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PRESS RELEASE: Henry Schein One Unveils The Catalyst Index, a Look into Dentistry’s Top 10%

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AMERICAN FORK, Utah–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Henry Schein One today announced the launch of The 2025 Catalyst Index, its exclusive report offering dental practices an unparalleled view into the strategies transforming performance across the industry. Built on years of trusted benchmarking and informed by Henry Schein One’s most connected platform, the fourth annual report, The Catalyst Index, raises the bar by revealing the specific actions that distinguish the top 10% of DSOs and private practices.

“We’re at a turning point in dentistry,” said Dr. Ryan Hungate, Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer, Henry Schein One. “Practices can no longer afford to operate without clear insight into what separates top performers. The Catalyst Index gives them that competitive edge. It’s like peeking behind the curtain at how the best practices operate.”

Transforming Care Through Insights

According to the report, top-performing practices significantly outpace their peers in both patient growth and revenue, even while seeing fewer patients than the previous year.

Top performers are focused on simplifying the full patient experience, including faster appointment access, streamlined forms, improved billing clarity, and flexible scheduling. This contributed to stronger patient retention, better reviews, and greater acceptance of care plans. The most profitable practices are also operating more efficiently as a team.

The takeaway is clear: there’s a huge opportunity here. Here are just a few of the insights uncovered in the full report:

  • Nearly 60% of patients decline care due to ineffective education, lack of pricing clarity, and a frustrating overall experience.
  • Month-long appointment lead times are common among average practices, while top performers prioritize access for new and emergency patients.
  • Patient experience directly impacts performance. Practices that offer online forms, transparent billing, and flexible scheduling see stronger retention and treatment acceptance.
  • Chairside revenue potential remains underutilized. On average, daily gross production is nearly four times lower than that of the top 10%.

“If you’re average, get mad and fix it. The amount of production being left on the table is mind-boggling,” said Joshua Gwinn, CEO, Optimize Practice Alliance. “The top 10 percent are absolutely crushing it, and it’s not a secret why. They follow a process, build the team, execute, hold people accountable, and analyze their data. If you don’t do that, you’ll stay average or below.”

Driven by Data, Designed for Care

Henry Schein One’s annual benchmarking reports continue to empower thousands of dental practices to measure their performance, identify opportunities, and chart paths for growth. The Catalyst Index expands on previous reports by not only benchmarking results but also highlighting the concrete strategies that drive success.

With its deep commitment to creating the most connected platform in dentistry, Henry Schein One continues to help practices automate and simplify workflows, secure patient data, and drive profitability, delivering technology that allows clinicians to refocus on what matters most: patient care.

“Being recognized as part of the top 10% is a reflection of the steps we’ve taken to simplify and strengthen how we run our organization,” said Evelyn Lahiji, COO, Children’s Dental Fun Zone. “Centralized billing and AI-supported diagnostics have made a big difference for our team and our patients. The Catalyst Index does a great job of showing what’s possible, and I think it will give other practices a practical way to evaluate what’s working and where they can improve.”

The Catalyst Index is Now Available

Click here to explore the full Catalyst Index and find out where your practice stands.

About Henry Schein One

Henry Schein One, a leader in dental software, empowers dentists to focus on patient care, ensuring practice success.

With its simple and integrated software, practices are finally more seamless, more efficient, and more profitable—meaning patients and practitioners are happier. With comprehensive solutions: demand generation, patient experience, practice management, revenue management, dental analytics, and clinical workflow, dental practices will be running smoother than ever before.

Henry Schein One, LLC, is a joint venture between Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) and Internet Brands. The company’s portfolio of leading brands includes Dentrix®, Dentrix Ascend®, Jarvis Analytics™, TechCentral™, Lighthouse360+, and DentalPlans.com®, along with solutions offered through international companies, including Dentally and Software of Excellence, among others. For a full list of our brands, please visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Contacts

Claire Barbier, Communications Manager, Henry Schein One, Claire.barbier@henryscheinone.com, (631) 559-2942

A Vision for your Dental Practice: 12 Key Areas of Value

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You didn’t build your dental practice without some sort of plan. And you didn’t create a plan without first having a vision. You know how I know that? Because no one ever wakes up and says, “I want to give myself a whole bunch of work without knowing if that work will ever lead to anything.” Amiright?  

You gotta have a plan if you’re going to be successful but you gotta have a vision of where that plan will lead you. Think of it this way, your plan is how you will get where you want to go, your vision is the place you want to end up at, your point B, if you will. So, in this post, let’s break down what a vision is and how to define it, outline it and make sure it’s on solid ground before you strategize a plan for it.  

Your vision is your point B for your dental practice. It’s where you want to end up at the end of all that hard work. Your vision can be personal or professional or a mix of both so that you’re as satisfied personally as you are with your business results.  

In fact, with the doctors I consult, I make sure they include and prioritize their personal well-being as well as their family’s and team’s well-being. If you don’t prioritize that in your vision, you will watch yourself run ragged for a dream that you’ve come to despise because it’s made too many demands on your mental and physical health. You must be mindful of what you’re capable of and what you need to delegate.   

Along with how you’re feeling personally you want to have a clear picture of what every aspect of your business looks like and where your practice(s) will be when you arrive at your vision. That is typically a 3-year period. So, what is it and how do you use it?  

What is the Vivid Vision® method for your Dental Practice?  

