members use fans so they can stay cooler. And there’s no actual infection control literature that says, ‘No, you can’t do it.’ It could circulate aerosols, and therefore, may be discouraged, but and there is nothing that outright prevents it.”

Where the fan is placed does matter, especially as infection prevention is concerned.

“With SARS-CoV-2, air movement must be in a clean to less-clean direction, to reduce the distribution of contaminants,” Canham says. “The CDC recommends the use of air purifiers, or portable high-efficiency, particulate absorbing air filtration systems – or HEPA filters – while patients are undergoing treatment. I purchased an air purifier for my home, and I found that it does help cool my room. CDC highly recommends that you consult with your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system technologist or consultant to help you understand clinical air flow patterns and determine air changes per hour. In addition, they can investigate increasing filtration efficiency to the highest level compatible with the HVAC system, without significant deviation from designed airflow, and investigate the ability to safely increase the percentage of outdoor air supplied through the HVAC system. Ultimately, a properly functioning HVAC system can provide safer air quality and be very helpful for maintaining a more comfortable temperature.”

HEPA air filtration units don’t have to be just be located in treatment areas.

“I like to see them in the reception room of a dental practice. I believe that it conveys a strong message to the patient about infection prevention and safety,” Canham says. “With SARS-CoV-2 being an aerosol transmissible virus, patients understand that we care about their safety in the reception room as much as we care about their safety in the treatment chair.”

Proper environmental levels in the dental practice are certainly important, but not just from a comfort standpoint. PPE, chemicals, and equipment need the right levels of heat and humidity to work properly. That’s not to negate the importance of comfort. Team members work better when they’re not distressed, and they’re less likely to make potentially hazardous mistakes.

Keeping both patients and employees comfortable in a practice while still maintaining infection control protocol is possible.  

Chill Out: Managing Infection Control in the Heat

New Alternative to Dental Insurance PayDent Enters the Market

Said to be an innovative new alternative to dental insurance, PayDent is a new model for patients to cover treatment. PayDent was designed by Kevin Patterson, DDS, and engineer entrepreneur Steve Valentor.

It functions through a mobile app on either the patient’s iPhone or Android. Patients deposit funds into their account that will allow them to pay for future treatment. These payments can either be contributed on a monthly basis, or as a lump sum all at once. Patients can also use PayDent to cover what their pre-existing insurance can’t. Cutting out the middleman of insurance was Dr Patterson’s main goal in co-creating PayDent, according to a press release from the company.

“Having cared for thousands of patients throughout my career, I saw firsthand that the existing model for paying for dental work just didn’t make sense anymore,” Dr Patterson said in the press release. “So, we set out to develop something that better serves consumers and dental practices alike. The result is PayDent, which replaces low-value dental insurance plans with a tool that helps patients build funds to pay for inevitable dental expenses and streamlines the process for dentists to get paid.”

Dental practices can utilize PayDent to accept payment from the patient for treatment. It is free to download. Post-treatment, dentists can request the payment transfer as soon as they are finished, making this a potential solution for practices looking to become more efficient. Payments can be received at 80% of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) fee survey, meaning specialized dental practices can bill their patients directly for the difference between their fee and the ADA pricing that PayDent pays.

PayDent has gone through a year of testing with the assistance of advisers and dentists and is said to be fully operational. It is available now for practices and patients.

PayDent is a brand new way for patients and practices to pay for treatments without the need for insurance. 

Freedom Technologies Group (FTG) will be the U.S. distributor for Athlos Oy’s DC-Air™ intraoral x-ray imaging sensor. Athlos Oy received 510(k) acceptance in July, which cleared the way for FTG to begin accepting pre-orders online for the new sensor.

The DC-Air is is a true wireless x-ray sensor that utilizes direct conversion technology for greater native sharpness. It’s said to be the only sensor on the market that to adopt the latest Bluetooth™ technology standards for rapid and reliable image transmission, eliminating the number one point of failure associated with other sensors: the wire.

DC-Air is constructed with homogenous internal components that make it significantly more durable. It has IP67 rating and will withstand the rigors of daily use.

In addition, DC-Air holders incorporate a patent-pending design that is said not to add any bulk to the sensor’s profile in the mouth. Coupled with the senor’s thin profile, it’s designed to offer patient comfort and easy positioning.


Wireless DC-Air X-Ray Sensor Available for Pre-Order

Mastermind - Episode 7 - Adjusting to a "New Normal" for Dental Conferences

Videos

Host Lisa Newburger is joined by John Flucke, DDS, Chad DuPlantis, DDS, Tina Clarke, RDA, MEd, Rick Adelstein, DDS, and Jeff Rohde, DDS, to discuss how we might approach this "new normal" at practices and beyond. 

Kerr Celebrates 130 Years in the Dental Industry

Industry leader Kerr has celebrated its 130th year in the dental community. Founded in 1891, Kerr has been manufacturing dental products on a global scale for 130 years. Vice President and General Manager of Kerr Restoratives and Endodontics Lina Li, PhD, commented on Kerr’s growth in the industry in a press release from the company.

"Over the 130 years that we have been expanding and growing, Kerr has always placed a priority on attracting top scientists and investing in research and development," Dr Li said in the press release. "We've also collaborated closely with our industry's key opinion leaders to make sure we're responding to the needs of doctors, practices and their patients."

Kerr has a wide range of products for endodontic and restorative cases, implemented with the help of clinicians during the research and development phases. Kerr also touts a number of infection prevention products that have been developed to meet the needs of the dental community, according to the press release.

Kerr joined the Envista team in 2019, further expanding its ability to reach a wide variety of dental professionals. As part of the 130th birthday, Kerr will have special offers for its customers.

