KDA Today

KDA Today

For Immediate Release

Date: Jan 3rd, 2020
Phone: 800-292-1855
Email: kda@kyda.org

ADA Practice Transitions Now Offers More Options for Kentucky Dentists

Career transitions are an important life decision. Changing where or how you work affects other aspects of your life – your daily routine, time with family, bank account, and overall satisfaction – so it’s natural to feel stressed or overwhelmed as you begin thinking about your next career change.

When making such an important decision, whether you are the interviewer or interviewee, you want to make sure you are making the right choice, the first time. Unfortunately in the current market, the majority of practice transitions or associateships fail within the first two years.

The ADA set out to understand what makes practice transitions so tough. By interviewing dentists at all points in their careers, the association uncovered opportunities to improve the process for practice owners looking to hire or sell and dentists looking to purchase or join a practice.

ADA Practice Transitions (ADAPT) was born from this research. ADAPT’s goal is to make the process of entering, leaving, or joining a dental practice more predictable and successful.

Through an innovative process, ADAPT strives to help dentists find the right fit for their long-term plans whether they want to find a job, buy or sell a practice, or hire an associate.

ADAPT is now available to dentists who own a practice or want to work in Kentucky, along with seven additional states: Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.

The ADAPT difference

Plenty of brokers and listing services already exist. ADAPT is different. Rather than leaving you to browse through potential opportunities, ADAPT does the initial work for you, helping you find the right match for your long-term plans AND providing the support you need throughout the entire process.

Each participating dentist is assigned an ADA Advisor. This Advisor spends time learning each dentist’s long-term goals and is available to ensure success at every step. The Advisor will only suggest potential opportunities that fit each dentist’s goals and their philosophy of care, helping them focus on the things that matter to ensure a higher rate of success.

ADAPT answers a very real need in today’s dental transition market. Many practice owners want to find someone who shares their practice philosophy to ensure continuity of care for their patients. At the same time, dentists spoke about how the real challenges can be integrating into a practice, agreeing how to manage the practice (particularly in a longer-term associate-to-owner buyout scenario), and making the process seamless for patients and staff.

The ADAPT model was built to address these concerns and support both dentists long after the paperwork is signed. The goal isn’t just to help dentists transition in and out of practices, but rather to help facilitate successful transitions, thriving practices, and satisfying careers.

Two early successes

The ADAPT pilot launched in the summer of 2019 in Maine and Wisconsin. Dentists have been enthusiastic about the program and eager to participate, providing valuable feedback that has further refined the process.

Dr. Suzanne Ebert leads advisory services for ADAPT and has already worked closely with dozens of dentists looking to make a change. She shared one such match: “We have found a great rural practice for a D4 student. During the first two years, the student will be working in the practice as an associate and then will purchase the practice for a price that has already been agreed to! The current owner is thrilled to have found the right person to come into the practice and care for the patients in a way that represents the established philosophy. The practice itself is fully updated and sits on an idyllic piece of land. The incoming doctor is excited to begin the transition from student to doctor and is feeling, ‘blessed and a bit overwhelmed at how quickly this has developed and that it seems almost too good to be true.’”

This ambitious D4 could have found an associateship right out of school and then launched another career transition when they were ready to purchase in a few years. Instead, they are already on the path to ownership. This associate-to-owner path enables the new graduate to gain experience under the current owner before fully purchasing the practice. Meanwhile, the current owner can gradually transition to retirement while knowing that long-term patients will continue to receive a high standard of care.

Dr. Ebert has also helped dentists seeking to expand their work: “We have a doctor that has found a second practice to add to their growing business. The new office’s selling doctor has the advantage of providing services that are outside the scope of many general dentists, and the incoming doctor is well versed in these procedures. This ensures that the patients will be able to continue to receive the care that they have come to expect from the practice. In addition, since both dentists share a common treatment philosophy, the incoming doctor will have no trouble with patient retention or being able to maintain the current production of the acquired practice.”

