Len Schiavone on The $1.26T Consumer Debt Crisis & New Strategies for Dental Payment Success

This is the dream - put your core values front and centre, get culture right and watch your dental practice flourish. This is reality - dental practices get comfortable, complacent and resistant to change, causing them to stagnate. In the latest episode of The Dental Economist Show, host Mike Huffaker welcomes Len Schiavone, CEO of CORDENTAL Group, to explore the strategies that enable the dream.

What You’ll Learn:

How to balance centralized and decentralized revenue cycle management to maintain patient relationships while improving efficiency

Why dental practices should rethink treatment plan accuracy and patient financing in today's economic climate

The framework for evaluating and implementing AI solutions based on current pain points versus future capabilities

How to maintain cultural alignment during practice acquisitions through CORDENTAL's "Collaborate, Optimize, Respect" principles

How dental practices can lead healthcare innovation by leveraging their entrepreneurial spirit and fewer regulatory barriers

The strategy for implementing radiographic AI to build patient trust and improve treatment acceptance

Why reframing dental "insurance" as a maintenance plan can set better patient expectations and improve collections

Tune in to discover why dentistry is uniquely positioned to lead healthcare innovation and how practices can balance profitability with purpose.

Episode Highlights:

05:08 - 09:52 Practice Culture is a Non-Negotiable

Len shares his perspective on the “basics” of practice growth and why it’s so important to get them right. At the centre of this, lies culture and a practice’s core values. He emphasizes that DSOs can only help practices to a certain extent, but true growth lies in getting culture right, focussing on it with intention and consistency, and why articulating one’s practice values at the very beginning is a non-negotiable. His revelation of CORDENTAL’s philosophy and the unique way they keep values at the forefront of their business highlights the strategic advantage of being culture-focussed in today’s day and age.

14:34 - 19:39 Predictive Analytics for Schedule Management

Len shares how CORDENTAL uses historical data and statistical analysis to predict patient behavior patterns and optimize scheduling. Practice leaders struggling with no-shows and schedule gaps can leverage predictive analytics to identify high-risk time slots and strategically overbook accordingly, moving beyond rigid cancellation policies to instead use data-driven insights that maintain both practice efficiency and positive patient relationships. For dental organizations looking to maximize chair time while minimizing disruption, this systematic approach offers a practical solution that has proven successful in both dental and medical settings.

24:16 - 27:09 Radiographic AI as a Patient Education Tool

Len emphasizes how AI-enhanced imaging serves primarily as a powerful patient education and trust-building tool. The technology transforms complex dental images into clear visual explanations by highlighting key areas with colored indicators that patients can easily understand. This visual clarity helps bridge the communication gap between clinical findings and patient comprehension, leading to better treatment plan acceptance. CORDENTAL has found that patients, especially younger demographics, view practices using AI technology as more modern and trustworthy.

47:03 - 50:15 Strategic Technology Implementation Framework

Len outlines CORDENTAL's three-phase approach to evaluating and implementing new technology solutions: addressing current pain points, planning for near-term needs, and maintaining flexibility for future innovations. This structured framework helps practices avoid getting overwhelmed by the constant stream of new technology options in dentistry. Rather than chasing every new solution, the approach focuses on identifying specific operational challenges and piloting targeted solutions, providing a practical way to evaluate options and prioritize implementations that will have the most impact.