Eric Giesecke’s trail to CEO at Planet DDS wasn’t conventional, however that’s precisely what makes his point of view distinctive. With enjoy main world development initiatives, scaling firms via acquisition, and now steerage a number one dental SaaS platform, Eric brings a pointy operational lens to the dental business’s trade wishes.
On this Q&A at the beginning featured on Citybiz.com, he stocks his insights on management, generation adoption, and the way forward for DSOs and dental teams.
From Engineering to Entrepreneurship
Q. Please let us know a little bit about your background and what led you to Planet DDS.
A. I started my occupation with an engineering stage, first of all anticipating to observe a traditional technical trajectory. Then again, I briefly found out that I used to be maximum energized via main groups, imposing trade, and development significant enterprises. This realization led me to the development business, the place I controlled large-scale world initiatives. I later pursued an MBA at Harvard Industry Faculty, the place I was eager about entrepreneurship throughout the seek fund type with the objective of obtaining and running a unmarried trade.
When a former trade college colleague and I got here throughout Planet DDS, neither people had prior enjoy in dentistry or device. Nonetheless, we noticed important possible within the corporate. It had a powerful product providing, sturdy tradition, a faithful buyer base, and was once at an early level in its expansion adventure.
We embraced the chance to develop the trade via strategic acquisitions and meet the expanding call for for complicated generation answers in dentistry. We believed that with the proper management, funding, and a focal point on innovation, Planet DDS may just scale considerably. As of late, we serve over part of the highest dental fortify organizations (DSOs) within the U.S. and proceed to play a pivotal position within the modernization of dental care via cloud-based answers.
Even though my trail to CEO was once unconventional, it has grow to be one in all my biggest strengths. Whilst I started fixing engineering issues, I in the long run discovered that guiding companies to develop and higher serve their shoppers was once the problem I used to be actually supposed to pursue.
Construction Relationships in a New Trade
Q. Coming from outdoor the dental business, what was once the training curve like, and the way did you means main in an unfamiliar house?
A. I entered as an intruder with restricted enjoy in each device and dentistry, so development agree with and relationships was my quick precedence. I consider that efficient management starts with hands-on engagement, so I made a concerted effort to show my dedication to the group’s good fortune and long-term imaginative and prescient.
I invested really extensive time in enticing with staff, attending coaching classes, and looking at how we supported our shoppers. This immersive means no longer best knowledgeable key product and repair choices, but in addition helped foster agree with with each our staff and our shoppers.
Whilst I used to be no longer a topic knowledgeable first of all, I introduced related strengths in procedure optimization, organizational design, and strategic execution. Through the years, running carefully with the staff helped shift early skepticism into mutual admire. Most of the unique staff contributors stay with us these days, proceeding to lend a hand construct an organization we’re all pleased with.
Courses in Management and Guiding Rules
Q. Your management adventure has integrated managing world development initiatives and scaling firms via acquisition. How have the ones previous reports influenced the way you construct and lead groups these days?
A. My reports in Afghanistan and Egypt supplied valuable courses in management, resilience, and duty. At a tender age, I controlled initiatives past my formal enjoy, which driven me to concentrate, be told from others, and lead via instance. Later, I obtained and scaled a bottleless water cooler corporate, in the long run promoting it in 2017. That have showed my interest for development companies immediately, reasonably than only advising or making an investment in them.
3 management values have remained consistent all through my adventure: a willingness to interact within the paintings, humility, and authenticity. Those ideas proceed to lead my management means and feature been instrumental in fostering innovation, collaboration, and resilience at Planet DDS.
Keeping up Tradition Via Enlargement and Trade
Q. Corporate tradition continuously will get more difficult to take care of as a trade grows. What steps have you ever taken to keep the tradition at Planet DDS whilst increasing via acquisitions and new product construction?
