Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021

CLASS OF 2021 | SPRING ISSUE

Kwane Watson, DMD

Revolutionizing Dentistry Through Comprehensive Concierge Mobile Dentistry Melissa Turner, BASDH, RDHEP, EFDA

How Healthcare Delivery Is Transforming the Future of the Dental Industry

Brian Swilling

The Shift From High Income to High Net Worth Joshua Scott

“Ever Since…”

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Welcome

CLASS OF 2021, SPRING ISSUE

Things have changed since our last edition of Dental Entrepreneur: Business Beyond the Classroom. Just as spring has sprung, so has the world since the success of the vaccines and the herd mentality have taken over. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it is time to come out of the fetal position and stake your claim. As they say, “Hope springs eternal.” Read Dr. David Rice’s article, and smile knowing that it is time to get back out there. All people count, and in your chosen career you will meet many that will inspire you beyond the op. Listen and learn.

Spring 2021

VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 Editor & Publisher Anne M. Duffy, RDH Assistant Editor Michael Duffy JoAnn Schutte Editorial Board Dr. Dirk Fleischman Dr. Gene Heller Dr. Harold Sturner Dr. Ryan Dulde Dr. Earl Douglas Rachel Teel Wall, RDH, BS Dr. Tom Snyder Derek Champange Dr. David Rice Layout and Design Brian Rummel Cover Photography Dr. Kwane Watson Class of 2021 Contributors Dr. Roger P. Levin Dr. David Rice Joshua Scott Dr. Lucas Shapiro Brian Swilling Melissa Turner Dr. Kwane Watson Dr. John A. Wilde

Editorial Office

12233 Pine Valley Club Drive Charlotte, NC 28277 704/953-0261 Fax 704/847-3315 anneduffyde@gmail.com

Send materials to:

Dental Entrepreneur Magazine 8334 Pineville Matthews Road Ste. 103-201 Charlotte, NC 28226 When you have finished enjoying this magazine pass it along to a friend and PLEASE RECYCLE Copyright 2021 Dental Entrepreneur, Charlotte, NC Material herein may not be reproduced, copied or reprinted without prior written consent of the publisher. Acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement by the publisher.

There is a common thread in our spring De. Our cover Doc, Dr. Kwane Watson, shares his story of the many ways he has pivoted in his career upon graduating dental school. Kwane is a true dental entrepreneur. His drive and persistence have carried him to his calling, and he has found a way to bring others along with him. Surely, he is building a legacy that will endure and a model that may be in your future. Melissa Turner’s article backs this model with confidence, outlining the shift in dentistry that opens new possibilities for you.

It is not always a good thing to “go big or go home.” You can dream big and still be small.

Roger Levin makes a case for going small. Think about it. His words are reassuring.

How fun to read Luke Shapiro’s interview with Dr. Jen Salzer. What innovative things will you come up with when you start practicing? Keep your eyes open for opportunities to give back to your patients and to the world. It is all in front of you! As Dr. John Wilde asks, “What is your dream?”

Sound financial advice comes from Brian Swilling. Close your eyes and think how you would feel if you were financially free at the end of your career, a career which ends in your time, not someone else’s. It is important to start thinking about that now, not later, and to find those partners who will grow with you to accomplish your dreams. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb Is there a little voice that is telling you something? Josh Scott listened to his and made the decision to take control of his destiny. He is a true storyteller and the honor he has in telling your story will reap rewards that you could not dream of on your own. Check out Josh and his team, and take him with you to go far!

Entrepreneurship starts with an idea. Dream big. Surround yourself with the right people.

Never give up because life is precious; and, if you are lucky, it is long. You can switch gears and be successful if you start and don’t stop!

Cheers, Anne M. Duffy Publisher

Contents PROLOGUE

6 Revolutionizing Dentistry

Through Comprehensive Concierge Mobile Dentistry Kwane Watson, DMD

12 Interviewing Dr. Jen Salzer Lucas Shapiro, DDS

GETTING STARTED

14 Dental Dreaming

John A. Wilde, DDS

16 Can Smaller Be More Profitable? − What’s the Right Size Practice for You? Roger P. Levin, DDS

BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS

18 The Shift From High Income to High Net Worth Brian Swilling

22 The Dawn of a New Day - How

Healthcare Delivery Is Transforming the Future of the Dental Industry Melissa Turner, BASDH, RDHEP, EFDA

THE POWER TO SUCCEED 24 “Ever Since…”

Joshua Scott 28 Everything Is Different, Yet Nothing Has Changed David Rice, DDS

Prologue

Revolutionizing Dentistry Through Comprehensive Concierge Mobile Dentistry Kwane Watson, DMD

I

n 1999, I graduated with a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Kentucky. Straight out of dental school, I did what most new dentists do and went into traditional private practice. After graduation, I spent a year working at three different dental practices by day and performed emergency services at a correctional facility at night.

Working at the correctional facility was the only job that paid an hourly rate, which I appreciated since the other positions paid based on a percentage of collections.

After a year, I grew tired of working between four jobs and found an opportunity to acquire a practice. That first year of experience was unbelievably valuable in showing me the variations in each practice’s systems and processes. From each of these experiences, I took what I thought were the best aspects of each and acquired my first practice at the age of 27. Acquiring a practice where I was initially an associate allowed me to hit the ground running, as I had already determined what processes worked well and what needed modification. The keys to our success in this practice were centered around not overhauling the entire operations overnight, respecting the fact that change is uncomfortable to a staff accustomed to operating a certain way, and respecting the previous owner by allowing a degree of autonomy. In fact, many patients never knew ownership had changed hands because the focus was on increasing profits rather than who was the boss.

The practice experienced exponential growth over the next three years, and I used this success to leverage the next opportunity into commercial real estate.

from six to eight. In our new multi-unit commercial development, I took on other entrepreneurial projects... most notably becoming a franchisee for a sandwich franchise. Margins were good in the dental practice; year-over-year growth was consistently achieved, even with the relocation of the practice and the 25% increase in practice capacity.

I find that most people’s strengths can also be weaknesses if not managed. In retrospect, I believe most entrepreneurs have a difficult time knowing when to be content and when success has been achieved. I challenge the readers of this article to make such an assessment. By truly defining your 1-year, 5-year and 10-year goals, with the proper contingency plans for unforeseen challenges and obstacles, you set your own bar for success.

In my entrepreneurial journey in practice acquisition and growth, I believe achieving success early on made me adherently more bullish on the continued acquisition of more practices and more businesses. I see this a lot in the current age of DSOs where these extremely aggressive entrepreneurs leverage their assets to continuously acquire practices to scale, with the goal of being acquired by larger groups at greater multiples of the single practice owner. The age of dental practice consolidation and the recession of 2007, unbeknown to me at the time, was not a great time to launch my second dental practice. I went big! Investing over a million dollars in a new venture for a more upscale practice. I added another business partner and an associate, and I was sure that I would realize the same meteoric growth I achieved seven years earlier.

We moved the practice and expanded the number of operatories

6 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

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purchased my first practice 16 years earlier, was ready to call it quits and transition to academia. Attempts to transition a younger associate to acquire a minority ownership had proven unsuccessful, so I chose to be acquired by a national organization focused on practice ownership in a nonprofit format. I was excited about the opportunity to once again reinvent myself and learn a new way to provide oral health care to those who so desperately needed it.

In 2017, I began to tinker in the tech space by creating a mobile app that connects patients to dentists for same-day treatment.

