NMDA Journal Summer 2019

26 New Mexico Dental Journal, Summer 2019 NMDA EndorsedVendors: The Dentist Supply Company By Michael Sparks DDS, MS Vice President NMDA 2019 and Chair NMDA Member Services Committee This article is the first in a new and recurring series that will look at the different benefits for your membership in the New Mexico Dental Association. It will appear in upcoming additions of the NMDA Journal to keep you up to date. The NMDA regularly evaluates and selects companies to endorse when they offer benefits in better cost and/or a higher level of service for our members. We are always look- ing for ways to deliver members more value, including support to be more competitive and efficient in the business side of practice. The current list of endorsed-company, mem- ber benefits through the NMDA includes 13 companies. They offer a range of services including discounted clinical supplies (TDSC), reduced interest rates for student loan repay- ment (Laurel Road), lower credit card process- ing fees, and several other services. In this article, I would like to discuss my per- sonal experience with The Dental Supply Company (TDSC). Future articles will cover other endorsed benefits. NMDA has partnered with The Dentists Sup- ply Company (TDSC) to deliver negotiated discounts for its members on supplies we like from brands we trust. Their website is www.tdsc.com. We as New Mexico dentists value our custom- er relationships with companies like Patter- son, Henry-Schein, Benco, etc. In many cases, members are already seeing significant saving through collaborative agreements with these suppliers and their representatives. However, TDSC offers typically 15–25% savings com- pared to MSRP on supplies that I think can be a great benefit to members in the NMDA. With the rising overhead cost in running a dental practice, TDSC was endorsed by the NMDA because it is one possible avenue in lowering the costs of running our practices. TDSC offers 24/7 access to shop for the sup- plies you need with a wide selection of sup- plies and small equipment and authorized vendors for every single product. While non-NMDA member can try TDSC out for one month, membership in the NMDA and ADA is necessary to order from TDSC after the trial period. My office has ordered some of our supplies from TDSC and found some good pricing with some limitations. On the positive side, we have seen approxi- mately 20% savings on some of our clinical supplies. On items like Septocaine, the cost between TDSC and ACE surgical, which was already a good price, was almost the same. However, with items like bibs, paper steril- ization pouches and autoclave wraps, it is a good tool for saving money. The quality of the items seems to be very good and the benefits in lower cost do not seem to be due to any reduction in quality. Trying to emulate the Amazon.com model, TDSC offer no shipping costs on every order with no minimums. The limitations we noticed included that some items, while at significant savings, are on backorder, and can sometimes take a few weeks to ship. Sensicare gloves (non-latex sur- gical premium gloves) for example took three weeks. Sometimes one box would arrive then two or three weeks later the rest of the order came. This can make ordering a little tricky. If it is an item we are not short on, the benefits in cost seem to be worth the wait. However, on items we cannot wait to receive, there is still improvement that needs to occur with TDSC. It is new and improvements are ex- pected over time. Also, there are supplies we