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The #1 Most Powerful Secret Ingredient for Scaling Your Dental Practice

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Are you planning on scaling your dental practice? Whether you are or you’re not, keep reading because I will be making the case for growing your practice no matter what your plans.  

One of the most difficult aspects of being an entrepreneur is your mindset. Bet you didn’t think I’d say that, right? There are a lot of challenges and obstacles when it comes to being an entrepreneur, but every single solution starts in the same place…a growth mindset.  

If you don’t have a growth mindset, every single challenge will be exponentially harder to defeat because you will be meeting that challenge with a never-ending supply of resistance. 

 

Growth Mindset for your Dental Practice

What’s that saying? “There’s as many as excuses as there are…” you get the idea. If you’re going to scale, grow, expand or do anything of importance for your business, yes dentistry is a business, you’ve got to start at the root of stagnation…your mindset.  

That’s a nebulous, cloudy proposition, though, isn’t it? How do you change your mindset? Glad you asked! There are all kinds of ways to get started in creating a mindset shift. You can read some wonderful books on entrepreneurism and mindset; You can attend lectures, conferences and retreats dedicated to this topic; You can hire a coach; In fact, one of the most effective ways to challenge an old mindset and shift your thinking is by joining a mastermind. More on that a little later.  

All these solutions are effective because they allow you to take action without taking any risks in the business; and they allow you to learn and grow from others who have done exactly what you want to do. These two qualities: action and proximity to opportunity and knowledge help you build the courage to take the risks you need to grow your dental practice organization.

The #1 Strategy for Scaling Your Dental Practice 

I have another strategy for shifting your mindset in addition to the ones above. This strategy allows you to bounce ideas off someone else, just like a mastermind does; you get the opportunity to brush up on new skills, just like going to a retreat or conference would; and this strategy allows you to work on your business, not just in your business, much like working with a coach would.  

But the quality that makes this secret strategy the most effective one is…this strategy will actually make you money as opposed to all the other strategies which will cost you money. Now, tbh, the above strategies are fantastic and effective and the cost is worth the Investment. But this strategy is designed to increase sales, expand your practice and change your mindset. So, what is it?  

If you want to scale your practice, but you can’t even envision what that will look like much less begin executing a plan, start with hiring an associate dentist. Hiring an associate dentist is the fastest way to grow your practice while allowing you the time to evolve your thinking and shift to a growth mindset. How?  

Josh Gwinn, Co-founder, CEO of OPS on the advantages of hiring an associate for your dental practice

Learning to Shift into a Growth Mindset in Your Dental Practice  

With an associate, you will have someone to bounce ideas off of when you start thinking about making changes to your practice. In fact, just making room for an associate may bring up other areas of your practice that need your attention. You may have to do a bit of remodeling; you’ll need to make room on your website for the new addition to your team; this might be a good time to talk about your pricing structures, making sure they’re up-to-date and comprehensive; and the new associate may bring her own ideas and inspirations to the discussions. Opening discussions with your new associate will allow you both to engender trust, share ideas, troubleshoot problem areas and brainstorm on solutions.  

Learn New Leadership Skills for Your Dental Practice 

When you take on an associate, there may be some subtle shifts in the power dynamics within your team structure. This is totally normal. Questions from your team may arise, like, “who do we answer to now?” “Does this mean you are stepping back?” “Are we getting a new hygienist?”  And there will definitely be questions coming from your new associate as well.  

This period of transition offers you an opportunity to step into a leadership role. If you have not already taken on a leadership role in your practice now is the time for you to step up. You went to dental school; you may have started out as an associate yourself; you started your own practice; but all of that doesn’t necessarily allow you to flex your leadership muscles.  

Taking on a new associate means your team just got bigger; you will be looked at to make the big decisions. Your leadership may have up to this point seemed almost like a by-product of your dental practice, a necessary aspect that you need to revisit from time to time. However, with an associate, there will be no mistaking that you are the person in charge, and you are the one who makes the big decisions.  

This can feel uncomfortable at first, but with time, you will accept this new role and more importantly, so will your team and your new associate. Leadership takes practice and having a new associate will allow you to figure out what kind of leadership style fits you best. Enjoy the process and everyone will be that much more comfortable while you grow into your new authority.  

