Markets & Enterprise

The Soul of the Brand

07/15/2026

5 min. to read

The strongest brands in dentistry have learned audiences don’t connect to statistics—they connect to stories.

Impressive statistics aren’t enough.

Most brands can explain what they do. Far fewer can make people feel something.

Think about the last advertisement you forgot moments after seeing it. The information may have been technically impressive, but nothing connected. No emotion. No tension. No humanity behind the message.

Today’s audiences are looking for more than polished marketing. They want to understand the people, purpose, and passion behind the brand.

In dentistry, where so many organizations appear interchangeable, emotional connection becomes a competitive advantage.

Storytelling: The Human Element

Matthew JC, founder of 1307 Productions, a seven-time Emmy-winning film and media company, offers an answer: “Find the story behind your brand. That’s the connector. That’s the soul.” Your story shows your company’s purpose, and a study done by Trustpilot and Grist uncovered that 47% of customers consider a brand’s purpose important. Story isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s an operational advantage.

Most DSOs don’t have a content problem—after all, you know your purpose and stand behind it. They have a clarity problem.

And the camera exposes that immediately. “Anyone can take a photo and anyone can capture content. The difference is in the storytelling,” says JC. Dental Depot partnered with 1307 Productions to clarify that story visually. In just two days of filming, they created a series of short films centered on real patient struggles and the impact the organization had on their lives.

The result wasn’t another promotional campaign. It was proof of purpose.

“We aren’t selling a product,” says JC. “We’re selling their purpose.”

“Find the story behind your brand. That’s the connector. That’s the soul.”

From Story to Personality

The best way to continue your story? Bring out your brand’s personality.

“It’s essential,” says JC. “People connect to people.”

Personality creates familiarity. It shapes trust before a patient or client ever walks through the door, or a partner ever takes a meeting. The strongest brands are intentional about how they make people feel.

1307 Productions saw that firsthand in their work with Dykema.

When 1307 Productions began collaborating with the creative team behind Dykema’s dental conference, the event drew fewer than 1,000 attendees. The objective was not simply to market the conference. It was to create energy around it—to make the brand feel ambitious, cinematic, and unmistakable.

After coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration, JC secured a five-minute window to fly a helicopter at low altitude over downtown Dallas while Dykema projected its logo onto the side of a hotel.

Prepared for the challenge, the team lifted off, captured the footage midair, and landed just before the window closed.

The shot became more than a visual. It became a statement about ambition.

1307 Productions continued building that energy through cinematic conference opener videos that transformed the atmosphere inside the event itself. The result helped Dykema grow its conference attendance by 400%.

Brian Colao, Director of the DSO Industry Group at Dykema, says, “Matthew and his team have been a game changer for my organization by bringing world-class production value to our industry-leading dental conference.”

A strong brand personality gives audiences a sense of what an organization stands for before a conversation ever begins.

Experience, Not a Product

After you capture your story and personality, you must evoke a feeling. The most effective brands create experiences people remember. That emotional connection often becomes the difference between one organization and another.

JC starts each project with two questions:

1. “What do you want your audience to experience?”
2. “What do you want your audience to do?”

Knowing the destination shapes the entire creative process. It clarifies tone, pacing, visuals, and message. More importantly, it clarifies how the audience should feel after engaging with the brand. Whether it’s a commercial, patient outreach campaign, conference opener, or recruitment video, the most effective storytelling creates emotion first and information second.

In dentistry, where many brands offer similar services, emotional trust becomes the competitive advantage. Patients, partners, and future team members increasingly choose organizations that feel authentic, purposeful, and human. That connection does not require massive budgets or elaborate productions.

“The humanity is more important than expensive shows and special effects,” says JC.

For new and growing brands especially, storytelling becomes a powerful equalizer. A strong story builds familiarity, credibility, and trust long before a company has decades of history behind it.

More than a Camera Crew

Telling a meaningful story requires more than technical production skills. It requires understanding people, emotion, and purpose.

“Storytelling doesn’t start when the camera rolls,” says JC. “It starts with understanding people, their challenges, and how you can help them win.”

That perspective has helped position 1307 Productions as a recognized storytelling partner within the dental industry. Their work has appeared in more than 200 million homes, including award-winning documentaries.

Regardless of scale, the objective remains the same: Create something people feel.

Statistics inform. Story creates trust.

Storytelling Built for Dentistry

1307 Productions approaches brand storytelling like documentary filmmaking: Uncover the human story first, then build the visual experience around it.

REACH

Film and documentary work seen in more than 200 million homes.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Worked with some of dentistry’s most recognized organizations, conferences, and brands across the dental industry.

CURRENT DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS

Saving Face — a documentary focused on oral cancer awareness
Our Story — sharing the story and evolution of Women in DSO

BEYOND BIG BUDGETS

1307 Productions has supported both nonprofit organizations and growing businesses, helping brands create meaningful audience connection regardless of size or budget.

FULL-SERVICE PRODUCTION

Capabilities include:

Brand films
Conference visuals and opener videos
Documentary filmmaking
Commercial production
Sound design and music production
Story development and creative direction

“When you hire 1307 Productions, you’re not just hiring another camera operator. You’re hiring storytellers who understand dentistry.”

MATTHEW JC,
Founder of 1307 Productions

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Markets & Enterprise

Creating AI Patient-Understanding Platform

07/15/2026

8 min. to read

At 3DISC, Marie-Laure Pochon believes AI, digital workflows, and patient understanding can transform the future of dentistry.

What does it take to leave an industry you have spent decades leading?

For Marie-Laure Pochon, it started with a realization: Dentistry remains one of the most undertreated areas in healthcare worldwide.

After more than 30 years in pharmaceutical leadership, including serving as President for Schwarz Pharma France and Executive Vice President Global Commercial at Lundbeck, Pochon made the unexpected move into dentistry in 2014 when she became CEO of Acteon Group, a worldwide leader in imaging and dental equipment.

Today, she leads 3DISC Dental Connect, a company combining imaging, intraoral scanning, AI, and digital workflows to transform not only dentistry itself, but also the relationship between dentists and patients.

But for Pochon, this transition was never simply about entering a new market or launching another technology platform. It was driven by a broader healthcare vision.

One statistic immediately stood out to her: While more than 90% of adults in Western countries are regularly monitored for general health conditions, only around 50% to 60% consistently receive dental follow-up.

To her, that gap reflects both a major public health issue and a tremendous opportunity for transformation.

Oral health remains deeply connected to overall health, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, yet dentistry still occupies a very different place in the patient mindset compared with other medical disciplines.

“That mission, contributing to better care for a much larger population, is what attracted me deeply to dentistry,” says Pochon.

Very quickly, she became convinced that digital transformation, especially AI and visualization technologies, could fundamentally reshape the future of dental care.

From Corporate Leadership to Entrepreneurship

Coming from global pharmaceutical organizations, Pochon could easily have continued her career inside another large healthcare company.

Instead, she chose entrepreneurship.

Part of that decision came naturally. Pochon comes from an entrepreneurial family and describes business ownership as something that always felt familiar.

But family history alone did not explain the transition.

“What truly convinced me,” she says, “is that small companies today have unique advantages that large companies often no longer have.”

In her view, highly focused teams can move faster, adapt more quickly, and create value with a level of agility that large organizations increasingly struggle to maintain.

With digital transformation accelerating innovation cycles across every industry, Pochon became convinced that smaller structures were often better positioned to stay close to customers, close to market evolution, and close to change itself.

“With digital transformation, a small, highly talented, experienced, and focused team can sometimes move much faster and create more value than very large organizations.”

That philosophy eventually led her to 3DISC.

Seeing Potential Where Others Saw Limits

When Pochon first evaluated 3DISC in 2020, the company was still primarily focused on research and development.

What immediately caught her attention was the strength of the company’s technical foundation. The engineering capabilities, imaging expertise, patents, and hardware quality were already highly developed.

“The engineering, the patents, the imaging expertise, all of that was real,” she says.

At the same time, she recognized that the company was still early in its evolution. The software ecosystem was not yet where she believed the market would eventually need it to be.

Where others may have seen limitations, Pochon saw long-term strategic potential.

“I saw a company with deep technical DNA that could become much more than a scanner company.”

That vision became the foundation for transforming 3DISC into a company focused not only on scanning technology, but also on AI, patient communication, and workflow transformation.

For Pochon, intraoral scanning itself is not the final objective. It is the entry point into a broader digital ecosystem designed to improve communication, support clinical understanding, and transform the patient experience.

“I saw a company with deep technical DNA that could become much more than a scanner company.”

Leadership in a World of Constant Reinvention

Pochon believes leadership itself has fundamentally changed over the past two decades.

Earlier in her career, markets were more stable, technologies evolved more slowly, and business environments were significantly more predictable.

Today, leadership has become an exercise in permanent adaptation.

“Technology is moving so fast that we must constantly live with uncertainty,” she says. “We need to adapt quickly and we need to change faster than others.”

For many executives, that level of uncertainty can feel exhausting. Pochon experiences it differently.

“To be very honest, I find it extremely exciting,” she says. “Of course, it is demanding. Some days, you feel under pressure, even vulnerable. But this constant reinvention and permanent movement are also incredibly stimulating.”

At the same time, she believes strong leadership requires permanent self-questioning.

“The moment you stop questioning yourself, your decisions, and your assumptions, you are in danger.”

