Building Rapport and the Future of Dentistry

In this chapter, they discuss the importance of building rapport with patients and the potential for small practices to compete with big corporations in the future. They mention the current trend of consolidation in dentistry and the impact of private equity money and venture capital in the industry. They debate the degree of consolidation that will occur, with some predicting it to reach over 70%. Although they acknowledge that most dental practices will eventually be consolidated, they believe that private practice ownership still provides a superior model for patient care compared to Dental Support Organizations (DSOs). They emphasize the value of soft skills, such as rapport building and empathy, and suggest that smart DSOs may start integrating these skills to differentiate themselves from traditional DSOs in the future.