Aspen Dental Opens at Walgreens: What You Need to Know

Aspen opens at Walgreens. Is this the end of Private Practice Dentistry?

I read the article below that starts with this:

There is a national movement in the United States to expand access to affordable and quality oral health services, and that movement is gaining strength.

I wonder how much Walgreens and Aspen pay this guy to write this? I am only one person competing against thousands of voices from Government Agencies, Insurance companies and now Corporate Dentistry. They have millions of dollars in advertising to tell the public they can get the same thing at Walgreens/Aspen, if not better, faster and cheaper. Thousands of people are flocking to these types of offices. Am I worried that private dentistry will go the way of the VCR? ABSOLUTELY NO!

Thank you ADA and Corporate America for this Great Opportunity

First, let me thank the ADA for doing absolutely nothing to prevent corporations from owning dental offices. How much were they complicit in allowing people who are not dentists from running dental offices by skirting around existing laws. How complicit were they in getting the laws changed to help foster the growth of corporate dentistry. Just does not seem fair that people go through a lot to obtain a license to practice dentistry and then have bosses who did not have to go through the same ordeal. How did we pay them dues for all these years and they were not on the side of protecting the rights and privileges commensurate with obtaining and maintaining that license? Seems the ADA did more to create more work for dentists by creating mandatory regulations, systems, and continuing education hurdles for dentists while affording them no protections. Thank you, ADA. I wish I had been in the plumbers or electricians union. They protect and help their members.

Second, let me thank the corporations of the world for giving jobs to the thousands of dentists coming out of school. They have hundreds of thousands in debt, they do not have the training and skills to know what will be successful. They just have to bang out as much dentistry as fast as they can to pay their student loans. They are not going to be there to see their failures. We all had jobs like that right out of school. There are graduates so there are more low-end jobs for dentists with no experience. Hey, you need to get some experience somewhere. If it's not a corporate office, there is no shortage of insurance practices run by entrepreneur dentists who accept anything and everything as fees and hire inexperienced associates to drill as much and as fast as they can. It's a good thing for the experienced dentists who have done enough dentistry to do dentistry that will stand the test of time. Eventually, these patients will have to find someone with EXPERIENCE who can fix things right. Who knows how much dentistry will have to be redone? And, the patients will know from the failure of their dentistry that they don't want to have to go through it a third time and will be willing to pay TOP DOLLAR to get it done right.

It is a great time to be in Private Practice as a Fee for Service dentist getting great fees!

I practiced dentistry for 38 years and owned my own FFS practice for 33 years. I endured several recessions that cut into revenues. The longest recession lasted 18months. The longer the recession, the more patients who swamped me when it ended. People had put off going to the dentist, had gone to the insurance practice to save money or had chosen the least expensive patchwork dentistry to hold them over. This last recession started in 2007. That's 11 years ago! Recent slides in the stock market aside, the economy is doing well. Unemployment is at historic lows. Patients are recovering from a lost decade of economic recession so it may be a slight delay before they roar back to find a FFS dentist. But, I know they will. For 11 years more and more dentists have succumbed to the economic pressures and started accepting insurance from union plans, signing up to be participating PPO providers and changed the way they practice so they could make a living under these reduced fee schedules. There is no need to discuss what needs to be done to deliver dentistry at lower fees. Let's keep that discussion between us. But as dentists, we all know what you can do if you need to generate more procedures in less time at lower fees and save on lab and supply costs at the same time. It will work in the short run but it's not the same in the long run. The dentists who have held their ground and remained dedicated to delivering the best dentistry they can are going to be scarce and in great demand. There will be an insurance mill on every corner and only a handful of FFS dentists scattered around. They will be harder to find. They will NOT have offices in Walgreens. But, patients will finally have money and will find someone they can trust to spend their money and get their teeth fixed by an experienced professional. The patients will need so much work that the $1000 they get from their insurance companies will barely make a dent in their treatment plan. They will not be the kind of patients who only do what their insurance will cover. They will be the private patients who appreciate and respect you for your skills and judgment. For the few dentists that are left standing it will be a tremendous boom. I believe they will be so overwhelmed with private patients they will need to bring in an associate who they can mentor to be a FFS dentist.

Make a name for yourself

The trend seems to be in branding as in Aspen. But, I believe that your brand should be your name. I am sure that the entrepreneurs in our profession will disagree, but if you want to be a FFS dentist who gets great fees, you need to put your name on your work and stand behind your work. I believe putting your name on the door signals to patients that YOU stand behind your work. In another 10 years all the old-timers like myself, who had their names on the door will have retired and been replaced by branded names with cute logos, fancy websites, and huge advertising budgets. If I need a new saw I will go to Home Depot. But, if I want to spend my money and get my teeth fixed right I want a PERSON I can trust. 