Technology Must Support Dentists, Not Disrupt Them

As digital dentistry evolves, Pochon believes one mistake still appears too often across the industry: Companies focus heavily on technical sophistication while underestimating usability, onboarding, and workflow integration.

In her view, innovation only succeeds if it reflects the real day-to-day practice of dentistry.

“Dentistry is deeply human and relationship-driven,” she says. “Technology must support every gesture of the dentist, not disrupt it.”

Even highly sophisticated technologies can fail if they are too complicated or poorly integrated into clinical workflows.

That philosophy has become central to how 3DISC approaches product development.

Rather than designing technology purely for technical performance, the company focuses on simplifying communication, improving adoption, and strengthening clinical relationships.

The Rise of the “AI Patient-Understanding Platform.”

That philosophy reached a new dimension with AVA, 3DISC’s latest AI-driven platform.

AVA combines imaging, AI, and visualization technologies to create what Pochon describes as a “AI Patient-Understanding Platform.”

In less than a minute, AVA generates a highly visual understanding of the patient’s clinical condition and structures treatment priorities into what should be treated now versus later.

The result is not simply better visualization.

It fundamentally changes the nature of the conversation between dentists and patients.

“In many cases today, patients do not really understand their condition or their treatment plan,” explains Pochon. “That lack of understanding directly impacts trust.”

According to her, the issue is not clinical competence. The issue is communication.

Patients trust their dentist significantly less than they trust other physicians. While trust toward general practitioners or cardiologists approaches 90%, trust toward dentists remains closer to 60%.

For Pochon, this is one of the most important structural issues in dentistry today.

AVA aims to change that dynamic by transforming the consultation into what she describes as an “adult-to-adult conversation,” grounded in transparency and phased treatment planning.

Instead of feeling pressured into immediate treatment, patients can better understand clinical priorities and engage in a long-term care journey.

The impact goes far beyond communication.

3DISC is already observing significant increases in treatment acceptance rates among early users.

“Your best margin is already in your patient’s mouth,” says Pochon.

In her view, most practices do not necessarily need more chairs, more patients, or more hires. They need better understanding and better acceptance from the patients already sitting in front of them.

“No hires. No new chairs. Just the highest-margin revenue you were already owed.”

For DSOs especially, she believes this could become transformational.

AVA does not simply improve workflows. It has the potential to increase revenue per chair, improve patient retention, standardize communication, and strengthen trust across large organizations.

BETTER UNDERSTANDING. GREATER TRUST. BETTER CARE.

Why Onboarding Matters More Than Technology

Pochon believes one of the biggest barriers to digital adoption in dentistry is not the product itself, but onboarding.

“For me, the most important barrier is onboarding,” she says.

Over the years, she has observed that successful implementation often depends less on technical specifications and more on how clinicians are supported during the first stages of adoption.

That observation led 3DISC to place significant emphasis on structured support during the first weeks of adoption.

“Adoption is not only about training,” she says. “It is about confidence.”

Clinicians need confidence not only in using the technology itself, but also in their ability to integrate it naturally into workflows and patient communication.

That confidence, she believes, is one of the key drivers of successful digital transformation.

Building Trust Through Understanding

At the center of Pochon’s long-term vision for dentistry remains one essential idea: trust.

She believes AI and visualization technologies can profoundly improve the relationship between dentists and patients by helping patients better understand their condition, treatment options, and long-term care needs.

“Digital technologies will help patients better understand their condition and treatment plans and ultimately trust their dentist more.”

Improved understanding leads to stronger trust. Stronger trust leads to better treatment acceptance. Better acceptance leads to improved long-term care.

Pochon believes this transformation could dramatically expand access to dental care worldwide.

“If 3DISC can contribute to improving trust, understanding, and access to care worldwide,” she says, “then that would truly be my dream mission in life.”

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Perspectives

Afflicting the Comfortable

07/15/2026

10 min. to read

By Dr. Aman Kaur | Founder & CEO, Women in DSO^®

Five years after challenging dentistry’s assumptions about leadership, Dr. Aman Kaur examines what still needs rewiring.

I have spent most of my career inside systems. Not admiring them. Not fighting them. Watching them.

I’ve watched how decisions get made and who is in the room when they happen. I’ve watched which talent gets developed and which gets quietly overlooked. I watch patterns repeat themselves, year after year, until finally someone gets tired enough of the repetition to name it out loud and do something about it.

One thing became impossible for me to ignore: Dentistry has an untapped talent problem. The industry is built on a workforce it has not fully developed into leadership, and that gap is costing everyone, regardless of where you sit in the org chart. Women in DSO^® began there. Not as an idea searching for validation, but as a practical response to a real and measurable business problem.

Clarity Before Comfort

People often describe me as bold.

I feel that what they are actually responding to is the clarity I try to bring to what we are experiencing.

I have never been interested in collecting options for the sake of comfort. Options delay decisions and they soften accountability. They create the illusion of movement without asking anyone to commit to anything. Once I see what needs to happen, I move. That instinct is what guided me into dentistry, into DSOs, into operational leadership roles where systems matter more than sentiment. It is also what led me, eventually, to build something the industry had been quietly waiting for without quite knowing how to ask for it.

Dentistry makes sense to me because it is tangible, impactful, and operational. It rewards precision, discipline, and follow-through. The same is true of real leadership at any level. Clarity is not aggression. It is respect for time, for effort, and for outcomes.

The Talent Gap No One Was Naming

Inside DSOs, the operational picture becomes visible quickly.

The people holding organizations together day to day—coordinating care, managing practices, stabilizing teams and patient experiences—are largely women. That is not a political observation. It is a workforce reality. But when you look at where decision-making authority actually sits, at the senior leadership and board level, the composition shifts dramatically.

That gap matters for one reason above all others: organizations that fail to develop and promote from within their own talent base pay for it. In turnover, missed growth and in leadership pipelines that are narrower than they need to be. The best leaders I have worked with, men and women, already understand this. They are not threatened by the question. They are asking it themselves.

The issue has never been the ambition or capability of the women being overlooked. It is that access to the right networks, the right rooms, and the right conversations has not been distributed as broadly as it should be. That is a fixable problem. I created Women in DSO^® to fix this.

When Observation Turns into Action

By 2021, continuing to talk about the problem felt indulgent. We had been talking long enough.

The conversations that would eventually become Women in DSO^® had been happening quietly for years, between colleagues, friends, and people comparing notes in conference hallways and realizing just how consistent the pattern was across very different organizations and markets.

The question was never whether the need existed. The question was whether the industry would actually respond once that need had a name and a structure behind it.

The first Empower and Grow conference answered that.

Six hundred and fifty people showed up during a pandemic, for a first-time event and with a name that stated its purpose clearly and without apology.

The industry was not waiting to be convinced. It was waiting for somewhere to direct the energy it already had.

Five years on, what started as a response to a gap has become a structural force inside our industry. That has not happened by accident. It happened because the underlying need was real, the timing was right, and enough people—men and women alike—were willing to show up for it.

The Kind of Resistance That Is Hard to See

Our early momentum experienced some headwinds. It was not overt opposition. Rarely is.

It looked more like support without structural follow-through. Inclusion in conversation without inclusion in decision-making. Genuine enthusiasm for the mission, paired with very little change to who actually gets developed, sponsored, and promoted.

I am not interested in assigning blame for that. This is usually not intentional. It is the product of systems that were built a certain way and have not yet been updated. Good people operate inside imperfect systems all the time. The question is whether they are willing to update the system once they can see it clearly.

Women in DSO^® has never confused talking about progress with making it. The work is operational. It is about building the infrastructure that allows talent to move through organizations the way it should, based on capability and contribution rather than proximity to the right network.

Industries that fail to develop their full workforce pay for that failure in efficiency, in growth, and in the gradual erosion of organizations that could have been so much more than they ended up being. That is not a gender argument. It is a business one.

“Some of the most committed champions of this work are men who saw the talent gap early and understood exactly what it was costing their organizations.”

Five Years—And We Are Just Getting Started

I want to be clear about what Women in DSO^® is actually trying to build, because it gets mischaracterized too often.

This is not about elevating women at the expense of anyone else. The goal is a stronger industry built by developing the full depth of available talent, not a carefully managed portion of it. The research on this is consistent across sectors: Organizations with broader leadership representation make better decisions, build more resilient processes, and grow more sustainably over time.

Some of the most committed champions of this work are men who saw the talent gap early and understood exactly what it was costing their organizations. They did not need to be persuaded. They needed a partner. That is a big part of what Women in DSO^® provides.

The practical message to the women we work with is straightforward: Upskill with intention and learn the full business, not just your corner of it. Build visible, measurable, repeatable value for your organization. When those three things are in place, the conversation about advancement changes entirely. You stop asking to be seen. The case makes itself.

The Industry Cannot Outrun the Data

The workforce numbers are not subtle, and they are not new.

The majority of dental practice team members are women. The majority of DSO employees are women. Roughly half of all dental patients are women. Today, most dental school graduates are women. The profession’s incoming talent pipeline is majority female, and that generation is arriving with clear expectations: real pathways to leadership, genuine investment in their development, and an industry that takes their potential seriously.

Organizations that are already building for that reality will be well-positioned. Those that are not will face a compounding retention and leadership pipeline problem that only gets more expensive to solve over time.