The application was created to connect patients and dentists based on location of the patient, doctor availability within 1.5 hours of the requested appointment time, patient insurance and provider acceptance. Additionally, provider skillset was matched with the procedure type being requested to ensure that the patient was matched with a dentist with the ability to help the patient. The app takes all the patient’s pertinent information in advance to reduce wait times. Basically, the software was built to provide a contactless encounter, similar to how several software applications are attempting to implement within the current pandemic.

The practice did modestly well, but the tightening economy and the large initial investment made margins a lot slimmer. The inability to grow at the pace projected and a partnership where goals and objectives were not aligned made my second endeavor not as enjoyable as the first acquisition. It is important for a business to be able to pivot, so once economic circumstances improved, I decided to sell my denovo practice. In 2008, restructuring deals were not easily achieved, which was dissimilar to today where the banks are very accommodating with working with business owners during the pandemic. The experience taught me many things. For one, I learned that timing is just as important as location, budgeting and establishing the right team to achieve success. Timing and time are the most difficult variables to plan for and gauge when launching a dental practice.

After exiting my denovo location, I refocused my efforts on my original practice location with a newfound appreciation of what I had and a lot less of a desire to be so quick to take a big leap into a large investment opportunity. As previously mentioned, the variable of time had caused my practice, that had consistently achieved considerable growth, to face new challenges from larger dental chains that entered the market to disrupt and capture market share. The recession had affected many businesses in the area, and margins that were once robust began to tighten in the second decade of ownership of my original practice.

Around 2016 my business partner, from whom I had originally

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I shopped the application for a year seeking a partner with whom to collaborate in the insurance space to market and promote the technology as a solution for the third of the country that is underinsured, uninsured or faces difficulties finding a dental provider. Without a market for the software and with a huge investment made in creating the software, I strategized on a way to make people use my software. The idea came to me to provide a service that would make people want to use the application because the service I was rendering was so valuable you would try anything to get it. That is when comprehensive concierge mobile dental service was born. We built our first van from a used Ford E350 ourselves and embarked on performing all the services one would receive in a dental practice in the comfort of the patient’s driveway at home. It has been a huge success! The patient demand, improved outcomes and greater per-patient profitability this model provides made me focus on using the twenty-one years of experience to create a model for the dentist and hygienist to regain the autonomy so many yearn for, while also promoting practice ownership and increasing access for comprehensive services with a fraction of the cost to start your mobile practice. In essence, the inability to find a buyer for my software turned into my biggest opportunity to create impact.

Around the time of the launch of my application, I lost my father to cancer. Losing your mentor and friend changes your purpose and motivation. Kare Mobile for me is the opportunity to allow others to be able to afford to do good within their communities by reducing the overhead cost to provide dental services. Doing good for others was instilled in me by my father at an early age, and through Kare Mobile we honor his legacy.

Fast forward to 2020, without any large marketing campaign, a few thousand people have organically made appointments through the Kare App and are now patients enjoying the benDentalEntrepreneur.com

efits of mobile comprehensive concierge dental care. Due to the explosive growth in provider interest in the model, I developed a more high-tech model that utilizes invertor power sources as well as UVC lighting and an air filtration system to mitigate airborne health risks. Our alliances with top-tier industry leaders, such as Twice as Nice Uniforms, Dental Whale, and Virtual Support Solutions, supply the additional expertise and resources needed to scale my vision of licensing single operatory mobile dental units to dentists, dental therapists and hygienists across the country.

The revolution has begun; and by the end of first quarter 2021, you will see our expansion into 10% of the states in the country.

We are a company focused on inclusion and increasing oral health equity in our communities. We want dreamers who are focused on thinking outside the box on new and inventive ways to change lives for patients and for the providers who now spend several hundred thousand on their dental education. We believe our model is the safest way for these providers to provide dental care in our current pandemic. We thrive on listening first to our customers - the dentists, hygienists and dental therapists - and tailoring a program with flexibility to meet their goals and objectives. We believe mobility is the only way to circumvent DentalEntrepreneur.com

the variable of time that at some point will cause inherent challenges in fixed locations. We believe for outcomes to change we must take the time to change with time and adjust with the use of technology as a catalyst.

Dr. Kwane Watson is the founder and CEO of Kare Mobile, a consulting company and mobile dental practice that provides comprehensive concierge services. The American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance (AMTA) has named Kwane Watson, DMD, its first-ever president.

He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. With 20 years in various leadership roles, he serves as an industry expert and thought leader.

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 9

Dr. Liran Levin, DMD, FRCD(C), FIADT, FICD

Professor of periodontology, University of Alberta, Canada.

When we are practicing dentistry, often we are used to hearing our colleagues say: ‘it works in my hands’ or, ‘I believe in this material’. However, we need to remember, that even when we feel ‘it works in our hands’ it is not always necessarily the case. We need to collect data properly and analyze it in a way that will be comprehensive and unbiased. When we are talking about evidencebased practice, there is a pyramid reflecting levels of evidence that we are referring to (Figure 1). This pyramid starts with in vitro lab research and goes through increasing levels of evidence until it reaches the top of the pyramid with systematic reviews and meta-analysis. In systematic reviews and meta-analysis, we are evaluating or analyzing data from a variety of studies done on a specific topic.

A recent example is a systematic review we published in the April 2020 edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association.1 In this study we evaluated and analyzed randomized controlled trials comparing oscillating rotating versus other powered toothbrushes. Our findings show evidence that oscillating rotating toothbrushes might remove more plaque and reduce the number of bleeding sites better than other powered toothbrushes.

FIGURE 1

Systematic Review on Oscillation-Rotation (OR) technology Another systematic review was done on data collected from randomized controlled studies at P&G showed that 65% of subjects transitioned to a ‘generally healthy’ gingival state with Oscillation-Rotation (OR) vs. only 20% of Manual brushers so they had 7.5 times higher odds of becoming healthy.2 The same trend was demonstrated comparing Oscillation-Rotation to sonic toothbrushes - 65% of subjects transitioned from gingivitis to a healthy state when using OR versus 51% for sonic brushes so they had almost two times higher odds of becoming healthy.2

Oral-B® iO™

The Oral-B® iO™ (Figure 2), combines the oscillation rotations from Oral-B’s iconic round brush head with the gentle energy of micro-vibrations and is designed to optimize the patient brushing experience, improve patient compliance and maximize clinical efficacy. By enabling excellent home care, the iO can help us support our main goal as dental practitioners, to prevent oral diseases and promote the best possible oral health for our patients.

WHAT DOES THE EVIDENCE SAY? the odds of transitioning from ‘not healthy’ (≥10% bleeding site) at baseline to ‘healthy’ (<10% bleeding sites) gingivitis status at week 8 was 14.5 times higher when using the electric brush than when using the manual brush A recent supplement of the International Dental Journal3 provides several key studies that highlight the qualities of the toothbrush. For example, in a randomized controlled study, designed to compare the Oral-B® iO™ toothbrush to a manual tooth-brush during an 8-week time period, it was reported that the odds ratio to transition from being a gingivitis patient to being a healthy patient after only 8 weeks was 14.5.4 This means, that the odds of transitioning from ‘not healthy’ (≥10% bleeding sites) at baseline to ‘healthy’ (<10% bleeding sites) gingivitis status at week 8 was 14.5 times higher when using the electric FIGURE 2 brush than when using the manual brush.

