Dr. Meghan Darby, Flint River Dental

Feature Article

Dr. Meghan Darby:

“Creating Beautiful Smiles...Close To HOme�

We recently met with Dr. Darby to talk about her new of fice and her transition from the U.S. Air Force to her private practice in Huntsville, AL.

What do patients have to say about your office?

Patients comment that our office is very calming and open (despite being only 1400 sf.)

They are very impressed with the level of technology that we have integrated into our office.

How did you decide on the right location for your practice? How did this attribute to your early success?

I think our patient base has grown because of our amazing staff and the lighthearted chemistry we all have at work.

However, our location is the real reason we were able to have such early growth.

Our Atlanta Dental sales specialist, Andy Priola, and our equipment specialist, Matt Anderson, helped us find the location and negotiate the terms of our lease. We are situated in a Publix shopping center and were able to use their population and income data. I had always stated that I would never open a practice

Dental Explorer | Four th Quar ter 2013

1

Feature Article

“The office built was a reflection of my practice philosophy” -Dr. Meghan Darby from scratch! However, the team at Atlanta Dental presented a location that was too good to pass up.

What were some of the obstacles in starting a new practice while serving in the United States Air Force 8 hours away?

I will say that I was blessed to have Matt and Andy working with me. They were literally my eyes and ears on the ground until our family was able to move back in the local area.

For example, I was able to get a couple of days leave in the spring of 2011, and Matt had four contractors lined up for back to back interviews.

They really went the distance to ensure that our project was done well and on time.

What were some of the obstacles in designing your office and how did you overcome them?

The only obstacle was the small space we would be working from. This was no issue for the Atlanta Design team. I was blown away by how easily they designed the space and organized it for future growth.

2 Dental Explorer | Four th Quar ter 2013

What are some of the other things that lead to your early success?

Marketing, social media, blogs, etc. As a practice owner, you wear a lot of hats! I read everything I could on guerrilla (i.e. cheap) marketing and social media. Atlanta Dental placed a banner in our location about 8 months before we opened. I created a website and a Facebook page. People started to contact me, and I kept a spreadsheet with everyone’s information. When it was time to open, I had the first couple of weeks booked before we opened our doors!

How was the overall process of working with Atlanta Design?

What benefits did they provide?

Atlanta Design made the process very unintimidating from start to finish. Remember, I was coming straight from the United States Air Force and had no private practice experience to draw from.

Atlanta Dental and Atlanta Design helped with everything from creating a business plan and shopping for loans to full architectural design and selection of equipment.

What was your favorite part about working with Atlanta Design?

The best part about working with Atlanta Dental and Atlanta Design was seeing the true joy that everyone had seeing my vision materialize. They did not push me into a start up “cookie cutter” mold. The office built was a reflection of my practice philosophy.

How was your experience in selecting the right equipment and technology for practice? Is there anything you would have done differently?

No, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Matt was very helpful assisting me pick the right amount of equipment to open with room and vision to add on as our patient flow required it.

How was your experience in ordering and setting up dental supplies? Did making the decision to go with instrument cassettes streamline your processes?

Going with instrument cassettes does help organize things better. I had seen the way a large military clinic was set up and took some cues from that. Also, Andy allowed me to look at opening orders for other new start ups. That also gave me an indication of what and how much we would need.

“At no point during the process did I get anything more than sincere commitment to my family’s well being.”

-Dr. Meghan Darby

What advice would you give someone starting a new practice?

Advice about the design process?

The construction process? (tornado in the middle of construction) Know your demographics.

How many dentists are in a 3-5 mile radius of you? How many families? What is the average income? All of these things are very key to an early success. Also, let the experts do what they do. Dentists know very little about buildout allowances, construction code, and business licenses.

The destructive tornadoes that hit on April 25, 2011 struck just as we were beginning construction. Just as soon as communication was restored, Andy drove all the way out to our office to make sure there was no sustained damage.

My contractor also kept me informed via email about all updates until our family moved back locally.

Was there anything that surprised you about the space after you moved in? Anything you wish you had done differently?

I wouldn’t have done anything differently, but we did find out not long after beginning construction that our neighbors in the shopping plaza would be a liquor store. This has made for some interesting “people-watching” out our front window. We even had a guy ride up to buy beer on a horse one time!

What was your favorite part about working with Atlanta Dental?

I began working with Atlanta Dental about 13 months before our office opened. I needed to orchestrate construction

of an office while living 8 hours away, secure part time employment to support our family until business could support full time in my office, and ensure that the terms of our office’s construction would set us up financially for success. At no point during the process did I get anything more than sincere commitment to my family’s well being. Because of our office’s successes, we have been “courted” by many of the other big dental corporations.

In my humble opinion, no other company I have worked with has displayed the commitment to excellence of Atlanta Dental.

Dr. Meghan Darby graduated from the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in 2007.

She proudly served in the United States Air Force, where she graduated from a rigorous Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Eglin AFB, FL in 2008.

She served at Moody AFB in Valdosta, GA where she was named Company Grade Of ficer of the Quarter in 2010 for the 23 Aerospace Medicine Squadron.

Dr. Darby is commit ted to lifelong learning and has earned over 500 hours of continuing education. She is happily married to Anthony Darby of Decatur, Alabama for ten years. Meghan and Anthony have two (busy) boys, Jackson (6) and Grayson (2). Dr. Darby graduated from Mississippi State University in 2001 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Dr. Darby graduated from Sparkman High School in 1997. She is excited to be living and working close to home again!

Dental Explorer | Four th Quar ter 2013

3