Be the best you can be! Contact Dr. Bill Williams and learn how YOU can stand out from the crowd and be proud of the dentistry you do every day AND get paid handsomely for doing it

POSTED BY: Dr. Bill Williams 11-6-2018

https://solstice.academy/

Helping Dentists Become $10K/Day Producers & FINISH WELL - Choose ABUNDANCE over SCARCITY

We are witnessing a historic boom in the US economy right now. All leading indicators have moved beyond anyone's expectations.

1. Consumer spending will ignite a new cosmetic boom rivaling the 2000's. (It's the economy stupid....yes it is!)
2. Pent-up demand will unleash a rash of new patients upon those dentists who are prepared to say yes and move them into their new patient experience system immediately. ( The advent of mature "same day dentistry" systems in offices routinely increases production 20-40% above what is scheduled.)
3. Invisalign orthodontic acceptance will double in the next three years.
4. Dentists who place implants will see triple-digit growth in numbers of implants placed. (This is happening as many dentists are discovering the Ultratooth system, Neodent, and ceramic implants become more mainstream. I'm lecturing on the road again for the first time on clinical dentistry in over 30 years because I'm so excited about the future of implant dentistry. Come to Smiles at Sea cruise to Cuba and see for yourself or schedule an in-office hands-on surgical training to see what we can do today for our patients in just one day.)
5. Expansion of dental practices will double in the coming two years as new dentists scramble to get into the market. (The book, The $10,000 a Day Dentist has spawned a new movement in dentistry and there are now dentists with multimillion-dollar practices in towns of just 7,000 people.)

Take advantage of this tsunami of patients that are fast-approaching dentistry. The boom will leave many dentists wondering what hit them but will leave those well-prepared with unheard of production numbers, massively increased profits, real retirement savings, and the peace of mind that they will be finishing well.

POSTED BY: GROUPDENTISTRYNOW DECEMBER 20, 2018

There is a national movement in the United States to expand access to affordable and quality oral health services, and that movement is gaining strength.

On December 11, 2018, the ADA's Dental Health bill was signed into law. The Action for Dental Health Act will allow organizations to qualify for oral health grants to support activities that improve oral health education and dental disease prevention, especially in our most vulnerable populations. Read more about ADA's initiative and their specific goals here.

On the heels of the passing of this bipartisan bill aimed at increasing access to oral care nationwide, Aspen Dental, the largest and fastest-growing network of branded dental care providers in the U.S., has just opened its first dental clinic in a Walgreens, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains. Palatka, Florida is the location of this first partnership; a second Aspen Dental at Walgreens location is slated to open in Tampa in the second quarter of 2019.

The collaboration, which marks the first time that in-store dental services will be available to Walgreens customers, reflects Walgreens commitment to transform its stores into neighborhood health destinations that provide a differentiated, consumer-focused experience while providing access to a broad range of affordable health care services at a trusted and convenient setting.

"Health care continues to evolve as patients demand more choice, greater value, and better access. We're incredibly excited about this collaboration, which brings together Walgreens, a leader in understanding the intersection of retail and health care, and Aspen Dental, a brand that has made dental care affordable and accessible to millions of patients for more than 20 years." - Bob Fontana, chairman and chief executive officer of Aspen Dental Management, Inc.

Aspen Dental, founded in 1998 by Bob Fontana, currently has more than 720 Aspen Dental-branded offices across 38 states, and a new location opens every five days.

In 1901 Charles R. Walgreen Sr. purchased the Chicago drugstore where he worked as a pharmacist, and that started the Walgreen chain. Walgreens now employs 240,000 people, operates 9,560 drugstores in all 50 states with approximately 400 Walgreens stores offering healthcare clinics. Approximately 8 million customers interact with Walgreens in stores and online each day.

Both companies share the desire to make healthcare accessible across the thousands of communities they serve.

"At Aspen Dental, we're focused on breaking down barriers so that patients can get the care they need, today", said Dr. Kevon Rennie, Aspen Dental practice owner. "Like Walgreens, we're committed to creating healthier communities, and my team and I look forward to working together to make dentistry more accessible and affordable here in Palatka."

Aspen Dental at Walgreens is dedicated to making it easier for patients by offering a full range of dental services, denture, implant, and Invisalign clear aligners. New patients will receive a digital dental health scan to give them a clear understanding of what's happening inside their mouth, a service that helps patients make informed decisions about their treatment.

In addition to affordable comprehensive dental care, the new Aspen Dental office will bring:

• Free new patient exams and X-rays for those without insurance
• An on-site denture lab to facilitate quick turnaround of custom-crafted dentures, repairs, relines or adjustments (on all dentures, not just those purchased at Aspen Dental), as well as a Denture Money Back Guarantee
• A variety of financing options