I was introduced to the Vivid Vision method a few years back when I started working with my coach, Cameron Herold. Cameron is the author is Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool for Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future and he introduced me to using his Vivid Vision® method in figuring out where I wanted to take my organization. Using that process allowed me to create a vision based on my values, my passions and how I wanted to live my life.  

Cameron Herold on his Vivid Vision® Process

So, what does creating a Vivid Vision® entail? There are 12 key areas of focus that you will need to address in creating your Vivid Vision®. Remember, this vision is your point B, it’s where you want to end up in 1 year, 3 years or 5 years, depending on the current state of your practice.  

I highly recommend doing a full audit of your point A, how your practice is performing right now, so you get a clear idea of how long it might take to get to your point B.

Read this article about assessing your practice, Clarify your Dental Practice Vision: Assess your Point A and Launch your Legacy 

Once you’ve done a thorough assessment of the state of your practice, then you can begin to craft your vision. As I mentioned, there are 12 key areas of focus that you will want to pay attention to as the first steps in crafting your vision. Check out some wonderful examples and a checklist here for some ideas of how to begin and where to put your focus.  

These 12 areas are fundamental to your practice, but they also encompass how you want to live and operate within the boundaries of your organization. This process asks a lot of you in the beginning but watching my organization transform and grow because of this foundation I created has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life. I urge you to take the time to do your due diligence and answer all these questions fully.   

The first thing that goes on the blank page is the statement –  

“It’s December 31, 20__ …”  

This beginning will help put you in the future and let you see what your practice can look like in that year, typically that year will be 1 year, 3 years or 5 years from the day you begin writing your vision. Be generous with yourself, don’t try to solve every issue, transform your culture and double your annual revenue in one year. Give yourself time to fulfill this vision.  

Your Personal ‘Why’  

Why I do what I do – These 1 to 3 sentences are a description of why you started your practice and what you hope to achieve with it. This comes from the heart. Keep it simple and short.  

Core Values – Paired with your personal ‘why’, your core values are what will guide your vision. You don’t want to put yourself in the position of going against your values even and especially in business. Identifying your core values will help you make decisions about your practice while crafting your vivid vision. Do you know your core values?  Check out James Clear’s list of core values here.  

The People in your Dental Practice 

Culture – What do you want your team culture to look like? How do you want to interact with people in your offices? How do you want them to interact with the public and your vendors? What kind of cohesion do you want to build within your teams? How do you want to build that cohesion?   

Team/Employees – Write down every key role in your practice. Do you have the right people in the right seats? Is everyone doing the job they are best at and most passionate about? Do team members work and live with purpose? 

What You Do – Your Dental Practice Focus 

Core Business Activity – What does your dental practice specialize in? Emergency care? Cosmetic dentistry? Are you a concierge practice? Detailing your USP or unique selling proposition will help you create offers, messaging and services in alignment with your core business activities.  

How the World Sees Your Dental Practice 

Operations – How do your patients see your practice? What do your reviews and testimonials say about your services, operations and in-office experience?  

Offices/Headquarters – What does your office feel like walking into your practice? Does the office reflect the types of services you offer? A comforting environment for emergency dentistry? Or a sleek, upscale vibe reflective of a cosmetic dentistry practice? A homey feeling for a more traditional hygiene practice? Does your office aesthetic reflect your practice’s services and values?  

How Your Dental Practice Communicates with the World 

Sales/Marketing – How do you communicate with the world to attract patients to your practice? Do you have a marketing strategy? Is it based on your core values and mission? Is your social media presence reflective of your core values? Is your marketing strategy successful?  

Community Involvement & Giving Forward – Does your dental practice support local and community-based charities or organizations? Do you have sponsorships, scholarships or dental intern programs? How do you give back to your community?  

How Media Portrays your Dental Practice 

Media & Awards – What has the media said about your dental practice organization? How are you portrayed to the public? Have you been recognized in local or national publications?  

The KPIs of your Dental Practice  

Financials – This aspect of your vision is your chance to see the actual heartbeat of the dental practice. What are your sales, yearly revenue and profit? What is your annual growth rate? Have you done an EBITDA analysis of your practice?  

From Dental Practice Owner to Investor and Leader 

Founder Feeling – Although this is the last key area of your vision, I consider it one of the most important ones because this is where you take time to evaluate how you want to show up in the practice, your day-to-day interaction with your practice and your mindset.  

Ask yourself, “how do I want to spend my time?” “What does my daily activity look like?” “How do I want to feel every day?”  

You can also take time to write down your mentors, how you became a dentist, what your core motivation was, your initial passion for starting your business and what personal growth looks like now to you. Take your time. Write down from the heart, where it all began, how it’s going and where you truly want to be by December 31st, 20___.  

This is an incredibly transformative experience if you dare to embark on the journey of crafting your Vivid Vision®. This brief overview that I’ve laid out here is only the beginning. If you would like more information, I recommend checking out Jennifer Hudye and her site Conscious Copy & Co. And here’s more info on my Vivid Vision® process, check out my book, Extraction: The Surprising New Formula to Systemize, Scale and Sell Your Business.

Remember, to get to point B, you need to start at point A, define where you want to end up, your point B, and then develop a strategy for how you’re going to get there. But the first step is always to define what point B looks like for you. Similar to a GPS system, you punch in where you want to go, then punch in where you are, once you have both of those coordinates you can devise or choose a strategy for getting there from here.  