The frictionless, smooth magnetic drive system transfers energy to the bristle tips, where it’s needed most.

the odds of transitioning from ‘not healthy’ at baseline to ‘healthy’ at week 8 was 4.75 times higher when using the novel OR brush than when using the sonic brush, a highly significant difference In another randomized controlled study that compared the Oral-B® iO™ to a sonic toothbrush during an 8-week time period it was found that the odds ratio to transition from being a gingivitis patient to being a healthy patient after 8 weeks was 4.75.5 This means, again, that the odds of transitioning from ‘not healthy’ at baseline to ‘healthy’ at week 8 was 4.75 times higher when using the novel OR brush than when using the sonic brush, a highly significant difference.

Smart Pressure Sensor guides the user to brush in the effective plaque removal range of 0.8–2.5 Newtons (N), indicated by a red light when brushing too hard and a green light when brushing just right.

Learn more about Oral-B® iO™ at DENTALCARE.COM/IO or scan the QR code.

References: 1. Clark-Perry D, Levin L. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies comparing oscillating-rotating and other powered toothbrushes. J Am Dent Assoc.

2020;151(4):265-275; 2. Grender J, Adam R, Zou Y. The effects of oscillating-rotating electric toothbrushes on plaque and gingival health: A meta-analysis. Am J Dent. 2020;33(1):3-11; 3. Int Dent J. 2020;70 Suppl 1; 4. Grender J, Ram Goyal C, Qaqish J, Adam R. An 8-week randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of a novel oscillating-rotating toothbrush versus a manual toothbrush on plaque and gingivitis. Int Dent J. 2020;70 Suppl 1:S7-S15; 5. Adam R, Ram Goyal C, Qaqish J, Grender J. Evaluation of an oscillating-rotating toothbrush with microvibrations versus a sonic toothbrush for the reduction of plaque and gingivitis: results from a randomized controlled trial. Int Dent J. 2020;70 Suppl 1:S16-S21. ©2020 P&G ORAL-27123

SENSAT NAL CLEAN

Oral-B® combines Oral-B®’s iconic round brush head with micro-vibrations for cleaner teeth, healthier gums*, and a WOW experience patients can’t resist.

Learn more at dentalcare.com/ *vs a regular manual toothbrush. © 2020 P&G

ORAL-26082

.

Prologue

Weighing in with Dr. Jen Salzer Lucas Shapiro, DDS

B

raced-lets were THE craze back in 2010. First came Livestrong bracelets and then there was the sillybands fad; but after all that was the Braced-lets mania. How did a product become viral in the days before social media? I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Jennifer Salzer who has been practicing orthodontics in the heart of New York City for over 20 years at Lemchen Salzer Orthodontics (almost 30 years if you count her time as a student and resident at NYU).

She and Dr. Lemchen came up with the idea when they noticed that kids with braces LOVED to pick out their colors. The two of them are natural inventors and entrepreneurs, with many patents and ideas in the dental field and beyond. The first “prototype” was created by soldering brackets onto a metal bracelet and then putting different colored o-rings onto the brackets. This was a long and arduous process; but luckily Dr. Salzer’s sister, Lisa Salzer, the creator of jewelry company Lulu Frost, came along and simply said, “Why not just put the brackets on the elastic powerchain?” It immediately became a huge hit. Dr. Salzer says she knew she was onto something when kids would run up to her car and ask her for some Braced-lets out of her trunk. Up until this point, it was just a fun gift for Dr. Lemchen and Dr. Salzer to give to their patients.

One day, Zitomers’s, a boutique pharmacy in NYC, approached them about an opportunity to sell the product. Immediately, they had to transition from a fun giveaway for patients to a legitimate business with all the necessary permits, papers and patents. They were soon written up in the New York Times, LA Times, The Today Show and many blogs online. Dr. Salzer remembers one moment when Selena Gomez was photographed with a Braced-

12 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

lets on her wrist while at a concert. A fan had given it to her! They made over 500,000 bands and donated some of the proceeds to build a school with the charity Pencils for Promise.

During COVID, Dr. Salzer came up with an idea to help people breathe more comfortably by proning. Proning is the action of placing patients on their stomachs, often used in intensive care for acute respiratory distress syndrome. The idea is called The Co Pro (Covid Proning) pillow and is made with only towels and tights.

Dr. Salzer has a patent pending status but decided to not sell the product and rather share the idea with people to make at home (it’s easy and basically free to make). It went viral on Tiktok after being shared by an ICU nurse - @thaticunurse. It’s been almost one year since the idea came to fruition, and people continue to contact Dr. Salzer to express their gratitude for the Co Pro pillow and how it has helped their loved ones.

Dr. Salzer and Dr. Lemchen also created their own whitening foam to use for clear aligners that also functions as an aligner cleaner. It is very safe and less expensive than current products on the market. So, what is up next for Dr. Salzer? She has been working on creating a special case for aligners that is patent pending. It will be different from anything out there and will help people not lose track of their aligners. Make sure to be on the lookout!

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Dr. Lucas Shapiro is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery. He completed his postdoctoral orthodontic training at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

He currently practices orthodontics at Lemchen Salzer Ortho in NYC. He started the Instagram page @futuredentists, works with the educational organization @ignitedds and has an orthodontic tiktok page @drshap.

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Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 13

Getting Started

DENTAL DREAMING John A. Wilde, DDS

H

ans Selye opined that to make a dream come true, one must first have a great dream.

Most dentists labor for a long time. It was 40 years for me; and, for weal or woe, our careers, our life’s work, can define us. Little could be more foundational to happiness and well-being than functioning in an environment that facilitates attaining one’s ideal future. But a “great dream” must precede physical reality, as perfection can’t be created until it has been pristinely envisioned. So unfetter your imagination, and let’s begin to build your dental castle in the sky by comparing and contrasting three flourishing practices. No winners or losers exist here, but each manifests the views of thoughtful, foresightful leadership. Their broad diversity confirms that winning visions come in numerous sizes and shapes. The challenge is flawlessly identifying one’s own.

Our first protagonist is a solo dentist who thrives in a midwestern community of 41,000. After serving as a prestigious national dental institute’s clinical director for years, he returned to his hometown and resumed practice. Acutely aware that there exists only one chance to make a first impression, his eye-catching 18thcentury mellow-cherry door bracketed by ornate lights reflects quality and beauty. The reception area reaffirms this impression as plants, carpet, furnishings and even magazine selection embody care, taste and purpose. Asked if he was concerned that the plush flooring and posh furniture might be damaged, my friend replied that people aren’t careless in such environments as “behavior conforms to surroundings.” He mentioned that a scheduled new patient would occasionally enter, peer about and then quietly depart. He felt this was for the best.

This dentist claimed the sweetest sound people hear is their name; and the five or six patients seen daily, mostly for TMJ and reconstructive care, are greeted with a warm smile and a personalized welcome by two lovely and gracious staff. Medical histories and other paperwork are completed in an interview format with the receptionist, lending a personal touch to the mundane.

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The office has two operatories, and prophylaxis and routine operative care are referred. An examination lasts a full hour during which the patient talks and the doctor listens. My friend advised, “During this interview if you must speak, ask a question.” Patients are seen 100 days a year, and the dentist is busier than he wishes to be.

Unless requested, treatment plans aren’t itemized but presented as a single fee. Dental insurance is filed for patients but has minimal influence on most cases.

