Making a Difference Through Innovation, Education, and Community
With Eric Bruno, Senior Vice President, North America RCO, Dentsply Sirona
A 25-year veteran of medical device, pharmaceutical, and consumer businesses, Eric Bruno joined Dentsply Sirona in May 2019 as Senior Vice President of the North America Regional Commercial Organization. In this capacity, he is focused on providing strategic direction and driving sales force effectiveness with a strong focus on customers across North America. He recently sat down with Dental Product Shopper to provide an inside look at Dentsply Sirona at a time of distinctive change and innovation.
Q: There’s a lot that’s new at Dentsply Sirona—from leadership to technology. What’s been most exciting for you?
A: To me, the most exciting thing is the progress we’re making toward our vision, which is moving from products to procedures to integrated digital solutions. We have some amazing innovations—whether it’s the new Orthophos 2D and 3D imaging system, for example, or Primescan and its integration with the CAD/CAM workfl ow and SureSmile Aligners. This is digital technology that’s bringing dentistry into the future.
What’s also exciting is how we’re thinking about the business model. First, you’ve got your value proposition, which is, “Why would that be important to a dentist?” Ultimately, we want to drive better outcomes for the patient and a healthier practice. The second part is delivery—we now have CDMs, or clinical development managers, who are in the practice and providing connectivity across all of our product lines. They can sit down with business owners and say, “What’s your vision? What’s your 3-year plan to grow your practice?” They work with them on that plan and they can bring in specialists, such as restorative or endo representatives, to solve specific problems.
The third part is the pricing model that’s going to hold it all together. We know that an equipment purchase is a pretty sizable investment for business owners, so we want to reward them by giving some of that money back to either pay off their financing of the equipment, buy more equipment, or add a new procedure.
Q: How are you structuring your R&D in terms of growth strategy?
A: While we spend a lot of money on research and development— over $150 million a year—the thing that I’ve been most impressed with is the level of expertise when it comes to just pure engineering and science. Take CAD/CAM chairside dentistry as an example. You need software engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, manufacturing engineers, etc., and it’s pretty impressive to see all that come together in a team-based environment. We’ve brought everything together so there’s one leader of all of our product platform teams globally, instead of being organized as smaller operating companies.
By centralizing the product teams and R&D under one big pillar, you get the scale and the expertise, and you see the magic of integration, such as how the SureSmile Aligners team integrates with the Primescan team. That wouldn’t have happened before. So, we’ll continue to lead in R&D, but I think you’re going to see a lot more meaningful innovation and connectivity.
Q: What’s in the works for Dentsply Sirona in 2020?
A: When it comes to R&D and innovation, the vision of our CEO, Don Casey, is that every launch will be meaningful—not just from a technology standpoint, but also from a commercial standpoint. It’s not about how many products you launch, but how substantial they are. You’re going to see more launches, and like you saw with each product we introduced at Dentsply Sirona World, they will be substantial and meaningful. We’re not just going to tweak something just to say we have something new. We’re going to make sure that it’s clinically and scientifically proven.
Q: What do you consider Dentsply Sirona’s key strengths for advancing healthy practices?
A: One is our innovation, and I’m very excited about bringing the power of all these engineers together on all the product platform teams. Innovation that’s clinically proven is always going to be our nucleus. The second is clinical education and practice development, and applying that clinical education to growing the practice, to improving workflow, to driving efficiency. And the third is our community. I think it’s fair to say we have the leading number of account specialists and sales associates out there meeting with dental professionals. And that would mean we’re touching more dental professionals every year than any other company. And when I say community, it’s not just our employees, but also that community of dental professionals and other people who are connected to the industry. Those relationships are a strength.
Those are the things that power us: innovation, clinical education and practice development, and that community.
Q: What would you like more dentists to know about Dentsply Sirona?
A: I think sometimes the perception of Dentsply Sirona surrounds our individual products—brands like Primescan and Astra Tech Implant System—and that’s wonderful. I’m pleased that we have that perception in the marketplace. The thing I’d like them to know more about is the commitment of the people here to really make a difference. We should be looked at not as a product company or vendor, but as a partner. We’re in this together, and we’re trying to do something great.
The Ultimate Dental Experience
During Dentsply Sirona World 2019 in Las Vegas last October, more than 7,000 dental professionals enjoyed top-notch education and world-class entertainment from the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and the Zac Brown Band. For Eric Bruno, having arrived at Dentsply Sirona earlier in the year, it was inspiring to see a commitment from so many dental professionals to learn more about how to make their practices better and provide healthier smiles.
“It’s easy for a big technology company, if it’s not careful, to lose sight of the human aspect and just be a technology company. And it’s also easy to go get great entertainers and have fun. But it’s hard to bring those things together, and I think the magic of Dentsply Sirona is bringing that human spirit and the liberal arts together with great science and technology.”
Dentsply Sirona World will return to Las Vegas Oct. 1–3, 2020, when it will be held at Caesar’s Forum.
Solving Problems: A Look at 2 New Technologies
“We’re focused on anything that solves a real problem for our customers,” Eric Bruno says of Dentsply Sirona’s R&D strategy. “A good example is the new Astra Tech Implant System EV. Doctors would say, ‘I want primary stability, but if you put too much torque on there, you can do damage to the bone and you’ll have long-term issues.’ So, the engineers aimed at providing primary stability without that trade-off of long-term bone health.”
Dentsply Sirona also has introduced TruNatomy, an endodontic solution engineered in Switzerland for each step of the root canal treatment. By combining Swiss precision with advanced engineering, TruNatomy enables improved performance with increased respect of the
tooth anatomy. “Now, we can allow more doctors to work in the canals with less dentin damage, preserving the structural integrity,” Bruno said.