Women in DSO^® is here to help the industry get ahead of that curve rather than scramble to catch up to it.

“This is not a movement asking for permission. It is an industry learning how to use its full intelligence.”

Building for the Middle Market

One of the most important decisions we made heading into year five was to be honest about where our reach needed to grow.

Women in DSO^® has built significant presence and programming for large DSOs and enterprise-level operators. But the middle market, the regional groups, the emerging multisite practices, and the organizations sitting between independent practice and large-scale DSOs represent both the largest share of the industry and the place where leadership development investment is most uneven. These are the organizations that will define what dentistry looks like over the next decade. And they are the organizations that most need access to the kind of mentorship, education, and peer community that Women in DSO^® provides.

To accelerate that work, we welcomed three new board members whose collective reach, expertise, and genuine commitment to this mission are exactly what this next chapter requires.

Guillaume Daniellot, CEO of Straumann Group, brings a global perspective on how the dental industry grows and where it is heading. Straumann is one of the most respected names in dentistry worldwide, and Daniellot’s decision to join this board is a clear signal that the conversation about leadership development and talent investment is not a niche concern—it is a core industry priority.

Nicola Deall, Chief People Officer at Dentalcorp Canada, brings something equally valuable: deep operational expertise in what it actually takes to build people-first cultures inside complex, multisite dental organizations. Her work at Dentalcorp sits at the intersection of talent strategy and organizational performance, and that is precisely the lens Women in DSO® needs as we expand our programming for mid-market operators.

Lorri Detrick, President and Chief Operations Officer at Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry, rounds out the board with hands-on leadership experience inside one of the most respected regional dental groups in the country. Detrick knows what middle market growth looks like from the inside, and she knows what it costs when the right people are not being developed and retained.

Together, these leaders represent something important: This is not a women’s organization asking the industry for support. It is an industry organization, led with a specific and strategic focus, that the industry’s most serious operators have chosen to invest in because they understand the return.

Forward Is Not Optional

“You can’t trip over what’s behind you.”

That is not a motivational line—it is a practical one. It has been the operating principle underneath everything we have built over the past five years.

There was never a real question of whether this work would continue. The only question was how far it could scale. Five years in, we have built mentorship programs, educational platforms, a conference the industry now genuinely anticipates, and a community of leaders across every level and every role in dentistry who have already demonstrated that this model works. What we are building now is not a movement starting from scratch. It is a formal structure for energy that was always present, always powerful, and has finally found a home.

Every year, people tell me that Women in DSO^® changed where their career went. What that says to me is straightforward: The industry was ready long before it was willing to admit it.

Building stronger leadership pipelines is not disruption. It is recognition of what the data has been saying for a long time. When more perspectives are shaping decisions, standards do not soften. They sharpen. Systems improve. Outcomes stabilize. The whole industry performs better.

This is not a movement asking for permission.

It is an industry learning how to use its full intelligence.

Dr. Aman Kaur is the Founder and CEO of Women in DSO^®, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing women in leadership across DSOs. A seasoned DSO executive, she has served as CEO, COO, and dental director for multiple dental groups since 2010 and currently consults with leading dental groups and PE firms across the industry. Women in DSO^® is proud to be celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2026.

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Perspectives

The Long Recovery: A 2026 Mid-Year Update

07/15/2026

4 min. to read

BY BRIAN COLAO
Director, DSO Industry Group at Dykema

Six months into 2026, the DSO industry isn’t stalled. It’s restructuring for what comes next.

In my 2025 year-end article, I described 2025 as the year of the “muted recovery” in that economic conditions clearly improved from 2024 but did not improve nearly as much as the industry had hoped.

This led to the next logical question which is “what can we expect from 2026?” At the time of this publication, 2026 is a little more than half over and so far it seems like a second year of “muted recovery.”

In most weeks I probably have around 30 conversations with DSOs, DSO sponsors and lenders, DSO technology companies, and other members of the DSO community concerning the general state of the industry. By far the question I seem to get the most is the current state of the DSO M&A markets, so I will start there with a few thoughts, then discuss the status of implementation of new technology solutions, and finish with my thoughts for the rest of 2026.

I. Update on DSO M&A Markets

The recovery of the DSO M&A markets is mostly predicated upon a) lower interest rates; b) adjusted valuation expectations from the sellers; c) the reduction of global unrest and uncertainty; and d) the ability of DSOs to build premier organizations with high growth potential that sponsors will want to invest in.
Through the first half of 2026, interest rates have not decreased in any meaningful way and are unlikely to do so until the current Middle East crisis has subsided and oil prices stabilize.
Global unrest and uncertainty has increased with the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine and the addition of brand-new conflicts in the Middle East.
Inflation continues to be a material concern due to a significant spike in oil prices.
Many DSOs are still in the process of restructuring their debt, lowering their overhead, and implementing new technology solutions, and these efforts are expected to continue throughout 2026 and 2027.
As a result of the above issues, there has not been a significant recovery in the DSO M&A markets; although, there is a steady amount of modest activity occurring.

II. Update on Technology Adaptation

One of the keys to mitigating the challenging economic conditions such as labor shortages, high costs of labor, and lowering overhead is the adaptation of new technology solutions.
While there are many innovative solutions in the market, the DSO industry has faced a number of challenges to the implementation of new technology such as a) lack of education; b) lack of integration with PMS systems; c) lack of a solid implementation plan across the DSO’s platform; and d) too many solutions in the market to choose from.
Education and PMS system integration have significantly improved from 2024 and 2025, but many DSOs still struggle to develop implementation plans and in choosing the best options with the highest ROI.
Nevertheless, technology is steadily being implemented throughout DSOs, with one recent DSO poll identifying diagnostic AI and RCM solutions as the most common solutions in use.

“The question for many organizations is no longer whether capital returns, but whether they will be positioned to capitalize on it when it does.”

III. Thoughts for Second Half of 2026

I am optimistic but not certain that we will see a significant uptick in DSO M&A activity by the fourth quarter provided that the new Fed chairman is able to lower the interest rates.
I expect the slow and steady implementation of technology solutions to continue for the rest of this year, and I expect to see a significant and measurable ROI for many technologies by the end of the year, which should include significant reductions in overhead and material increases in EBITDA for many DSOs.
DSOs that can differentiate themselves in terms of culture, integration of specialty, and and value added through the implementation of technology will significantly increase their enterprise value over organizations that fail to do so.
The DSO industry is filled with significant opportunities for those that take the time to learn and understand the business or dentistry and are thoughtful and disciplined in their approach to M&A and the implementation of technology.

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Leadership

Built to Elevate

07/15/2026

8 min. to read

Patterson Dental isn’t treating leadership equity as an HR initiative. It is building systems that create access, accelerate growth, and amplify the next generation of leaders.

Look around the executive table—how many women do you see? For many companies, even modest gains are cause for celebration. At Patterson Dental, those gains are already a reality—and something they are continuously improving upon. Women represent 63% of Patterson’s supervisors, 54% of directors, and 40% of vice presidents—numbers that significantly outpace national benchmarks, according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2025. Yet Patterson Dental President Patrik Eriksson isn’t declaring victory. Only 37% of Patterson’s managers are women, and that gap matters.

We sat down with Eriksson and Christine Moore, Chief People and Communications Officer, to explore how Patterson is building a leadership pipeline that elevates women, closes the gaps, and empowers decision‑making where it matters most: on the front lines.

Access

Leadership opportunities rarely begin at promotion; they begin much earlier, in the moments where talent is recognized, opportunities are presented, and potential is noticed. Patterson leaders believe access is where leadership pipelines are truly built. The earliest decisions, from candidate selection to developmental opportunities, often determine who advances and who gets left standing outside the room.

“We’ve built a culture around empowerment and accessibility,” says Eriksson. “Every employee is empowered to lead and make decisions close to our customers”.

Eriksson explains they’ve designed the business around people, not hierarchy. As employees make customer-focused decisions, it’s on-the-job training, helping them develop leadership skills they can use in their current role or in a management role down the line.

The other part of Eriksson’s vision is accessibility. Eriksson explains part of his strategy by quoting advice from an HR leader he met early in his career: “When you hire, have a slate of candidates that reflect the environment in which you are hiring and operating in.”. In other words: Curate a diverse selection of candidates.

Eriksson has embedded this balancing act into policy: Talent recruiters and leaders in Patterson have their direct supervisors review their candidates before choosing someone for an opportunity. This second set of eyes helps avoid bias. Moore points out that the first issue women face is access, and practices like these give women access out of the gate.

While many organizations would rely on HR for these initiatives, Eriksson emphasizes that this isn’t the case at Patterson, “The most important thing is that initiatives are sustained, measured, and visibly championed by me—not delegated entirely to HR. Women in organizations consistently report that CEO commitment is the single strongest signal that change is real.”.

The people-first approach isn’t just Eriksson’s philosophy—it’s how Patterson is preparing for the future of dentistry. As technology takes on more routine and transactional work, the value of human expertise only grows. Success will belong to organizations that pair the right technology with people who can solve problems, earn trust, and build lasting relationships.

“The most important thing is that initiatives are sustained, measured, and visibly championed by me—not delegated entirely to HR. Women in organizations consistently report that CEO commitment is the single strongest signal that change is real.”

