The Dentists Supply Company’s announcement of its Western-states expansion in November generated publicity in several national dental publications and a regional business journal. The articles highlighted the expanded supply offerings to nine additional states, allowing association members of organized dentistry to benefit from 20 percent average savings on a broad online catalog of supplies. California dentists have already saved more than $2.6 million on their supply purchases through tdsc.com.

With The Dentists Supply Company’s recent expansion, members of organized dentistry in 10 states are now enjoying collective buying power on dental supplies through tdsc.com. Shoppers continue to see 20 percent average savings compared to MSRP*; however, the online savings are often even greater when compared to the prices they’ve been paying other suppliers.

The Dentists Supply Company continues to expand its online catalog of supplies and small equipment to meet the needs of its growing shopper base. The selection spans everything from adhesives to X-ray materials, plus a few new items designed to bring smiles to the entire practice team. Newly-added to tdsc.com is a TDSC Merchandise category, which includes fun items to wear and give.

CDA members racked up $2 million in total savings on dental supplies in 2018 through tdsc.com, the shopping site for CDA’s newest subsidiary, The Dentists Supply Company.

The $2 million savings milestone reached in September demonstrates the tremendous member interest in TDSC and doubled the $1 million savings milestone that members reached in May.

On the heels of that savings milestone came two major announcements.

What could your practice do with an extra $10,000 each year? For many dental practices, supplies now commonly equate to 6‑7 percent of collections. An office with $800,000 in income that spends 6.5 percent on supplies ($52,000) could save $10,400 per year by cutting 20 percent of its supply costs.

The California Dental Association recently expanded its e-commerce site, The Dentists Supply Co., to nine states. 

TDSC allows CDA members to purchase dental supplies directly from distributors and leverage the purchasing power of the dental association. The results, it says on its website, are an estimated 20 percent savings on supplies.  Read more at bizjournals >

The Dentists Supply Company has announced plans to roll out access to its shopping site, tdsc.com, to tripartite members in nine Western states. The roll out is the first phase of TDSC’s nationwide expansion, which will allow members of organized dentistry to benefit from 20 percent average savings on a broad online catalog of supplies from authorized vendors, plus free shipping.

Through The Dentists Supply Company, a CDA subsidiary, shoppers continue to see an average savings of more than 20 percent compared to manufacturers’ suggested retail prices. While that level of supply savings has attracted many CDA members to tdsc.com, it’s how the difference is stacking up over time that’s really impressive.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is the price at which the product’s producer recommends it be sold to consumers. Depending on wholesale cost, competition and other factors, suppliers often sell products for less than MSRP; however, dental practices too often pay in excess of this suggested price. 

In most areas of practice, dentists want their offices to exceed expectations. The friendliest staff. The best treatment outcomes. The happiest patients. However, your practice should endeavor to conform to the norm in at least one area: overhead expense ratios. Managing variable expenses, like dental supplies, means that your practice can keep more of what it earns.

Have you taken the time to scrutinize your practice’s dental supply purchasing processes? While it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of appointments and office activity, it’s important to make time to evaluate your ordering choices and opportunities. For many general dentists, supplies now equate to 6 to 6.5 percent of collections or more. So, a practice with $800,000 in billings that is purchasing at the average rate could save more than $10,000 per year just by reducing supply costs by 20 percent.

Have you heard the story about the woodcutter who was so busy chopping down trees that he didn’t take time to sharpen his ax? Perhaps you’ve even become a woodcutter in your own practice. It can be challenging to exit the whirlwind of activity to take the steps that make your practice more effective and efficient.

Practices of every size can struggle with bringing variable expenses under control. With the optimal cost of dental drugs and supplies averaging 6 to 8 percent of collections, focused purchasing can have a significant impact on practice efficiency and net operating income.

CDA’s newest subsidiary, The Dentists Supply Company, is coming to CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry in San Francisco. At the Member Benefits Center inside the convention’s exhibit hall, attendees will be able to experience tdsc.com, a site designed to deliver members 20 percent average savings1 and free shipping on dental supplies. The TDSC team will also be on-site with exciting promotions and giveaways exclusive to the San Francisco convention.