One More Tool for your Toolkit 

At first glance, creating a comprehensive vision for your dental practice might seem overwhelming—another big task on top of everything else you do to keep your business running. But there’s a powerful reason to take this step: to design the life and practice you truly wanted when you started this journey.

As a practice owner, you quickly discover you’re not just a dentist, you’re also the CEO, the strategist, and the visionary. If you’re feeling the weight of burnout or wondering how to recapture that original spark, you’re not alone. Many dentists face these same challenges as their practice grows.

That’s why we developed the Extraction GPS Template. This free, step-by-step worksheet helps you clarify your vision, define your values, assess where you are now, and set clear goals for your practice’s next chapter. With the Extraction GPS, you can turn those 12 key areas of value into a concrete, actionable plan, so you can build the business and the life you’ve always envisioned.

Ready to take control of your future and lead with clarity?
Download your free Extraction GPS Template now and start mapping out a vision that works for you, your team, and your family.

DOWNLOAD YOUR EXTRACTION GPS TEMPLATE

How Do I Create Growth in my Dental Practice? The #1 Invaluable Tool for Mapping your Success 

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In your dental practice, do you have one over-arching goal that unifies and drives your organizational growth? If not, keep reading. You have a successful practice; your team is aligned with your success; your goal is to assist and propel the health and well-being of your patients. Is that enough?  

No.  

What is a ‘Vision’ for your Dental Practice?

As a dentist, your focus is, of course, on your patients and their health and healing. However, as a dental entrepreneur, responsible for, not just your patients, but the overall health and stability of your organization, you need to focus on the overarching goal of economic success to keep doing what you’re doing for your patients and your teams. And Unfortunately, it’s not enough to “get butts in seats” to drive that economic success.

As with many entrepreneurs, economic success entails an overall vision for your business, not just your practice. You need a vision that guides and aligns your business decisions, and that vision is different from the one you had for becoming a dentist.  

Working On your Dental Practice, Not Just In It

You are a dentist, but you are also a dental entrepreneur. You show up at the start of your day, get in the dentist’s chair and work in your practice. While you’re doing that, who is working on your business? Well, if you want to oversee your future and your legacy, you must be the one to show up and work on your business, not just in it. Meaning, you’ve got your overall vision as a dentist, but if you own your practice, you must have an overall vision for your business.  

How do I know this? Because I was once right where you are: a dentist with no clear idea of how to run a business. In fact, I learned the hard way how to run my business, but that’s a story for another post. Let’s dig into the importance of a vision for your business. The following is an excerpt from my book, Extraction: The Surprising New Formula to Systemize, Scale and Sell your Practice. In this excerpt, I describe how my vision for my first practice became a reality.

Extraction by Dr. Jack Bayramyan - Dental Practice

Why Do You Need a Vision for your Dental Practice?  

Excerpt: Chapter 3: Creating Your Vision

THE POWER OF VISION  

While I was an associate dentist in the early 2000s, holding onto the vision of owning my own patient-centered practice opened my mind to exploring opportunities for purchasing my first dental office. A year after successfully buying that office and establishing our practice, I envisioned how we could expand our business model to serve additional under-served communities.  

In 2005, as I started to explore possible communities, I had a flashback of my dental school days. I remembered my daily drive back from USC. There was a stop light across from MacArthur Park that would take me 15 to 20 minutes to cross due to the volume of pedestrian traffic.

As annoying as it was trying to get home to my family after a long day of school, this red light, forcing me to stay in one place and observe the public life around me, ended up being an opportunity to scope that exact location for our first start-up practice. The intersection of 6th and Alvarado was, and probably still is, one of the busiest intersections in L.A., serving a high number of residents with minimal access to transportation who must walk for their daily needs.  

I spent months scoping out that community. I had a vision of where I would like the practice to be. It had to be visible, accessible and welcoming to walk-in patients. Finally, after six months of searching with no results, I noticed an empty location. I walked into the building which had only a church sign on the front door and some chairs inside. I never saw anyone inside during the day nor did the building have a For Lease sign.  

The following day I went back with my dental assistant who could translate Spanish and spoke with some of the tenants trying to find out if the storefront was available for rent. They informed us that the place was occupied for nightly gatherings, and they gave us the prop- erty manager’s contact information.

If I could have the tenant agree to relocate to another location, the property manager would consider giving me a lease. I went back out for several nights with my dental assistant to catch them during their gathering and present an offer. The first night there was no one there. This is not a location you want to be past nightfall when the city turns from families running er- rands and shopping into a gang and drug epicenter.  

The second night, we had luck and were able to speak with the pastor who preached in the storefront regularly. We shared our vision with him of opening a dental practice for kids in the community. We told him how important it was to be in that location and how we needed to obtain permits and have visibility for walk-ins. The pastor agreed to relocate if we paid for their move.  

Once the location had finally been leased to us, we had to create a strategic plan of sourcing the contractor, drawing up plans, speaking with lenders, and understanding credentialing requirements from the state insurance office.  

As soon as the construction started, we needed to build a team as well as a marketing strategy to bring in new patients. We invested capital to hire and train staff at our existing location to ensure that we had a competent and experienced team when we opened our doors. I knew that we had only one chance to make an outstanding first impression with our patients. We also built a robust outreach patient education marketing strategy and hired a team made up of dental assistants who could educate and guide the parents in our community on the importance of establishing a dental home for their children.  