PATRIK ERIKSSON,
Patterson Dental President

Acceleration

Identifying talent is only the beginning. Growth accelerates when organizations intentionally create pathways that move people forward. Patterson believes support alone isn’t enough; advocacy matters too.

Still, Moore adds, “Women still don’t have the same access to opportunities. The research shows that men receive more mentorship and sponsorship than women.”.

Patterson’s leaders take this issue by the horns, directly advertising internal mentorship opportunities to women. Moore explains, “We deliberately over-index on female participants” to fill the gap. “This year, for example, 60% of the participants in the program are women.”.

But Patterson doesn’t stop at mentorships. “Sponsorship is mentorships plus,” says Moore. She gives an example of how sponsors might say, “We’ve got access to these three opportunities. I’m going to help you get your résumé in there.”.

Eriksson adds, “Mentorships are good, but they’re more supportive and skill-building. Formal sponsorships will drive better results. Mentorship supports. Sponsorship advances.”.

Advocating for talent is essential, especially for women, who are underrepresented in leadership throughout the industry. Eriksson advises leaders, “Have your eyes on high-performing talent early on, and advocate for them when you have promotion rounds.”.

But Patterson doesn’t address underrepresentation from just one angle: They’re looking to address the roots, not just the symptoms. And another root is a lack of visibility.

Pull Up a Chair

Opportunity gaps do not always come from systems alone. Sometimes hesitation becomes its own barrier. Patterson leaders say one of the biggest challenges women continue to face is not capability, but confidence: waiting until every box is checked, every qualification is met, and every doubt disappears before stepping forward.

“The expectations women have of themselves can get in the way,” Moore says, explaining how this feeling of inadequacy can prevent them from applying for roles they might otherwise succeed in or expressing interest in an opportunity they wanted part of. Moore advises, “Don’t wait until you feel 100% ready.”

Moore gives an example. “There’s an oft-quoted McKinsey study where a man would look at a job description with 10 job requirements and say, ‘I’ve got two out of the 10, I’m going to apply.’ A woman would look at the 10 and say, ‘I’ve only got 6, so I probably shouldn’t apply.'”

Flip the paradigm, Eriksson says, and go into the interview with confidence. “There’s going to be other people in the interview that also don’t check all the boxes. If you check some and someone else checks a different set of boxes, you might be the better candidate anyway.” For the areas where you don’t have experience, Eriksson says to show “that you’ll be able to quickly learn and grow to do those things.”

Women may not just stop themselves from applying for jobs but from other opportunities. Moore observes women feel like they need permission to enter rooms they already have access to.

“I get asked the question, ‘Christine, how do I find a seat at the table?’ And I say, ‘I don’t want you to ever ask that question again. If you’re asking for a seat, you’ve already given it away. I want you to pull up a chair and sit down. You don’t leave until someone tells you to.'”

“Oftentimes we do know where those tables are, but something gets in the way,” Moore says, “Think about the resistance, the hesitation. I say, push through it.” One way: Find other people interested in these conversations. Sit down at the table—as a group.

Eriksson recommends that women seeking visibility volunteer for tough and strategic projects. “Raise your hand and move in; try to be a part of those things. Even if you don’t know that you can do all of it, get involved in it.”

Another way to pull up a chair and be considered for leadership roles is to demonstrate your soft skills—going back to relationships. “Leadership has expanded to be about connection and collaboration, about listening to understand what’s actually happening to folks who are closest to customers and patients—characteristics that have been more traditionally female,” Moore says.

Once you get that leadership role, you have to ensure you’re prepared for the continued challenges. Eriksson says a big challenge women face is the workload outside of their careers. “There are a lot of family-related responsibilities that most people don’t think about. I came across some data: 70% of the top 1% male earners in the US have a spouse that stays at home. For female top earners, only 22% have a spouse that stays at home.”

Part-time or stay-at-home spouses usually handle a significant part of that workload outside of the working spouse’s career—and women are less likely to have that support. Whether it’s cleaning, replacing broken appliances, or preparing meals, these responsibilities outside of work can be overwhelming without a plan in place.

One way to deal with this stress is through self-care, which is why Patterson had a recent panel on that subject. At that panel, Senior Director of Customer Success Cassie Hoffmann said something that stuck with Eriksson: “Dead batteries cannot charge other batteries.” Eriksson adds, “If you don’t take care of yourself first, you can’t be a great leader for others.” By planning for the workload outside of your career, your battery as a leader can stay recharged.

The future of dentistry will not belong simply to organizations that adopt better technology. It will belong to organizations that develop people capable of building trust, creating relationships, and elevating others along the way. Patterson is building those leaders now.

Sources:
Krivkovich, Alexis, Drew Goldstein, and Megan McConnell. “Women in the Workplace 2025.” McKinsey & Company, December 9, 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/women-in-the-workplace.

Yavorsky, J. E., Keister, L. A., Qian, Y., & Nau, M. (2019). Women in the one percent: Gender dynamics in top income positions. American Sociological Review, 84(1), 54–81.

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Dentists’ Participation in Medicaid Remains Stagnant

02/27/2026

5 min. to read

By Rachel W. Morrissey, Deesha Bhaumik, and Dr. Marko Vujicic

Access to dental care through Medicaid has long been a critical lifeline for millions of American adults and children, yet the future of the program is uncertain. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted both provider participation and patient utilization, creating ripple effects that are still being felt today. As states expand benefits and policymakers debate reforms, recognizing who is delivering dental care, and who is receiving it, is critical to understanding the complete picture of oral health in the United States.

In this article we consider both sides of the story, looking at utilization by the patients who rely on these benefits as well as the providers who treat them. We explore how utilization patterns differ between children and adults, which groups have recovered since the pandemic, and trends in provider characteristics and practice types.

Let’s begin with a brief overview of dental benefits within Medicaid programs. Around 50% of children and 15% of adults in the US are covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In the US, dental services are covered for child Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries in every state, mandated by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment program. For adults, dental benefits under Medicaid are optional, and each state can decide if and how they want to expand coverage for dental services. As of 2025, 38 states and the District of Columbia offer enhanced benefits (i.e., those that cover a substantial amount of diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services) for adult Medicaid beneficiaries.

Although child beneficiaries have dental coverage under Medicaid and CHIP in every state, a considerably low number have visited a dentist in the past 12 months. Dental care utilization varies widely by state, ranging from 30% to 62%, and in 27 states only 50% of Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries utilized dental care in the past year. This is 20 percentage points lower than the dental care utilization for privately insured children, and this gap has persisted for the last decade. Utilization among both groups dropped sharply during the pandemic, and neither appear to have fully recovered.

For adults, utilization rates for Medicaid beneficiaries remains flat and is considerably lower than for privately insured individuals. As of 2022 (the most recent year for which adult utilization data is available) the national adult Medicaid beneficiary utilization rate was 18%, and no state had a rate above 33%. States with enhanced benefits saw higher utilization among adult Medicaid beneficiaries than states with limited or emergency-only benefits. By comparison, utilization among privately insured adults is nearly 40 percentage points higher; while it dropped sharply during the pandemic, it has since recovered and even surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Turning to the provider side, dentist participation in Medicaid or CHIP has remained stagnant over the last decade, although many states have expanded benefits since 2015. As of 2024, 41% of US dentists participate in Medicaid or CHIP, meaning they are enrolled as a Medicaid or CHIP provider through InsureKidsNow.gov or work at a federally qualified health center. There is a wide variation in participation across states, ranging from 22% to 76%.

Who are the practitioners more likely to treat Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries? Our analysis revealed certain patterns. First, women dentists are more likely to participate in Medicaid than men (45% vs 39%). Like Medicaid participation overall, participation rates by gender have remained stable for men and women dentists since 2015.

Practice type is also a factor. Participation is higher among dentists in DSOs than it is for dentists not in a DSO-affiliated practice (49% vs 39%). However, while rates have been steady for dentists overall, participation among DSO-affiliated dentists is dropping. Ten years ago, roughly two-thirds of DSO-affiliated dentists participated in Medicaid or CHIP. As of 2024, this figure has dropped to just under half—a considerable decline but still higher than participation rates overall. This drop may be partly explained by the expansion and composition of the DSO market over time.

Black dentists and those younger than 50 have higher participation rates than other groups. Dentists up to 10 years out of dental school also have higher participation rates, although the rate has declined since 2015. Compared to other specialties, pediatric dentists have the highest participation rate by far, at 72% in 2024. This figure has been stable since 2015.

It will be interesting to observe the pattern of Medicaid participation in the coming years as demographic and practice trends shift the dental workforce. As mentioned in our earlier article, dentistry is in the middle of a generational transition, and the workforce is increasingly young, racially diverse, female, and DSO-affiliated.

One factor to consider with respect to dentist participation is the Medicaid reimbursement for fee-for-service (FFS) as a percent of average dentist charges. In the majority of states, Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates are less than half of what dentists typically charge for both children and adult dental services. Although there have been recent Medicaid reimbursement rate increases, they have generally not been large enough to close the existing gap between dentist charges and private insurance reimbursement. This results in a tough landscape to attract more dentists to participate in Medicaid.

As Medicaid continues to evolve, dental benefits will remain a critical component of health policy discussions. With continued collaboration and thoughtful policy decisions, there is real potential to ensure that every child and adult has access to the dental care they need for overall health.