(All three dentists discussed introduce themselves by first names, sans title. Make of that what you will.)

Our second dentist-hero excels in a municipality of over 100,000 souls. This one-owner, two-associate practice is located in a capacious, free-standing, repurposed building that had been a travel agency. The senior dentist was a successful pedodontist who retired for five years; then, inspired by a new dream at age 47, resumed his career as a general dentist.

A large, lighted sign and giant toothbrush announce the practice, and, though the door is nondescript, one steps into a buzz of activity and country & western tunes where 36 staff await. Five hygienists and three laboratory technicians work on premises.

(Having enjoyed an in-house lab, let me assure all that consistent quality enhancement and massive improvements in communication more than justify its existence. Repairs are completed sameday; and, if need be... as when Fido destroys her master’s teeth... dentures can be fabricated in one day. Lab bills reduced to a fraction of prior levels don’t offend, either.)

There are 23 operatories, and over 200 new patients are seen monthly; many enrolled in entitlement programs. Calls are answered promptly and amiably, as the team works proficiently in a pleasant atmosphere. Not the abode of the 60-minute, newpatient interview, their ethos is one of swiftness and efficiency.

Because much of their treatment is removable prosthodontics, the bulk of their advertising, such as the owner’s monthly dental health column published in a seniors’ newsletter, is tailored to a geriatric population.

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The practice engages in an abundance of excellent, creatively unique marketing. For years this doctor has had prepared, entirely at his expense, a Thanksgiving banquet for any and all who wish to partake. When my family and I were privileged to attend, the dining experience included live music and roses presented to guests. Approximately four thousand meals are served. The host’s short message is that, especially during the holiday season, people need to be together. The only requirement to return next year is to bring a friend. Local newspaper and television coverage is extensive. More people volunteer to serve and deliver food than can be utilized. Such extraordinary philanthropy and deft promotion define the unusual spirit of caring embodied by the office.

Our triumphant third office is also a one-owner, two-associate practice located in a riverine town of 13,000. The decor is pleasant but not opulent. The reception area resembles a middle-class living room and features a large play area sequestered behind a two-foot wall. The owner’s family photo is on display, and seeing his four little ones reassures parents who entrust their children’s wellbeing to him.

Eight staff members have been together for years and consider their loyal patients to be friends. The atmosphere is pleasant, affable and informal. Rather than waiting in the reception area, patients are quickly escorted to operatories. No intra-oral camera tours or educational videos are offered, but “meaningless” chitchat is encouraged.

Notable events, such as vacations, the birth of a child or grandchild or a new pet, are highlighted in patient records, making them easier to notice during future visits. Recalling these occasions helps patients feel recognized as individuals, not mere customers. This exhibition of concern is a highly effective marketing procedure that costs nothing, so its return is infinite.

The 40-minute new-patient interview begins in the dentist’s private office and involves the doctor’s asking and listening. Fees are above average. Not by chance, the aggregate practitioners’ interests and skills include virtually every dental procedure, including TMJ, orthodontic and orthopedic care. Since evening and Saturday hours became available, new patient numbers have doubled.

The owner is adamant that dentists must understand success depends primarily on establishing positive, long-term patient relationships. He adds, “It’s not only profitable but enjoyable to work with and on your friends.”

Does one prototype resonate most, or are you attracted to portions of several? Our first victorious practice’s patients are primarily wealthy individuals who desired the best and gratefully pay to receive it. Complex state-of-the-art care (which not every dentist can deliver) is provided to an average of six patients a day. Concerted staff effort and lengthy appointments intensify relationships, and the office boasts virtually a 100-percent patient retention.

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The second winning office focuses on ultra-efficient care at lower fees for mostly blue-collar clientele who want quality, affordable treatment in a friendly yet professional atmosphere. This volume practice treats over 100 patients daily. The owner is chairside more than 200 days a year and loves it.

Our third outstanding office combined five operatories, an experienced, committed, highly cross-trained staff and the convenience of evening and Saturday hours to become extremely profitable.

Among their patients are wealthy and indigent, but the primary emphasis is providing friendly, efficient, quality family care.

Due to the three dentists’ diverse combination of skills, referrals - which no patient likes - are seldom required and specialty revenue remains in-house. Relationship building is foundational to their success.

Many more examples exist within the wide, wide world of dentistry, each as unique as the visionary who developed it. Still, Henry Kissinger cautioned, “Perhaps the worst form of tragedy is wanting something badly, getting it and finding it empty.”

To avoid such a devastating result, don’t set off willy-nilly, but develop a precise master outline before constructing your dream.

I’d suggest initiating a “Future Office Notebook.” Perhaps retaining this treatise could mark the beginning of one’s quest.

Visit successful offices and note what you admire. I’ve invited myself to see many without ever being refused as such attention is flattering, and I always buy lunch. Besides design concepts, I invariably acquire several clinical gems. Search for texts or courses that enlighten and inspire, then form two dream teams: one comprised of staff who will enthusiastically help create “our perfect office.” The other being you and your spouse, as a couple pursuing a common cause is a puissant force.

Be inspired on your journey by these words of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Or, as columnist Harvey MacKay put it, “The person who wants to do something finds a way, the person who doesn’t finds an excuse.” Godspeed, and enjoy your exciting passage to previously unimaginable success.

Dr. John A. Wilde practiced dentistry for forty years in that midwest mecca of fine dentistry, Keokuk, IA. He is now blissfully retired. He has had six dental books and over 200 magazine articles published.

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 15

Getting Started

Can Smaller Be More Profitable? − What’s the Right Size Practice for You? Roger P. Levin, DDS

L

et me be very clear that I’m not advocating for smaller practices. I’m simply pointing out that they’re an option that I’ve seen many practices take following the last recession in 2008–2009. And it worked quite well, as many of those practices reduced expenses and increased profitability. As we move through COVID-19, this option should certainly be considered as practices evaluate their future; but there are several steps to take when making this decision. Getting smaller can be a matter of personal choice for the doctor or it could be necessitated by changes in production, revenue, cash and income.

IS GOING SMALL RIGHT FOR YOU? In the 2008–2009 recession, many practices decided to reduce expenses (i.e. technology purchases, supplies, materials and marketing expenditures) far enough that their production dropped as well. But even in the face of lower production, they were still able to increase profitability. In addition, many dentists found that they were much happier and that their previous desires to grow their practices only existed based on a good economy where growth was easy.

Today some practices may find that this is the time when reducing costs to get smaller can lead to increased profitability. No business owner likes to go to work every day racing around just to bring in enough revenue to pay the bills or bring in a small income. This is what entrepreneurs do when they are just starting out. However, entrepreneurs are usually younger, more energetic and willing to

16 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

eat out of pizza boxes night after night.

Going smaller is a great option for dentists who simply want to enjoy their practices and no longer want to fight the battles of growing their practices, investing heavily in marketing and taking on more insurance battles. Yes, smaller practices have fewer patients, but they also have fewer team members to manage and fewer insurance plans to deal with.

Remember, dentists did not ask for COVID-19, nor did they see it coming. This was a crisis that was thrust upon us out of nowhere.

But when a crisis occurs, change is inevitable. There are many options on the table. Getting smaller is one of them.

WHERE DO YOU CUT EXPENSES? Before reducing expenses, it is extremely important to have a true practice analysis performed. Having reviewed hundreds of these in our consulting process, we find many practices that have made poor decisions did so because they didn’t truly understand the profit, overhead and revenue factors that drive the practice. A practice analysis will allow you to understand how to get smaller without losing profitability.

