Collaboration, Innovation, Disruption at the Forefront of Dentistry

Gen4 Dental Partners holds first annual 4Front event

Collaboration, innovation and disruption of the status quo in dentistry were the themes at 4Front, the 2022 Gen4 Symposium held by Gen4 Dental Partners for its dentist partners and team members Oct. 6-9 in Phoenix, AZ.

“With the collaboration that we have here, the amount of expertise that’s in this room, it’s limitless on what we can accomplish,“ said Dr. Trish Takacs of Beaumont Family Dentistry in Lexington, KY, reflecting on the transformative event.

More than 200 dentists and dental professionals attended the symposium, the first of its kind to be held by the 20-month-old Dental Service Organization (DSO) at the Arizona Biltmore resort. It featured 16 main sessions, two panel discussions and 32 breakout sessions. It was co-hosted by 15 sponsors including Envista, the title sponsor, and Nobel and Straumann, who provided hands-on training.

The Standard of Excellence

Lamonte Jensen, Gen4 CEO, opened the symposium Oct. 7 by noting the DSO’s explosive growth. Founded in April 2021, by year’s end Gen4 will have acquired 90 practices in 12 states with 165 clinicians, 323 hygienists and 1,365 employees. And the trend is accelerating – next year the company should double, he predicted.

The reason, he said: the Gen4 Model, a distinctively collaborative business model that combines the best ideas of 45 dentist partners to form a dentist-centric, patient-obsessed organization. The best traits of individual practices are preserved: each practice keeps its own way of caring for patients. And the best traits of large corporations are added: the company is building a robust IT platform, HR, accounting and marketing support, and – most of all – a cadre of highly skilled, motivated and collaborative dentists.

“We believe in partners. We believe in the doctor-centric model. We believe in collaboration,” he declared.

On Day Two, Jensen proposed a framework to judge each clinician’s excellence, using a set of metrics to drive actionable feedback.

• Clinical competency – How much rework do you have to do? How does your staff rate your competency? What’s your breadth of skills (ortho, endo, implants, etc.)
• Patient satisfaction – How many patients come back? What reviews do they give? Do they refer friends to you?
• Team engagement – What’s your staff turnover rate? What’s the trend on your employee satisfaction survey?
• Personal development – How well developed are your skills in leadership? Communication? Collaboration?
• Community involvement – How do you give back to your community?

He proposed this framework as a starting point for Gen4’s partner dentists to collaborate (there’s that word again) on strategies to embed excellence into its DNA.

Individual Growth and Collaborative Growth

In an address titled “Individual Growth Engine,” Dr. Mitch Ellingson, Gen4 Chief Clinical Officer, dove into the vision empowering the creation of custom career paths for 200-plus (and growing) dentists and dental professionals.

“The key to making this whole thing work is you, the dental professional. So how do you, as an individual, contribute to what we’re pursuing” in a uniquely authentic individual way, he asked.

The model has 5 parts:

• Mentors. Each doctor is paired with a mentor to chart a professional growth plan.
• Hygienists. In a typical office, dental hygienists provide 70% of interactions with patients, so enlisting them in the plan is critical.
• Operations. Corporate helps the doctor structure their plan.
• Office managers. The local team is aligned to support execution of the doctor’s plan.
• Patient experience. Measuring patient satisfaction to measure quantitatively the success of the plan.

The end result: clinicians who are 25% more productive and yet see 20% fewer patients. Sounds counterintuitive, but that’s Gen4. “We know we must change it all in order to keep things the same,” he said. “We must change the way we think, the way we collaborate, and the way we do dentistry, if we want to keep dentistry the way it is today” – with dentists, not administrators, in control.

On Day Two, he spoke on “The Collaborative Doctor Model,” elaborating on Gen4’s mission to be a doctor-led, patient-obsessed DSO. “We say collaboration all the time around here, but collaboration is tough. Collaboration means I’m going to disagree with you when I don’t think you’re right, but I’m also going to let you say your piece. And if it turns out you have the best idea, I’m going to back off. It’s about challenging each other thoughtfully.”