A. Keeping up a powerful and values-driven tradition has been a central focal point as Planet DDS has scaled. Our core values, together with collaboration, duty, authenticity, empathy, and trustworthiness, function the basis of our office atmosphere.
We’ve labored deliberately to keep a tradition of self-accountability and cross-functional collaboration whilst averting useless forms. This permits our staff contributors to really feel empowered and make significant contributions without reference to their position or tenure.
Early hires and foundational staff contributors had been instrumental in shaping our tradition, using innovation, and overcoming demanding situations. We proceed to prioritize hiring people who no longer best deliver the important experience but in addition align with our values and undertaking.
Modernizing Dental Generation to Meet Calls for
Q. Generation in dentistry has traditionally lagged in the back of different industries. What do you spot as the largest alternatives—and stumbling blocks—on the subject of modernizing the gap?
A. Whilst different industries have embraced cloud computing, open ecosystems, and AI-driven automation, many dental practices are nonetheless running on fragmented, legacy methods that had been by no means constructed to scale. Those methods entice information in silos, create operational bottlenecks, and prohibit a convention’s skill to develop, adapt, or ship the type of affected person enjoy trendy customers be expecting.
At Planet DDS, we consider dental device is damaged—and we’re running to mend it. That suggests extra than simply shifting to the cloud. It’s about giving practices the power to select best-in-class gear that combine seamlessly, automate repetitive duties, and unencumber data-driven insights that give a boost to care and streamline operations.
The most important impediment isn’t simply the generation however the tempo of adoption. Dentistry is a relationship-driven box, and plenty of organizations are understandably wary about disrupting workflows that experience labored for years. However that’s additionally the chance: with the proper platform, modernization doesn’t need to be disruptive. It may be empowering. Gear like our DentalOS platform are constructed to fortify expansion via assembly practices the place they’re, providing flexibility and interoperability as an alternative of a one-size-fits-all resolution.
Modernizing dental tech is in the long run about serving to practices paintings smarter, no longer more difficult. The practices that include this shift would be the ones preferrred placed for long-term good fortune.
Growing an Open DentalOS Platform
Q. What has been your guiding philosophy when comparing and integrating applied sciences like AI into your platform? How do you distinguish between hype and genuine price?
A. My technique to comparing and integrating new applied sciences is rooted in fixing genuine, operational demanding situations for dental practices. We focal point on gear that power measurable enhancements in potency, scalability, and affected person enjoy. Relatively than chasing developments, we prioritize answers that align with the day by day wishes of suppliers and fortify sustainable expansion.
A key a part of that technique is development and supporting an open, extensible platform. With DentalOS, we’ve created a cloud-based infrastructure designed to combine seamlessly with quite a lot of third-party gear via open APIs. This permits dental organizations to customise their generation stack, attach methods extra successfully, and scale back the friction that continuously comes with legacy or siloed device.
Via prioritizing interoperability and versatility, we make sure that the applied sciences we undertake and be offering can develop along our shoppers. Whether or not it’s making improvements to operational workflows, bettering affected person engagement, or simplifying administrative processes, our focal point stays on handing over sensible, built-in answers that make a significant affect.
Supporting DSO and Dental Crew Enlargement
Q. The dental business continues to peer important consolidation, with extra DSOs and crew practices rising. How do you spot Planet DDS supporting this pattern and assembly the evolving wishes of bigger, multi-location organizations?
A. Planet DDS is well-positioned to fortify ongoing consolidation within the dental business via cloud-based, enterprise-grade answers which can be in particular designed for multi-location organizations. As DSOs scale, we give you the gear important to centralize operations, standardize processes, and take care of consistency in care supply throughout places.
Our platform simplifies complicated workflows, helps collaboration throughout groups, and permits better visibility into trade efficiency, serving to dental organizations function extra successfully and develop with self assurance. Our funding in open structure and integration functions additionally guarantees compatibility with quite a lot of applied sciences already in use via greater teams.
