Discover the most impactful insights and innovations presented at Fluent's Virtual Summit 2025 Session 1
The integration of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the dental industry, and nowhere more than for payers, offering the potential to transform everything from utilization review to network development to credentialing. This was one of the key takeaways from Fluent's recent annual AI and Analytics Virtual Summit, held June 24 - 26, 2025. Nearly five hundred leaders from over 60 payer organizations attended.
AI technologies, especially agentic AI, enable systems to autonomously analyze extensive data sets, proactively identifying trends - and ultimately, recommending actions to proactively address, if not taking action autonomously - improving strategic decision-making and operations. Payers can register and watch Summit session replays here. This blog highlights takeaways from Session 1 which took place on Tuesday, June 24.
Sean Carroll, Fluent's CEO, summed the takeways for attendees They include:
Carroll highlighted five key trends that Fluent has identified that the Summit would touch on over the next 3 days:
AI and Analytics - Utilization management, FWA, network management, clean claims
New Dental Claim Submission Patterns - Unbundling, upcoding, no cross-payer patient history
Medical-Dental Integration - major ecosystem participants are evaluating its use (CMS, payers, providers, ACOs, FQHCs)
Network Expansion and Access - Dependence on provider analytics to proactively target / recruit
Delegated Credentialing Explosion - Practices demand faster onboarding. Delegated as standard practice.
Fluent's Michael Urbach, Chief Business Officer, presented Fluent's annual Dental Market Watch results. Patient behavior shows a strong preference for in-network providers, with around 75% of treated patients choosing in-network options. This trend has remained stable before and after COVID. The percentage of members treated by in-network dentists has seen slight variations across states.
Urbach also highlighted the acceleration of new Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) practices, identifying that each provider faces unique FWA challenges and requires a payer-specific strategy to anticipate and minimize. Effective utilization management involves aligning benefit plan language, network management, processing systems, and utilization review. Variations in payers' ability to detect and intercept outlier behavior highlight the need for vigilant monitoring.
Urbach also highlighted key practice trends. General practitioners (GPs) are performing more procedures that have been traditionally handled by specialists, to grow revenue. Data indicates that 91% of restorative care and 90% of periodontal care are provided by GPs, especially for the over-65 population, driven by Medicare Advantage. Urbach also reviewed the latest region-specific trends in payers joining and leaving networks, highlighting which states have experienced net gains and losses in network participation.
Dr. Sol Brotman, DDS, MAGD, a 30+ year general practitioner in Jacksonville, FL, who's also served as a chief dental officer and dental director to several major dental payer organizations, spoke next. Dental insurance companies and dental offices would be more efficient if they knew how the other operates, Brotman contends.
Brotman highlighted that practice management system variations among dental offices present significant concerns, impacting performance and contributing to rapid turnover. Enhancing education and training in business management for dental professionals can reduce turnover and improve overall efficiency. Technology plays a crucial role in the dental insurance-dental office interface, with robust solutions needed to ensure accurate and timely information.
Brotman highlighted a number of solutions for payers and providers alike to deploy, including:
Deploying policy language consistent with quality of care and discourages overutilization and frequent updates to combat FWA
Putting in place audit and refund policy to protect dentists, beginning with EOB language
Stronger dental practice management leadership from dentists and staff who are currently successful, not people who make their living from consulting
Guiding dentists to practice management systems that are most efficient. Listen to the staff.
Not all existing amalgams should be replaced. Root planing doesn’t treat all periodontal disease