The next step is to determine what the business plan for a smaller practice looks like. When planning, consider the following questions:

DentalEntrepreneur.com

Getting smaller can be great; but you shouldn’t make a knee-jerk decision without some level of analysis, only to find that you went from the frying pan into the fire of economic challenges.

• What size would you like to be? 10% smaller? 20% smaller?

Anything over 20% will be very difficult for the practice to make up in profitability.

• How many staff will you need, and what positions should be in the smaller practice? Is the doctor willing to perform hygiene?

Can you reduce the number of hygienist days or hours or eliminate them?

• How many front desk people do you need? What can you outsource? Can you outsource insurance filing and reimbursement, telephone answering or even basic accounting?

• How many hours and which days does the doctor want to work? Will you have to eliminate patients to reach a smaller downscaled level or will you be able to handle all patients with a longer wait?

• How many patients can you lose and still maintain the business plan of the smaller practice?

opportunities. Just keep in mind that staying where you are for a year or two or even getting smaller isn’t a prison sentence. You can always shift from wherever you are and go back into growth mode in 12 months or even years down the road. We have seen practices that have been on auto pilot and flat for years but suddenly decided it was time to grow again.

Also, keep in mind that simply having a fantasy of going smaller to help reduce stress and the chaos of COVID-19 doesn’t mean that doing so will create a utopian practice or even be more profitable.

Going smaller still requires excellent systems and team training.

SUMMARY Getting smaller can be great; but you shouldn’t make a knee-jerk decision without some level of analysis, only to find that you went from the frying pan into the fire of economic challenges.

Yes, less stress and chaos are great, but I urge you to consider the questions in this article so that you can make the best decision for your practice.

• Do you have a rigorous methodology of overhead control to reduce expenses? Can you bid out larger expenditures ranging from insurance to supplies? Are the lab expenses reasonable and in line?

These are a few of the basic questions that will help you determine if going smaller is for you and, if so, see how you can make it happen. A real business analysis is more complex and will evaluate all aspects of the practice, but these questions are a good starting point.

WILL A SMALLER PRACTICE MAKE YOU HAPPIER? The answer is that it depends. For some doctors, a smaller practice will get them back to why they became dentists in the first place.

For others, they would miss the challenge of growing the practice, setting goals and creating ongoing excitement through new DentalEntrepreneur.com

Roger P. Levin, DDS is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on dental practice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world.

To contact Dr. Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit www.levingroup. com or email rlevin@levingroup.com.

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 17

Business Fundamentals

The Shift From High Income to High Net Worth Brian Swilling

A

s a dentist, you are aware of your potential to earn a great income, but are you mindful of your ability to create generational wealth? The main difference between high-income dentists and high-net-worth dentists is often behavioral. Do you have what it takes to become wealthy and financially independent?

Most dentists will practice an average of 35 years. Years practicing, times annual earned income, equals lifetime income. A dentist’s lifetime income will be significantly affected by career decisions such as buying a practice, joining a practice as an associate, or for those more risk inclined, starting a new practice. Your career choices will ultimately affect your lifetime income.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average dentist’s salary was $178,260 in 2019. In 2019, dentists in private practice earned an average of $204,710 according to the ADA. Specialists in private practice earned on average $343,410 in 2019. If you assume these dentists will work for 35 years, their lifetime income ranges from $6,239,100 to $12,019,350 over their career (not accounting for inflation). These numbers are significant.

ADA Health Policy Institute annual Survey of Dental Practice. Notes: Average Annual Net Income: Shaded areas denote recession years according to National Bureau of Economic Research. Dentist income is adjusted for inflation using the All-Item Consumer Price Index. All values are in constant 2019 dollars. The change in general practitioners’ average net income from 2018 to 2019 is statistically significant at the 10% level.

Now imagine all the things you could do with that much earning potential... buy the perfect house, the nicest car, lavish vacations, vacation homes, etc. The options seem limitless. How do you plan to spend your income over your career? Do any of your choices help you to build wealth? Generational wealth?

18 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

DentalEntrepreneur.com

There are many ways to define the word “wealth.” MerriamWebster defines wealth as an “abundance of material possessions or resources.” This definition indicates that wealth can be both a combination of possessions and experiences. As you make decisions about your wealth, you need to ask yourself, “What is most important to me today?” Just remember, over your career your answer to that question will probably change.

As you build your plan to accumulate wealth, please allow room for detours. If your idea of wealth is experiences, then use your income from dentistry to create those experiences.

Financial life planning can incorporate building a wealth of experiences and traditional wealth. To maximize the effectiveness of your plan, consider hiring a professional to help you maximize your earnings.

STEP 3: RETIREMENT SAVINGS ARE IMPORTANT (EVEN IN YOUR 20S) Dentists have a lot of expenses and debt after graduating from dental school. Since retirement seems so far away, many dentists put off saving for retirement. It is important to remember that the earlier you save, the longer the money works for you.

Here is the concept illustrated:

Here are a few strategies that will let you build both an abundance of experiences as well as wealth: STEP 1: UNDERSTAND YOUR CASH FLOW/BASIC FINANCIAL LITERACY Do you track cash coming in (income) and cash going out (expenses)? Dentists who have a high income can develop a false sense of security around cash flow. Once you understand your cash flow, you need to determine if your money is being used efficiently. For example, if you have student loans, credit card debt, mortgages, car loans or practice loans, all of these debts should have a different priority and strategy for repayment. First, you should start by saving enough in cash for an emergency fund to cover at least 3 months of required expenses.

Then focus on eliminating all high-interest loans. You should not discount the need for an emergency fund in exchange for overpaying debts like a mortgage or student loans. I am not necessarily saying debt should not be reduced as quickly as possible, but you need to ensure you have enough cash on hand, so you are not constantly having to use debt to buy necessities.

STEP 2: SET GOALS TO AVOID MISTAKES Do you plan on retiring early or work longer? Whatever your plan is, it is important to write down your goals and be mindful of the following mistakes: • Spending increases faster than income. After years of earning nothing in dental school, this is an easy trap to fall into.

• Focus solely on paying down low-interest debt. This strategy can cause you to miss out on other opportunities that may help you grow your net worth more quickly.

• Your earning potential is your biggest asset, so make sure you protect yourself completely and cost effectively.

• Not asking for advice. Build your team of trusted advisors early in your career. I recommend your team be made up of a dentist mentor, CPA, financial planner and attorney.

• Following the hottest investment trend. I have seen this many times over in my career. Ask for advice from your team of professionals. Try not to spend too much time on message boards and watching investment news.

STEP 4: INVEST IN YOURSELF The most common way a dentist can invest in themselves is to own a practice or become a partner in a existing one. If you work as an associate, your compensation will likely average 33% of collections. However, if you are an owner or partner in a large practice, you might average closer to 40% - 50% of collections. Practice ownership has its unique set of challenges, but the financial rewards can be much greater. In addition to earning more, you also own an asset at the end of your career that you can sell. A single location practice might sell for 60%-100% of collections depending on the location, size, and other factors.

STEP 5: DIVERSIFY INVESTMENTS Diversification can be viewed in a few different ways. You may have heard about diversifying across different asset classes in your retirement accounts. In addition, it is important to diversify across the following variables: the type of assets you invest in, tax consequences of those investments, and the liquidity of the investments. One of the easiest ways to do this is to start saving in a taxable investment account. This money will help you reach your short-term goals since it does not have the same restrictions as your retirement account. We call this the flexibility account because you can use it to fund any of your goals.