"We have had 130 years to refine and advance our products," Dr Li said in the press release. "Now we're looking forward to continuing our collaboration with doctors and opinion leaders as we innovate the next generation of products to meet the needs of the dental community and patients."

Dental products manufacturer Kerr celebrates its 130th anniversary. 

Bruce Bryen is a certified public accountant with over 45 years of experience and is a part of Baratz & Associates CPAs. He specializes in deferred compensation, such as retirement planning design; income and estate tax planning; determination of the proper organizational business structure; asset protection and structuring loan packages for presentation to financial institutions. He is experienced in providing litigation support services to dentists with Valuation and Expert Witness testimony in matrimonial and partnership dispute cases. He is also a financial writer for several dental journals. You may contact him at 609-502-0691 or at 

When it comes to the growth, state of the art technology and hiring of the best personnel, the owner of the dental practice is typically trying to make his or her office the foremost in the community. The money spent on the enhancement of the practice is almost always at the top of the list for the dentist to prepare the office for the expertise in the professional skill level, layout and comfort for the staff and the patients.

This is to keep aggravation at a minimum and to promote employee morale and patient stability as well as potential referral sources. To other professionals in contact with the dentist, it sometimes appears that he or she is not so diligent in preparing for potential problems on a personal level. One of those areas of non-compliance and lack of preparation is when a divorce is on the horizon and the question of the dental practice valuation arises. The dental CPA or less likely, the attorney that the dentist may know or may be referred to by a colleague, is a source for finding a qualified dental practice evaluator with the skills and experience to go ahead and prepare for the mediator or court date. Of course, it is up to the dentist going through the situation to hire the best available practice valuation expert that he or she can find. Just like the dental office wanting to be the top of the line, it makes sense for the dentist to get the best to assist in protecting those personal assets outside the office but most importantly, the dental practice itself. The practice is arguably the most valuable item that is owned since it probably offers the highest consistent income source plus the most probable growth asset that is available to the dentist.

and deciding on the dental practice evaluator

The first step is to find an experienced dental practice evaluator who will probably be referred by the dental CPA who has had experience with the review of dental practice valuations. Sometimes the dental practice equipment and supply representative has more information about this type of contact than the professional financial people that the dentist knows since that person sees this type of situation much more frequently. He or she also usually has the trust of the dentist since the contact with the equipment and supply representative is on a very frequent basis.

Its important for the dentist to understand that the valuation for a divorce is different than that of a dental practice being ready to be put on the market for a transition. The knowledgeable evaluator understands this and can offer the dental CPA and client the number of divorce valuations that he or she has prepared, the number of times he or she has appeared in the court room and also in what geographic areas of the country the valuations have occurred.Someone who has prepared a few valuations for dentists who are experiencing divorce should not be a good amount to feel comfortable with in a representation that may involve hundreds of thousands of dollars. Like the practice itself, the dentist must think of the adage of “pay me now or pay me later,” in that this evaluator with few experiences is probably much cheaper than the evaluator who has prepared hundreds of valuations for divorce. The more expensive valuation expert typically can present some concepts in the expertise needed as to what he or she knows and how to present that information.

Comparing the cost today for the valuation to the amount that it may cost later because of the lack of knowledge of the evaluator will certainly be a “pay me more later,” approach with additional charges that may be hundreds of thousands of dollars after the settlement of the dispute or opinion from the court. The more expensive dental practice evaluator who has many hundreds of experiences with presenting valuations for dentists going through divorce will most likely be more expensive now but will save thousands and thousands of dollars later. The “later,” is normally when the dentist is getting his or her life back together and overcoming the problems of the divorce to build a new personal life along with a more viable economic look at the practice. This may be when the “later,” really hurts as the practice is just starting to come back to life and concentrating on its resurgence is interrupted by the “on again,” drama of problems from the cheaper, less experienced evaluator’s presentation.

Surviving the divorce and flourishing at the practice after the end of the drama:

What the dentist does not need is a recurrence of effort staving off repeated attempts to draw more funds from the practice to overcome the effects of the less experienced and cheaper evaluator who prepared the dental practice valuation. The long term economic effects of paying off the divorce many times means borrowing enough money to do so as well as the time taken to present information to lenders for the ability to borrow. This has the unfortunate result in casting an aura of lower morale at the office, a somewhat less than cheerful approach to employees and the overall feeling that flows through to the patients as they can understand what is occurring, at least in the atmosphere at the office.

Starting again with the effort to finally finish this problem may take another valuation from an expert who can satisfy the adversarial approach from the former spouse. The ability to move ahead with office plans, possible expansion and other concepts to enhance the dental practice may have to be put on hold until this problem is resolved. Paying for another valuation is such a shame as the entire situation could have been settled with the first valuation. Now the cost of the new one and the time needed to complete the gathering of information to complete it is a severe awakening to understand the difference between the “pay me less now or more later,” adage.

The hope is that the particular dentist involved with this situation has learned and will keep the idea of what expertise costs in mind when it comes to any step ready to be taken at the dental practice. This could be from the potential acquisition of another dental practice, the integration with a DSO or any other area where the dentist does not have the expertise on his or her own to complete the mission without experienced professional help.

Dentists need to smart about paying for divorce and hiring the best available practice valuation expert should be a strong consideration.

New Alternative to Dental Insurance PayDent Enters the Market

Wireless DC-Air X-Ray Sensor Available for Pre-Order

Mastermind - Episode 7 - Adjusting to a "New Normal" for Dental Conferences

Kerr Celebrates 130 Years in the Dental Industry

Paying Less Now May Cost More Later With a Divorce