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Women in DSO®

More than Membership: The Strategic Advantage of Women in DSO®

02/27/2026

10 min. to read

“Katie has really excelled,” says Fagan, Vice President of DSO Sales for Pearl. “She’s the perfect showcase of what Women in DSO® is able to offer.”

This is the bargain Women in DSO offers to partners: Invest in the advancement of women within your organization and, in return, gain stronger leaders, faster access to decision-makers, and leadership teams that reflect the people they manage and the customers they serve.

Fagan explains that Bayle took an entry-level position with Pearl a few years ago and now works with the most sophisticated DSOs in the industry.

Fagan attributes Bayle’s growth— increases in self-confidence and enhanced industry knowledge—largely to the mentoring guidance and support she’s received from Women in DSO.

“For years, DSO leadership teams lacked visible diversity—I don’t think intentionally, but out of habit,” Fagan says. “The point is not representation for its own sake; it is ensuring that the best person for a position is developed, visible, and prepared to lead.”

Far too often the best person for the job is not necessarily a man. Women in DSO is asking organizations to consider the experience and capabilities of all potential candidates. At the same time, the organization is preparing women to step into leadership roles and confidently recognize their own worth.

Doing Business Better

Michelle Dowling, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Rectangle Health and a Women in DSO Advisory Board member, knew she had to identify a return on investment (ROI) when she suggested her company join Women in DSO^®.

“The budget expense required a forward-thinking forum where the best conversations were taking place, where pivotal training was happening, and where we were getting access to more and more decision makers in the DSO world,” says Dowling, “But I think the real power has become that Women in DSO is a place where you can grow your business, your network, and see a return.”

Dowling isn’t an outlier when it comes to needing to demonstrate ROI. Few companies are willing to create a budget line-item that can’t be traced back to some form of measurable benefit, such as the value of data.

“Through Women in DSO, we’re exposed to valuable insights about the industry, best practices, information about the dental landscape, and solutions for challenges like retention,” says Albina Kamara, National Key Account Manager for Kerr Dental.

“We get access to decision makers that could take six months to a year otherwise. Being a member fast-tracks you—and vouches for you in a sense.”

“We get more access to decision makers through Women in DSO, which could take six months to a year otherwise. Being a member fast-tracks you—and vouches for you in a sense,” she adds.

Kamara recalls a large account she managed in which calls were fine but unremarkable. She later went to a Women in DSO event and ran into someone from that large account.

“It completely changed the dynamic of our work relationship,” Kamara says. “Coming back from that, it was a different landscape. It’s as if doors were already opened and our interactions were smoother.”

The name may suggest that a partnership with Women in DSO is primarily focused on elevating women, which it is. However, the lived experience of partners is more about business relationships and how those grow out of the strength of the Women in DSO network.

“It helps my salespeople to count on my connections,” Dowling says. “They can say to me: ‘Michelle, do you know anybody?’ The most inspiring benefit I have from Women in DSO is the connections that facilitate these business conversations that just help everyone in the industry drive it forward.”

Building Strong, Resilient Teams

Labor costs more than any other aspect of a company’s total expenses. And those costs are somewhat contradictory—they are both an expense from an accounting perspective and an asset to be managed.

Women in DSO enables partnering organizations to essentially outsource key professional development functions while keeping the benefits in house.

“If you don’t invest in your people, it could cost you in the long run,” says Shirley Misiak, Vice President, National Accounts Leader for CareCredit and a Women in DSO® Advisory Board member. “If you are constantly hiring, the cost of onboarding and training is high. If you invest in your people, you’re going to retain them and, in the long run, you’re going to have a higher return.”

And then there is the multiplicity of ideas that only a diverse group can generate. Women in DSO® mentoring and events effectively nurture women to be more vocal about their ideas and value, which creates a kind of disruptive energy that undermines siloed thinking and conformist attitudes.

“Best-in-class talent incorporates both men and women that think creatively to bring ideas to the table that challenge and create room for innovation,” says Fagan of Pearl’s promotion philosophy. “That’s why we partner with Women in DSO—because we don’t think we could access or develop the best talent if it was just one gender.”

Kamara describes a similar dynamic at Envista, the parent company for Kerr Dental, in which the goal is to invest partnership funds and in exchange get buy-in from team members.

“Envista invests in Women in DSO because it promotes engagement and retention in our organization by enabling women to elevate themselves and become more deeply enmeshed in what we do,” she says.

Nurturing Female Leaders and Diverse Ideas

Women passed over for promotion are more likely to leave, increasing labor costs and making it almost impossible to create a culture of merit, which eventually yields a static, conformist team.

“It’s not that you need a female on the executive board to say that you have a female,” Fagan says. “That’s not it. But who is the best person for the job? That’s who should be selected for it.”

Often, before anyone can be selected for a leadership role, they must develop the obvious skills to succeed in the role. For men, that development most often happens within their current position with the mentorship of someone in the organization.

While women are also mentored within their own organizations, that mentoring happens less frequently and leads to actual promotions far less often. Women in DSO^® provides the necessary structure, direction, and inspiration for women with career aspirations through contacts with women who’ve already succeeded.

“Years ago, I had the opportunity to FaceTime with the Synchrony CEO, Margaret Keane, and I thanked her for sharing her story, because she started working in the call center,” recalls Misiak. “The platform benefits women aspiring to be leaders because they get to hear the stories of other leaders and they see that it can be done. They also learn how to do it.”

In particular, Women in DSO’s annual Empower and Grow conference is singled out for the impact it has on attendees and the inspiration it provides.

“A visible difference that I’ve seen is increased confidence in up-and-coming female leaders after going to Empower and Grow,” says Fagan. “They’re able to watch and learn what other successful women have done. The conference really creates a networking space for women to ask those questions and learn what it takes to get ahead.”

An added benefit of Women in DSO programs and events is that they enhance and validate the natural tendency women have to complement, combine, and integrate.

“Women often bring a strong focus on team culture,” Kamara says. “I think we’re less transactional in a sense and more community based. When I partner with my male colleagues on an account, we bring different perspectives and have our own strengths, and we can give customers balance and a dynamic experience.”

Preparing for Future Challenges

Dowling remembers what the first Empower and Grow conference was like and how much Women in DSO has changed in such a relatively short time.

“It started out as female empowerment and wellness and all the things that you would say are typical female attributes and it has grossly changed into having a seat at the table, having the hardest conversations,” Dowling says. “How do we grow year over year? What does a mergers-and-acquisitions exit look like? Why is it important? Why should we be involved in strategy?”

Women in DSO Founder and CEO Dr. Aman Kaur has developed the conference year over year to serve attendee needs. She has also recruited members for the board of directors and advisory board who have lengthy resumes and extensive experience—members who would not spend time outside their regular jobs unless they thought the work was serious, meaningful, and forward-looking.

The rapid growth of Empower and Grow into one of the industry’s must-attend events clearly indicates that Women in DSO® is about reading the tea leaves and advancing the industry, not just elevating women.

“When you bring leaders together across an industry, you’re starting to eliminate the silos,” says Misiak. “We’re all faced with the same industry issues, economic headwinds, legislative headwinds. And when you bring leaders together—both men and women—it becomes easier because we’re solving as a profession.”

Choosing the Relationship That Works for You

Women in DSO has built enough flexibility into membership and partnership options that something is available for everyone.

While individual memberships are an option, a better idea is to see if anyone else in your organization is also interested in being a part of Women in DSO^®.

“I would suggest they attend Empower and Grow as an organization team,” says Misiak. “If interested women want to be champions within their own organizations, bring others along so they can see firsthand what the platform can do. If you can’t attend Empower and Grow, attend a networking webinar or event.”

If you want to extract more benefit from a relationship with Women in DSO, make more of a commitment.

“Join a committee to get more involved,” says Fagan. “Create an information session, whether it’s twice a year or quarterly, within your organization where someone from Women in DSO can share what we’re doing, why it’s impactful, and ask people if they’d like to be part of it.”

The pinnacle of the options pyramid is a corporate partnership with Women in DSO. If leadership in your company is unfamiliar with the organization—which is unlikely if you work in dentistry or DSOs—some diplomatic education may be in order. Make a pitch to your leadership, explain what Women in DSO does, and lay out the tangible benefits of a partnership.

“To me it’s simple: sales outcomes,” says Dowling. “New business outcomes drive ROI. But it’s also brand awareness and being present in the industry. Some years it’s more brand, some years it’s more sales, some years it’s trying to get the word out about a new product. This is why being an industry partner means so much.”

Given the transformation, velocity, and launch angle Women in DSO has already realized, it stands to reason that the organization will be the driving force behind industry evolution moving forward.

“Invest in your people and they will be loyal to you forever,” Fagan says. “A partnership with Women in DSO allows you as an organization to focus on your business and offer resources to upand- coming female leaders—to help them feel seen and heard within your organization.”

No longer an emerging organization, Women in DSO is a strategic platform shaping how the dental industry develops leaders, builds resilient teams, and prepares for what comes next. For partners, the choice is clear: Invest in your people, accelerate your business, and participate in shaping the future leadership of dentistry.

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Perspectives

We Don’t Just Optimize. We Originate.

02/27/2026

10 min. to read

The Next Advantage Isn’t Margin—It’s Innovation

By Dr. Greg White

As leaders, we wake up every day trying to move things forward—teams, communities, organizations, and sometimes entire cultures. High ambition creates a wild ride. And if you’ve been anywhere near dentistry over the past five years, you know the ride hasn’t exactly been gentle.

