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Interview with COMIDENT Chairman Henri Rochet

Henri Rochet (middle) together with Jean Martin-Dondoz (left) and Céline Wurtz (right). (Photograph: Marc Chalupsky, DTI)
Dental Tribune International

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 26. April 2017

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COLOGNE, Germany: At the recent International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne in Germany, Dental Tribune International had the opportunity to meet Henri Rochet, Chairman of COMIDENT, during the presentation of the 2017 Survey on the European Dental Trade, undertaken by the Federation of the European Dental Industry and the Association of Dental Dealers in Europe (ADDE).

What is COMIDENT? Could you tell us more about it?
COMIDENT is a professional association that represents micro-, small and medium-sized, and intermediate-sized enterprises involved in the manufacture and distribution of dental equipment and materials and in the development of new technologies essential to the work of dental professionals, including dentists, dental technicians and dental assistants. This segment consists of about 800 companies, including a large number of very small family businesses, providing around 6,600 jobs and producing an overall turnover of over €1.6 billion. It is a high-tech industry. Whether French or foreign, manufacturers develop health products and technologies that are very innovative. Working hand in hand with them, distributors bring these products to the practice or the laboratory, presenting and explaining them, as well as providing training and technical assistance. They have logistic systems and inventories that allow them to deliver and install this equipment in a short time, usually within 24 hours, and then to perform maintenance and repair if necessary.

You have been Chairman of COMIDENT for almost three years now, and in that time, there has been a rebranding with new communication and a move to new premises. Could you tell us more?
For almost three years, the new team, including me, has gained a renewed ambition not only for the profession, but for the entire dental industry. The objective is to capitalise on COMIDENT’s expertise to act alongside all of the other competitors in the industry. In the context of a technological revolution and the increasing difficulty of covering expenditure, we believe that COMIDENT has a role to play. In addition, we have reinforced our team of permanent staff with a new delegate general, Céline Wurtz, a true professional for associations such as ours, a pearl, and our members are all in agreement in this regard.

As for the premises, we were a bit cramped and took the opportunity to address this to our advantage, creating a proper home for our members. This has been very successful, with many member companies having organised seminars and other training at the new premises, and we are delighted to host them.

Is that why your slogan has changed to “at the heart of dental health”?
Indeed, we believe we are at the heart of dental health, specifically at the heart of what should be an actual industry. I strongly believe that we must set up a real dental industry with all the actors, each playing their part in their field, but relying on the expertise of others too, to the benefit of all. To be more specific, and for example, it is not our intention to replace unions in terms of conventional negotiations, but to provide reinforcement and support to these unions.

Beyond this ambition, we are also at the heart of dental health in a much more prosaic sense, by means of our equipment and our materials, providing solutions tailored to the needs of dental professionals to achieve the common goal of good public health.

Today, 150 manufacturers and distributors belong to COMIDENT. What are the benefits of membership?
These 150 companies, which account for 95 per cent of the market, find in us a wealth of information and value-added services, starting with the exhibition of the Association Dentaire Française (ADF) congress, which we co-organise every year and that gives us all the opportunity to be in direct contact with our customers.

Besides this unique event, in addressing their daily needs, we provide them with reliable and comprehendible economic tools to better understand the market. These include a model that analyses trade trends every three months, an annual economic and social sector report, an annual dental insight panel that analyses dentists’ purchases of consumables in a very detailed way, and an economic overview of the dental market, supplemented every month with health insurance data (via AMELI).

On the regulatory front, our market intelligence is intensified with a regulatory bulletin sent to members every month to inform them of developments in medical devices. COMIDENT is affiliated with the Syndicat national de l’industrie des technologies médicales [national union of the medical technologies industry] and is a member of the French Standardization Association for dental products.

Finally, on the technical level, we can seek professional consensus and, based on this, publish a guide for a field such as sterilisers or zirconia at the request of our members, as we have done in the past.

All this information means that we have greatly improved our visibility and our attractiveness and this has resulted in us regularly registering new members.

The last contractual negotiations with dentists failed and an arbitration settlement was validated by the Minister of Social Affairs and Health Marisol Touraine. What is your opinion?
We are fortunate in France to have very good health care professionals, including dental technicians, of course, with excellent levels of skill and knowledge. It is unfortunate that a consensus was not reached between the parties, since the setting of reimbursement caps on prostheses, which benefitted from free tariffs, could be the beginning of a downward descent; that is what we fear. That is why we are very attentive to the follow-up of this case, especially since some unions are now talking about the dental industry, an issue that is particularly important to me, as mentioned above. If they ask us, we will be available for discussions. It would be nice if everyone went back to the negotiating table, but it is unfortunately a bad time in France with the presidential elections looming.

Ethics is a hot topic. What is COMIDENT’s stance?
COMIDENT has worked for several years to place ethics, regulation and integrity at the heart of the daily activities of its members and to contribute thus to the maintenance of a responsible and respected dental industry.

Several laws and regulations in France, including the law of 29 December 2011, known as the Bertrand law, have progressively strengthened the obligations applicable to businesses and health professionals, and even to the officials of the authorities involved in the health care sector. COMIDENT’s ethics and regulatory committees have worked to develop a useful tool for all that presents, in an illustrated, simple and didactic way, the necessary conduct in accordance with the provisions in force: a guide to the Bertrand law, anti-gift law, ethics and transparency. It is free of charge and distributed widely by our association.

