Back in 1994, Kiss.com launched as the very first modern dating website, creating an entirely new type of experience.
Today, just about everyone understands what it means to “swipe left,” and Pew Research finds that 30% of US adults have used an online dating site or app, while 12% have been in a committed relationship with someone they met online.1
When Kiss.com launched, we could not have imagined how our routine interactions would change from face to face to digital over the years. Artificial intelligence (AI) was still science fiction. In less than 20 years, AI has influenced how we shop, navigate websites, and interact directly with companies; how products are delivered; how we decide to entertain ourselves; and, of course, how we find our life partners! These same AI applications that are transforming the consumer digital experience are having as much of a dramatic impact on core business processes in dentistry. It also shows promising applications in dental practice transitions to help facilitate a much easier and successful buyer/seller match and transaction.
Are dentists ready for a digital transformation in how they buy, sell, hire, or join dental practices?
At ADA Practice Transitions (ADAPT), we envisioned and created a primarily digital environment where dentists could find the perfect match (whether practice or person), manage an evaluation, and complete a transaction with greater efficiency and success. Now that we have built a platform that some liken to Match.com for dentists, we’re evaluating how AI can enhance the process and help ADAPT deliver even better recommendations. AI could even uncover great opportunities you may have overlooked, similar to Netflix, Stitch Fix, Priceline, or other tech-first companies.
By integrating AI into practice transitions, we are striving for three goals: (1) achieving better matches, faster, (2) bringing down the cost of the average practice transition, and (3) providing the right level of coaching to help dentists navigate their transitions.
Why it is so important to find the right match
Picture your dental utopia. You work with staff in exactly the way that makes you comfortable. That could be all business or it could be building a team that feels more like family than employees. Likewise, your patients know exactly what to expect, whether that is 20 minutes of catching up on common interests or highly efficient appointments in which you get the job done. Finally, you are working your preferred schedule, doing the procedures you want to do, and getting paid accordingly.
Now imagine what happens when your utopia clashes with established office norms. Perhaps you expect the office to run highly efficiently with shorter appointments, but your patients and staff expect you to listen to all the details of their grandchild’s dance recital. With that kind of mismatch, someone is bound to be unhappy. You may dread going to work, your staff may quit, or your patients may go elsewhere.
At ADAPT, we know that the key to succeeding in your new practice is being in a situation in which you are practicing dentistry in a way that is consistent with your overall vision and values. It is why we created a dental practice transition model that’s rooted in matching dentists with shared philosophies of care.
In talking with dentists, we heard far too many stories of those who settled in a practice that wasn’t quite right, only to leave a year or two later. When that happens, everyone loses: the practice, the staff, and the patients.
Isn’t it better to find a practice that already fits you and your preferences rather than trying to find satisfaction in a place that’s not quite right?
How ADAPT blends technology with a human touch
When you create an ADAPT profile to buy, sell, join, or hire, you fill out an in-depth questionnaire that enables you to share your preferences. A series of filters then process the profiles to show the (human) ADA Advisor several potential matches and ranks them according to how well the profiles align. Next, the Advisor validates the suggested matches, applying feedback and additional input they have received from you and other dentists, ultimately enhancing the matching algorithm with a transition expert’s human touch.
Because we can show multiple practice styles and locations, we often suggest something that just pushes the limits of what you indicate you are willing to accept, much like Netflix suggesting a seemingly obscure series you soon find yourself binging. We ask for feedback on how well the recommendations fit or flopped. Over time, these responses help us further improve our recommendations for you and other dentists transitioning with ADAPT.
The goal is to only show those matches that meet your goals, whether that is the practice that can become a great dental “home” or a buyer who can carry on your legacy.