The countdown to Forsyth dentech 2022 is on. With less than a week to go before the event, we are pleased to introduce our final Sponsor Spotlight, Pacific Dental Services (PDS). Dan Burke, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer and General Counsel at PDS is panelist for the “Innovation in Patient Care” session, one of the special topic discussion panels on Day 2 of Forsyth dentech 2022. He during the generously agreed to answer several of our questions about the importance of technology for dental support organizations like PDS.
Q & A with Daniel Burke, CESO and General Counsel at Pacific Dental Services
Q: Can you tell us a little about your corporation?
Pacific Dental Services® (PDS) is transforming the dental industry with the purpose of creating Healthier, Happier Patients®. Our mission is to be the provider of choice in all the markets we serve. Founded in 1994, we are one of the country’s leading dental support organizations with nearly 1,000 supported dental practices across 25 states. Our unique business model enables dentists to own their dental practice and empowers them to focus almost exclusively on patient care while PDS remains focused on the business aspects of the practice.
PDS-supported clinicians are equipped with the latest proven technologies, the best operational practices and procedures, highly-skilled support staff and ongoing training and education. Our commitment to innovation and technological advancements is fueled by the conviction that oral health is critical to overall health. We look forward to a future where all clinicians have easy access to critical health information including a patient’s genomic information and full health history as well as rich data to be gleaned from salivary and blood diagnostics. We see oral health evolving to be more predictive and preventive-focused. In short, we are excited about the remarkable developments happening today in dentistry, and we believe that the future of oral healthcare will be extraordinary.
Q: Why is Forsyth Dentech important?
A: PDS is excited to collaborate with leading scientific researchers, entrepreneurs, investment community leaders, health policy experts and industry stakeholders. The Forsyth dentech conference provides a critical forum for sharing ideas and resources with key stakeholders in the development of oral health technology to bring innovative solutions to challenges facing modern dentistry.
Q: Why are you partnering with the Forsyth Institute on this event?
A: PDS embraces emerging technologies and innovation, so it made sense to partner with the Forsyth Institute, the leading oral health research and community outreach advocate for more than 100 years. From predictive analytics informed by genomics to salivary diagnostics and testing, PDS applies the science and research conducted by the Forsyth Institute to implement key technologies into our supported practices and to help us continuously improve our future roadmap.
Q: What do you feel are the biggest obstacles facing investment in dental development?
A: In the past, conventional wisdom in the health care industry often assumed that the biggest investment opportunities were in medical devices and associated technologies. Dentistry was often seen as a smaller, specialty field focused on teeth, gums and diseases of the mouth. An ever-building mountain of research proves that oral health and overall health (what we call The Mouth-Body Connection®) are inextricably linked. We are starting to see a shift in treatment approaches. This shift is resulting in emerging technologies, investment and licensing opportunities that will ultimately improve the way clinicians work and collaborate together and how patients receive care.
Q: How do you see oral health technology making a social impact moving forward?
A: At PDS, we believe technology is for, and about, people. Millions of Americans suffer from poor oral health which then results in greater health concerns throughout the body. Conversely, chronic conditions such as diabetes can also cause poor oral health. Technology is changing the way clinicians work together. Each of us is more than a collection of body parts and we deserve a healthcare system that sees and serves us whole humans. Oral health technology is helping to make this a reality.
For example, four years ago PDS began investing in Epic, a practice management system that stores more than 270 million medical records, an astounding statistic that illustrates the potential impact PDS will have on the future of health care. This investment provides our supported practices and clinicians access to patient health data that has, until now, been unknown in a dental practice. This critical data includes medical histories, patient lab results and medications among other benefits to better understand a person’s holistic health, rather than just part of it.
Whether through Epic, digital X-rays, 3D imaging through cone beam computed tomography, assisted intelligence and machine learning, blood and salivary diagnostics, CEREC® CAD/CAM same-day dental restorations, soft tissue diode lasers or the VELscope® oral cancer screening system, technology is changing and improving the way we deliver care. Moving forward, PDS is optimistic about oral health technological advancements because it means increasing access to care, providing more collaboration between clinicians of all specialties, reducing costs, and most important, improving patient health outcomes.
Q: What do you think is the potential impact of Forsyth Dentech on the oral health technology ecosystem?
A: Forsyth Dentech brings together key stakeholders and thought leaders in the oral health technology ecosystem and creates a unique forum to advance scientific discovery and technological innovation. By inviting the right decision-makers to the proverbial table and providing a foundation for critical dialogue, the Forsyth Dentech conference helps to accelerate growth and development in the dental technology space. Ultimately, this increases clinical insights and empowers patients.
Please learn more about PDS by visiting PacificDentalServices.com.