Learning to Delegate will Improve Your Dental Practice 

The last area of growth that comes with taking on a new associate is in delegation. You will now have someone else who can take on more work! This will free up your brain in so many ways. You will finally get the opportunity to start thinking bigger when it comes to your practice. Why? Because now you’ll have the time and mental clarity to start working ON your business, not just IN your practice.  

This is a huge leap forward when it comes to expanding or scaling your practice. Now, you’ll watch the creative juices start flowing when it comes to ways your practice can expand and grow. This will be an exciting time because this is one of the most immediate and expansive results of taking on a new associate. You will suddenly start to look for other ways you can grow your dental practice as well we your mindset.  

Expanding your dental practice = expanding your mindset. You can’t have one without the other. Whether you want to scale your practice by adding new locations or expand your single practice by adding more dentists and operatories, taking the leap and welcoming a new associate will give you the growth mindset you need to achieve your goals and reach your vision. By taking on the responsibility of hiring a new associate to join your team you’re already taking the steps to expand your mindset, and when you expand your mindset, you expand what is possible for your business.  

One More Way to Activate a True Growth Mindset

A growth mindset isn’t just about thinking differently, it’s about giving your ambition a direction. Without clarity, even the most motivated dental entrepreneurs can find themselves working harder without making real progress.

That’s why we created the Extraction GPS. This tool helps you clarify your values, assess where your practice is today, and define a clear path forward, so your growth mindset is supported by a real plan. When you know where you’re going and why it matters, momentum becomes sustainable instead of exhausting.

Scaling your practice requires more than optimism. It requires intention, alignment, and a roadmap that keeps you focused when challenges show up.

Ready to turn your growth mindset into purposeful action?

Download Your Extraction GPS

The #1 Astonishing Trick I Used in my Dental Practice Organization to Improve my Leadership and Obliterate Challenges  

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Are you doing this in your dental practice? You should. I had my first big lesson as an entrepreneur during the first 6 months of owning my first dental practice. This mistake almost cost me everything. I was in the process of building my first practice and setting the tone for my leadership and team-building when my office manager abruptly quit.  

My Biggest Mistake as a Dental Practice Owner 

She walked out with practically the entire business in her head: the insurance codes, the vendor relationships and everything else I needed to keep our billing on track and money coming in every month.  

Money is the lifeblood of a business. Without capital, your business is paralyzed. I was stuck and we needed answers fast. Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge regarding billing and insurance codes cost me a lot. For 6 months, I ran my practice 5 days a week and then spent my evenings and weekends panicking and trying to learn the billing code system. By the time I had figured out the process, we had passed the deadline to collect our reimbursements for many of our patients. What a costly mistake.  

I was not about to repeat that experience. I spoke with my cousin who was a software engineer, and he created a program that allowed me to track, measure and bill with the correct insurance coding. He got free dental care for life.

This mistake was not due to my lack of knowledge or experience as a dentist. This had nothing to do with learning or mastering dentistry. It had everything to do with being an entrepreneur and business owner. This mistake happened because I didn’t understand how to run a business and it’s a mistake that can happen to any business owner at any level of experience. This mistake was compartmentalizing and not having the proper redundancy any business needs to not have “all of its eggs in one basket” so to speak.  

Improve Leadership in your Dental Practice

Why Every Dental Entrepreneur Needs Systems—Not Just Skill 

I learned the hard way that being a great clinician is not enough to run a thriving dental practice. Most of us never receive any business training before opening our doors. And it’s easy to assume that as long as you know your craft, everything else will fall into place. The reality is, running a business is a completely different skill set.

If you don’t put the right systems in place—from day one—you risk losing not just time and money, but also your peace of mind. My mistake was not building processes that protected my practice from unexpected disruptions. All it took was one person walking out the door to reveal just how vulnerable my business was.

