What is Different?

Today in many dental offices, a dentist will serve as the trusted advisor and a provider to a patient and his/her family for their dental needs. The dentist performs important services, ranging from preventive to advanced dental restorative procedures. However, they have so much to accomplish and provide to their patients in today’s world (of cosmetic dentistry, modern restorative treatments, and full mouth rehabilitation), that they usually are not left with the time and energy to invest in advanced specialty services (such as oral surgery, orthodontics, endodontics, and periodontics) in their offices. The patient who requires specialty dentistry services is typically referred to an outside specialist’s office where the specialty work is performed.

Is this model effective?

This approach is one way to meet the needs of patients. This, however, is the conventional approach that has been widely accepted throughout the industry. However, at times there may not be enough collaboration between the doctors on treatment plans, even when there is a need for a multidisciplinary approach for treating the patients.

From the patient’s perspective, they are often required to go to several locations for multiple specialty work, e.g., to an oral surgeon office for wisdom teeth removal and to a Periodontist for gum treatment. This is sometimes inconvenient, time-consuming, and anxiety provoking for the patient who has to go to multiple unfamiliar environments to have their work performed.

From the dentist’s perspective, the dentist does not always have the benefit of insight or input from specialists when planning and analyzing difficult dental cases. Following the case is sometimes challenging as well. Communication between the dentist, the patient, and the specialist does not always occur because of distances, timing of appointments and so on. This arrangement sometimes does not satisfy the dentist’s personal need and commitment to deliver high quality patient care.

It increasingly appears that patients want their dental needs to be met at one location, and dentists might benefit if all specialty services are available at his office.  These changing trends in patient’s and the dentist’s needs--coupled with the invention of new technologies, procedures, and advanced collaboration tools--create an opportunity to deliver a new way of treating patients. An emerging trend is the creation of Full Service Dentistry practices combining the familiar surroundings of the patient’s trusted family dentist where the dental office provides comprehensive treatment planning and management.

More and more, only larger group practices have been able to set up such full service models. Unfortunately, this puts many talented dentists at a disadvantage in marketing their services to their community, where full service dentistry appears to be the answer to the needs of today’s patients.

Dentistry Specialists Integrated (DSI) provides a new approach to complement the practice of dentists and position their practice as a virtual full service dental office. Our innovative new approach integrates the skills and advanced know-how of a multi-specialty team, as well as all required equipment and services into the existing dental practices. Our partnership does not require the dental offices to invest in specialty equipment, in training employees, or in any other expenses required for specialty services. Dentistry Specialists Integrated LC (DSI) establishes collaborative processes with dental offices, and brings new systems and services to the practices that expand the capabilities of the dentist so that they can truly offer a broader set of solutions to their patients—services that currently are only provided by larger multi-specialty groups or larger dental practices.

As a result of this new approach, the dentist has access to input from specialists when developing treatment plans, and he/she can oversee the required work as it is performed in his/her dental office..

For the patient, he/she benefits by gaining input from specialists on more difficult treatment plans, does not have to visit several specialists sequentially to address his/her problems, and gets to have their work performed in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of their regular dentist’s office. Perhaps most important of all, the patient is able to keep their relationship with their family dentist who has become a trusted advisor to them and their family.