He spoke at length about “The Five Levels of Leadership,” John Maxwell’s seminal book on how to find and grow leaders. At Level Four, the “compounding leader” stage, you mentor and support younger clinicians to rise within the organization. “It’s called working yourself out of a job,” he said with a smile.

“The ADA has your back”

A high point of the symposium was a video address by Dr. Cesar R. Sabates, president of the American Dental Association. It’s the first time the ADA president has spoken at any DSO event.

“Today I offer you this simple message: The ADA has your back,” Dr. Sabates said. “You are the living embodiment of the ADA’s vision to achieve optimum dental health for all. Each day you put patients first and serve your communities with trust and compassion. And each day, the ADA works to empower you to be your best. We are here to foster your success as dentists.”

“As leaders in dentistry, Gen4 plays an important role in shaping what will define our profession in the 21st century. You have your fingers on the pulse of major trends in our workforce,” he said.

Other highlights of the symposium included:

• “Making It Easy for Patients to Say ‘YES!’ “ by Dr. Paul Homoly, who coaches dental professionals on how to walk patients into understanding the value of “Total Patient Care.”
• “Social Media Marketing,” by Dr. Bill Dorfman, who gave specific practical tips on raising a practice’s brand identity on the web, mobile, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google Reviews.
• “Women at the 4Front of the Dental Industry,” a panel discussion led by Spencer Pierce, Gen4 VP of People & Culture, and Dr. Patricia Takacs, Dr. Jennifer Keen, Dr. Carrie Petersen, Dr. Emily-Ann Cowlin, Dr. Hannah Naeger, and Danielle Cuthbertson.
• “Nuts and Bolts of Pediatric Dentistry,” by Dr. Jennifer Keen, who shared her experience treating children – what works and what doesn’t work.
• “Our Business, Our Responsibility,” by Dr. Joseph Field, drilling into Gen4’s Big 3 Goals: Top-tier infrastructure, top-tier practices, and top-tier doctors.

The symposium also included introductory and advanced classes in implants and hybrid dentures, orthodontics and clear aligners, digital dentistry, pediatric dentistry and esthetic dentistry, as well as business practice classes in patient case acceptance and scheduling, mentoring young dentists, and building a positive office culture.

“Wow! This is different, this has power”

As the event wound down, those in attendance raved about the powerful synergy resulting from so many talented, motivated dental professionals gathered together.

“Being here at 4Front, I learned that Wow! This is different, this has meaning, this has power,” said Dr. Bruce Banks of Gage Dental Center in Topeka, KS. For example, he said, he had been hesitant about adding clear aligner orthodontics to his practice, but after collaborating with Dr. Tom Chamberlain, his mentor, he has decided to take the plunge.

Dr. Chamberlain and several other Gen4 orthodontists collaborated to put together the Gen4 Virtual Orthodontic program, a program that includes Ormco’s Spark Clear Aligner System plus front office and financial assistance, training and consulting, and marketing support. He unveiled the program, a prime example of the synergy generated by the Gen4 “collaborative doctors” model, in a main-stage session.

Reflecting back on the event, Dr. Ellingson said, “I will tell you the coolest thing I watched was a gigantic perspective change, from what you thought Gen4 was to what you understand now. We really are going to change dentistry together,” he declared.

Dr. Brian Harris of Harris Dental in Phoenix, AZ, summed up the thoughts of many at the symposium: “This organization is fully invested in us – in us loving what we do and being successful in what we do so we can provide excellent care to our patients.”

About Gen4 Dental Partners

Gen4 Dental Partners, founded in 2021 in Tempe, AZ, is the fastest growing, most innovative Dental Service Organization in the U.S., providing world-class support to top-tier providers of dental services. Gen4 was created to challenge the status quo in the practice-consolidation space. The Gen4 Platform is designed to allow dentists and their teams the ability to practice dentistry their way while experiencing the benefits of financial and operational support.