The other way to diversify is by investing in other assets. These assets can be in your dental practice, real estate or rental properties. Some dentists have generated wealth with real estate, but these assets can be illiquid, leveraged and typically need additional time to cash-flow as investments. Make sure you discuss all investments with your advisors to avoid making potentially costly mistakes.

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20 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

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STEP 6: BRING PEOPLE ALONG WITH YOU You want all your personal stakeholders to understand your goals and collectively work with you to reach them so you are not being pulled in different directions. When aligned, family, friends, colleagues and employees can all help you achieve emotional and financial wealth.

OPTIONS TO WEALTH If you want to be a truly happy and wealthy dentist, you need to have options… You may love dentistry and want to practice into your 80s, while other dentists want to retire in their 50s. Whatever your goals are initially, they may change in the future; and it is essential that you have options. These options can only happen with planning, building liquidity and wealth, and avoiding mistakes.

Want to learn more? Email me at brian@navipathfinacial.com or check out our website www.navipathfinancial.com.

Securities offered by Registered Representatives through Private Client Services, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory products and services are offered by Investment Advisory Representatives through RFG Advisory, a Registered Investment Advisor. RFG Advisory, Navipath Financial, and Private Client Service are unaffiliated entities.

YOUR PARTNER TO PROSPER Propel your practice with Patterson.

Supporting your success is central to our purpose.

We provide the products, technologies and services you need to modernize, grow and keep your practice running smoothly.

Whether you’re exploring a purchase, implementing a new technology or optimizing it for improvement, our experts will offer you unmatched support.

VISIT OUR VIRTUAL BOOTH TO TALK WITH A REPRESENTATIVE TRUSTED EXPERTISE. UNRIVALED SUPPORT.™ 21PD103459 (1/20)

As co-founder of NaviPath Financial, Brian Swilling’s mission is to help clients Navigate their unique Path to financial independence. Growing up in a family of dentists and marrying into a family of business owners, he has seen firsthand the many triumphs and trials which take place throughout careers. As a result of these experiences, Brian works alongside his team at NaviPath Financial, primarily with many professionals in the dental, medical and business-owner space.

Brian has been in the financial services industry since 2004 and registered since 2006. He holds Series 7, 65 and 63 licenses along with life, health and long-term care insurance licenses.

Brian hopes to educate clients and give them the tools to understand their comprehensive financial picture. NaviPath’s goal is to be accessible, dedicated DentalEntrepreneur.com

to your success, and non-judgmental. NaviPath Financial welcomes the opportunity to connect and discuss your financial goals.

He currently lives in Belmont, NC, with his wife and two young children.

In his free time, he enjoys anything outdoors including mountain biking, hiking and golf. brian@navipathfinancial.com 347.534.6778

https://www.navipathfinancial.com/blog/2021/05/18/ dentists-how-do-you-shift-from-high-income-to-high-networth/ https://www.navipathfinancial.com/blog/2021/01/25/7things-to-help-identify-the-right-medical-or-dentalpractice/

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 21

Business Fundamentals

The Dawn of a New Day How Healthcare Delivery Is Transforming the Future of the Dental Industry Melissa Turner, BASDH, RDHEP, EFDA

I

n days past, delivering dental care within the four walls of a dental practice has typically been an effective and reliable business model. But what happens when our worlds are turned upside down and the traditional methods no longer suffice? How can a shift in mindset and a simple change in how we deliver care impact our future? And what exactly does this mean for the current state of our industry? [Hint: It’s about to change everything.]

Tradition—you gotta love it and you gotta hate it. Tradition is a powerful tool that can bring us comfort and just as easily cause us grief. As is characteristic to any mature community, dentistry is a beautiful culture filled with many strong and defined traditions.

BUT WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THOSE TRADITIONS GET IN THE WAY? For newly licensed clinicians fresh out of school, traditionally the easiest thing to do has been to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, adopting previous ways of doing things no matter how successful—or unsuccessful—our predecessors may have been. Time has a way of moving along; and, as it does, it is at that point when we begin to justify our own actions with phrases like “We’ve always done it this way” or “This is how it’s always been!”

However, with the dawning of this particular new year comes a particularly new way of thinking about how we “do” dentistry.

No longer can we rely on the paths our predecessors chose. In this pandemic-shifted society, we must quickly adapt, innovate

22 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

and carve out our own unique paths based on the demands of our current environments and the needs of our ever-evolving patients. Accompanying this change must also come a significant shift in the mindset of dental practice owners and clinicians everywhere.

The bottom line is this—thanks to the tumultuous last year, we cannot rely on our former traditions to make us successful in the future. But the great news is, thanks to innovative IT brands and forward-thinking industry leaders, the dental profession was— and is—primed and prepped to handle this industry-wide shift with minimal difficulty.

IN OUR PANDEMIC-SHIFTED WORLD, IT’S TIME TO EXPERIENCE DENTISTRY LIKE NEVER BEFORE. Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve had to rethink how we communicate with our patients. We’ve had to learn to think outside of the four walls of our fixed dental practices. We’ve had to redefine outdated business models and experiment with new ones. We’ve had to reimagine our roles as a partners in our patients’ journeys to health.

Connecting with our patients outside of the four walls of a fixed dental practice has never before been more important. At a time when our practice doors were forced closed, at a time when quarantine measures were enforced, and at a time when dentistry topped the list of the most dangerous careers during a pandemic, the mobile delivery of dental care has provided critical answers when there were few answers to be found.

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Connecting with our patients outside of the four walls of a fixed dental practice has never before been more important.

As dental providers began to explore new solutions at the start of the shutdown, many found success in meeting their patients through virtual appointments, exchanging text and photo messages, and providing emergency care in their patients’ homes.

Through this, practice owners began to understand the value of connecting with patients outside of the traditional op. They began to explore additional ways to expand their care delivery models and then incorporate them as daily aspects of their businesses.

What dental providers didn’t expect, however, was the overwhelmingly positive response from their patients. You see, even without the impact of the shutdown, the dental industry was poised for an industry shift like we’ve never seen before.

Technology now innovates at the speed of light with things like artificial intelligence, machine learning, voice-activated technologies and the cloud. Additionally, the rise of millennials and the increase of women in the workplace bring subtle, yet significant, shifts in priorities, lifestyle and cultural expectations.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT INCORPORATING TELEDENTISTRY AND MOBILE DENTISTRY INTO YOUR CLINICAL PRACTICE? CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES:

The National Mobile & Teledentistry Conference The American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance An Introduction to Modern Mobile & Teledentistry: How Technology, Consumer Demand & Prevention Are Shaping the Future of Dentistry Dentistry Gone Wild Podcast I Heart Mobile Dentistry Network Teledentistry for Beginners Forum Advanced Teledentistry Forum

Yet let’s not forget that just as those within the dental industry are changing, we’re also seeing a dramatic shift in the dental consumer—our patients. In this new year, the dental consumer demands convenience, flexibility and transparency in order to build trust. The dental consumer now lives in a flat world, adopting more nomadic, fast-paced and cosmetically focused lifestyles than generations before. And finally, the dental consumer wants to ensure dental and other healthcare providers are true partners in prevention and their personal journeys to health.

