A Q&A with Dr. Dickinson, DDS
Dr. Devin Dickinson’s practice in Arlington, WA recognizes that all of its patients are unique and deserve to receive dental care that reflects their individual needs.
His team shares his commitment to deliver exceptional personal care and works with their patients to create a comfortable, stress-free, and rewarding dental experience. Staying up to date with the latest technology in dental treatment, allows him and his staff to evaluate, diagnose, and explain conditions or treatment options to patients effectively. Dr. Dickinson also serves as Affiliate Faculty at the University of Washington School of Dentistry in the Dental Urgent Care Clinic.
We sat down with Dr. Dickinson to hear about his experience with our Supply Savings Guarantee Program.
How long have you been with Burkhart and its Supply Savings Guarantee (SSG) Program?
I’ve been with Burkhart since I bought this practice in 2014. Of course, I’ve had people from other companies stop by and try to get us to switch.
What is it that has made you stay with Burkhart if other suppliers are also coming in and making their cases?
Well, I had one come in and they tried to convince me that they could beat Burkhart’s prices. I gave them our last couple of months of orders, and they came back a week later and said that they couldn’t beat the prices but that they make up for it with other consulting services. I told them I already get that from Burkhart, especially with the Practice Support Team.
How has having a Burkhart Account Manager helped you closely monitor your inventory?
I think it’s been beneficial in keeping costs down as well as keeping inventory that you actually use. There’s no sense in having extra, especially with space and training constraints and things like that—we don’t want to just keep a bunch of extra X, Y, and Z around. It’s nice to have another set of eyes looking in on our supplies to keep things lean and the overhead under control.
Were you able to switch to any of the high-quality, better-value products Burkhart offers? If so, how did those work out for you?
Yeah, we switched products here and there. I can always count on my Account Manager, Niki Allan, to give me a recommendation when I say we need a product. She might say, “Yes, we do offer this, but we also offer another product that’s comparable where we can get a better deal,” or something along those lines.
Do you use any of the Burkhart Private Label Products?
I do! We use some of the impression material, the Burkhart bite material, the Burkhart temp material, the Burkhart 330 carbide burs, and the 557s. We use a good number of the Private Label burs.
Were you able to take advantage of the manufacturer coupons and free goods that led to some of your cost savings?
Yeah, definitely. It’s so helpful because we’re oftentimes busy and typically the person in charge of ordering is an assistant—they can’t be always cost comparing and looking at promotions and stuff like that. Our Account Manager is always good about bringing those to our attention. She knows what we need and the frequency with which we go through a product, so she knows which Buy/Get deals will be good for us. She also is considering the expiration dates. She might say, “Well, you normally buy 2, and they have a promo for buy 4 and get 6 free, but based on your usage, you’ll end up with expired stock.” It’s just always good to have someone looking at that inventory and knowing when we last ordered items. She always has the answer!
What would you say to a doctor considering taking advantage of Burkhart’s Supply Savings Guarantee Program?
I do have a doctor that I’m trying to get to switch over to Burkhart. She has been spending her time buying her own supplies or having the assistants compile the order and then double checks it—I don’t think that’s a productive use of a doctor’s time. Plus, then the assistants are spending their time checking pricing and stuff. I was a dental assistant. I ordered supplies. The doctor always wanted me to price compare—every single week—to see which files were cheaper and stuff like that. The amount of time it took to do that—paying me to research and look at three different companies just to save a couple of bucks on something—it didn’t make sense. Our Burkhart Account Manager comes in and takes care of this for us. She brings her laptop in, and we can just ask her directly—all the questions of ‘can we do something cheaper or better’, all that kind of stuff is all handled with her in like 30 seconds.
The SSG checks off a lot of boxes that people are looking for in terms of saving on supplies. Don’t forget—time is money, too! You’re getting an affordable company that also has the extra resources that some of the bigger companies will tout like the Practice Support Team. I’ve also never been under the impression that my Niki is trying to sell me on something—she’s never recommended something that wouldn’t be some type of benefit. It’s a level of trust, and that’s important. I understand that maybe with a smaller practice you might be wanting to keep things lean, but on the other side, it’s costing you time that you could be spending doing other, more profitable things.
There are variable expenses and fixed expenses with a business—there’s only so much you can cut before you just really start to diminish the quality of your work. Having someone to monitor your inventory and look for promotions can save you money. The time that you would normally try to invest in looking at all of these different ways to save—you can focus on some other things. If you could see another patient in the time that you’re spending scrolling through a website and price comparing, that could be increasing production, which will have a much bigger benefit.
What part of the Supply Savings Guarantee do you find most valuable to you and your practice?
Time is money. I used to get my distilled water for my practice, and now I just pay Mountain Mist to come in to do it. I had a friend who was doing a similar thing for his practice. He was out there checking some grocery stores—he shouldn’t be spending time doing that, and his team really shouldn’t have to do that either. I told him: “Just sign up for one of these companies, and then forget about it. Don’t deal with it. Time is money. You don’t need to be spending your free time running around to stores.” The same thing can be applied to Burkhart. We don’t need to be checking three different companies to see what this one product is going for when my Burkhart Account Manager will check for us. I think people think bringing someone in is going to cost them more, but it’s quite the opposite.
Learn More Burkhart’s Supply Savings Guarantee might be just the right option for you – visit our Supply Savings Guarantee page.
Written by Andrea McArthur
Published in Catalyst – Fall/Winter, 2022
Category: Supply Savings Guarantee
Back to Articles