How Independent Orthodontists Can Compete with Corporate

Chris Bentson is a partner at Bentson Copple & Associates — a consulting firm that specializes in orthodontics. In this clip, Bentson explains what orthodontists can do to compete with large group practices and corporate-owned entities. The keys to success, Bentson explains, are having a strong mission statement and creating an unparalleled patient experience.

Interview Transcript (Modified for Readability)

“In order to remain relevant, individual practice and small-group orthodontic practice owners really need to define what their mission is. This is almost a throwback to the ‘90s when it was all about mission statements. People call it culture. People call it what I’m about. Once you define the level of care and service that you want to express to a consumer, and you can teach that through your employee base, and then express it to a marketplace, you can be phenomenally successful. Very few orthodontists take the time to really understand and define what that is. But we’re finding the most successful practices compete on culture and the patient experience. And if you can provide that at the level that is above where all the noise is in corporate, you’ll be very successful.”

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“The outlook for orthodontics, long term, I think is very bullish. We only treat 2.9 million orthodontic cases in North America a year. Consolidation is actually going to get the message out to consumers and expand that market. There’s an estimated 70 to 100 million people in America that could benefit from Orthodontic treatment, and we’re only treating 2.9 million. With the pathways to digital workflows, we’ll be able to do that much more efficiently. I think it’s good for the specialty. I think it’s good for orthodontics long-term. The way we practice may be different. We may have to do higher volume, different price points. We may have to do it as employee doctors versus owners as a majority of us, but long term, it’s very bullish. We’re going to treat more people orthodonitically than ever before, going forward.”

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