Redundancy isn’t just a buzzword; it’s an insurance policy for your operations. When only one person knows your billing codes, your vendor relationships, or your day-to-day systems, you’re one resignation away from chaos. That’s why dental entrepreneurs need to think like business owners, not just providers. It means documenting everything, cross-training your team, and tracking what matters, so no single point of failure can bring your practice to a halt.

But systems and documentation alone aren’t enough. To really know how your practice is performing, you must be able to measure your progress, spot problems early, and make adjustments in real time. That’s where most practices struggle: they don’t have clear, accessible data on what’s truly moving the business forward.

“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”
~Peter Drucker

From Chaos to Clarity: Using KPIs to Drive Your Dental Practice

So, what should you actually be measuring?

The answer is KPIs—Key Performance Indicators. KPIs aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re the vital signs of your business, telling you where you’re winning, where you’re leaking energy (or money), and where you can grow.

The Best KPIs for Dental Practices

While every office is unique, there are a handful of indicators that always matter:

  • Total In-Office Encounters: How many patients are you actually seeing?
  • New Patient Flow: Are you attracting enough new patients each month?
  • Recall/Recare Visits: Are your patients coming back for preventive care?
  • Walk-In Visits & Telehealth: Are you leveraging every access point?
  • No-Show Rates: How often are appointments going unused?
  • Scheduling Efficiency: Are your appointment slots being maximized?

Tracking these numbers regularly gives you a real-time dashboard for your practice health.

Not all KPIs are created equal. To truly get ahead—and not just react to problems after they happen—you need to understand the difference between lead and lag indicators. Let’s look at the two different types of indicators and how they both function in your practice.

Lead vs. Lag Indicators: What’s the Difference?

Lag indicators are the results—they tell you what happened after the fact. Think: total production, monthly revenue, or collections. They’re important, but by the time you see a drop, the damage may already be done.

Lead indicators are the early warning signs—they track behaviors and processes that predict future outcomes. In a dental practice, this might mean tracking:

  • Number of recall calls made each week
  • Number of new patient appointments scheduled
  • Daily case acceptance rates

By focusing on lead indicators, you can make changes now that improve your lag results later. It’s about being proactive instead of reactive.

Bottom line:
When you combine solid systems with regular KPI tracking, you don’t just survive the unexpected—you grow stronger from it.

Track What Truly Drives Your Dental Practice Forward

If you’ve made it this far, you already know that growth isn’t about chance, it’s about keeping a pulse on what really matters. That’s why we put together our KPI Tracker built specifically for dentists. It’s not fluff; it’s a clear way to monitor the health of your practice across the metrics that actually drive sustainability and scale.

With this tracker, you’ll be able to keep tabs on total in-office encounters, new patient flow, recare visits, walk-ins, telehealth activity, and more. It even factors in scheduling efficiency and no-show rates so you’re not just looking at production—you’re tracking the behaviors that fuel it. Think of it as a dashboard that gives you clarity on where you’re gaining momentum and where small adjustments could unlock growth.

You can grab the KPI Tracker for free today. Along with it, we invite you to book a short call with our team, where we’ll walk you through how to use it effectively in your practice. This way, you’re not just downloading another spreadsheet, you’re setting yourself up with a system to actually measure, understand, and improve.

Download Your KPI Tracker

Follow 3 Principles to Build a Strong Dental Practice Culture: The Power of Mission, Values, and Norms 

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You have the power to create a world-class dental practice or dental organization. In this post I’m going to delve into three foundational principles that will allow you to build and run a premier dental organization. Our current economic environment is one filled with incredible opportunities for growth; as well as challenges in keeping talented, committed and passionate staff. To meet that challenge, we must also be mindful as business owners to provide the right conditions for our employees to stick around. Both aspects of running a successful dental practice are a lot to think about, balance and juggle.  

The 3 Drivers of Successful Dental Practice Culture 

So, how do you strike that balance between attacking opportunity and nurturing a thriving organizational culture? It starts with the basics: your mission, your values and your norms. These three foundational elements are the backbone of your decisions, your priority-setting and your business cadence. Without them, your organization runs the risk of being a rudderless ship foundering in the shallows. So, let’s look at each of these principles one by one, starting with your mission statement.  

