Just a couple of weeks ago, DentalForum USA 2019 saw over 130 delegates descend on Nashville for the fourth edition of one of the industry’s favorite networking events. DentalForum’s unique one-to-one speed-meeting program promotes effective decision making and eliminates time wasting. For both DSOs and vendors, it is an invaluable introduction to new companies, products and partnerships. By invitation-only, delegates are carefully chosen to ensure that solutions match needs in an environment that focuses on collaboration rather than sales.
“The DentalForum is a unique DSO meeting in our industry where you are guaranteed one-on-one time with key influencers and decision makers. My experience delivered the possibility of tangible new opportunities to grow my business and make a positive impact on the dental patients served by DSO partners.” -National Sales Director, SS White Dental
Aspen Dental, Heartland and Smile Brands were amongst some of the largest and fastest growing DSOs present. The event is consistently praised for its high calibre guest list; this year over 70% of DSOs in attendance held C-level job titles. As always, the 15-minute one-to-one speed meetings between DSOs and game-changing suppliers are at the heart of the event – getting everyone up to date on the cutting-edge of dental offerings. It is no wonder that some delegates describe it as their “most important meeting of the year.”
“The ‘speed dating’ with the vendors was the most efficient way to exchange information and develop possible business opportunities. I have never left an event in the past 20 years where we have had contact with vendors and opened so many possibilities to develop a partnership. Many vendors we already do business with came to the table with improved products, better pricing or better ways to promote what we have on formulary with CE.” -Charles Stirewalt, Smile Brands
Equally impressive in attendance were the event’s vendors, with sponsors Straumann Group, NDX, Dental Intelligence, LED Apteryx, Carestream Dental and DentalEZ leading the way.
Guests were warmly welcomed by Chris Malmquist of Straumann Group, the event’s Platinum Partner. In an audience of nearly 40 DSOs representing a grand total of over 8000 practices, decision makers from across the States sat alongside an impressive range of industry suppliers and manufacturers.
Kick starting the conference, Julian Perry (Group Commercial Director, mydentist – Europe’s largest dental group) from across the pond joined Trevor Maurer (CEO, SmileSource), in what proved to be an insightful comparison of their respective markets. David Thoni, (President, East Division) continued to spark exciting discussion after his presentation on Clear Choice’s vision to rid the world of dentures and how to drive a winning culture across a large DSO. Bill Neumann (CEO of Group Dentistry Now) delivered a unique and impactful presentation on the state of dental procurement, which provided attendees significant value and was undoubtedly the highlight of the conference. (See all the survey results here.) The conference concluded with a mass game of rock, paper, scissors, which left one lucky delegate $500 dollars richer thanks to a cash prize donated by Gold partners, Dental Intelligence.
Outside the conference room, a bright ‘n’ bold themed dinner brought the guests together in a relaxed setting to build on the connections made over the past two days, some took it all the way to Broadway where the OpenRoom team were also celebrating the event’s success.
Benefits to DSOs:
- Network with your peers and meet with new and current suppliers.
- A tailored meetings program – so there’s no time wasting.
- Learn from and engage with the leading minds in the industry through the conference.
- Event organizers take care of all the details, leaving you to stay ahead of the game and take your business relationships to the next level.
Benefits to Manufacturers:
- Collaborate with event organizers to develop your schedule, matching your offering to the DSOs’ priorities.
- Do business face-to-face with the primary decision makers from each DSO.
- Engage with and learn from both the DSOs and other manufacturers.
- Relax and get to know your customers on a personal level while event organizers take care of the details.
DentalForum USA will be heading to the award-winning Lost Pines Resort
in Austin next year on the 16-17th September.
If you are interested in attending, please get in touch with a member of the OpenRoom events team at jorinde@openroomevents.com or click here for more information. ![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20200%2051'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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