“Dental service organizations (DSOs) buy smaller dental practices, and completely take over.” This is how the market defines DSOs, and it’s not true. There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about DSOs that are dead wrong, especially regarding DSO dental billing. This article will set the record straight.
DSOs have become a major player in the dental industry over the years — there’s no denying that. “According to the ADA, 13% of U.S. dentists are now affiliated with DSOs, with the number rising to 27% among younger practitioners who graduated five or less years ago,” reports Professional Transition Strategies.
With this growth in popularity, there’s also a growth in misconceptions about dental service organizations. Registered Dental Hygienists Magazine (RDH) explains:
“To some, a DSO — which stands for dental service organization or dental support organization — means limited freedom, cash grabs, and low-quality care.”
Most of the myths about DSOs are negative, and they refer to operational processes and how those affect individual practices and patients. While myths persist, the truth showcases how DSOs can streamline processes and get better results.
That’s why we’re here to debunk these 3 big misconceptions about dental service organizations and their billing processes.
Key takeaways on DSO dental billing:
- With the right processes and workflows in place, DSOs can save struggling dental practices
- Not all DSOs are massive corporations — there are plenty of emerging and midsized DSOs
- DSOs can use outsourced dental billing services to improve their collections process: both insurance billing and patient billing
Myth #1: DSOs compromise the personal touch to gain standardization
Going to the dentist isn’t always the most pleasant experience for patients, but with great customer service and genuine warmth from the people in your front office, it can be.
Here’s the myth about DSOs: Patients feel disconnected due to a one-size-fits-all approach.
You might assume that, because there’s a big company ‘taking over’ your front office, any personal touch your administrative team added will evaporate. This would be detrimental, as every patient is different, and you don’t want the tailored treatment and services to disappear — personalization is what separates the good dental practices from the great ones.
Especially when it comes to billing, there must be a personal touch. Patients need to get their insurance questions answered and learn about their payment options.
The myth says there’s no way DSOs can treat each patient as a unique individual.
The Truth: Modern DSOs can utilize expert billing systems that adjust to meet individual patient needs and preferences.
Standardization isn’t the enemy. It’s also not mutually exclusive with providing tailored treatment to every patient. Actually, when billing processes have clear-cut steps and protocols, you’ll avoid mistakes that lead to claim denials or problems with patients’ out-of-pocket costs. You’ll also be able to dedicate extra attention to special situations. 
For example, DCS offers automated patient billing solutions to DSOs of all sizes. It’s a way to make paying easy and convenient for patients. But if there’s a patient who needs a payment plan? No problem! DCS Patient Billing lets you customize each patient's payment plan to ensure they can pay you at their own pace.
Myth #2: DSOs are too big to handle insurance claims effectively
Dental insurance billing is more challenging every year. Unless you’re a fee-for-service practice, it’s likely that nearly half of your overall revenue depends on claims reimbursement — and consistent cash flow relies on getting them fast.
Here’s the myth about DSOs: Insurance claim handling is slower and less efficient at DSOs.
We all know that every dental insurance claims has a ticking clock called timely filing. The dental team has a finite window of time to get a claim reimbursed before dental insurance will refuse to pay it.
Since DSOs submit a high volume of claims, it’s easy to assume that their processes move more slowly, are inefficient, and are less accurate. An easy assumption, but untrue.
The Truth: Centralized processes and automated systems at DSOs lead to quicker claim approvals and fewer denials.
Similar to Myth #1, standardized processes are how you avoid errors. And in the case of dental insurance claims, errors are costly because they crimp your cash flow and increase your team’s workload. They can also impact your patient’s out-of-pocket costs, and through that, their trust and goodwill.
Automated processes are not just faster and more efficient but uninterrupted — they don’t retire, quit, go on vacation, or call in sick.
Plus, when you have a dedicated expert who works on your insurance claims without other daily office tasks to distract them, you’ll see your claims revenue go up and your insurance aging report go down.
Related: Get ready to rise! 3 hurdles overcome by successful emerging dental groups
Myth #3: DSOs struggle with billing consistency across multiple locations
You might assume that because DSOs own many practice locations — sometimes hundreds of them — there’s no consistency to how they bill insurance and patients.
Here’s the myth about DSOs: DSOs provide minimal support, leaving practice teams overwhelmed.
It’s understandable that some people fear DSOs as large corporations that impose their systems and leave dental teams with more work than they had before — and no support.
Just because it’s an understandable fear doesn’t make it true.
Related: Grateful for your dental team? Thank them with automated patient billing
The Truth: Standardized operations at DSOs can create pleasant, reliable workflows when they’re set up by experts.
We’re sure there are some DSOs have unproductive, inefficient, and ineffective workflows. But with the correct set up and support from revenue cycle management experts, you’ll find the opposite: robust and streamlined operations.
At DCS, we’ve been in dental billing since 2012 — we know how complicated managing insurance claims and collecting from patients can be! That’s why we use trained and experienced experts to handle insurance claims, and we recommend automated billing solutions to collect from patients.
The combination of outsourced insurance and patient billing will lighten the workload of your dental team while also collecting more and faster from these two crucial revenue sources.
When DSOs standardize operations with our advanced solutions, your dental team can focus their time and attention on the patient experience.
Read more: Automate your DSO: A solution to standardize operations across locations
Run your DSO efficiently and confidently with RCM experts on your side
To recap, here are 3 myths we debunked about DSO dental billing:
- Myth #1: DSOs compromise the personal touch to gain standardization
- Myth #2: DSOs are too big to handle insurance claims effectively
- Myth #3: DSOs struggle with billing consistency across multiple locations
If you’re a DSO, you already know these things aren’t true. If you’re a private practice owner, you may have wondered, but now you know that selling or partnering with a DSO can be a promising solution to your struggling dental practice — especially if you know they have RCM experts in place to manage dental insurance claims and automated solutions prepared to collect from patients.
DCS is a full-service revenue cycle management solution for private practices and DSOs alike, helping standardize processes and get you the cash flow you deserve.
Take your dental business to the next level: Book a free 30-minute consultation today.
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