Latest / Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast / David Thoni, Chief Growth Officer at Independence Dental

Transcript

David Thoni, Chief Growth Officer at Independence Dental · Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast

• 0:03
  It is so important for leaders at the top of organizations to keep learning,
• 0:07
  stay sharp, grow their networks,
• 0:09
  help our audience better do this in a more simplified, personalized,
• 0:12
  and meaningful way. Becker's Healthcare has launched my b h c,
• 0:16
  it's your trusted Becker's healthcare experience and more with content,
• 0:19
  connections, events, and learning opportunities.
• 0:22
  Join the community free of charge@www.my dot becker's hospital
• 0:27
  review.com, and we'll see you there.
• 0:33
  This is Riz Hatton with the Becker's Dental with DSO podcast.
• 0:37
  I'm thrilled to be joined today by David Tony,
• 0:40
  chief Growth Officer of Independence Dental. David,
• 0:44
  thank you so much for being here today.
• 0:46
  Well, thank you Rose for having me.
• 0:48
  Fantastic. Well,
• 0:49
  could you start by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about your
• 0:52
  background?
• 0:53
  Sure. Again, that's, uh, David Tony.
• 0:56
  I'm the Chief Growth Officer of Independence, uh, dental. Um, in that role,
• 1:00
  I'm mainly head up all of the business development, uh, efforts. I, uh,
• 1:05
  come from the dental implant world for many years. I was with, uh,
• 1:09
  noble Biocare and leadership roles in the US and Europe before going over to the
• 1:13
  Straumann group where I was heading up their Neo dent division, um,
• 1:17
  in global markets outside of Brazil. Uh, from there I went on to,
• 1:22
  uh, uh, be the president of Clear Choice and Implant Centers East Division. Um,
• 1:27
  and during the pandemic, myself and a few other, uh, partners launched,
• 1:32
  uh, a new and differentiated type of dso uh, platform here in the States.
• 1:38
  Fantastic. Thank you. So my first question for you is,
• 1:42
  what are the biggest issues you're following in dental today?
• 1:47
  Wow. Well, the, uh, there's several and, uh,
• 1:49
  of course right now the biggest issue is, uh, you know, what's going on with,
• 1:53
  uh, credit markets, uh, with the, uh, uh, the economy, uh, in general.
• 1:58
  There's just, uh, so much uncertainty and, uh, inflation and,
• 2:02
  and rates going up and, uh, we're, we're watching all of that, uh, you know,
• 2:07
  very closely.
• 2:09
  Interesting. Thank you.
• 2:10
  So what are you most excited about and what makes you nervous when you think
• 2:15
  about the future of dentistry?
• 2:18
  Um, well, that, you know, that's a great question.
• 2:20
  We actually founded this platform because of some of our concerns around,
• 2:25
  not all DSOs,
• 2:26
  but many DSOs and what we would call corporate driven dentistry or quota driven
• 2:31
  dentistry, and, and perhaps some of the, uh, you know, the negative impacts of,
• 2:36
  uh, you know, focusing, you know, only on, or mainly on cost and,
• 2:41
  and just trying to drive cost out of the system, you know, uh, you know,
• 2:45
  cheaper, you know, care. Um,
• 2:48
  and as the market is consolidating very quickly into corporate dentistry, um,
• 2:53
  we wanted to create a,
• 2:55
  a platform for those type of dentists that still wanted to practice in a premium
• 3:00
  manner and, uh, you know, not be told, you know, what to do. Uh,
• 3:05
  so, uh, many concerns going on around, uh, the whole, uh, uh,
• 3:10
  you know, space with, uh, with dentistry. But I think that, uh, uh,
• 3:14
  there's always gonna be a home for, you know,
• 3:17
  the boutique dentist that really wants to focus on, you know, quality dentistry.
• 3:22
  Could you talk a bit about what makes, um, a good dso?
• 3:26
  What are some of the traits, um, that you've found that good DSOs have?
• 3:30
  Well, gosh, there's so many DSOs out there, and they come in many different, uh,
• 3:34
  uh, flavors. So I wouldn't wanna label one good, you know, or bad.
• 3:40
  Um, there's, uh, uh, there, there's a, a, a place for, you know,
• 3:45
  for all of them and, and, you know, different, uh, you know, types of practices.
• 3:50
  Uh, some of the, the bigger,
• 3:51
  more traditional DSOs provide a transition opportunity for,
• 3:56
  um, dentists that are, uh, looking to, to retire and,
• 4:00
  and can't find a, uh, another dentist in this market to, uh, to buy them.
• 4:05
  Um, so what I like to tell, you know, clients is, you know,
• 4:09
  really take a look at the business model and see if it's a good fit for you and
• 4:13
  your, both, your short and your long-term, uh, goals. Uh, you know,
• 4:17
  you really only get one chance to, to sell your practice. And, uh,
• 4:21
  you're gonna be in most of these dental partnership organizations partnered with
• 4:25
  them for three to five years. So, um,
• 4:27
  you really wanna make sure that how they operate is,
• 4:30
  is and how they're gonna ask you to provide dentistry is, uh, uh,
• 4:35
  you know, very, very important because there's no looking back after you've,
• 4:38
  you've signed on.
• 4:41
  Great. Thank you.
• 4:43
  So what will the most effective healthcare leaders need to be successful in the
• 4:47
  next two to three years?
• 4:50
  Um, you know,
• 4:52
  one of the things that I think about a lot is culture.
• 4:55
  And what's interesting about that is that it seems like every organization now
• 5:00
  has read enough books. They know enough about what to say about culture.
• 5:06
  Um, but what leaders really need is, is authenticity,
• 5:10
  because, uh, culture is more than just the, the, the, the,
• 5:16
  the slogans and you talking about, uh, uh, accountability,
• 5:21
  uh, which, which you really mean is fear. Um,
• 5:24
  and I just think that there's a lot of leaders out there that, uh,
• 5:27
  are paying lip service, uh, to culture. Uh, and they really need to be, uh,
• 5:32
  authentic and meet their employees and their partners where they're at and have,
• 5:37
  you know, more real conversations and to, you know, to listen to them more.
• 5:42
  Um, I think that seems to be lacking in, in many, many organizations right now.
• 5:48
  Fantastic. Well, David,
• 5:49
  thank you so much for joining me today and for all of your fascinating insights.
• 5:54
  I look forward to connecting with you again in the future.
• 5:57
  Yes, thank you. You have a wonderful day,
• 6:00
  and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.
• 6:03
  Thank you.