Finally, the opening day came, and we had to execute. It was the sweetest feeling to see the smiles and to feel the gratitude and appreciation from our partners and the children we were going to serve in our new community. I remember to this day, one of the moms telling my assistant that in all her life she had never felt so loved by any doctor.  

Within three months of opening, our practice was organically growing with new patients and financially profitable. This growth is my most memorable and rewarding experience of creation, from vision to execution. That first vision was the foundation of our ability to expand and scale that, to this day, has blessed us with the privilege and responsibility of serving close to a million under-served children across the country. The extraction process was at the heart of this experience. It started as a vivid clarity of vision for growth, expansion and value creation.  

End excerpt.

Creating Your Vision for your Dental Practice 

Every successful business grows with a clearly and consciously crafted vision. So, how do you create a vision for your business?

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to seek out and participate in masterminds, conferences, coaching and round tables that have given me access to talent and resources that propelled my success. One of my coaches was Cameron Herold. And his book, Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool for Aligning your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future really defined for me what a vision aligned with my values could do for my business.

The work I did using Cameron’s Vivid Vision® process helped me craft a vision that was aligned with my core values; it wasn’t only about the growth of my business but how I wanted my future to be aligned with that vision and my values.

About the time I met Cameron Herold, I started attending a conference aimed at entrepreneurs looking to build, scale and protect their businesses and legacies. Dan Sullivan‘s Strategic Coach offers entrepreneurs the opportunities to find their voice, create stability within their organizations and build lasting success. Another incredible coach I worked with was Julia Waller. She along with her sister, wrote another book that helped me immensely during my vision creation process, Unique Ability 2.0 Discovery: Define Your Best Self.

The Next Best Tool for Mapping Growth in Your Dental Practice

Designing a sustainable vision rooted in your values is the foundation for lasting economic success and a legacy you can be proud of. If you’re ready to embark on this life-changing adventure, there’s one more essential tool you need in your toolkit: a strategic roadmap that brings your vision, values, and goals into sharp focus.

That’s why we created the Extraction GPS Template. Inspired by the strategies in our founder, Dr. Jack Bayramyan‘s book, this worksheet guides you step by step in defining your core values, assessing where your practice is now, setting your 3–5 year vision, mapping your marketing plan, and creating focused, achievable goals for the year and quarter ahead.

With the Extraction GPS template, you don’t just dream about growth, you build a clear, actionable path to reach it.

Ready to map your future and make your vision a reality?
Download your free Extraction GPS template now and start charting your course to sustainable success, one goal at a time.

DOWNLOAD YOUR EXTRACTION GPS TEMPLATE

Scaling Your Dental Practice: 7 Comprehensive Steps to Prepare your Practice for Success

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Scaling your dental practice is not just about creating new and more locations; it’s also about enhancing your operations, patient experience, online presence and community impact. In this comprehensive guide, let’s delve into various strategies to help you scale your dental practice organization effectively. 

The Need for Scaling your Dental Practice  

But first, let’s talk about why scaling is crucial for any business looking to survive. The Covid-19 Pandemic and its ensuing upheaval brought with it massive disruption, confusion and chaos into every aspect of economic life and especially small businesses and the medical industry writ large. At the intersection of small business and the medical industry is where dentists and dental practices live and die.  

This disruption and upheaval brought devastation to many and opportunity to a few. The last few years have been banner years for private equity as opportunists for the weak and slow-moving. But another group has emerged and begun to flourish as well during the chaos and confusion…the dental entrepreneur.  

Your Dental Practice through the Eyes of an Entrepreneur  

The businesses and entrepreneurs who stayed afloat during and after the pandemic are the ones who learned to pivot, stay nimble, be curious and cultivate risk to discover opportunity. And dental practice owners were no exception to this new behavior. No longer was the status quo acceptable.  

Dentists and dental practice owners needed to learn many new skills, study new landscapes and be willing to take their teams into uncharted territory to stay in business, much less thrive. And the ones who succeeded were often the ones who figured out that scaling their practice model was going to save them from the jaws of the PE sharks in the water or even the last gasps that comes with a dying practice.  

These hard-working dentists and dental practice owners are true heroes in my book, having survived some of the most difficult economic times in recent memory only to enter the even more uncertain times that we are all now experiencing. To face certain extinction with grace, curiosity and energy and decide that you will succeed in such turbulent waters is a testament to the character, selflessness and perseverance of dentists that I have seen from the very beginning of my career starting with my first volunteer mission trip to Mexico as a young dentist. 

Scaling your business model is essential if you don’t want to become chum for the sharks or fade into obscurity with no legacy. It is an absolute must for a practice owner to remain successful in these times.

So, what are the elements of scaling your dental practice successfully?  Let’s review these elements so you can create your own comprehensive blueprint for success. You want to get to point B. First, let’s put in some coordinates, some steps to help you get there.  

Embrace Technology in your Dental Practice  

As the dental industry continues to evolve, new technologies are constantly being developed to improve patient care, enhance diagnosis and treatment, and streamline dental practice management. 

Integrating these new technologies and modalities can significantly enhance the efficiency of your dental practice. Improve and refine your diagnostic tools and skills; stay in better touch with patients; see and study long-term trends in your patient activity; create tailor-made recall and reactivation campaigns and outreach; and reduce the time your team spends on repetitive record-keeping.  