A focus on philosophy of care

Working with someone who has a conflicting philosophy of care can be very frustrating. ADAPT research revealed that matching dentists who share a similar philosophy of care leads to a higher rate of practice transition success – and long-term satisfaction for the dentists, staff, and patients.

So what exactly is philosophy of care?

Each dentist has their own individual approach to dentistry that reflects their values and preferences from both a clinical and business perspective.

Philosophy of care incorporates whether dentists prefer to:

Take time to chat with each patient or maximize volume
Work independently or collaborate with a team
Be intimately involved in the business side of things or focus solely on dentistry
Refer out procedures or do everything themselves

None of these preferences are “right” or “wrong,” but they can greatly affect your day-to-day satisfaction.

The ADAPT process

Each step of the ADAPT process has been designed to set you up for success.

Step 1: Create a profile – Each dentist begins by creating a free profile and filling out a detailed questionnaire about their work history, preferences, and goals. All this information is kept strictly confidential and will only be shared when both dentists agree to connect and move to the interview phase. To create a profile, visit ADAPracticeTransitions.com.

Step 2: Submit profile – When the dentist is confident they are ready to begin the process, they submit their profile and begin paying a $25 monthly fee to determine their ‘readiness’ to be eligible for matching. They are assigned to an ADA Advisor who reviews the profile and schedules an initial consultation call to help showcase their profile in the best way possible. The Advisor also ensures expectations and goals are clear.

Step 3: Review potential matches – The ADA Advisor suggests potential matches that fit the dentist’s criteria. As the dentist reviews these matches, they provide feedback that helps refine the search focus for the ADA Advisor.

Step 4: Connect with matches – When two dentists agree that a match is a potential fit, the ADA Advisor offers advice as the pair moves into the interview process.

Step 5: Make it official – When both sides agree to move forward, they begin the contract process. The ADA Advisor provides resources and supports the relationship as both dentists negotiate and sign on the dotted line.

Step 6: Navigate the transition – After the transaction, the ADA Advisor continues to support both sides with regular check-ins and resources to ensure that everyone is satisfied and the lines of communication remain open throughout the transition.

Step 7: Long-term success – By matching dentists who share similar values, everyone benefits. Staff can more easily adapt to a new dentist with a similar style, patients aren’t alienated, and both dentists can find long-term satisfaction with the situation.

Keeping it confidential

Unlike classified ads or online postings, ADAPT profiles cannot be seen by everyone. This helps protect dentists who do not want current employers or others to know they are looking for a change.

Instead, once the ADA Advisor identifies a potential match, both dentists will be shown limited details, including philosophy of care statements, general location, and essential practice information. Any identifying information (such as names, photos, and work history) will not be visible.

Dentists on the ADAPT platform can’t search and browse; instead, they only see the profiles of potential matches that have been recommended by the ADA Advisor.

“The only time contact information is shown is when both doctors agree that they want to talk to each other,” said Dr. Ebert.

Expanding by popular demand

Once the pilot launched in Maine and Wisconsin, word spread rapidly. By popular demand, ADAPT expanded into six additional states on November 1: Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Dentists who own or want to practice in any of those states can participate by visiting ADAPracticeTransitions.com and creating a profile.

“We are expanding earlier than expected because of interest and excitement that has been generated by our arrival into the market,” said Dr. Ebert. “Incoming dentists are thrilled to have the ADA help them to find a practice that they can thrive in. The service is able to expose them to options that they had previously not considered. Owners are happy to have their professional organization beside them as they navigate their transition into retirement or the expansion of their practice through the addition of another dentist.”

Start your own career transition

If you’re ready for a change, ADAPT can help you think through your options and discover the best fit for your goals, personality, and philosophy of care. Whether you know exactly what you want or need some guidance, ADAPT can help you make your next career step positive, predictable, and satisfying.

Visit ADAPracticeTransitions.com and create your profile to start the process today.

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