In your life outside the practice, you’re constantly confronted with the choice between name brands and alternate brands — from orange juice to cough syrup to tissues to appliances. While you could pay less for one carton of 100 percent juice than you’d pay for another, the idea that you should get “the best” for your sick spouse at home likely sways your choice.

Any workplace expectation is not likely to be adopted to your standards if it’s simply assumed to be known or is casually communicated. When it comes to inventory management, in addition to assigning accountable individuals to specific roles, be sure that documented expectations are included in your onboarding and training processes.

Your team works best when each member’s individual skills have a chance to shine in service to the practice. And while clinical skills may be easy to see, different “soft skills” are also needed for successful practice operations.

Many practices rely on a single point person for inventory control, and the role tends to default to a dental assistant. However, inventory is not a task but rather a system— one that needs the right point person for some processes and the whole team for others. As with most processes, practice leadership must establish, document and assign specific roles and responsibilities. Here are four inventory management roles and guidance for filling them:

Searching for better prices can seem like a daunting process, even with the convenience of 24/7 shopping sites in place of brick-and-mortar stores or paper catalogs. While practices are constantly seeking ways to reduce overhead, it can be hard for staff to find time to research the best value for dental supplies and small equipment.

So, how can you efficiently evaluate your ordering and find ways to save? Ask an expert to do it for you.

TDSC, an e-commerce site that offers discounts on dental supplies for association members in California, is helping to shake up the $10 billion dental equipment market by offering dentists a higher level of control over their supplies. The site, which hit a $1 million milestone in shopper savings in May, is garnering media attention from national dental publications and regional business journals.

Through tdsc.com, a website designed to deliver group purchasing discounts on dental supplies to CDA members, shoppers are seeing 20 percent average savings compared to manufacturers’ suggested retail prices.

For many practices, supplies now commonly equate to 6–7 percent of collections. An office with $800,000 in income that spends 6.5 percent on supplies ($52,000) could save $10,400 per year by cutting supply costs 20 percent.

The shared strength of organized dentistry supports members in almost every aspect of their professional lives: a louder voice in government, exceptional insurance coverage due to a broad premium base and exciting conventions with hundreds of educational opportunities to serve thousands of attendees. Now, the newest benefit of membership is delivering direct benefits. The TDSC Marketplace, an online source for dental supplies, shares savings that leverage collective buying power.

For years, the dental supply industry has been ripe for disruption. It’s a huge market—a $10-billion one—and the major supply companies have been living out a dream scenario, dominating dental supply purchasing for as long as anyone can remember. Until now. The dental supply industry is now feeling the impact of the e-commerce tsunami that has changed every facet of the retail economy—and organized dentistry. Read more at dentistryiq.com >

When CDA’s subsidiary The Dentists Service Company launched the TDSC Marketplace last year, it was with a bold mission: to deliver practice-changing savings on dental supplies to CDA members. Now the group purchasing benefits realized through tdsc.com are supporting members in reducing overhead and streamlining purchasing operations.

When balancing your practice’s dental supply budget, it can seem like there’s never a good time to allocate dollars to upgrade, enhance or add to your equipment. Relatively small equipment can come with a significant price tag. So how do you discern when to purchase higher-dollar items and how to get the most value?

Also known as “the law of the vital few,” the Pareto principle, named after an Italian economist, is often expressed as 80 percent of effects coming from 20 percent of causes. You’ve likely observed this phenomenon in your own practice — whether it’s a large percentage of revenue coming from a relatively small number of procedures or a high percentage of new patients coming in from one of your many marketing efforts. However, one of the areas in which the Pareto principle is most evident is in your dental supply budget.

When I was a child, we would order our shoes from the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog. I can remember my mother tracing around my foot to record my footprint on a piece of paper that she would then send to the mail- order company. Read more at cda.org >

Disruption can be defined as a disturbance that interrupts an event, activity or process — and that is exactly what a growing e-commerce site plans on doing to the dental supply purchasing market. Starting in California and branching outward, the state dental association is helping members lower costs associated with dental practices and patient care. Read more at dmdtoday.com>

One year after clicking the “place order” button to purchase dental supplies online through The Dentists Service Company’s Marketplace, James Stephens, DDS, added up his 12-month savings — $13,000 total. Stephens, who owns a Palo Alto practice with his wife and business partner Susan Park, DDS, was among the first dentists to test the new TDSC Marketplace in February 2017, and he knew at the time that CDA was about to change the way dentists buy supplies.