There is no better time to research new and emerging technologies than when you are about to embark on a scaling program in your dental organization. Take some time to get out there, visit conventions, conferences and webinars and get an expert understanding of game-changing technologies.  

Optimize your Online Presence and Marketing Strategies  

Your practice’s online presence is often the first point of contact for potential patients. Ensure your website is user-friendly, informative, and optimized for search engines. Dive into the world of dental SEO to improve your visibility online. As stated in the previous paragraphs, new technologies are emerging to assist your practice in SEO, patient management and outreach and building websites that provide the best online experience you can give your prospective and existing patients.  

Don’t forget the power of social media – engage with your audience, share valuable content, and humanize your practice. Introduce your team to the world. Craft targeted marketing campaigns and ads to reach your desired audience. Utilize a mix of online and offline channels as well as paid and organic content to maximize your reach. Measure the ROI and effectiveness of your marketing efforts weekly to refine your strategies over time. 

Enhance the Patient Experience in your Dental Practice  

Creating a positive and welcoming environment is key to retaining patients and attracting new ones. And that starts well before a prospective patient enters your practice. As stated previously, having a robust online presence gives patients a lot of information to digest. It also gives them an initial impression of your practice, your team, your associates and you.  

After creating a comprehensive online patient experience, it’s essential to implement mechanisms for gathering patient feedback to continuously improve your services. Along with feedback portals, research and create a robust plan for patient recall and recare. Exceptional customer service goes a long way in building lasting relationships with your patients. 

And patient satisfaction can become an incredibly rewarding experience that includes long-term loyalty and feeds a strong referral system.  

Collaborate with Specialists 

In addition to a healthy loyalty and referral system for your patients, consider building partnerships and referral programs with other healthcare professionals to offer outside care and services to your patients. Establishing referral networks not only improves patient outcomes but also expands your practice’s reach within the medical community. This kind of outreach and referral builds your reputation and establishes strong ties to your community and the medical community in your locations’ areas generally.

Establishing relationships with orthodontists, dental surgeons and cosmetic specialists can become a strong feedback loop for your practice as you build your organization and your reputation.  

Staff Hiring, Training and Development 

When I built my first practice, I became curious about hiring and retention. Early on, I had a terrible experience watching my first office manager quit and take all her knowledge of our bookkeeping, patient recall and insurance reimbursements with her. I was stranded. The reason she gave for leaving was she felt the culture I was building within our practice was simply not for her. So, she left.  

That was an extremely painful and costly lesson for me. I ended up losing quite a bit of money from lapsed reimbursement invoices, etc. But it also left me questioning how to build an organization that people loved and didn’t want to leave. I spent a long time investigating and researching psychology and culture, a process I detail in my book, Extraction. Check it out for a comprehensive understanding of team building and cohesion.  

From that experience, I created and invested in programs and processes that allowed me to have clear lines of communication with my team; set guidelines for expectations; and set team members up for success. We started a book group, created and tracked personal and professional goal development and invested in ongoing education and development. I also made it a priority to set a tone of inclusion, diversity and camaraderie amongst team members, so everyone felt like a part of the team.   

This kind of effort, though extraordinary for some practices to undertake, became a cornerstone of our culture across 8 dental practices. Our retention rate was extremely high, in fact, it was something that I didn’t have to give much thought to because my focus was on making sure my team was happy, fulfilled and capable. Jim Collins is a wonderful resource for learning to understand what you need in team members and making sure they are the right fit for your organization. Read more about my experience here and read about Jim Collins’ work with teams here.   

Community Involvement and Investment

Making sure you have happy patients and happy team members is an imperative to scaling a successful operation. But one other area to think about is the community you’re setting up your first, second or third dental practice in.  

Engaging with your local community to build a positive reputation through hosting events, sponsoring local activities, and partnering with other businesses can elevate your practice’s standing within the community. In this digital age, it is so easy to forget and neglect your community IRL. Amiright? 😉  

Create Community around your dental practice
Engage and support your local community to elevate your dental practice.

Incorporating community-outreach programs into your strategic scaling plan may seem like overkill or extra work, but it is truly that extra mile you go that people notice. It may take a little bit of time to make the connection but when people see your organization’s name around the community and see how you’re investing in the environment that allowed you to set up shop, their recognition and commitment to you will become one of the linchpins of your success and longevity. People can’t help but want to give back to the ones that gave to them.  

The Path to Long-Term Growth for Your Dental Practice

Scaling your dental practice requires a holistic approach that combines technology adoption, patient-centric strategies, and strong partnerships. By following these comprehensive steps, you’ll not only expand your business, but also strengthen its roots in the community for sustainable, long-term growth.

But even the best strategies need a way to measure progress. Without clear data and tracking, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really moving your practice forward, or what needs adjustment.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

That’s why one of the smartest steps you can take right now is to implement a simple, effective KPI tracking system. When you consistently monitor your key performance indicators, you create a strategic roadmap for scaling: you’ll spot opportunities sooner, address challenges faster, and lead your team with clarity.

To make this easier, we created the OPA KPI Tracker, a free, dentist-friendly template designed to help you track what matters most. Whether you’re planning your next big move or simply want to keep your finger on the pulse of your practice, this tracker is your companion for smarter, more confident growth.

Ready to move from goal-setting to real, measurable progress?
Download your free OPA KPI Tracker now and take control of your practice’s growth journey, one metric at a time.