Your Mission Statement Defines Culture in Your Dental Practice 

Your mission statement serves as the north star for your dental practice. It defines the purpose and direction of your business. This may seem a bit arbitrary for a dental practice, after all the mission is sort of built into your business structure: take care of people’s teeth. But a mission statement encompasses not just what you do but how your company approaches its work, the purpose of your practice’s existence and its overall objectives.  

When writing your mission statement, make it clear, simple and inspirational. Your statement should align your purpose and goal with your values. It should also be imbued with a sense of passion that inspires your team and rallies them around your goal and vision. A mission statement isn’t just for your patients to understand you, it’s for your teams to align themselves with what you want to accomplish.  

Values Set the Tone for Team Culture in your Dental Practice 

Values are the principles by which your actions are guided every day, and they are a reflection of your life and what you hold dear. Your company’s core values are the guiding principles that dictate how your employees and your organization operate. They are the moral compass of your business. One big advantage in defining your values and setting guiding principles is that it gives your employees an understanding of what you expect from them and what they can and should expect from you.  

Defining your company’s core values might be daunting if you don’t have a clear understanding of your own personal values. Harvard Business Review has a step-by-step guide to help you assess your personal values.  

Here are some elements to consider when defining your dental practice’s values:  

  • Identify the values that are most important to your organization (yourself). They could be honesty, innovation, customer-centricity, or any other principles you hold dear. 
  • Integrate your company values into your daily operations. This means that every decision, from hiring to product development, should align with these values. 
  • Communicate your values effectively to your team. Encourage them to embody these values in their work. Spend some time examining where, in your practice, you and your team can incorporate your practice values and make them known to your patients and prospects.  
  • Define your core values to give your teams the knowledge and confidence in knowing how you want business conducted on your behalf. This will instill your teams with confidence and allows your teams the freedom to act according to the roadmap you have given them.

Norms: The Everyday Behaviors That Build Trust, Communication and Cadence in your Dental Practice  

Norms are the behaviors that govern how your teams interact and work within your dental practice. Norms help set the tone for your practice culture. To establish effective norms: 

  • Create norms that promote inclusivity, respect, and collaboration. Encourage open communication and diversity of ideas. This norm allows your team to feel fully engaged and, well, included in the day-to-day execution of your mission.  
  • No sacred cows: Allows anyone on the team to call out behavior, patterns or ideas that aren’t working anymore and bring something new to the table. Practicing allowing everyone on your team to have a voice might take a minute to establish as a norm, but it allows for greater efficiency, communication and creativity.  
  • Consistency is key to all functions of running a smooth dental practice. So, making consistency a practice norm is key to team behavior and practice management.  
  • Adaptability is another norm that encourages creativity, problem-solving, open communication and efficiency. Be open to ideas to reevaluate and adapt systems, operations and functions as your practice grows and evolves. 

Gallup has a wonderful assessment to help you determine and define what norms are currently working in your practice’s team culture and what are not. Having a starting position of current norms allows you to keep what’s working, while building on that foundation to include what might be missing.  

The Synergy of Mission, Values, and Norms for Your Dental Practice Operations

When you combine a clear mission, well-defined values, and strong norms, you create a synergy that transforms your dental practice culture. Aligning your mission, values, and norms fosters a shared sense of purpose and passion among your team. Engagement stays high when employees understand and believe in what your practice stands for and what they’re working toward. This alignment fuels higher productivity, satisfaction, and a culture where everyone is motivated to contribute their best.

A strong, values-driven culture not only attracts and retains top talent, it also enhances your reputation in the community. Over time, this foundation makes your practice more resilient and adaptable, even when circumstances change.

Culture truly is your practice’s identity. It sets the tone for how you do business, how you care for your team, and how you serve your patients. Mission, values, and norms are the building blocks that shape a practice people want to work for and patients want to visit. Invest in nurturing these elements, and you’ll see your practice flourish.

If you’re ready to clarify your practice’s vision, values, and mission and chart a path to your “point B” we invite you to download our free Extraction GPS worksheet.

This step-by-step tool is designed to help dental entrepreneurs like you get clear on what matters most, set a bold vision for your future, and define the concrete goals that will get you there. Use it to bring your leadership team together, make confident decisions, and guide your practice toward long-term success.

