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Overcoming Challenges and Our Competitive Advantage
As we proceed forward with our business model, we’re going to be facing several competitive challenges. The first of these are from the existing DMSO’s that are already in the industry. The three leading dental DMSO’s currently have about 600 offices, generate nearly one billion dollars annually in revenue, and have a profit of between 20 and 25 per-cent net. However, this business model is based upon the standard practice of dentistry, and controlling all these diverse dentists and dental offices is like herding cats. With our business model, we’re going to be targeting and focusing on specific procedures, specific operating protocols, and every office will follow a franchise-style market that provides service in a standardized way. Other competitive challenges are going to be existing dental practitioners; the trade associations such as the American Dental Association that protects these practitioners; and the insurance industry and employer groups that don’t know any other way to provide health care. We believe that the positive influence of the Laser Dental Model and the public’s response to this new style of dentistry will provide the impetus for a positive change within the industry. The biggest challenge we’re going to be facing will be the patients themselves—their understanding of what their dental options are and the choices that we’re going to be providing for them. Even though there are existing “Laser Dentists” in the marketplace, they still practice traditional dentistry and use the drill for most procedures. We have found that most of them use lasers only occasionally, and do not use the lasers exclusively to their full advantage. In fact, many of them only use their lasers as a marketing gimmick, and are not adequately trained or experienced in laser procedures. None, to this date, have shifted to a Laser-Only dental office, focusing exclusively on low-overhead, simple laser procedures that could prevent the need for future dentistry. The Prevention/Wellness Dental Office of the future is our Laser Dental Center/Dental Lasik Model. Our Comptetitive Advantage The existing DMSO business model has already proven itself much more cost effective, producing greater profits for the dental offices they manage. Our model will get the best from the DMSO world, and the best from the franchise industry world, combining them with standardized procedures, protocols and training to produce a much more streamlined, cost effective operation. Locations will be selected based on targeted markets, such as Whole Foods has done. We will follow each new location’s entry into the marketplace with a campaign specifically designed for maximum saturation of the community. And, as a plus for our business, laser technology is already accepted as a higher standard of care in most of the health care industry. The franchise industry model also offers us examples of how to simplify, standardize and replicate a system. We will be offering fewer, more simple, low-overhead procedures. Our personnel selection and training, as well as procedures and protocols, will be standardized. The infrastructure and information management system that provides the follow-through and tracking will help ensure that each office stays on target.
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