Download Your KPI Tracker

Scaling Your Dental Practice: Avoid 5 of the Biggest Business Mistakes

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Scaling your dental practice for success is our deep dive for January. Each week we’re diving into one aspect of scaling: benefits, mistakes, strategies, etc. to give you a better understanding of why scaling your dental practice is so vital to your vision, your success and your legacy.

You want to scale your practice, but you want to do it right and avoid the mistakes, obstacles and oversights that can come with scaling and growing a single practice into a thriving dental organization.  

One of the reasons that dentists in particular face challenges after deciding to scale is because they’re never taught how to design a scaling protocol in dental school. To truly understand the complexities of scaling a practice a dentist would have to go back to school and study business after getting a degree in dentistry. Who has time for that?  

That’s where an organization like us, Optimize Practice Alliance, comes in handy. We optimize your raw materials, talents, teams and existing infrastructure; listen to your vision and goals for the future; and then design a strategic plan to scale your dental practice according to what is going to work for you, your team and your community while lending our leadership, expertise and knowledge base.  

One Great Resource for your Dental Practice Growth 

But if you decide to go it alone, we’ve still got you covered. We offer tools and resources to help you, where you’re at and with the talents, teams and know-how you’ve already got at your disposal. In fact, one of the resources we offer is sort of a step-by-step guide to avoiding the pitfalls of scaling, my book, Extraction: The Surprising New Formula to Systemize, Scale and Sell Your Business.  

I wrote Extraction as a road map for dentists and dental practice owners for scaling and growing a successful dental practice organization. And I’ve gotten great feedback from dentists who’ve used it to scale their practices, grow their teams, and even sell their organizations. And stick around to the end of this post, I’m going to offer another free tool to assist you in your scaling efforts.  

Are you Serious About Scaling your Dental Practice?    

According to the international business management firm, McKinsey & Company, only 22% of businesses launched in the last decade have successfully scaled their operations. That is a frustrating problem since most of the value created in building a new business is created during the scaling process. So, how do you avoid being one of the 78% of businesses who fail to scale their model?  

Let’s start with the mistakes to avoid in the scaling process.  

Ignoring Market Research    

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is assuming that what worked in the past will automatically work when scaling up. Neglecting thorough market research before you create your strategic plan can lead to missteps in understanding your target audience, competitors, the community and industry trends.  

When creating your strategic plan keep in mind where your new locations could be; study the surrounding areas; figure out where your next practices might best serve the community; and take some time to study market trends not just for where you want to locate your next practice, but who your community is and what they want and need in a dental practice.   

Neglecting Team Experience and Training  

As you plan for scaling your dental practice you will also need to plan to scale your team. Scaling to a second location will not work with a team of 5 people. You will need to hire people for that second location, of course, but you will also need to designate team members to help with scaling operations.  

Poor team management and training can lead to the wrong people being in the wrong seats or being on the wrong bus altogether. Focusing on quantity over quality can result in a team that lacks cohesion and shared values. But it can also hinder growth. A strong team has bought into your vision. They are as excited as you are to reach your vision. Without your leadership, the bus doesn’t know where to go and lacks the motivation to get anywhere.  

Take the time to find individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with your company culture, values and vision. Your team is the backbone of your dental practice. Build out your strategic plan to include scaling your team, providing adequate training for their new roles and staying on top of team cohesion and mindset so they are part of the journey with you.  

Mission, Values, Norms for your Dental Practice

Not Budgeting for Technology Upgrades and Scalable Systems in your Dental Practice 

As your dental practice organization grows, so should your technology infrastructure. Ignoring or delaying necessary upgrades can lead to inefficiencies and bottlenecks. While detailing your strategic plan, budget for technology that streamlines your operations, enhances patient- communications systems, and provides robust and nimble processes for your business including AI, where you can incorporate it.  

But this is also a time to research and find new technologies to introduce to your patients: new diagnostic tools that simplify and enhance your abilities; new treatment options; and new advances in cosmetic and teledentistry. It is truly a brave new world in dentistry and delving into these advances will be an exciting experience for you and your team.  

Successful scaling requires scalable systems. If your processes and systems can’t handle increased demand, you risk compromising the quality of your products or services. Invest in systems, apps, programs and vendors that can grow alongside your business, ensuring seamless rollout and expansion. 

Scaling is an opportunity to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. Businesses that rest on their laurels and fail to embrace innovation risk becoming irrelevant. Encourage a culture of continuous improvement and explore new ways to add value to your offerings and business structures.  

Read this post to learn more about emerging technologies in the dental field.

Losing Sight of the Patient Experience 

Word of mouth might not create more business for your practice if you’ve got a robust marketing strategy, but it can most definitely break a dental practice, if you’re not careful. Losing sight of patient experience is like losing sight of the goal post. One of the major goals and benefits of scaling your organization is a desire to ensure a positive patient experience. Personalized care, a welcoming environment, and clear communication systems and technologies contribute to patient satisfaction, fostering loyalty, positive reviews and robust word of mouth. 

Detailing a patient-centric approach in your strategic plan, as you grow, ensures that you and your team continue to provide excellent service and meet or exceed patient expectations. This part of the plan will involve researching the best vendors and CRMs (Customer Relationship Management programs) to fit your budget, your needs and your patients’ preferences.  

