Company Report: Pacific Dental Services, Inc
The Dentists' Choice Pacific Dental Services (PDSTM) of Irvine, CA, offers a full package of services to help dentists open private and group practices, keep it all running smoothly, allowing more patient time

Dentists’ offices have been around since the days of George Washington. Starting one nowadays, however, can be quite difficult.

Large amounts of school debt often prevent new dentists from receiving assistance. Then there’s the increasingly complex regulations arena with managed care, etc. to maneuver, not to mention just keeping up with new technology and procedures. It’s enough to make anyone interested in starting a practice think twice.

This is where Pacific Dental Services can help. Based in Irvine, CA, the company offers business support services to dentists and dental practices, providing the infrastructure and assistance a client needs to make decisions for today and the future. PDS’ full service includes assistance with site selection, staffing, employee benefits, daily operations, marketing, group vendor discounts, accounting and managed healthcare contracts.

“Our core competency is in helping develop group practices. If we’re not the strongest in that we’re definitely top tier,” says Stephen Thorne, CEO, President and founder. “We also have a strong bend toward the owner/doctor model compared to our competitors.”

PDS estimates it can increase a company’s annual revenue by more than $200,000. Studies indicate dentists average six to 20 hours a week handling the administrative side of their practices. If that time could be cut down to just an hour or two, the remaining time could be spent strengthening patient relationships and taking on new clients, Thorne says.

A LOOK BACK
Thorne grew up around his father’s dentistry practice and his first job as a UCLA graduate in 1989 was installing a computer system in his dad’s office. He eventually went fulltime to help run the business and stayed on until 1993.

Thorne’s idea for PDS came when several of his father’s colleagues asked if he could provide consultation services for office management and technology. It became clear there was a need for the service.

Thorne opened PDS’ Costa Mesa headquarters in 1994, and then moved to Irvine, CA, in 2004. With the company’s growth it’s since expanded to regional support offices in Sacramento, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV, with additions planned for Colorado and Texas. By the end of 2009, the company anticipates it’ll be assisting more than 195 dental practices in all of these locales, creating a network of nearly 3,000 team members and affiliated dentists.

Since 2002, the company has experienced 30 percent annual growth and currently has revenue of $300 million. Thorne says though dentistry is a $100 billion industry, it’s not immune to the economic downturn.

“Unlike the medical industry, a majority of payments coming into the system are from patients – approximately 70 percent. With patients’ lessened ability to access credit in the current economy, it affects us, too,” he says.

SHIFTS IN DENTISTRY
Dentistry has long been a male-dominated field, with a 4/1 ratio as recent as 2003. This demographic is changing, however.

“This year marks the first time the graduating class has more females than males. As some of the older dentists retire, there’s a major shift happening towards more females in the field,” Thorne says.

Another trend is a significant increase in group practices. According to a major supplier, Thorne says, in the last four years the average growth has been an annual 20-24 percent while private practices have contracted.

“Large group practice is really changing how the dental delivery model will be in the future. Historically, dentistry has been a very fragmented delivery system. All of that is changing. Groups like ours 10 years ago were frowned upon by the powers that be in dentistry, but they’re seeing that the combination of well-managed practices, good support services and benefits packages for dentists, combined with great continuing education, can be a very positive thing.” Thorne says. “One of our dentists recently sold a practice to a doctor outside the organization. When they went to get benefits and employee packages, they found a 40 percent increase in the cost.”

Having a well-run practice is especially important as patient numbers are increasing. Aging Baby Boomers, a senior population that’s living longer, and more attention to dental health and personal appearance – which is driving tooth whitening and other cosmetic procedures have all led to more patients.

QUALITY ASSURANCE
The dental industry tends to be self-regulated, with very little oversight when it comes to quality, says Thorne. PDS employs a comprehensive quality improvement program for its operations. It starts with education and training when new dentists join the organization. PDS utilizes metrics and evaluations, facility and documentation audits and, because of its all-digital networks, is able to communicate the information.

“We’ve developed a more holistic improvement system. A dentist who needs help perfecting root canals can find training and equipment,” Thorne says. “I think it’s eventually going to be a large difference between group and solo practices – having these resources.”

As far as employees, PDS is known to “hire tough,” conducting multiple interviews for a candidate. Thorne isn’t sure if it’s the economy, but the company has been receiving almost 6,000 applicants a month.

BECOMING FIRST CHOICE
Other aspects of PDS’ quality improvement program are technology upgrades and energy efficiency. It recently partnered with Sirona for 150 CEREC® units for all its affiliated dentists. The cutting-edge equipment enables dentists to create crowns, inlays and onlays from a porcelain block while the patient waits in the office.

“The savings are huge compared to sending items out to the laboratory to cast, and then waiting two weeks,” Thorne says. “You’re cutting fuel costs and emissions and saving people multiple visits to the dentist.”

PDS will soon introduce impressionless systems where, instead of using molds, digital scans are taken of teeth.

“We continue to hone our operations and equipment to be better and to support both private and group practices,” Thorne says. “Our vision is to be the Greatest Dental Company in America. We don’t have to be the biggest, just the best to be dentists’ first choice for services.”

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