Ready to set your destination and accelerate your journey?
Download our Extraction GPS worksheet today and take the first step toward building the dental practice and legacy you truly envision.

Download Our Extraction GPS Worksheet

The 10x Rule: Supercharging Your Dental Practice for Success

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The 10x rule is a powerful concept that can take your dental practice to the next level. So, let’s look at how it can work for you.  

Do you think of yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think of yourself as an investor? If not, why not? You’re a business owner. Your dental practice is a business. For this post, I would like you to see yourself as an investor and see how you can apply the principles discussed below to your dental organization, no matter how big or small it is. Deal?  

The 10x rule has a simple but game-changing premise: Instead of aiming for small, gradual improvements, aim to multiply your efforts and results by 10 times. It’s about setting audacious goals and taking massive actions to achieve them. 

Ultimately though, the 10x approach is really about adopting an investor mindset when you’re optimizing your dental practice. This might be a little challenging to think about at first. As a dental practice owner, you may not think of yourself as an investor; you may not even see your business as scalable. Yes, it can be done, yes, you’ve seen it happen in other practices, but how do you do it yourself? How do you begin to change your thinking and start taking action like an entrepreneur and investor in your practice?  

Changing your mindset is the first step. Learning to apply a growth mindset to your thinking and then to your business is life changing. That shift in mindset can change the trajectory of your life. Are you ready?  

Let’s dive into the deep end of the pool and look at ways that you can begin to see your dental practice as an investment and every dollar you’re spending in your practice as a down payment on that investment.   

The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”

~Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first woman president

The 10x Rule for Your Dental Practice 

Yes, 10x is about maximizing your investment but it is also about making sure every dollar you spend is necessary and a reinvestment into your practice. Here’s why, for every unnecessary dollar you spend on your practice, that is one dollar less that you will get back when it’s time to exit. Likewise, for every necessary dollar you spend, that is one more dollar that goes into your pocket when you exit.  

So, the question becomes, how do you invest and reinvest in your practice wisely, so you maximize your investment? And remember, we want big, audacious goals. Jim Collins has a term for this, Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal or BHAG. In his book, Built to Last, Jim talks about setting these goals for yourself to think big and create a plan for long-term success. Big goals are not short-term hops, they are long-term leaps that keep teams focused thereby giving your organization tighter restraints to achieve them.  

Setting 10x Goals for Your Dental Practice 

When setting a goal for your dental practice, the goal, at first glance, might seem almost impossible to achieve. This could mean setting a goal to increase your patient base by 10 times or to generate 10 times the revenue you’re currently making. Keep in mind, these are audacious goals, not modest ones.  

If you want to read firsthand how one dental practice did this, take a look at this case study.

The Power of Massive Action in your Dental Practice 

Once you’ve set your 10x goal, it’s time for massive action. To achieve such an audacious goal, you need to take massive, consistent, and persistent actions. For instance, if your goal is to increase your patient base, you might need to ramp up your marketing efforts, improve your online presence, and offer exceptional patient experiences to attract and retain more clients. All those elements need to be taken into consideration.  

Take a look at the graphic below. This graphic shows the BHAG my partner and president of Optimize Practice Alliance, Dr. Jack Bayraymyan, designed when he was scaling his dental practice organization.

BHAG for your Dental Practice

This looks extremely ambitious, and it was. However, taking a very long view of what Jack wanted to build was the beginning of an incredible and ultimately successful journey. It took this level of vision to accomplish what he eventually accomplished. But he didn’t do it alone.

The first and most vital step after creating your audacious goal, is making sure your team is on board. You need to analyze your team and ensure that everyone is in the right job for them. Next, you need to be confident they are ready, willing and able to fight for your goal as hard as you are going to fight for it. Your team is the most vital component of reaching your goal.  

Embrace Innovation for Your Dental Practice  

To truly leverage the 10x rule, embrace innovation in your practice. Explore technologies and techniques that can help you stand out in the industry. Invest in the latest dental equipment and software that can enhance patient care and streamline your operations. Innovate not just for the sake of it but to drive real results and efficiencies. And remember to do it wisely. If you can find a gently used version of the same technology that is a strong investment because you’re saving money that will eventually end up back in your pocket.  