Not Investing in a Robust Strategic Plan 

Scaling your dental practice requires a significant financial investment. Ensure you have a clear understanding of your cash flow, expenses, and revenue projections before scaling while you’re analyzing options for growing your business. This will help you make informed decisions and weather the inevitable challenges that come with expansion. 

One part of strategic implementation will come when you begin to measure your lead and lag KPIs. You need to study and understand the measures that got your dental practice to the point where it is ready to scale while also understanding what might come around every corner ahead.

Before you create your strategic plan, you will need to undertake a better understanding of these areas of your dental business:  

  • KPIs 
  • Your practice’s EBITDA 
  • Your teams 
  • Market Research 
  • New and emerging technologies 
  • What your practice can utilize and what it won’t need 
  • Profit vs. Revenue vs. Expenses 

Once you study and understand all of these aspects of your dental practice, you’re ready to create your Strategic Plan. A strategic plan is an overarching blueprint for scaling your dental practice. It is your roadmap from point A to point B and it will become your and your team’s bible for accomplishing your vision.  

I was able to develop a successful strategic plan to scale my dental organization to 8 practices across two states. If you’d like to read about how I did that, I detail it in my book Extraction. But I was also extremely lucky to get introduced to Dan Sullivan and his invaluable annual conferences for entrepreneurs (yes, you are a dental entrepreneur) Strategic Coach. Check out Strategic Coach for another incredible resource offering insights, tools and community while you develop your entrepreneurial skillset.  

SA specifically offers many tools and materials that help you develop your strategic plan. Arguably, a strategic plan is the single most important document and piece of information you will create to scale your dental practice. It is not the first step, but it is the most important step. Without a plan, it’s just a dream.   

One More Mistake to Avoid in Scaling Your Dental Practice 

Scaling your dental practice into a thriving organization is a complex process that demands careful planning, execution, and the ability to learn from both successes and setbacks. By steering clear of these five common mistakes, you position your practice for sustainable growth and long-term success. Remember: the journey matters just as much as the destination and with the right support and tools, it can even be enjoyable.

One of the most powerful ways to keep your growth on track is to regularly monitor your practice’s key numbers. Relying on guesswork or gut instinct isn’t enough, successful entrepreneurs use real data to make decisions, identify opportunities, and catch issues before they become costly problems.

That’s why we created the OPA KPI Tracker. This easy-to-use template is designed specifically for dental entrepreneurs, helping you measure what matters, see your progress clearly, and guide your team with confidence.

Ready to take the next step in scaling your practice?
Download your free OPA KPI Tracker now and set yourself up for a smarter, data-driven path to growth.

DOWNLOAD YOUR KPI TRACKER

Scaling Your Dental Practice: 6 Actionable Benefits to Unlocking Your Growth, Prosperity and Legacy

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Scaling a dental practice might seem daunting in today’s economic mine field of private equity takeovers, the possibility of recession constantly on the distant horizon, a labor-driven economy and slim profit margins. But it may be the smartest move you consider planning for right now.  

Scaling a business is akin to nurturing a thriving garden. Your dental practice must be in good shape before you develop a strategic plan to scale. After all, scaling, in essence, is duplicating the success you’ve already created. You don’t want to duplicate your past stagnation. You want to figure out why and how you created your success and then duplicate that.  

It requires careful planning, consistent effort, and the right conditions to flourish. For dental practice entrepreneurs, the decision to scale is a pivotal moment that opens doors to a myriad of benefits. Let’s delve into the advantages of scaling your dental practice and why it’s a strategic move for your long-term success and your legacy.  

Increased Revenue and Profitability for your Dental Practice 

The whole point of scaling your dental business is to introduce new revenue streams. As you expand your services, reach new demographics, and explore additional revenue channels, the financial health of your organization receives a significant boost. 

As your business grows, you now have the ability tap into new markets, attract more customers, and offer additional services. This diversification of revenue streams will help stabilize your profit margins and create a foundation for sustained profitability. In essence, it’s the age-old idea of spending money to make money. Using this strategy smartly allows you to grow your dental organization comfortably.  

In designing your strategic plan for growth, you will consider incorporating new dental services, exploring different locations that align with your market and patient profile, and researching innovative treatment solutions. This not only caters to a broader patient- base but also opens up opportunities for higher-priced services, contributing to a healthier bottom line while attracting and keeping a diverse patient population.  

Enhanced Brand Visibility 

A scaled dental practice commands attention in the marketplace, elevating your organization’s visibility. This heightened recognition not only attracts new patients but also establishes your dental organization as a prominent player in the industry as well as the communities your organization serves. A strong brand presence fosters trust and confidence among both existing and potential patients. 

And this includes online visibility. For a scaled dental practice organization, a strong online presence is crucial. Scaling provides an opportunity to invest in digital marketing strategies that can significantly boost your visibility and engagement. Consider expanding your social media presence, investing in targeted advertising, and optimizing your website for search engines. 

 Include in your strategic plan, strategies for patient-nurturing programs, social and traditional media marketing efforts as well as community outreach programs to affiliate with your organization. 

Operational Efficiency and Cost Optimization 

Scaling your dental practice will require streamlining and optimizing your business processes. A proper strategic plan for growth will lead to improved operational efficiency across your organization, reducing costs and minimizing waste. You can leverage tools and technologies to automate repetitive tasks, allowing your teams to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of your online presence.  