Furthermore, COMIDENT has adopted a charter that places ethics at the heart of the daily activities of its members. The charter is very practical, specifying conduct on a daily basis with regard to health care professionals, patients and institutions. It covers everything, including business ethics and legal compliance.

But the task is not yet finished, since we will still have to engage in a training programme so that our industry becomes exemplary.

What is COMIDENT’s relationship to the ADDE?
COMIDENT was one of the founding associations of the ADDE in 1957 and has always been an active and regular member on its board. Jean Martin-Dondoz, owner of a dental store in the south of France before joining a major international group, has been its representative for the last few years and is the regular link between our two federations. We regularly participate in the ADDE’s annual survey of the European dental market and publish a special edition in French for our members each year. COMIDENT has to be open on the European level, both for monitoring changes in legislation by the European Commission and for its members to benefit from exchange of experience and information in the field of dentistry.

National trade fairs are struggling, yet the 2016 ADF congress was quite a success with more international exhibitors and visitors. What has been your vision for the congress since COMIDENT joined forces with the ADF in 1999?
I think that the collaboration between the ADF and COMIDENT concerning the exhibition is a good thing because it would be difficult to have two exhibitions of this magnitude. Before the agreement, COMIDENT organised its own exhibitions: SITAD and SILAB. Joining forces to hold one event has been a good endeavour.

In addition, a steering committee with ADF and COMIDENT advisers, bringing together their skills, was set up to reflect on and develop a strategy for the coming years to increase the number of visitors to the exhibition and to assist in filling up the conference part. The ADF congress is not only an exhibition with more than 400 exhibitors, it is also, and above all, a continuing education event for dental care professionals and offers a very high-quality scientific programme. In this manner, this event is unique in Europe. We now have to work more on the internationalisation of the event and have already begun giving this consideration.

Some of the industry’s most well-known companies (such as Septodont and ACTEON) come from France. How do you promote French dental products to the world and attract international companies to France?
It is true that France is a poor relative in the dental industry compared with other countries (Germany, the US, Japan), but fortunately we have a few companies that have a great reputation around the world, such as Septodont, ACTEON, NICHROMINOX, Airel Quetin, Anthogyr, MICRO-MEGA, ETK/LYRA, Global D, Biotech Dental, to name a few.

For aspiring companies, we suggested taking part in a Gallic village during the 2017 IDS congress with the cooperation and support of Business France. Contacts were successfully made and we believe that the venture could be repeated in 2019 by increasing the size of the French pavilion.

The dental trade has seen huge competition and changes. Digitalisation, direct selling by manufacturers, new products, increased pricing competition and recently the new medical device regulations. Personally, where do you see the future of dental trade (in France and Europe) given these circumstances?
Personally, I think that digitalisation will be the future of dentistry and that communication between dentists and dental technicians will increasingly take place electronically. As a result, these two professions must be prepared for a new business model.

As far as trading is concerned, sales professionals as we know them today will have to evolve to become advisers on various areas, including ergonomics, organisation, optimisation of investments, and even practice management. The days of paying a visit only to obtain orders are over. This will be done (as is already the case in some companies) by call centres or electronic alerts from the supplier, who, having updated information on the customer’s usage, will immediately suggest restocking to avoid possible shortages. The same will apply to dental laboratories.

With regard to the European medical device regulations, which are soon to be published (replacing Directives 90/385, 93/42 and 98/79), we will have to train our members. Many of them, wrongly, do not feel they will be affected. It is our role to help them transition in this respect. Hopefully, this new regulation will not leave behind too many of our companies. The main objective of COMIDENT is to support companies with information and training. This is primarily the role of the regulatory committee of our professional organisation.

French dentists have many responsibilities in their practices. Owing to the absence of dental hygienists, French dental professionals also perform prophylaxis treatment. Will we see a change in the future in the dental profession in France?
At the moment, anything involving prophylaxis and prevention is not well reimbursed by compulsory health insurance. Finally, however, it seems that public health authorities are becoming aware of these and now want to promote and support such care. If payment for prophylaxis and prevention becomes reasonable, then why not consider having hygienists so that dentists can concentrate on treatment and prostheses? For the time being, financial restraints do not allow such assistants. Also, training these dental care professionals cannot be neglected, as they will ultimately form an integral part of the dental practice of the future.

To conclude 2017, the year of elections in France with the presidential elections and election of the new COMIDENT steering committee, will you apply for a new term?
Yes, because all the people who I work with have asked me to do so, but especially because there are still many things to achieve. However, we will have to await the results of the elections to be held at the next general assembly, scheduled for 15 June.

Thank you for the interview.

Brief biography

Chairman of COMIDENT since June 2014, Henri Rochet has devoted most of his career to the service of the dental industry. He joined 30 years ago as a financial adviser, then as a management controller at Ivoclar Vivadent, then managed its distribution division, then its sales and marketing department, before taking charge in 2007. Today, he is retired, but remains a director of the group and chairs its board of directors. Before joining the dental industry, Rochet spent ten years in the banking industry as a portfolio manager for companies and individuals. He recently become a free member of the Académie Nationale de Chirurgie Dentaire [national academy of dental surgery].

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