Digital Transformation in the Dental Industry 

Given your role in optimizing and growing the online presence of your dental organization, digital transformation is a key aspect of implementing the 10x rule. Here are some strategies to consider: 

  • Social Media Presence: Use social media platforms to showcase your practice. Share educational content, patient testimonials, and behind-the-scenes glimpses. Engage with your audience to build a loyal following. 
  • Website Excellence: Ensure your website is user-friendly, informative, and optimized for search engines. A well-structured website is your digital storefront, and it can attract new patients. 
  • Online Scheduling: Implement an online appointment scheduling system to make it convenient for patients to book appointments.
  • Telemedicine: Explore telehealth options for consultations and follow-ups, providing flexibility for patients and expanding your reach. 
  • Patient Reviews: Encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google My Business. Positive reviews can significantly boost your credibility and attract more clients.  

Building a Strong Team 

Remember, having a strong, resilient and cohesive team is the main component of reaching your audacious goal. Communication, transparency, compassionate leadership and the free flow of ideas and feedback are the elements that will help you build a team that will drive your goal. If you have a team that fights for your vision, there is no end to what you can achieve.   

The 10x rule for your dental practice

10X Growth Requires 10X Clarity

The 10X Rule isn’t just about working harder, it’s about directing massive effort toward the right activities. If you want to scale your practice, expand your vision, and take your organization to the next level, you need absolute clarity on what’s actually driving results.

That’s why we created the Optimize KPI Tracker for dental entrepreneurs. This tool helps you focus on the metrics that truly move the needle, so your time, energy, and leadership are applied where they create the greatest impact. When you track the right numbers consistently, you stop guessing and start executing with precision. 10X growth requires discipline, accountability, and visibility. The KPI Tracker gives you all three.

What are you willing to achieve? Now, raise the bar 10x higher than that. You got this.  

Download Your KPI Tracker

The 3 Pillars of Success in Your Dental Practice: How Teams Impact the Patient Journey

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Is your dental practice doing this? As a startup, my partner and CEO of OPA, Josh Gwinn, and I have thought a lot about the mission and vision of our organization. What value do we bring to the marketplace? Where do we want to take Optimize Practice Alliance? What is our unique selling proposition?  

These are all valid questions. But there is one desire that has driven my ambition for OPA. In a rapidly changing 21st century, I want to see dentists remain as the driving center of dentistry. Why? Because it is dentists who know what is best for dental patients. Private equity investors and the ancillary industries that are quickly growing up around PE do not know what is best for patients. Dentists do. And Josh and I are dedicated to supporting dentists, their teams and their visions for growth.  

Behind our mission of keeping dentists at the center of an evolving industry is our philosophy for why we’ve chosen this mission. Our philosophy is a simple, 3-pillared approach that I’m going to break down and share with you here. I want you to know why we do what we do.  

What are the three pillars of success for a dental practice? 

Pillar 1: Quality of Patient Care in Every Dental Practice Organization 

The cornerstone of a successful dental practice is the quality of patient care it offers. This includes but also goes beyond clinical expertise and technical skill. Quality of care encompasses the entire patient journey; from the moment a patient calls your practice to the aftercare and follow-up that patient receives.  

  • Clinical Excellence: The first and foremost aspect of patient care is clinical excellence. It behooves dentists and their teams to stay updated with the latest advancements in dental technology and treatment modalities to offer the best possible care in a competitive market.  
  • Effective Communication: Clear and empathetic communication is vital. Patients should feel comfortable discussing their concerns, understanding treatment options, and being part of the decision-making process. 
  • Preventive Dentistry: Promoting preventive dentistry not only improves oral health but also fosters long-term relationships with patients. Regular check-ups, cleanings, and education on oral hygiene are key components. 
  • Patient Education: Educated patients are empowered patients. Providing patients with information about their oral health and treatment options helps them make informed decisions. 
  • Follow-Up and Aftercare: The care doesn’t end after the treatment. Regular follow-up and post-treatment care ensure that patients recover smoothly and maintain their oral health. 