Explore project management tools, diagnostic tools, and analytics software to enhance your teams’ abilities to meet demand not just efficiently but also effectively. And with the advent of new AI technologies constantly coming online, this could prove to make these analyses and tasks easier to navigate. This exploration and implemenation will ensure your teams, as well as patients, are happy with the results. Efficiency gains not only save time but also make your operations more agile and responsive to patient needs and market trends. 

Creating a strategic plan for scaling necessitates a thorough examination of your operational processes. This evaluation alone can often lead to increased efficiency, better resource utilization, and cost optimization. Whether it’s implementing advanced technologies like AI or streamlining administrative tasks, the result is a leaner, more agile organization. And a lean, agile dental practice is ready to scale.  

The dental industry is dynamic, with trends and patient preferences evolving rapidly. Scaling your business ensures that you remain adaptable to these changes. Whether it’s adopting cutting-edge dental technology or introducing innovative service offerings, scalability enables your organization to stay ahead of the curve. 

Talent Acquisition and Development 

As you scale your business, you will need to expand your team. Undeniably, this will mean figuring out how to attract skilled and motivated professionals. There are two aspects to this process: attracting the team members you want and figuring out how to retain them. You will need to integrate professional development, training programs, and career advancement within your organization to attract the people you want.  

Keeping them means fostering a culture of continuous learning and development through Investing in training programs, mentorship initiatives, and employee benefits.  

While you’re implementing these initiatives give thought to yourself and your leadership skills. Because retaining the kind of professionals you want means developing a top-down structure of accountability, inclusion and diversity. Taking the time to understand and integrate the values that you want reflected in your workplace will mean greater team buy-in when you introduce your team to your strategic plan for growth.  

If your team sees themselves reflected in your strategic plan for scaling they’re more likely to take on these efforts and own them, thereby helping you share the scaling challenges and labor efforts. My business partner, the President and Founder of OPS, Dr. Jack Bayramyan, has written an excellent book on his personal experiences scaling his single practice to a thriving dental practice organization spanning two states.

The last chapter in his book is dedicated to the dental practice owner turned investor and entrepreneur. In it, he delves into the tools, strategies and experiences that shaped his leadership style and helped him achieve his astounding success. Learning to shape is leadership gave him the skills to assemble the team that ultimately drove his success. Give it a read.  

Extraction by Dr. Jack Bayramyan - Dental Practice

Improved Patient Experience 

Scaling your dental practice allows you to enhance the overall patient experience. Learning to Implement customer feedback systems to gather insights and make data-driven improvements to your services will greatly enhance your understanding of what patients need and want.

At the same time, the type of outreach shows patients and potential patients that you are interested in what they have to say and what they are looking for. In referral-based marketing this kind of outreach goes along way with the communities your organization serves.  

In your strategic planning, research and invest in technologies that facilitate smoother appointment scheduling, communication, and follow-ups. Personalize your interactions with patients through tailored communication strategies as well as new dental technologies to enhance patient-experience and entice new patients. Building a positive and memorable experience for your patients not only encourages loyalty but also generates positive word-of-mouth referrals, a powerful tool in dental care. 

Risk Mitigation for your Dental Practice Organization 

Diversifying your dental practice through scaling can act as a risk mitigation strategy. Relying on a single service or a limited market exposes your practice to potential downturns. Scaling allows you to spread your risks across various services, locations, and patient segments. 

Diversifying allows you to stay ahead of the competition, which can feel like a perpetual challenge. Scaling provides a competitive advantage by positioning your dental partnership organization as an industry leader.  

In developing your strategic plan, think of scaling as a necessity for risk-mitigation as well as organizational health and longevity. Your plan for the long-term survival and health of your dental practice must include scaling. The challenges you’ll face while scaling are much more exciting than the ones you inevitably face if you do nothing in an era of exponential growth and development.  

A Strategic Plan for Scaling your Dental Practice  

The dental industry is no exception to wildly fluctuating market forces at any given time. If you do nothing, you risk losing everything you’ve worked for to this point including your legacy. In this moment of incredible technological upheaval there are those ready to take advantage of this upheaval and those that will fall by the wayside; very similar to what we saw during the pandemic. Scaling your practice, as I stated, is a direct and effective way to avoid becoming irrelevant while ensuring your future success.  

If you do plan to scale your practice, you need to start with creating a strategic plan.  

Scaling your dental practice is a strategic move that unlocks a myriad of benefits. From financial prosperity and enhanced brand visibility to operational efficiency and adaptability to industry trends, the advantages of scaling are vast and transformative. As you embark on this journey, remember that scaling is not just about getting bigger; it’s about building a foundation for sustainable success and ensuring your legacy.  

Track What Matters Most to Scale Your Dental Practice

There are countless challenges you’ll face as you scale and implement your growth strategies—but you don’t have to navigate them blindly. One of the most effective ways to overcome obstacles and accelerate your progress is by consistently tracking your practice’s key performance indicators (KPIs).

The right KPIs help you see what’s working, spot opportunities, and address issues before they become costly. That’s why we created the OPA KPI Tracker—a simple, powerful tool designed for dental entrepreneurs who want to make data-driven decisions and unlock new growth.

Ready to gain clarity on your numbers and take control of your growth?
Download the OPA KPI Tracker below and equip yourself with the insights you need to scale your dental practice with confidence.

DOWNLOAD YOUR KPI TRACKER

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