Download PDF: Denticon Case Study: American Dental Companies
After researching and trying other cloud-solutions, Denticon delivered the much-needed cloud-based practice management solution that American Dental Companies needed to support the growing organization’s needs. Denticon helps this 16-location DSO deliver high-quality patient care through centralized, anytime access to data and images.
Client Profile
Practice Type: 16-location dentist run DSO practice
Website: https://www.ameridentco.com/
Denticon User Profile: Dr. Adri Rama, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Objectives
American Dental Companies needed a cloud-based practice management solution that would provide centralized and secure access for all locations to deliver high-quality patient care, a better experience for staff, and scale with the organization’s steady growth.
Outcomes
- Centralized and secure cloud-based access
- Eliminated costly backup costs of $900/month
- All-in-one robust solution for reporting, billing, treatment planning, and X-rays
- Moved away from unreliable and vulnerable server-based systems
- Standardized across all locations for a better patient experience and staff onboarding
- Maintain high production numbers without compromising quality of care
Introduction
This case study looks at the customer journey of Denticon-user Dr. Adri Rama, founder of American Dental Companies. ADC is a group practice with 16 locations throughout the state of Arizona. Dr. Rama’s vision for ADC is controlled growth. As his group expanded, he needed a centralized, cloud-based practice management solution to use across all practice locations.
The Path to Denticon
Dr. Rama’s search for a cloud-based practice management solution began about six years ago when he realized he needed a robust cloud-based software to manage all his locations. At that time, most of his locations were using server-based software, Dentrix.
Dr. Rama investigated the top cloud-based solutions, including Ascend by Henry Schein, CareStack, Curve, and Denticon. Initially, he moved his practices to Ascend, but he found a significant flaw in the financial reporting within the first eight months.
“Although it was hard to notice in the first five to six months, coding for the financial reporting was a disaster. I started to see discrepancies in the months that were closed,” said Dr. Rama. When he raised the issue, the Ascend team wasn’t even aware of this problem with their software. After eight months of erroneous overpayments, he began looking into switching cloud solutions again. “We went back to the drawing board and looked at other cloud solutions.”
Putting Patients First With Denticon
Dr. Rama chose Denticon because he wanted to work with a solution that was designed by a company that focused solely on software, like Planet DDS, which seeks to improves the efficiency and economy of dental practices. “With Henry Schein, it’s a gigantic company and they’re not equipped to change. I think it’s an incredible strength for Planet DDS. With Denticon, everything is integrated so we can put our patients first.”
Of the switch to Denticon, Dr. Rama said, “[s]o, within a year and a half, we moved from Dentrix to Ascend and then to Denticon. You can imagine the amount of stress with all the conversions, and my team was probably angry to switch again. But with the Planet DDS team, we received great customer service, and it was an incredible experience. That’s why we I’m so glad we moved to Denticon.”
Future-Proofed Infrastructure
About 10-12 years ago, Dr. Rama began observing the trend towards consolidating to group practices. At that time, only about 8-9% of dental practices were part of a group. Today, the number is closer to 30%.
“Our vision is controlled growth, and for us to achieve that, we needed the infrastructure first,” said Dr. Rama of his decision to move to the cloud. “Some groups will accept having an office run on Eaglesoft while others run on Dentrix. For our group, we will not bring anyone on board to join our group if they don’t agree to switch to Denticon and Apteryx. This is such an important technology for our group, and we can’t get everyone on the same page if they don’t switch to the same infrastructure.”
Maintaining High Patient Satisfaction With High Patient Volume
So, why is it so important to Dr. Rama that all offices within his group are using Denticon? He says some people might view practice management solutions as a tool to improve business operations. But to him, Denticon helps him provide better patient care and care for his team first. Improving the business operations comes after those priorities.
“We are a high-volume practice. We are able to maintain a high volume each day without sacrificing quality because we have a streamlined, centralized practice management solution. Our practice is very patient-oriented, and none of the doctors are an island unto themselves,” explained Dr. Rama.
“That’s why we needed a solution like Denticon where we can all access the daily schedule, treatment plans, X-rays, all in one place,” said Dr. Rama.
“Denticon is non-negotiable for us. We cannot deliver this standard of care without Denticon,” he continued.
Of server-based systems, Dr. Rama said, “you can’t provide quality care with a cumbersome process or a server that’s going to crash when you try to log in. We do not want fragmented offices and server-based systems. I predict that servers will soon be a thing of the past.”
Training and Management of Teams
To deliver a better experience for his staff, Dr. Rama says Denticon has helped streamline operations for his team. “I coach all of my team members to make sure we are meeting a high standard of care. We now have 670 employees, and we continue to grow. We stick by our team members, and even when COVID hit, and we had to close all of our offices, we didn’t let go of anyone. We paid everyone the entire time we were closed.”
To maintain a high standard of care, each month, ADC closes its offices for two hours to provide clinical training for dentists. They review recent cases by reviewing anonymized charts, treatment plans, X-rays, etc., to see where they can improve. “This is how I check the quality of our work to see what standard of care was delivered and determine whether there’s room for improvement,” explained Dr. Rama. “I do the same exercise with the hygiene team and the front desk team.”
Limitations and Security Concerns With Servers
Many years before moving to the cloud, Dr. Rama was using a server-based system at the first office he ever opened. In the first year, his office experienced a power surge that wiped out all their computer systems. They lost everything. At the time, he was paying approximately $900 per month for a backup service. But when he contacted the backup service company, he was shocked to learn that they had not backed up his practice’s data for 30 days. All told, he had to write off accounts receivables for the entire month, totaling low six figures.
Since moving to the Denticon cloud, these server risks and limitations have become a thing of the past for Dr. Rama.
Recently, one of his largest offices experienced a break-in. Although they had previously moved their data to the cloud, there was still an old server on site. The thieves stole the server and destroyed hard drives and computers.
Little did the thieves know that those servers had been wiped clean, with all data in the secure Denticon cloud.
“Imagine if this had happened six years ago. We would have lost everything. But because there was no client data on those servers, we were back up and running with no disruption to our practice,” remarked Dr. Rama.
Conclusion
Having tried server-based solutions and after heavily researching cloud solutions, Dr. Rama believes no other solution can provide more value for practices than Denticon.
“Everything is standardized to a much higher level than other cloud companies. From insurance verifications, accounts receivable, billing to EOB entries, we could not do it without Denticon. I don’t think there’s another cloud technology that can do all of this,” concluded Dr. Rama.