I’ve been speaking with many executives from dental product companies and dentists lately, and a few key patterns keep coming up – insights I think are worth sharing with you.

1. Startups (and even established companies) need more dentists to consult with them.

It’s interesting how quickly product teams switch into “I need to convince you” mode, while dentists often shift into “There’s no way in hell you’re convincing me that fast” mode. What’s truly needed isn’t a battle of who’s right and who’s wrong – it’s an open, two-way conversation.

Founders, especially CEOs, of product companies are almost always in sales mode. Their job is to convince others, fast. It’s not a flaw; it’s a function of the startup world. They’re under pressure to feed the machine – investors, teams, and timelines all demand speed. It’s how the fund-raising world is built, and mama bear or papa bear always needs to ensure that their kids are well fed first.

Feeding needs money – and money comes from sales – at least that’s how company executives see it.

Their teams are contacting hundreds of dentists daily, looking for those few dentists in the “Goldilocks zone” – not too skeptical, not too eager – just open enough to listen and possibly test a product. There’s so much opportunity lost in that step alone simply because people are eager to sell and dentists are sitting cross armed, with a poker face, even before the door opens.

From a dentist’s perspective, every time a salesperson walks into the clinic, or a cold call interrupts your day – it’s like that scene in Avatar where you suddenly have to leave one world and wake up in another.

It breaks the dentist’s flow, and adjusting takes a minute. For some, this is actually a welcome distraction – because they’re at their 50,000th cavity of the day and one more might’ve made their brain explode. But for others, it completely wrecks the mojo – and let’s be honest, that’s annoying as hell.

Now let’s look at it from another perspective. A dental practitioner most likely have an image of corporate in their mind’s eye. They’ve observed other dentists being hard on clinical questioning of the technology. As a dentist myself, I love that about us. However, I also keep a zoomed out view on the situation. A dentist’s job is to support young teams because we’re supporting a wider circle of essential innovation.

It’s best for dentists to build a strategy on their end on HOW to engage with companies.

1. What time of the week can you dedicate and invite executives or sales professionals to your clinics, rather than downright reject them because – their English was bad, or they didn’t convince you in 30sec so they’re not worth it – because your time is more important.

2. What questions can you ask them to really understand their true problems?

If dentists start taking out time every month, exclusively to have these conversations with, rather than allowing corporate reps to enter on clinical work days, then they’ll come off as “less full of themselves” – at least that’s the perception they may inadvertently create and I know, (or hope atleast), that wasn’t the vibe that the dentist was going for.

Dentists need to reframe how they engage with “corporate.”

Sometimes CEOs just need people to “TRY” their solution. Hearing “I don’t think this will work”, from a dentist, who hasn’t tried the solution yet puts the CEO or corporate rep on the defensive.

I’ve seen them switch into “I must win this person over” mode. It’s fascinating to observe – but not always productive. Dentists can be more gentle in delivering the truth to them.

1 of 2 things can happen if dentists test products in their regular clinical practice:

• They might confirm what they suspected – the product was not not clinic-ready. Valuable lesson learned for the company’s end – but now at least they know the dentist tried their solution, and opted out.
• The dentist may get pleasantly surprised. The team’s effort shines through, and now the dentist understands the value they were trying to communicate from the get go (but needed better positioning probably).

As a person who advices dental company executives and coaches dentists on MedTech – I see the above scenario as a Win-Win in it’s truest sense.

In both scenarios, the dentist’s willingness to stay open and engaged is what keeps the innovation engine running. Dentists don’t need to buy 500 boxes of anything – just test a little. Give feedback. Help them iterate.

That’s how we move this industry forward.

So I’m gonna wrap it up here by saying let Goldilocks sort out the perfect golden zone – that’s her story. Dentists can make their own story by opening themselves up to more experiences by supporting the companies that approach them. Who knows what opportunities might open up in the future?

Be kind, Be curious, Break the flow and Try new approaches.

Build your own Goldilocks zone.

If you’re a dentist who chuckled at the part where I said, “If I do one more cavity, my head might explode” – maybe it’s time to explore a different side of dentistry. Learning how the medical device world works could open doors in your career – without disturbing clinical life.

I teach a program for dentists who want to expand their horizons – into Key opinion leadership, consulting, product development, and more. If that sounds like you, we’re enrolling for our next cohort of high-energy, highly motivated dental nerds. CLICK HERE to Book a Call.

With happy vibes,

Dr. Namrata

Author Profile

Dr Namrata Upadhyay is a dental surgeon and Founder & CEO of NamNR Pro – The Global Dentists’ Pool®. She is a clinician, ex-executive to dental startups, Board advisor, Course instructor, Speaker and MedTech consultant  specialising in clinical study, regulatory and marketing for all risk classes of medical devices. She is also the Co-chair of the Medical device special interest group under in the European Medical Writers Association. She now leads change in the Business of smiles through her 2 initiatives via her company NamNR Pro namely the Global Dentists’ Pool® and the Premium Dental Advisor Program.