Another State Board Appointment Reflects Metamorphosis in Dental Industry

Just a few weeks after Dr. Vidhyalakshmi Sampath, the clinical lead across all 14 Bright Now! Dental offices in Colorado, was appointed to the Colorado Dental Board, another DSO dentist has been appointed to another state’s dental board. Dr. Richard Smith has been appointed to the Arkansas Board of Dental Examiners and has experience both as a private practice owner and lead provider within a large dental group that has affiliated with Monarch Dental, a dental service organization.

The dental industry is undergoing rapid changes with clinical, financial and socio-economic trends making it harder for traditional private practices to keep up. The industry continues to experience consolidation, and these board appointments highlight the importance of groups, and a core principle: that the emergence of group dental practices has helped expand access to affordable dental.

Dr. Smith is the owner of Modern Dental Professionals–Smith, P.A., the dental group that operates all 9 Monarch locations in Arkansas. Working with Monarch Dental for nearly 22 years, Dr. Smith has also seen many industry changes, from how dentists are reimbursed for their services, to how much debt young dentists have upon graduation. Even social media has impacted the practice of dentistry and the way the Board of Examiners interacts with dentists. These and other factors have led to a dental provider shortage in Arkansas and most rural communities across the U.S.