Traditions can both help us and hurt us. In dentistry, it’s time to say goodbye to our traditional ways of doing dentistry and say hello to a new way of doing things. In the past, the traditional dental practice rarely expanded outside of the four walls of a brick-and-mortar building. However, the dental practice of the future will certainly still be the brick and mortar with two significant changes: a mobile arm into the community and a virtual arm directly into the patient’s hand. This is the future of dentistry.

2020 Top 40 Most Influential Leaders in Teledentistry

Melissa Turner, BASDH, RDHEP, EFDA, an award-winning thought leader, influencer and dental advisor, is co-creator of Oral Health United. She is chief hygiene officer for Cellerant Consulting and is a nationally published author and speaker. Cofounder of the National Mobile & Teledentistry Conference and the American Mobile & Teledentistry Alliance, Turner is the creator of the I Heart Mobile Dentistry network, podcast host, and affectionately known on Instagram as @ thetoothgirl. She can be reached at melissaturnerllc@gmail.com.

Here’s the thing—the pandemic propelled dentistry into the future. The future is here. The future is now!

DentalEntrepreneur.com

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 23

Power to Succeed

“Ever Since…”

Joshua Scott

T

HE GIFT I haven’t spoken much about my career before dentistry.

Some of that is because it was a serious left turn. My education background is seminary. “From ministry to dentistry,” I tell people - which I realize is not the normal road one takes.

He said he was going to solve the problem by adding the nightly janitorial duties to my job description (I’m not joking - ask me about it sometime). For the first time, I had a moment of clarity.

I was tired of feeling like I was the crazy one. I said no. I was done.

The other reason is because my career experience before that felt like it ended in a failure.

“Where will you go? If you walk away now, you’ll never find your way back. This decision could ruin you.”

Joanna and I moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 2002 without kids in what was supposed to be the most amazing season of our lives.

We were given the opportunity to work with some of our closest friends to build a church in one of the fastest growing areas of Columbus, Ohio.

He probably meant those statements to scare me into reconsidering, but they actually galvanized my decision. I stood firm. In five years of a lot of wrong, this was right.

Joanna and I were ecstatic. We bought a home that would allow us to start a family and settle down long term. We were living the dream.

If I’m being honest, I would tell you that we realized it wasn’t going to work right from the start. Organizational dysfunction, team chemistry issues, failure of empowerment, hyper-paranoia and just overall bad leadership became apparent.

But I stayed and fought through it. I was there for five years.

Five years of starts and stops. Five years of professional frustration. Five years of feeling like I was the crazy one. Five years of trying to fix myself so that the whole thing would work. I gave it my best shot.

Towards the end I had a conversation with my boss in which I asked him for a raise (I hadn’t had one in the entire five years).

24 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

Back then it took so much guts to make that decision. I was the first one on the team to stand up and say enough. I know all my other friends thought I was crazy, but over the next couple of years, they would all decide to leave for the same reasons.

After I left we would begin to hear stories of alcoholism, affairs, misappropriation of money and violence from the lead pastor.

The whole thing culminated in a fist fight in the parking lot with a neighbor where he was arrested and taken to jail (again, I’m not making this up). The board members flew into town, changed the locks on the door and removed him from power.

See, I wasn’t the crazy one.

At the time I couldn’t see it, but that experience taught me to trust myself. It taught me to listen to my intuition. Throughout my life there has always been a little voice inside me that speaks.

Over time I’ve learned to trust it because it’s always been right.

It had been whispering to me for five years. I was just trying to DentalEntrepreneur.com

convince it that it was wrong. “This will all work out, you’ll see.

I just need a little more time. He didn’t mean it like that. This work that we’re doing is so important.”

Ever since, I’ve learned to trust that voice. That experience turned out to be a gift.

Theory of Narrative Identity Psychology expert Dan McAdams lectures and writes on the “Theory of Narrative Identity,” a simple framework for how the human personality develops over time.

McAdams sums it up by saying we are all born as actors (traits, talents, gifts), begin to develop agency (goals, values, outcomes) and ultimately become the author of our own stories (narrative, meaning, understanding).

We are all actors, we all have agency over our lives, but, here’s the most important part, we are the authors of our stories.

We are the stories that we tell.

It’s a powerful thought.

Your life is the story you have chosen to tell. Your business is the story that you have chosen to tell. Your friends and family, marriage and significant relationships are all the product of the stories you’ve chosen to write.

narratives, we take control over the stories.

In my experience, I find that most of us live as agents. We create visions, we set goals, and we have senses that we can control and affect outcomes along the way. This is why the market for productivity journals is so big right now. We’re buying a small book of paper pages, but what we’re really buying is agency: the ability to decide, the ability to control where our lives are going.

So when I say, “That experience was a gift…” it’s because I’m in control of the story. I get to decide how the chapter is written.

Where others tried to create their own headlines saying, “If you walk away, you’ll never recover” or “You’ll never be happy pursuing something else” or “You won’t ever come back,” I decided that decision to walk away would be a priceless gift.

However, for most of us, there’s a belief that the story is beyond our reach. The narrative is being written by someone (or something) that may or may not have our best interest in mind. We do the best we can, but we submit to an unknown author. Life tends to become lots of hard work and fingers crossed, hoping for luck along the way.

That’s the story I decided to write.

Ever Since…

Have you ever noticed that many stories start with “Ever since…”

“Ever since I quit that job…”

Others live purely as actors, relying on their gifts and talents.

They build a scaffolding around what they’re “good at” and lean on their strengths to create opportunities. They’ve never developed a sense of agency in their lives. Talent is the agent. Their gifts open doors and direct the actor to the next scene. The idea of a story is something that will be told by loved ones somewhere down the road when all is said and done.

“Ever since Dad died…”

“Ever since I started my business…”

“Ever since I met her…”

“Ever since the babies…”

Yes to the actor! And yes to agency as well! But a bigger YES to the author. You are the writer. You hold the pen in your hand.

Of course, life can be random. Of course, many events are out of our control; but when we realize the power of our individual DentalEntrepreneur.com

“Ever since…” becomes a milestone, a marker along the way that tells us something significant is beginning here. Most of us start with that statement without even realizing we’re an author reading a story. But who wrote it?

Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 25

The crazy thing about 2020 is that everyone had an “Ever since…” moment. For the first time in history, we’ve been given a global, shared experience. COVID-19 created a moment from which our world will never be the same.

“Ever since COVID…” Fill in the blank.

Here’s the thing: We get to decide how those conversations go.

We’re the authors. Was 2020 a gift? Was it tragic? Was it the death of one thing or the beginning of another?

Even now, we hear the story start all around us. “Ever since COVID…” Our friends are doing it, our coworkers are doing it, our families are doing it, and we’re even doing it. 2020 became a mile marker on the road that says a story starts here.

“Ever since COVID when I had to close my doors…”

What do we want to look back and say?

“Ever since COVID when we lost mom…”

“Ever since COVID…” what?

“Ever since COVID when the PPP money ran out…”

You get to be the author of that story.

“Ever since COVID when I decided I no longer wanted to be in that relationship…”

Joshua Scott is a marketing speaker and consultant who has spent the last 18 years in the dental industry. He works with dentists and practices around the country to tell their stories. He is owner and CEO of Studio EightyEight, dentistry’s story-driven marketing agency.

That’s one of the reasons why this time has been so difficult on relationships. It was an “Ever since…” moment. Some people looked down the road and realized they no longer wanted to live that story. They took agency and made a change.

