The Pacific Dental Conference 2017 (PDC) this year was a blast!
This was my first time attending PDC, which is one of the largest dental conferences in North America. It was great to see so many old and new clients – though some of the tipsier ones may not remember seeing me 😉
Our team was at the event for two days, and we had a lot of fun. A big part of my legal practice involves working with dentists, including buying and selling dental practices, corporate restructuring, and other dry and terribly serious matters.
It was nice to hang out with clients and other professionals in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
First Impressions
The venue location for PDC 2017 was perfect – the Vancouver Convention Centre – and the event was well-organized. The downtown location also makes practical sense for the large number of attendees flying in for the conference.
PDC was great for networking with other exhibitors as well as attendees. Some of the attendees have been coming to PDC for over a decade, which goes to show how important PDC is in the dental industry.
Our buzz-wire game was a huge hit with attendees! Many were back numerous times to our exhibit in the hopes of improving their times.
The steadiest hands in the competition belonged to a 4th year student!
Industry Insights
Many dentists are concerned about the increasingly saturated market-place for dentists in BC.
Let’s face it, we have new graduates from Canadian universities and those trained abroad, all trying to earn a living in crowded urban areas.
Many, if not most, new associates have no choice but to bounce between several different clinics, trying to pick up work.
Dentists who own their own practice(s) can no longer sit easy, trusting that new patients will continue coming without active marketing efforts.
Dentistry is a business, and most dentists are wise to adopt best business practices and systems to stay competitive to out-maneuver other practices in their neighborhood.
Once you throw big corporate dentistry into the mix, those dentist-owned practices that do not move aggressively to retain and grow market-share, will inevitably wither away.
Unique and Canadian-centric management solutions like Drive Dental offers an ideal and cost-effective tool that can help most dental practices compete and grow in this fast-changing business environment.
Unsurprisingly, most of the dentists we spoke with at PDC loved the idea of Drive Dental – A custom-tailored and team-based management approach that offers a risk-free guarantee attached to its services.
Final Thoughts
Early in my career, I never expressly marketed myself as a dentist’s lawyer.
However, by word-of-mouth referrals, and, perhaps ‘dumb luck’, I’ve had the good fortune of working with many dentists.
Over the last two years, it has made sense to let local dentists know about my particular focus on dental law, and how I’ve helped them navigate.
Having an exhibit at PDC helped Patrola Law communicate its message to hundreds of dentists.
We’ll definitely be attending PDC 2018 and look forward to doing bigger and better things with our clients and colleagues over the next year!