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A Discussion With Third-Generation Dentist Dr. Jay Hustead, Discover What He Is Doing To Improve Your Dental Visit

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Dr. Jay W. Hustead is a third-generation dentist. He followed his father and his grandfather into dental medicine. He was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He attended Uniontown High School and then graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Then he followed his father and grandfather’s footsteps to the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and received his DMD degree.

Dr. Hustead currently lives in National Harbor, Maryland. He presently practices dentistry in Bryans Road, Maryland at Smile Dental Art. He has over 20 years of general and cosmetic dentistry experience. He started with a solo practice and developed it into multiple locations with multiple associated doctors, including specialty care and orthodontics.

Dr. Hustead is still practicing dentistry five days a week. He did step back and work just two days a week for a period of time, but he got bored and decided to go back to five days a week.

Since he has had the experience of building up his practice into multiple locations through associations with other dentists, including specialty care and orthodontics, he knows that they come trained well on the clinical aspects of dentistry, but they are very weak on their management skills, such as the economics and basic management of the dentistry office.

Dr. Jay Hustead has now formed a new company called Dental Management Group. The sole idea of this company is to teach younger dentists how to do the actual practice management in order to better clinical operations.

Q: What made you choose to go into Dentistry?

A: What made me choose dentistry, that is very simple for me. I am a third-generation dentist. My dad was a dentist. My grandfather was a dentist. I was raised in a dental family. I worked in the summertime when I was a teenager in the office. It is pretty much in my blood.

Q: What do you find most challenging about your career?

A: Dentistry is a fantastic career. But the aspect of the interface with patients and their insurance company can be very difficult. If I could just practice dentistry on a day-to-day basis and not feel like I was accountable to the insurance company or have them tell me that they are not going to pay for the best care or they will pay for this care, it would be better. There are times I feel like I work for the insurance company or an insurance representative, and that is the most challenging thing for me.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give someone starting in your industry?

A: The dental schools around the United States train the students well to be dentists. They are very strong academically toward the clinical aspect of dentistry, but most of the schools do not provide management training or business training. The number of young associates that I have had in my lifetime, they have been excellent clinical people, but were basically clueless when it came to management of a dental practice, the running, scheduling, overhead and things like that. To anybody young coming out, I would say while you are in dental school during your senior year, to take an elective in economics, accounting, or human resources, and you still do not feel comfortable, go hire a business management company. You may not need them for more than two or three years, but they will help you get organized.

This is the reason we formed our new company, Distinctive Dental Management Group. We will take our 20+ years of experience of learning, making mistakes, and learning again to be able to go in and shorten the curve for a young dentist. We are in the early setup phase. We are doing a proforma on how we want to approach this in timewise and cost. Once this gets rolling, I will go to their office and be able to see the facility. Sometimes the dental companies set up these beautiful dental offices, but they are really not functional from a business standpoint.

Q: If you could change anything about your industry what would it be and why?

A: The number one thing that I would change is that dental schools and state boards in dentistry for re-licensing should require dentists to give some pro bono time. There is a huge number of people that really cannot afford dental care. I have worked with Mission of Mercy. I was one of the original dentists for the dental clinic in Annapolis which was called the Stanton Community Dental Clinic, and we treated only adults. Some states have Medicaid for adults; Maryland does not. They do treat children, but they do not treat adults. These adults have no place to go. I have always given at least 10% of my time in my schedule. I think it should be mandatory that dentists do that in order to get re-licensed.

Currently, they do not even recommend it. They recommend that we take so many credits every two years for renewal of a license. If you do the Mission of Mercy service, you can take that towards your credits now, the required re-licensing credits, and that is good, but a lot of dentists do not volunteer for the Mission of Mercy service.

Q: How would your colleagues describe you?

A: I was voted one of the top 20 dentists in Anne Arundel County. That vote came from the specialty care doctors. After that happened, I asked some of the doctors, why did you vote for me other than you think I might be a good dentist? They laughed and one of the things they said to me is they thought I was very caring and very compassionate.

I pride myself on the fact that I am a good listener. In so many situations, what I have seen with some of the younger guys, they go in and give a presentation and they do not really listen to what the patient’s needs are. That is difficult because we all want to drive a Mercedes, but maybe we cannot. Let us just provide what is next best, which is maybe the Chevy. I have always sat down with my patients and I have asked them what they want and not tell them what I think they need. That is the way I address my treatment plan and my care of the patient.

Q: How do you maintain a solid work life balance?

A: I work hard and I play hard. After 20+ years of doing dentistry, I still look forward to seeing my patients every day and going home and sharing a glass of wine with my wife.

Q: What is one piece of technology that helps you the most in your daily routine?

A: The advent of digital x-rays has really revolutionized patient care. It takes all the guesswork out of the old-fashioned x-rays and the work of dentistry on a daily basis. We can now take a digital x-ray, blow it up, measure on the computer screen the length of the tooth that we are performing a root canal. We are right where we need to be. The same thing with some of the newer digitals in bone density, so when you are placing an implant you know where the best bone is and where it is not. It has changed everything.

Q: What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?

A: When I first came out of Penn State, there was a side of me that was tired of being Dr. Hustead’s grandson and son, and so I went into the business world. I stayed there for a few years and then decided to go to dental school. During that time frame, my dad had a massive heart attack and died at a young age. It has been a big obstacle with the loss of him plus not being able to practice with him.

Q: Who has been a role model to you and why?

A: Certainly, my father was key in raising me and exposing me to dentistry, but I think probably my grandfather was my biggest role model because he was a visionary in early dentistry. He graduated in 1922. He went into private practice, but he continued to teach and do research at the University of Pittsburgh. In the 1930s he developed a process called the intraosseous bone injection which is still used by oral surgeons today. He did unbelievable amounts of research on root canal treatments. He was just at the forefront of early dentistry.

Q: What is one piece of advice that you have never forgotten?

A: My father once said to me, “No matter how successful you are, never forget those less fortunate.” That stuck with me. As I said earlier, I treat at least 10% of my patients at no charge. I was one of the original dentists at the Stanton Community Dental Center in Annapolis, Maryland which is a dental facility that does free dentistry on adults.

Every year I participate in the Mission of Mercy which is an organization throughout the United States. We have three locations during the year here in Maryland. It is a three-day period where general dentists and specialty dentists do pro-bono work. The dental supply companies bring in portable dental chairs. Last year, at the one over in Waldorf, we helped almost 4,000 patients.

I am a member of the Maryland Foundation of Dentistry which is a foundation that is run through the Maryland Dental Society. They actually screen patients that need dental care and then the people in the area where you live are referred to your dental office. They pay for the lab work if the patient needs dentures or crowns or whatever, but we do the work pro bono. It is a very good thing that the Maryland Dental Society does.

Q: What does success look like to you?

A: Success to me looks like a happy smile and a healthy smile. Basically what I mean by that is the patient comes in, they smile, you see gum disease, and at the end of the treatment plan, they stand up and they look at you and they get tears in their eyes and they say, “Thanks doc.” That is really what success is to me.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would like to leave our readers with?

A: Dentistry is not really all about people’s teeth and gums. The modern research out there says that periodontal disease, even tooth decay, can create adverse effects systematically throughout the body. When people come in and we evaluate them, there are times that we refer them back to their physician because we are questioning some systemic issues that they might be having. The bacteria from the decay can get into the bloodstream. Now it is documented it can infect the heart. The primary thing is to see your dentist every six months and be evaluated.

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