There is nothing better than being complimented on a pair of shoes we got on sale. Nothing. Seeing the word “discount” on a receipt is exhilarating and gives a feeling of true accomplishment. Read more at cda.org >

While you may not suffer from metathesiophobia, the persistent and unwarranted fear of change, you might still get palpitations when leaving your “comfort zone.” Change can sometimes create feelings of anxiety and insecurity in even the most seasoned dentists and harmonious practice teams. In the evolving dental marketplace, change is inevitable, and having the ability to adapt to that change means your practice also has the ability to compete. Because your team probably gravitates toward its comfort zones too, changes large and small require a strategic approach.

The California Dental Association is pleased to announce its offering of online dental supply shopping through its subsidiary, The Dentists Service Company. TDSC offers a group buying program through its e-commerce Marketplace - an easy-to-use online shopping site that leverages the buying power of CDA's 27,000 members to secure significant savings on dental supplies and help dentists lower the overall cost of providing care to their patients. Read more at cda.org >

Each practice’s annual dental supply budget is influenced by its size, patient base and technologies, as well as which small equipment is categorized as supplies. Dental supplies have traditionally equated to 4–7 percent of collections. For many general dentists, however, supplies are now equating to 6–7 percent of collections.

With a growing diversity in practice models, including an increase in dentists working as employees or contractors and a decrease in practice ownership, there is no denying that the business challenges for dentists across the nation continue to grow as well. Feeling the combined impacts of dental benefit pressures, growing market competition and the rapid expansion of large group practices, CDA members voiced a need for more control. The association responded with a forward-thinking approach — the creation of The Dentists Service Company — launching services designed to support members’ freedom to excel in a changing marketplace and practice on their own terms.

At a time when dentists nationwide are feeling the impact of dental benefit pressures and growing competition, the California Dental Association (CDA) has responded to member needs by creating a subsidiary called The Dentists Service Company (TDSC). Offering business planning and leadership training, human resources and marketing services, and a new group purchasing program for dental supplies, TDSC empowers dentists by giving them control of their business options. Read more at dentaleconomics.com >

Built on a commitment to make shopping for dental supplies more convenient and affordable for practices of any size, The Dentists Service Company’s newly developed online shopping site provides an easy-to-use shopping experience while leveraging the buying power of CDA’s 27,000 members to offer significant savings.

For years, three dental suppliers — Henry Schein Dental, Patterson Dental, and Benco Dental — have held a substantial market share in the dental supply market across the United States. Together, they have roughly 75 percent of the market, the remaining 25 percent is divvied up among regional players around the country. Read more at wsda>

TDSC Marketplace is home to 25,000 items from trusted suppliers

When The Dentists Service Company launched its online shopping site for dental supplies to CDA members earlier this year, it was with a commitment to make purchasing easier and more affordable for practices of every size. The TDSC Marketplace was also designed to allow dentists and their office staff to procure supplies across categories with confidence in the source and quality of every item.

The savings were so significant the first time Richard Barnes, DDS, and his staff compared dental supply prices on the TDSC Marketplace that they thought there had been a mistake. Barnes, a Visalia dentist with three offices, including a surgery center, compared Marketplace prices to what he regularly paid for supplies and saw a 25 percent savings.

2017 ISN'T OVER YET, but it’s already brought some big changes to the dental industry. Here’s what the Apex360 Editorial Advisory Board and other industry experts have to say about it, as well as what they see happening in the remaining months this year. Read more at dentistryiq.com>

In overwhelming response to the expressed needs of its members, the California Dental Association (CDA) embarked on an enormous endeavor. It created a subsidiary called the Dentists Service Company (TDSC) in 2015. Read more at dentistryiq.com >