Along with serving established DSOs, we also are concerned about supporting early-stage dental teams via our Launchpad Program. This initiative is designed to lend a hand rising multi-location practices lay the groundwork for scalable enlargement. Launchpad provides get admission to to enterprise-level generation bundled with implementation fortify, coaching, and versatile pricing choices that decrease the barrier to access for rising practices.
Contributors can choose between curated generation applications aligned with their operational wishes and expansion targets. This system contains gear for follow control, imaging, analytics, and affected person conversation, at the side of structured onboarding and knowledgeable steerage to make sure long-term good fortune.
Via each our core platform and strategic techniques like Launchpad, Planet DDS is dedicated to empowering dental organizations at each level of expansion, from new teams development their basis to mature DSOs optimizing at scale.
Insights from 2025 Dental Trade Outlook
Q. Planet DDS just lately launched its 2025 Dental Trade Outlook Record. What had been one of the crucial largest takeaways for you individually as a pace-setter on this house?
A. Some of the largest takeaways for me from the 2025 Dental Trade Outlook Record was once the resilience of dental practices amid financial demanding situations. The truth that 60% reported same-store manufacturing expansion in 2024 demonstrates the business’s adaptability.
Moreover, I used to be specifically struck via the disparity between case acceptance and of entirety. With acceptance charges between 40% to 70% and of entirety at best 42%, there’s a transparent alternative for growth. Generation, affected person schooling, and workflow improvements can lend a hand shut that hole.
In spite of everything, the continuing issue in hiring hygienists—reported via 91% of practices—highlights the desire for answers that permit groups to function extra successfully and sustainably. As a pace-setter on this house, it’s a decision to motion for us to stay innovating and offering answers that lend a hand practices keep productive, environment friendly, and patient-focused.
Q. The record highlights operational inefficiencies, staffing shortages, and generation adoption developments. What recommendation would you be offering to dental crew leaders looking to navigate those overlapping demanding situations?
A. The 2025 Dental Trade Outlook Record obviously illustrates how operational inefficiencies, staffing shortages, and the fast tempo of generation adoption are colliding to create a fancy atmosphere for dental crew leaders. My recommendation is to concentrate on integration, optimization, and ability construction in those 3 ways:
1. Do away with bottlenecks with hooked up methods.
Put into effect hooked up platforms and automation to do away with administrative bottlenecks. The record highlights that AI and APIs are dramatically making improvements to spaces like earnings cycle control, insurance coverage verification, and scheduling, liberating up personnel to concentrate on affected person care and expansion tasks.
2. Center of attention on results, no longer simply gear.
Transfer past the use of generation only for innovation’s sake and use it to optimize results. Many DSOs are transferring from adopting new gear to refining their use, making sure they ship measurable ROI, scale back case leakage, and fortify higher decision-making via real-time analytics.
3. Empower groups amid staffing demanding situations.
Within the face of continual hygienist shortages and a tightening hard work marketplace, focal point on empowering your groups. That incorporates upskilling, development a powerful inner tradition, and leveraging hybrid staffing fashions the place imaginable. Even small workflow adjustments, like automating fee posting or imposing AI-enabled name facilities, can scale back the desire for extra hires whilst expanding productiveness.
In the end, the DSOs that may thrive are those that preferrred align folks, processes, and platforms. This second calls for each strategic self-discipline and a willingness to innovate, and Planet DDS is dedicated to serving to our companions do each.
Take the Subsequent Step Towards Scalable Enlargement
Eric Giesecke’s point of view blends operational enjoy with a transparent figuring out of what dental organizations want to scale successfully. His focal point on tradition, adaptability, and functional generation adoption provides a framework that resonates throughout each rising dental teams and established DSOs. As demanding situations in staffing, infrastructure, and affected person expectancies persist, the proper platform can create house for sustainable expansion.
Touch Planet DDS to discover how our dental follow control device answers can lend a hand fortify your company’s subsequent segment.
