Woody Oakes, DDS
and
Travis McFee, DDS

Travis McFee, DDS has been a practice dentist in Salem, Oregon for over 14 years. As a graduate of Loma Linda University Dental School, he is recognized as an outstanding contributor to his profession worldwide. In April 1988, Dr. McFee co-founded Excellence In Dentistry with Dr. Woody Oakes. It's mission is to serve and inform the dental community.

Excellence in Dentistry publishes The Profitable Dentist Newsletter, which enjoys approximately 10,000 member subscribers. In addition, Excellence in Dentistry sponsors two annual dental summits, on in San Destin, Florida and the other in Keystone, Colorado, which provide educational and informational seminars and exhibitors.



Woody Oakes, DDS, FAES has a full-time private practice in New Albany, Indiana. He is a graduate of Indiana University Dental School and is a Fellow of the American Endodontic Society. He has served as President of the Floyd County Dental Society and is a staff member of Floyd County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Oakes is best known nationally his five successful books on practice administration and dental techniques. He is the founder and editor of the largest monthly newsletter in the U.S.--The Profitable Dentist Newsletter. He is also a 1988 inductee to "Who's Who in the Midwest."

Dr. Oakes is also the founder and president of Oral-Vision, Inc. which produces dental intra-oral cameras and related products. The company also sponsors "hands on" training seminars to teach dentists how to best use this technology. Last year, the company presented over 170 seminars in the United States and Canada. Oral-Vision is currently the second largest intra-oral camera company in the world.


Drs. Oaks & McFee will speaking at the Profitable Dentist seminar in Keystone, CO on August 7-10 on 'How To Save Fee-For-Service Dentistry'. For more information about this seminar call 1-800-337-8467. And for more info about beautiful Keystone click here.

It is a jungle out there. Survival of the fittest. And the predator is managed care. The weak, the young, and those of us that stray from the herd become easy prey for these ferocious predators. I'm talking about our profession and what managed dental care programs are doing to us. Each year, managed care programs devour more and more of the private practice market share. We believe it is possible, however, to save what is left of our profession if we unite before it is too late.

In 1978, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on a case that ultimately allowed dentists and other professionals to market their services. Since that time, individual dentists have spent untold millions and millions of dollars on self-promotional ads. Although a national advertising campaign could benefit the dental profession as a whole, little has been done to educate consumers as to the values and benefits of modern dentistry. It seems that every dentist is for him or herself. Every dentist seems to be fighting every other dentist for market share instead of working together and pooling our resources to expand the market for all of us.

The ADA, unlike most other national organizations, has done practically nothing in the way of coordinating a national marketing campaign. Meanwhile, the insurance companies are spending huge sums of money promoting managed dental care programs that are killing our private fee-for-service dental practices. Many dentists have begun calling for the ADA to begin to do more in the way of funding a national advertising campaign supported by an increase in ADA dues. This is just one of the many suggestions being offered as part of a united effort to save private-practice dentistry.

Many dentists in the United States are like that proverbial frog in the pan of boiling water - as the water gradually gets warmer and warmer, at first the water feels fine, then a little warmer, then a lot warmer, and before they know or realize it, they're a FRIED FROG! That's what I see happening today with dentistry. Managed care is slowly taking control of our profession. In California, for example, nearly 50% of the dentists participate in these plans and some experts predict it will be 95+% by the year 2000!

Basically, the managed care industry is the PIMP and we are the PROSTITUTES! We do all the work and get less income, the patients receive substandard care (by the nature of the plan), and the managed care group takes their cut. The managed care group (the pimp) wins, and both the patients and the dentists get screwed. That's why we detest managed care so much.

The vast silent majority of dentists feels that the ADA, the government, or "someone" will halt this alarming trend. Oh sure, they like to complain at their local meetings, write a few letters, complain to a few patients... but nothing they are doing individually will work with any degree of success. You see, the managed care predator is much better organized than the dental profession. They conduct meetings, strategy sessions, and they have a war chest loaded to the brim with money to fight any revolt that dentists choose to present. In contrast, dentistry as a whole doesn't have a plan in place to combat this assault on our profession.

It's easy to blame the ADA for not doing a better job in helping us fight managed care. But unfortunately, they are bound by politics and laws. In a recent telephone conversation with an ADA official, this individual said, "Woody, we'd like to say managed care sucks and don't get involved with it, but we just can't do that!"

So let's talk about the Keystone Summit and why it might be the vehicle to stop managed care dead in its tracks. The Keystone Summit is about "Saving Fee-For-Service Dentistry" and is open to any dentist who is concerned about saving our profession. It is an opportunity to come together and share ideas and to unite our efforts and it is vital to all of our futures. We believe that if we are united we can work together to save our profession from the predators that would kill fee-for-service dentistry.

Excellence in Dentistry, Inc., which publishes The Profitable Dentist Newsletter, is co-sponsoring this summit with Futuredontics, Inc. which operates the 1- 800-DENTIST® service.

In the May issue of The Profitable Dentist, we sent out a survey to 85,000 general practitioners in the United States. To our knowledge, a survey of this nature and scope has never been done. We wanted to find out what dentists really feel on various issues concerning our profession. This format gives them the opportunity to do so openly and honestly.

In the August issue (right before Keystone) we will publish those results in the newsletter. We hope that this survey will show what dentists really think about the various issues facing our profession, not what organized dentistry or managed care says they think. We'll have the actual data to reveal the thinking of dentists in this country.

At Keystone, we'll have a gathering of hundreds of GPs just like yourself. On Thursday night, August 8th, the night before the actual summit, we'll meet and discuss the ten greatest concerns of our profession as identified by our survey. This will be an old- fashioned town meeting where everyone can have their say.

Then the following night, Friday August 9th, Dr. Gordon Christensen will deliver a brief keynote address about what he feels are the challenges facing fee-for service dentistry. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the leaders in dentistry which will develop a unified "battle plan" to fight managed care. Can fee-for-service dentistry be saved? Absolutely!

We can do it, but we need your help. That means you must plan to attend Keystone and help us accomplish our goals. We need you to make it happen. I urge you to join us this August 7-10 in beautiful Keystone, Colorado. Despite learning from a line-up of "world class" dental educators, you'll also have the opportunity to be a part of history. No dental meeting you'll ever attend will have as much impact on your future as this one.

To register or for more information about the Keystone Seminar and Summit to save fee-for-service dentistry, please call 1-800-337-8467. Come join us and save our great profession!