Others also made a change.

“Ever since COVID I decided to put my family first and not travel as much.”

“Ever since COVID I decided to pull the trigger on that project I had been putting off for five years.”

“Ever since COVID I decided to take the commitment I made to my spouse seriously.”

Josh grew up off of Compton Avenue on the south side of Los Angeles, so he considers himself part “thug.” Currently he resides in New Albany, Ohio - a white, picket-fence community where the most gangsta thing he ever does is listen to Jay-Z with the car windows rolled down. He’s been married to his high school best friend, Joanna, for 24 years and has two children, Caden (age 15) and Aliya (age 10).

You can learn more about Studio EightyEight at www.s8e8.com.

You can learn more about his unique approach at joshuascott.com

“Ever since COVID I decided to invest in my leadership and be there for my team.”

26 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

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Elizabeth H. Guerrero, DDS Get off to the perfect start. Call your ADS transition specialist for AL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN and VA today.

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Dental Entrepreneur Spring 2021 27

Power to Succeed

Everything Is Different, Yet Nothing Has Changed David Rice, DDS

I

had the most amazing Uber ride today. My driver was a late sixties-ish, female from Nigeria who’d moved to Saint Pete, Florida 20+ years ago. I share this with you for context as we had a fabulous life conversation. I have no idea how it started, but with about 30 minutes left in the ride, we found ourselves in one of those conversations we’re not supposed to have.

We spoke about multiple gaps in humanity. Politics, gender, race, faith and age.

Did you just cringe a little? I get why. Social media and drinking socially are the wrong platform and places for conversations like these. In person and in harmony, however, I love them. They’re real. They’re enlightening. They give us the opportunity to listen and understand. They give us the chance to problem solve as we realize the quote below, which literally popped into my head as we were speaking, is so simply true.

“Everything is different, yet nothing has changed.”

Yes, life is different today. We look at politics, gender, race, faith and age gaps, very thankfully, very differently than a generation ago.

Speaking of which, let’s take age as a very pertinent, dentally relevant example. There is a massive gap between our seasoned and young dental leaders today. So much so, I have six scheduled sessions with different organized dental groups in the next six months to help.

Think about the age gap and what life has taught us if we simply take the time to reflect for a second. Parents of the 60s and early 70s young adults looked at their kids and questioned their hair... their dress… their music… their work ethic… and their principles.

Then what happened? Those crazy coined hippies grew up. They became the parents. And what did they have to say about their kids? Same questions? Just for different reasons? And so on… and here we are today with you as the young adult being questioned.

Now flip it.

28 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

We all play a role in this. Think about how you perceive people a generation above you. How about two generations above you?

Are they wise mentors to you or has beens who need to get with the program?

I remember my first psychology class in high school. It didn’t take me more than a week to go home and diagnose my parents with everything they’d done and were doing wrong. As I got older and laughed about it with my dad, I still remember his smirking and telling me it was okay because up until he got close to it, his generation’s mantra was, “Never trust anyone over 30.”

Here’s the lesson: Every day you meet people of all ages, races, faiths, etc… You can choose to learn from them, despite your differences and their views of you. You can choose to fight them for any of the same reasons. My advice, having been in dentistry for 27 years and on this earth for 51, is simple.

Learn from everyone. Learn who you want to be from mentors who stand for honesty, integrity, respect and excellence. Learn who you don’t want to be from those who don’t share those qualities. Lastly, just remember when everything seems different, it’s likely that not all that much has changed.

David Rice, DDS, is on a mission to improve our profession by leading the next generation of dentists to grow successful lives and practices.

The founder of igniteDDS, Dr. Rice speaks to over 35 dental schools and residency programs a year on practice building, team building and wealth building. Dr. Rice is a private practitioner, educator, author and mentor who connects students, young dentists and professionals from diverse dental-related businesses - “fueling passion beyond the classroom.” https://ignitedds.com/user/david_rice/ DentalEntrepreneur.com

Success

REQUIRES SUPPORT

“Knowing your strengths and leaning into expert support is the most efficient way to grow your practice.”

- Drs. Edward and Richard Lee

Four years ago Drs. Edward and Richard Lee opened a multi-disciplinary dental practice in Brooklyn, NY.

“After two years, we plateaued. We knew how to start the practice, but were unsure how to make the business grow.

A friend of ours asked why we couldn’t just learn [the business of dentistry] ourselves. We could have, but that’s a lot of work, and we didn’t know what we didn’t know. It’s more efficient to get support that holds us accountable and guides us towards what’s worked, versus trying to wing it and do it all on our own.

With the help of PDA, Drs. Lee are firmly in the driver’s seat of their business, with the growth to match.

1-800-757-6077 ext. 8 www.ProductiveDentist.com

Grow Your Investment Grade PracticeTM Consultation Are you a dentist with big dreams, but as a business owner wearing multiple hats, you aren’t sure where to focus first? The PDA Grow Your Investment Grade PracticeTM Consultation gives you your unique road map. With PDA’s proven methods and guidance, you will be confident you’re on track to achieve the success you deserve.

And, it’s absolutely free.

Go to www.ProductiveDentist.com today to take a quick assessment and activate your clear path forward.

Craft Your Business Strategy Enable Team to Accelerate Success Make Your Money Work For You

CLASS OF 2021 | WINTER ISSUE

Spring 2021

FROM INDIA TO THE UNITED STATES AND FROM DENTIST TO EDUCATOR – A JOURNEY BLESSED WITH MANY GIFTS Anna Singh, DMD

YOUR JOURNEY SHOULD BE A GROUP EFFORT Carrie Wucinich, RDH & Debora Carrier, RDH

WHEN YOUR WHY IS IMPACT, YOUR MESSAGE MATTERS Anissa Holmes, DMD

REALIZING A NEW POSSIBILITY Lori Noga, DMD

DeW Spring 2021

Chithra Durgam, DDS

My Story Emmet Scott

For Those Willing to Evolve and Innovate, the Future is Bright: Don’t Let DSO Misconceptions Hold You Back Tom Snyder, DMD, MBA

Will the Pandemic Alter Your Career Plans?

DE Winter 2021

Index of Advertisers

ADS Dental Transitions South……………………………………………………………...................................27 Doxa.......................................................................................................................................................................20 Healthy Mouth Guy...............................................................................................................................................20 Henry Schein Nationwide .....................................................................................................................................31 Patterson Dental....................................................................................................................................................2,3 Patterson Dental.....................................................................................................................................................21 Procter & Gamble............................................................................................................................................ 10-11 Productive Dentist Academy..................................................................................................................................29 Studio 88................................................................................................................................................................27

30 Spring 2021 Dental Entrepreneur

DentalEntrepreneur.com

Find an Associateship (at no cost)!

Henry Schein Nationwide Dental Opportunities (Henry Schein NDO) understands the job search challenges you may be facing. That is why we identify ideal opportunities for Associates to enter the dental profession or further advance their careers at no cost to the candidate!

Henry Schein NDO provides Curriculum Vitae and cover letter writing assistance, as needed and will take the time to ensure that the practices you are interested in meet your specific needs and professional goals.

To get started with your Associateship search, call 866-409-3001 or create a candidate profile on DentalOpportunities.com.

www.dentalopportunities.com

© 2021 Henry Schein, Inc. No copying without permission. Not responsible for typographical errors.

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