I’ve always loved a line from one of my favorite storytellers, Jimmy Buffett. He wrote about a friend who “went to Paris looking for answers to questions that troubled him so.” Jimmy asked him, “Did you find the answers?” And the friend replied, “There are no answers, but the search generated a lot of interesting stories.”

That’s leadership. That’s business. That’s dentistry right now. We may not have found all the answers we expected to find in the last half-decade, but if you’ve been in the arena, you’ve generated plenty of interesting stories.

The Market Matured—and It Changed the Rules

For a long stretch, the DSO industry was dominated by efficiency: cost control, scale, systems, margin management, and standardization. The “machine” got built, and a lot of organizations built it well. But the market matured.

Efficiency used to be differentiation. Now it’s table stakes. It’s no longer the trophy; it’s the admission ticket. It’s the ante to stay in the game.

And when the chairs are arranged and the music starts up, the organizations that win won’t be the ones who can only cut costs. They’ll be the ones who can build value.

Because profitability in the next era will be fueled by innovation and engagement, not just margin management.

Some Entered the Theater Looking for the Exit

Here’s a picture that keeps coming back to me: No one enters a movie theater looking for the exit. You don’t walk in, sit down, and think, “How fast can I get out of here?” Your mind is focused on the story unfolding.

Yet many in our industry-built cultures centered on the end scene, not the experience of the film. They optimized everything around the exit (around the equity event) and around the final score. Monday-morning quarterbacking is always easier than game day, but in retrospect, we can make a case that this was predictable.

“If you enter the theater looking for the exit, why would you care about the quality of the film?”

Post-pandemic fear accelerated consolidation, and valuations climbed. Pipelines became a flex. Differentiation among DSOs was used to attract affiliate doctors. Healthy pipelines attracted investors. The deals were made, and the clock began ticking.

For affiliate doctors: retirement timelines.

For investors: return timelines.

For leadership teams: performance timelines.

And most in our industry—whether we admit it or not—became aligned around one finish line: the next equity event.

Then the predictable part arrived. Inflation emerged as a result of federal cash infusion in the US economy. Interest rates increased. Global unrest continued. Regulation tightened. And suddenly, the market that had been sprinting hit the kind of fatigue that makes even optimistic leaders start looking for the water table.

And for many groups, there was no contingency plan because the strategy was the exit. Arbitrage was the plan—the only plan.

Which brings us back to that movie theater. If you enter the theater looking for the exit, why would you care about the quality of the film? Culture suffers. Innovation dies. Engagement evaporates. And when the leaders are disengaged, the team can smell it. They can smell the BS.

The Human Capital Blind Spot

Here’s what I believe we overlooked, but that the right leaders are uniquely positioned to correct:
We optimized processes more than potential.

We treated talent like labor—not like leverage.

Leaders know people matter, but many DSOs don’t have systems that turn human potential into enterprise value. For the past two years especially, many poured energy into creating efficient systems, and by and large, failed to unlock the human capability sitting inside those systems.

And the truth is, the skill sets required now have changed.

This next era is going to reward organizations that invest in people who can think strategically, solve problems, innovate, and lead through ambiguity.

The next strategic advantage isn’t another layer of reporting or another dashboard. It’s unlocking the full potential of your people.

Profit Follows Engagement (and Disengagement Is Expensive)

Engagement is the number-one predictor of profitability. And yet, if we’re honest, most teams in the dental industry have lived through an extended stretch of uncertainty, burnout, and emotional whiplash. Disengagement shows up quietly at first: slower adoption, less ownership, more turnover, more drama, more excuses, less creativity.

And disengagement is expensive: financially, operationally, culturally.

Private equity–backed DSOs often unintentionally train doctors and leadership teams to think in “exit math.” When every early conversation starts with “Here’s how you’ll get paid at the next event,” it’s hard to build a culture that wakes up fired up about Monday.

So what if the mindset shifted from “One day we’ll cash out,” to “What value are we building now?”

Who we partner with matters. And the stage for a great partnership is set by expectations.

When affiliate conversations begin with exit math, there’s little motivation to engage in the behavior change required to build a winning culture. Achieving a desired final score without a game plan is as effective as a budget without a business plan.

Rethink Incentives: Align to Daily Value Creation

Dentists don’t wake up excited to contribute to EBITDA. They wake up excited about impact, pride, autonomy, excellence, patient outcomes, team culture, and, if you selected well, contribution. We have to be cautious of dentists whose primary goal is to exit the chair. Someone has to do the work. The doctors you want get excited to contribute to the mission. So, make it worth their time.

The current state in many DSOs is that providers and teams are aligned to liquidity, not daily value creation.

The future state has to look different:

Align compensation with innovation, inspiration, and culture.
Align recognition and decision-making to performance in the present, not just the promise of a payout.
Avoid tying everything to financial metrics alone, because when you do, you’ll create a tyranny of the urgent at the expense of what’s truly important—and morale will suffer.

Great organizations cling to purpose—not people. We should focus on the humble, hungry, and emotionally smart. Thinkers. Builders. And prune away the disengaged and arrogant. Because in a tighter market, we’re competing for a limited number of chairs.

This Is Where Leaders Step Up

This is the time for leaders to step up.

If we stop anchoring everything to the exit, what innovation might our doctors and teams feel permission to pursue today?

Differentiation is now measured in terms of leadership and innovation. This is critical at both the office level and the enterprise level.

Many founding doctors built something of great value with their teams. The practice isn’t just a P&L. The doctor and the team are the practice, built on decades of trust and relationships. And, that value only transfers well through a carefully planned transition. It takes clarity, cooperation, planning, and time.

The Capability Areas DSOs Can’t Ignore Anymore

Capability, motivation, and innovation will take us further. And all of it requires discipline—the same discipline that built great practices in the first place. Because without discipline, we become prisoners of our bad habits and we get the results we deserve. Bad habits, at first, are like chains—too light to be felt. But in time they become too heavy to be broken.

The Capability Ladder: How to Unlock What You Already Have

If we’re playing to win, let’s access the team we have.

First: Know your people.
Map strengths, interests, and hidden expertise. You’ll be shocked what you discover when you stop treating job titles like identity.

Second: Activate teams.
Give them ownership over solutions and ideation. People engage with what they feel part of.

Third: Build shared language.
Common language around goals, service, growth, and behavior.

Simple shared frameworks can create alignment faster—lean into what you think will resonate most with your team.

Fourth: Invest in skill growth.
Don’t invest just in CE, but invest in leadership, innovation, and strategic thinking, such as AI-driven leadership training, EI workshops, and staff development days. Make it a deliberate practice around how to think—not just what to do.

Not all people seek to be inspired, but some do. And all people are attracted to optimism and energy when it’s authentic and has substance behind it.

Which brings us to the true job description of leadership.

Innovation Isn’t a Department—It’s a Culture

Your team doesn’t want to sit in the audience. They want a role in the story. So, leaders must create environments where ideas are not just welcomed but expected.

Innovation is not a department. It’s a culture powered by clarity, permission, and collaboration.

And the advantage will favor those who create that culture.

If you want to boil human innovation down to three levers, here they are:

Provide clarity: paint the picture. Make the plan understandable.
Give agency: permission to act, permission to try, permission to fail and learn.
Offer recognition: celebrate visibly and often. Praise in public. Correct in private.

Be open, honest, and transparent with your key team members. Train them and let them go. Let them fail, learn, and succeed. People who are going nowhere can take on no fellow travelers. If you don’t paint a clear picture of where you’re leading, you’ll look behind you and see no one.

And be clear in communication. Most relationships are lost in the gap between what is said but not meant— and what is meant but not said.

“Engagement is the number-one predictor of profitability.”

A Mantra for the Next Era

We’re moving into an era where we must wage war on complexity. Simplify systems. Streamline operations. Hire talent. Lease expertise when needed. Invest in people who can build, not just maintain.

And most of all, stop building cultures centered only on the end scene.

Because the story matters. The experience matters. The way value is built day after day matters.

So here’s a mantra I believe the winners will live by: We don’t just optimize. We originate.

Innovation must lead. We need to create the environment where the thought can live, grow, and turn into action. That requires top talent, disciplined leadership, and a culture of engagement.

The music is starting up again. The chairs are limited.

Let’s make sure we’re not just trying to sit down.

Let’s make sure we’re building something worth standing for.

Dr. Greg White

Dr. Greg White serves as the president and CEO of PepperPointe Partnerships, and is one of the founding partners of White, Greer and Maggard Orthodontics (WGM). WGM formed in 1991, and is currently part of one of the largest, privately-owned pediatric and orthodontic group practices in the country. Prior to leading PepperPointe’s significant growth, he actively practiced orthodontics for more than 25 years.

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Leadership

Clean Water, Clear Purpose

02/27/2026

11 min. to read

Integrity isn’t an innovation. It’s a series of conscious choices that defines Agenics and the future of safe dentistry.

Every patient that leans back in a dental chair trusts that the water is clean and safe. Usually, it is. When it’s not, the complications can be life changing.

In 2016, for example, more than 70 patients of an Orange County, California, children’s dental practice experienced infections that were later traced back to unclean water at the practice. As a result, some children lost parts of their jaws, adult teeth, and even some hearing.

