Pacific Dental Services debuted its Private Practice +™ model in high-tech booth number 2549. The brightly colored yellow 20 x 20 booth with its RAD Board (Real-time Alignment Deployment), which played videos introducing PDS, stood out on the ADA Expo Floor. There were also a number of PDS-affiliated owner doctors manning the booth to answer questions and share their personal insights on Pacific Dental Services.

PDS Private Practice+ Booth at the 2011 ADA in Vegas

According to Joseph Feldsien, Sr. Vice President of Professional Partnerships, one of the highlights of PDS’ participation in this year’s ADA was the party hosted by the company at the Eye Candy Lounge of the Mandalay Bay Casino. “The reason that this was such a huge hit was because it was a meeting of the who’s who in dentistry!,” said Feldsein.

The PDS Executive team including Stephen Thorne, President and Founder; Gary Tinseth, Chief Administration Officer; and Jon Thorne, Sr. Vice President of Operations, welcomed attendees who included respected dental speaker Dr. Paul Homoly, and representatives from Sirona, Henry Schein, Patterson, Proctor & Gamble, Ivoclar, 3M ESPE, Kerr, Inside Dentistry, Compendium, The Progressive Dentist, Joe Blaes of Dental Economics, Roger Levin from the Levin Group, and more.

“All these dignitaries learned again for the first time the story of PDS and Private Practice +,” said Feldsein. “They learned about our belief in Patients For Life and how proven technology affords the PDS clinician the unique advantage of modern dentistry that other large group practices just don’t have.”

Among the 300 people who attended the party was Ed Loonam, Specialty Recruiting Manager at PDS. “While on the floor at the ADA, I met some talented specialists who were very interested in working with us,” said Loonam. “It was great to speak with these doctors about PDS and learn about their goals. It was also incredibly rewarding to continue those conversations in a relaxed environment at the PDS party.”

Next year’s ADA will be in San Francisco and Joseph Feldsien says with a smile, that we should expect bigger and better things from PDS Private Practice+ “We will definitely connect again with all the people that we met at this year’s event and hope to connect with more movers and shakers in the dental industry,” said Feldsein. “And yes, we will definitely host another party.”

Without further ado, congratulations to all of our new office openings! It takes a lot of planning and teamwork to launch an office and we thank everyone who put in their time and effort. A special shout out to the owner doctors who invest so much of themselves into their new offices. We will now be doing a monthly update of our new office openings to keep from spamming Twitter, Facebook and the Blog; it’s going to be a busy year.

Aurora Modern Dentistry – Aurora, CO
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Clinical Leadership provided by
Dr. Charles Rodgers

Stonecrest Dental Group & Orthodontics – San Diego, CA
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Clinical Leadership provided by
Doctor Katayoun Afshar

Cherry Creek Modern Dentistry – Glendale, CO
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Clinical Leadership provided by
Drs. Charles Rodgers &
Ashleigh Harrison

Escondido Smiles, Escondido, CA
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Clinical Leadership provided by
Doctor John Nosti

Way to go team!

Did you know that PDS affiliated Owner Dentists hire new grads directly out of school? Even for those dentists that don’t join directly after graduation, we often will keep in contact regarding future opportunities when the fit may be better or the time is right. Our goal is to create a lasting relationship and form a career path for our affiliated dentists, at times that means waiting until they have more experience or a position in a certain location opens up.

After graduation I am often contacted by dentists that are frustrated because at the time they are applying we may not have opportunities for them in an area they desire.  As PDS grows as a company, more opportunities arise every day. Job postings at PDS generate more than 350 dentist’s applications per month.  For new grads and experienced dentists alike, the process is tough.  Again, just because an opportunity isn’t right for you now doesn’t mean that it won’t be right in the future.

A major perk for dentists at PDS affiliated offices is the amount of coaching, training, and classes that are available (for new grads and experienced dentists alike).  We pride ourselves on our ability to provide training for associates and provide CE for them.  We do all we can to set our affiliated dentists up for success!

Here are the qualities that we look for in our candidates:

• Dentists that are clinically sound and produce quality dentistry.

• People that are coachable. PDS has created a world class system for coaching and training dentists and staff members. This is done through CE (AGD Certified Courses), mentorship, or clinical guidance from the owner doctor.  Dentists are trained in the “soft” skills: how to overcome objections, how to connect better with patients, etc.

• The most important quality is an ability to connect with people.  You can be the best dentist in the world (clinically), but it is irrelevant if your patient doesn’t like or trust you.

• The best candidates have the ability to accept and implement coaching, a positive team spirit, and strong production speed while connecting and creating a great experience for the patient.

We told you what we expect; now let us know what you expect out of us! What would your ideal dental opportunity offer you? Please feel free to comment and ask questions, we would love to hear what you have to say.

Scott our Recruiting Manager, dealing cards to the finalists.

On May 15th, we left our home base in Irvine to attend the California Dental Association (CDA) Convention in nearby Anaheim.  Though it was a work event we had a great time talking, playing blackjack, and communicating via social media with those who attended.

Looking for top tier talent, Ken Davis, VP of Business Development, and Kevin Sauer, Professional Recruiting Manager, spoke with many dentists who visited our booth in hopes of joining our Team.  They provided insight on positions available as well as long-term ownership potential.  Scott Sornbutnark (@pacdenrecruiter), our Recruiting Manager, spoke with front and back office staff who were also interested in possible employment opportunities.

Sarah Groft our PR/Marketing Specialist presenting the prize.

This year we really wanted to try something different at the CDA and break away from traditional booth marketing.  We have really begun to embrace the world of social media at PDS™ and have learned a great deal in the process.  After some brainstorming we decided to hold a daily Twitter tournament at our booth for a chance to win a PDS branded Poker Set.  Throughout the day, people were asking if they could join in on the fun.

The reception from Twitter was great. Not only did we have people interested in what we were doing from different industries but we had a lot of buzz from CDA contributors and visitors. We had some fun dialogue with 3M’s Karen Sullivan (@3mespe_impregum), who was constantly tweeting and sharing info with us throughout the weekend. Also, Kevin Henry (@kgh23) the Managing Editor of Dental Economics stopped by our booth after seeing our tweets. Kevin is a tech savvy avid twitter user and also a really nice guy. Dental Economics also runs a great dental blog at www.dentistryiq.com

Kevin Henry (@kgh23) and Karen Sullivan (@3mespe_impregum) at the 3M booth.

The CDA this year was a great success.  We talked to some talented dental professionals and made lasting connections, all while enjoying the convention.  The dental industry is changing in many ways. One of the most apparent is technology. Not only are the equipment and systems improving at light speed but so is communication. The tools that technology have provided us allow a direct feed into our industry.  We can’t wait until the next event for more people and companies to join in on the conversation.

Let us know what experiences you had at this year’s CDA! Did you have any fun or exciting moments from the weekend? Leave a comment and let us know.