Helping Dentists create a Practice that provides Personal, Professional and Financial Satisfaction!
From my earliest days in the Dental Profession, I observed that many Dentists were skilled at delivering quality clinical care, but struggled on the business side of dentistry. I also discovered that exceptional dental practices had a combination of excellent clinical skills integrated with a relationship-driven practice model supported by a set of comprehensive operational systems. This was a formula that worked time and time again. I wanted to help more Dentists apply this formula to their practice!
Throughout the 1980’s I learned the foundation of my craft as a Dental Consultant/ Coach working in two large dental consulting firms. In 1989, I left the safety and security of a corporate job and started my own dental Consulting firm. I was committed to helping Dentists create a thriving practice.
Dental Insurance was starting to exert more pressure on Dentists because the Insurance Plans were lowering fees, while dental office expenses and overhead was ever increasing. What I was seeing across the profession troubled me deeply. Dentists were working harder than ever, yet their income was going down. Compounding this situation was the reality that many patients were only interested in dental care that was paid by their insurance plan. I discovered how to help Dentists successfully resign from PPO Plans and reduce their insurance dependence.
As a co-owner of LifeSmiles, I led the practice through a complete transition away from insurance dependence. During my time there, we resigned from all 34 PPO plans, kept 80% of patients, and raised the profit margin by 36%. Every system I teach my clients today was built and tested at LifeSmiles first.
I graduated Summa cum laude from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in History. I’m an Honorary Omicron Kappa Upsilon Member, also an Instructor at Midwestern University School of Dental Medicine in Glendale, AZ and a Guest Instructor at The Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida. I’ve also helped dentists at major dental conferences across the United States and internationally, including in Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and China.
Over the course of my career I’ve published more than 400 articles on practice management topics in journals including Dental Economics, Dentistry Today, Dental Management, Dental Update, Dental Practice & Finance, AGD Impact, Dental Business Today, and multiple state journals.
In 2011, I started the very first dental podcast as a way to share what I was learning with dentists who couldn’t be in the room. It became something much bigger. Today the Thriving Dentist Show reaches tens of thousands of dentists around the world every week who are looking for practical, proven strategies to build better practices.
Over 42+ years and 2,200+ practices, I’ve refined 24 proven operational systems that address the most common and costly challenges in dental practice management. From overhead control and PPO reduction to scheduling, new patient retention, hygiene department performance, successful marketing and team alignment, these systems cover every area of a dental practice and are customized to your practice and introduced at a pace each practice can realistically implement.
Among many transformations, these systems have helped a multi-location practice grow from $3.4M to $7M+, a century-old solo practice recover $340K in annual write-offs, and a fully booked practice exit its first insurance plan without losing a single patient. And they continue to deliver results, year after year, practice after practice.
“I started coaching because I believed dentists deserved better. After 42+ years, that belief hasn’t changed! You deserve a Thriving Practice!”
It all starts with one conversation.
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