Dental water infections are far more common than they should be. That they happen at all speaks not to our ability to keep water clean but instead to a lack of organizational rigor and the prioritization of profits over people.

Having learned at the feet of a clean water pioneer and evangelist for a people-first business approach, I know that every instance of dental water infection can be traced to misplaced priorities, lax protocols, and flawed understanding. Thankfully, the technology available now gives dentists the tools to virtually eliminate dental water infections.

“Clean water isn’t just about safety—it’s a reflection of values.”

A Legacy Rooted in Service

While most people in the developed world don’t think twice about water quality unless they’re unfortunate enough to get sick, I can scarcely remember a time when it wasn’t part of my life.

My father, Brad Downs, was a chemical engineer who, in the 1990s, signed on to an Army Corps of Engineers project in Colorado, where our family would soon live. The ambitious project goal was to purify 3 million gallons of contaminated groundwater from the Rocky Flats nuclear site north of Denver. Of all the bids submitted, only Dad’s proposed purifying the water instead of hauling it to a nuclear waste site. That water was eventually purified so well it was safely returned to local rivers and streams.

The success of the Army Corps project convinced my father he could adapt the technology and scale it down to meet the needs of missionaries in Papua New Guinea who were regularly getting sick from biocontaminated water.

Buoyed by his faith, experience, and enthusiasm, he set off with a backpack full of equipment for the South Pacific island nation. Before long, he fashioned both a purification system and a solar-powered microbiological test lab to confirm water safety.

Clean water isn’t just about safety—it’s a reflection of values.

Portable Water Treatment System

Treated Sample

Ukarumpa River Untreated

Discovering a New Mission

Dad returned home still buzzing from his recent successes and looking for a new way to make a difference. He found it in early 2000 when ABC News’ 20/20 ran a story called “Dentistry’s Dirty Little Secret,” which highlighted a dental practice biocontamination water problem that was surprisingly common.

Only months later, dental water purity expert Dr. Shannon Mills published an article in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) entitled, “The Dental Unit Waterline Controversy: Defusing the Myths, Defining the Solutions.” Dr. Mills described the ideal water treatment agent in terms of efficacy, safety, and cost, and concluded that no such agent had been discovered.

For my parents, the JADA article presented a worthy challenge and a purpose they could not ignore.

I still remember sitting with my father in the crawl space of our home as he worked to develop the ideal water treatment solution Dr. Mills had outlined. Recognizing the need to pair technology with user-friendly design, my mother, Theresa, did all she could to understand the needs of dental practitioners. She even trained as a dental assistant and worked in a clinic to see how treatment products could fit seamlessly into existing workflows.

At a young age, I could not then accurately describe the feeling that permeated our home, but now I know that it was purpose. Always present and attentive to their children, my parents were also driven to make a societal contribution and improve the world they lived in; they were moved by higher principles and values.

“The goal should be zero dental water infections.”

Driven by Science and Service

After months of research and experimentation, my father identified silver as the ideal water treatment agent and created a novel process to produce it in a usable form factor. Not long after, my parents’ company Sterisil was born and throughout the first decade of this millennium, they developed a leading line of patented dental waterline treatment technologies.

Sterisil still creates the only products recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that treat and maintain water purity at a level of 10 colony-forming units (CFUs) per milliliter of water, which is 50 times cleaner than the 500 CFU/mL standard established for drinking water by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and embraced by the ADA.

In 2011, my parents started Agenics Labs as an independent dental waterline testing company. I worked various jobs in the family business growing up but formally started my dental career alongside my parents after obtaining a bachelor’s of science in engineering. My husband-to-be Greg Niederschulte and I joined the company together and spent the next several years learning all there is to know about dental water purity. In 2022, Sterisil was sold to private equity without Agenics, and my parents entered semiretirement to run their new foundation, Our King’s Way.

In 2023, Greg and I acquired Agenics and are now putting all our efforts into maintaining the legacy my parents created.

Profit as an Outcome, Not a Goal

Thinking back to those 73 kids in Orange County, as troubling as the infections were, there is another aspect of that case that I think might be more disturbing.

After the outbreak led local public health authorities to the dental practices, a more thorough investigation discovered that the practice had performed more than 1,000 pulpotomies (root canals on children) between January and September of 2016.

Subsequent lawsuits filed on behalf of the children’s families alleged “predatory dentistry” and “production quotas” that ultimately sacrificed the children’s health on the altar of greater profits.

Were all those 1,000 plus pulpotomies necessary? It’s difficult to say definitively, but clearly the families of those impacted didn’t think so. I’ve imagined the trauma of a root canal performed on a toddler, and it makes this entire episode that much more troubling and shines a bright light on the priority of water quality.

Did the practice owners rely on municipal water quality and think testing was unnecessary? Perhaps, and they wouldn’t be alone. Many practices adhere to the “good enough” principle when it comes to water quality and nothing bad ever happens, until something does.

The Orange County outbreak also illustrates for me exactly what my parents were guarding against when they explained—with emphasis and passion—the unassailable hierarchy of business priorities: people, product, and then profit. The first two are the constant focus, and the third is the reward.

If dental practices cut corners, even with the best of intentions, at the expense of patient safety, they’re potentially putting both patients and practice at risk.

Good Intentions Aren’t Enough

Even if most or all dental water infections are the product of error, not avarice, that probably doesn’t matter to the infected patient. The goal should be zero dental water infections.

Our philosophy is that the best intentions are close to worthless without proper training, rigidly adhered-to protocols, and robust technology.

Consider Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto for a relevant comparison. Gawande’s book illustrates how even the most dedicated, well-trained, and compassionate surgeons and surgical teams make mistakes without robust protocols in the form of simple posted checklists that include no-brainers like “wash hands.”

Perhaps it would be different if states conducted periodic water-quality tests that practices had to prepare for. Currently, however, only Georgia and Washington state mandate regular testing.

And those infections do keep happening. According to the CDC in 2022, multiple outbreaks of nontuberculous mycobacteria infections have occurred in children who received treatment at practices with water contaminated with high levels of bacteria.

“Dental providers should be familiar with these recommendations on how to properly maintain and monitor their dental equipment to ensure that dental treatment water is safe for patient care,” the CDC says.

“People, product, and then profit. The first two are the focus. The third is the reward.”

Protecting Your Patients and Your Practice

The cost of defending a negligence lawsuit and paying damages would be too high for most practices to survive.

But before an infection scenario ever gets to this extreme, most providers are simply concerned with properly and professionally caring for patients, which is a priority we share.

Agenics is dedicated to ensuring that patients don’t suffer devastating infections from routine procedures. While only Washington and Georgia have mandated water testing with a specified frequency, 43 states have codified the CDC guidelines for water quality into law, and all states recognize maintaining and monitoring dental water as the standard of care.

Agenics’ services begin with water testing but extend through comprehensive support, including protocol development, failure remediation, and extensive training. Bacteria testing is most commonly performed via the gold standard EPA Method 9215c using Reasoner’s 2A (R2A) agar—a venerable approach particularly effective at growing the bacteria common in dental waterlines. We’ve branded this our StandardCheck service, and it is a reliable baseline for whether a practice meets the basic EPA standard for drinking water.

When evaluating water samples with StandardCheck, Agenics uses a digital reader, which rapidly counts the number of bacterial colonies on a given sample. By removing the potential for human error, Agenics establishes confidence in both the reports we provide and the solutions we recommend.

Continuing the legacy of innovation, Agenics also offers RapidCheck: the most advanced bacteria detection method available. Agenics developed this specialized process in-house using thousands of real-world dental samples to create the most extensive and reliable test results available. With results in just 24 hours thanks to flow cytometry, this test meets the intense demands of high-throughput practices.

If a test reveals a bacteria level above the EPA minimum, Agenics looks deeper into potential sources, which may not be obvious. Water sources may be an issue, as might a dental chair’s frequency of use. (If narrow waterlines are not flushed and treated frequently, biofilm forms and quickly multiplies.) The water quality reports we provide are comprehensive and include data on alkalinity, total dissolved solids, and potential inhibitors of treatment agents.

From a generation of water treatment expertise, we’ve also learned to recognize unique water quality patterns such as the changes from spring to fall in municipal water or the differences in types of bottled water. As the only independent lab in the industry—Agenics does not sell any treatment or shock products—we can honestly review the effectiveness of any given product for a specific dental practice.

These are all things that most dentists don’t have the time or training to understand, but they can have an impact on clinical quality and patient safety. Instead of putting their livelihoods at risk, dentists can make water quality the responsibility of professionals who concentrate on nothing else.

Brad Downs, Brianna (Downs) Niederschulte, and Theresa Downs inside Agenics’ microbiology lab.

Built on Principle, Leading with Purpose

I share my family’s story because it’s a reminder that an inherited legacy must still be protected every day or it will die. My parents built their professional lives on faith, integrity, and a simple truth: When people come first, success naturally follows.

That conviction drives Agenics today as much as it did when my parents were running the company. They taught me that embracing belief and service—purpose and meaning—is a better way to live. My parents never let us forget that seeing money as a primary objective would eventually cheapen our lives.

Growing up, my mother told us her goal was to raise children who cared about other people more than financial or business success. Our goal is for Agenics to succeed because we put first things first and trust the reward to come from consistent, values-driven business principles. Every sample Agenics tests, every partnership we embrace, is an act of legacy stewardship that honors where we came from and defines where we are going. Greg and I could think of no better way to honor my parents than to carry on as they taught us.

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Leadership

Ushering In Dentistry’s Overdue Future

02/27/2026

10 min. to read

DR. RANIA SALEH IS ON A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL MISSION TO UNITE THE CLINICAL AND BUSINESS SIDES OF DENTAL PRACTICES IN ONE SOFTWARE PLATFORM

In the early 2000s, newly minted dentist Dr. Rania Saleh faced a dilemma: she knew how to be a great dentist, but she found herself in an environment where it was almost impossible.

“I was working in an extremely busy practice as an associate, and I couldn’t continue the way that practice demanded, knowing that there was a better way to do it,” she says. “I wanted patients to understand their conditions, how their general health was affecting their oral health, and their diagnosis before we committed to a treatment.”

So, Saleh struck out on her own, ready to do things her way, opening a practice near Washington, DC. But even after opening her own cosmetic dental office and implementing an in-depth, diagnosis-focused approach to examining and treating patients, she found that the available dental software on the market was more hindrance than help, particularly in terms of getting her entire team on the same page when doing examinations.

Saleh knew technology could empower dentists to better serve their patients with enhanced clinical care and education. She also knew she had a Kois Center-inspired examination protocol that worked, and that modernized technology could only make it better.

Guided by an undaunted attitude informed by a childhood shuttled between war-afflicted Lebanon and Canada, a strong belief in her own abilities, and an extensive knowledge of the dental industry, Saleh decided she could create what the industry lacked. In 2016, she founded Oryx Dental and began developing the platform, starting with her clinical approach to patient exams.

The vision behind Oryx is clear and direct: give dentistry the technological support and innovation it has lacked for so long—and watch the industry reach its full potential.

Dental Health Is Healthcare

Saleh developed the detailed examination protocol she would later apply to her practice and to Oryx after she was introduced to the Kois Center and completed the program in Seattle. The Center’s comprehensive, evidence-based methodology upended her view of traditional, procedure-based dentistry. It also posed a fundamental question in terms of treating patients.

“Would dental patients have the patience for an exam that might stretch to hours if they knew it would significantly improve their outcomes?” she recalls asking herself.

Indeed, she discovered, they would.

As Saleh’s private practice in DC rapidly grew and her patients embraced extensive, detailed exams and information, Saleh started getting feedback on her somewhat unusual methods.

“I would get calls from the GI department at Georgetown,” Saleh says. “They’d say, ‘Thank you so much for referring these patients. We were able to discover early cancers. We didn’t know that dentists could find these things.’”

The Kois Center-derived approach was working. As her thriving practice grew to two locations, Saleh hired associates to meet demand. But when she became pregnant with twins and was put on bed rest for five months, her associates were unable to maintain the standard of care and the business suffered.

Saleh found herself at a crossroads. The bed rest finally gave her time to reassess her strategy and revise her exam protocol, which she began teaching in earnest to her associates to try to boost her practice. Still, she couldn’t be in the clinic looking over their shoulders.

At this point, she started discussing with her husband, an engineer for a healthcare IT company, how she could duplicate the exam protocol using software. Clearly, there must be a better way to get consistent results through technology, even if dentistry had yet to discover it.

That’s when the beginnings of Oryx Dental went from concept to reality.

“Dentistry has been underserved by software for decades.”

Putting Clinical Care at the Core of a Broader Platform

“There was no clinical component at all,” Saleh says of dentistry software back in the day. “You could complete an exam by just writing two lines, or by entering a few data points. Nothing was guiding the dentist to go through a very thorough process.”

Dentists also juggle marketing, billing, and business management alongside clinical work, often falling back on manual, disconnected processes just to get things done. Previously, the software available to help with those tasks was neither integrated nor efficient. In terms of pace and pizzazz, the existing solutions were like a horse-drawn carriage.

“There were a lot of workflow inefficiencies in the software on the market in 2016,” Saleh says. “Software functioned more like different data entry points that you had to put together, and the output was not a treatment plan but just a procedure code and a price.”

Saleh envisioned something precise and responsive—a sports car instead of a carriage. Thinking of systems used more broadly in healthcare, she set out to develop a platform that both drives clinical evaluation workflows and improves the efficiency of those workflows.

Conceptually, the solution also had to be a fully integrated platform that included messaging, scheduling, billing, and other front-desk functions automatically generated by a triggering event like the completion of a patient exam.

“Oryx is about having an amazing workflow from start to finish, making sure you’re delivering the best clinical care, and, on the business side, taking care of everything you need to,” says Saleh.

It’s been more than a century since horse-drawn carriages were considered advanced technology. Perhaps it’s time to stop thinking that the software equivalent is useful.

Smarter Providers and Patients

“My goal has always been to empower dentists and also to empower patients—and to create an amazing relationship between them,” says Saleh.

As the starting point for her clinical protocol, Saleh relied on the Kois Center’s foundational four-part examination methodology: gum health, condition of teeth, bite and jaw joint, and overall smile.

“You assign a risk in each area, so when you explain the patient’s dental health to them, they understand the risks involved,” Saleh says. “Patients really liked that, even though it was time-consuming.”

Indeed, this clinical approach is what makes Oryx a unique platform that elevates the way dentistry is practiced. Saleh highlights the educational materials the system makes readily available to providers at the point of care, which are updated regularly.

These materials drive the thorough and detailed explanations patients receive during exams, which increase engagement and understanding. That improved understanding, Saleh emphasizes, is the product of a system that looks at the big picture and focuses on the confluence of factors that impact overall health.

“Traditionally, dentistry has been procedure-focused, at least in part because of how insurance is paid.” Saleh explains. “Dentists become conditioned to look for problems rather than looking at the patient’s general health. Oryx enables them to see the full picture.”

7 Minutes to Better Heath

Dental providers need effective software to improve clinical performance and patient satisfaction.

Consider how Oryx uses images to ensure that both the clinician and the patient clearly see what’s happening. Where dentists have typically used a digital SLR to take high-quality images, Oryx supports an iPhone app to take photos that go straight into the chart.

“We saw compliance skyrocket in data collection with the introduction of this app,” Saleh says. “And users are saying the reports generated for patients have more value with the photos.”

Of course, a busy dental practice still doesn’t have hours for each check-up, as Saleh originally envisioned the ideal patient examination. In developing Oryx, and in working with John Kois, Saleh and her team have created a standard, templated exam that incorporates the Kois Center’s evidence-based treatment protocols and employs clinical decision support.

“There’s a very structured exam,” Saleh says. “It takes about seven minutes to do on any patient, and this is the best seven minutes you can spend. When you’re done with the exam, the next steps for diagnosis and treatment are clear.”

That Oryx can support a diagnosis after seven minutes is in part enabled by how the platform can be configured for specific practices and patient bases. For example, Oryx includes pediatric exams, questionnaires, and photos; prompts for questions about fluoride; and unique workflows to accommodate specialty practices.

“What we wanted was to be able to focus on just the clinical stuff that simplifies everybody’s life and makes things easier for patients,” explains Dr. Christopher Baer, a Colorado clinician and Oryx user. “We’ve seen a dramatic improvement in case acceptance because of the way that we can present the information.”

Better Tools, Better Dentistry

As with health care generally, software as a service (SaaS) and AI innovations are key to bringing the dental industry up to date in terms of what is technologically possible.

Because Oryx is implemented using a SaaS approach, the platform can be segmented to meet the needs of multioffice practices or DSOs with multiple locations. The SaaS model also eliminates the need for on-premise data centers and makes future expansion to accommodate growth a simple process that negates local data center demands and requirements.

What will really enable dentistry to evolve from the antiquated technology of just a decade ago to the cutting-edge potential of now is AI and the functions it makes possible, such as ambient listening and image scans.

“It’s going to make clinicians and front-office workflows a lot more efficient,” Saleh says, “but most importantly, it is going to improve the patient experience. Clinicians in our offices who use AI tell us, ‘I can look the patient in the face. We can have a conversation.’ I think dentists and patients will have a much better relationship once all the clutter is gone.”

Oryx objectively represents a leap forward in an industry that has relied on old-fashioned legacy software for decades. Just as hospitals and clinics made the jump to the digital age two decades ago, dentistry is having its own digital moment now.

“Dentistry has been underserved by software for decades,” Saleh says. “Some offices were reluctant to adopt certain tools because the benefit was not clear, but when software is clearly built for specific purposes and provides documented benefits, the decision is much easier to make.”

The Future of Dentistry Is Now

Saleh knew dentists and patients deserved better, and she had the confidence to believe she could deliver. From more consistent protocols to better education to more structured exams, Oryx enables dentists to practice in a way that is a huge leap forward from even a few years ago.

And the practices that have moved to Oryx have quickly noticed the business benefits and improvements to patient treatment.

“We had a DSO that moved to Oryx, and they doubled their production in one year,” Saleh recalls. “Their case acceptance and referral rate more than doubled because they had this consistency. It didn’t matter if it was the lead doctor or the new junior doctor seeing a patient. Everyone was doing the same exam, everyone was doing the same treatment plan.”

The funny thing about the future is how hard it is to know when you’re in it. Appreciating the difference between a horse-drawn carriage and a sports car, however, is very easy. Saleh is confident that dentistry can recognize this significant moment—that now is the time for groundbreaking change— and appreciate the increase in velocity.

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