The beginning steps we take, at OPA, after on-boarding is bringing our partner practices in alignment with our philosophy, helping practices improve technology, team communication, and the entire patient journey. We support clinicians in delivering the highest quality care and optimizing the teams, systems and processes that deliver that care on a daily basis. We support you while you are supporting the patient.  

Pillar 2: Quality of Patient Experience Throughout the Dental Patient Journey 

A positive patient experience is the driving force behind patient retention and word-of-mouth referrals. It’s not just about what happens during the dental appointment but the entire journey. The three aspects we like to ensure are retention, referrals and reviews. Those three elements help us track and measure and optimize the patient experience. The other elements we focus on are the following:  

  • A Friendly and Welcoming Environment: Creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the clinic sets the tone for a positive experience. From the receptionist’s smile to the ambiance, every detail matters. And the warmth of our team members goes along way. Many patients have anxiety around the dental experience either due to their own past experiences, stories from others or a general anxiety around healthcare. A warm smile can diminish and sometimes extinguish a patient’s fear and anxiety.  
  • Minimal Wait Times: Long waiting times can be frustrating for patients. Efficient scheduling and minimizing delays demonstrate respect for their time. This starts with optimizing scheduling operations and as well as improving team communication and cohesion.  
  • Pain Management: Managing pain and discomfort during procedures is crucial. Using the latest pain management techniques can make a significant difference in the patient’s experience.
  • Transparency in Billing: Patients appreciate transparency in billing. Providing clear estimates and discussing payment options can reduce anxiety related to costs. A dental practice can even reduce costs and refine price lists after updating and optimizing systems and processes. OPA is dedicated to cost efficiency for everyone.  
  • Feedback and Improvement: Actively seeking feedback from patients and using it to make improvements shows a commitment to continuous enhancement of the patient experience. There is no growth without measurement. You can’t know what to improve if you don’t measure. Data is everything. And that data comes from surveys, feedback, and good old-fashioned listening to your patients.  

We support teams in welcoming their patients with open arms, decreasing fear and anxiety around dental care and building lasting relationships.    

“In God we trust, all others bring data.” 

~W. Edwards Deming

Pillar 3: Access to Care for all within Your Community 

Ensuring that dental care is accessible to all segments of the population in your community is the third pillar of our philosophy. It involves both physical accessibility and financial affordability. To achieve this, a dental practice needs to be optimized, nimble and efficient.  

  • Appointment Flexibility: Offering flexible appointment hours, including evenings and weekends, can accommodate patients with non-traditional schedules. 
  • Telehealth Options: In the digital age, telehealth options can bridge geographical gaps and provide consultations to patients who can’t always visit the clinic physically. 
  • Affordable Payment Plans: Collaborating with insurance providers and offering affordable payment plans can make dental care more financially accessible. 
  • Community Outreach: Engaging in community outreach programs, such as free dental camps and educational seminars, can promote oral health and greater access to care. 
  • Specialized Care: Collaborating with specialists or referral networks ensures that your dental practice has the resources and access to specialized care when needed. 

Optimizing a dental practice means that we reach more people. And until we reach more people, we are not achieving our mission. At OPA we are serious about access to care for all. It’s not a sound bite to us, it is part of the philosophy that drives our mission.  

Behind these three pillars lies the foundation of harmonious, cohesive teamwork within the dental practice. Team Dynamics play a crucial role in creating a positive work environment where team members respect and support each other, communication is paramount and trust is established and reinforced through transparency and integrity.  

Training and Development are key to strong teams. Investing in ongoing training and development for the team ensures that everyone is aligned with the practice’s goals and up-to-date with industry standards and team members cultivate an ownership attitude.  

Another essential aspect of cohesion is role clarity. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities eliminate confusion as we as redundancy and ensure that each team member knows their contribution to the practice’s success.  

This is achieved through encouraging open communication within the team; and fostering idea-sharing and problem-solving, leads to innovation, collaboration and improvement. 

When a dental practice takes a patient-centered approach, the entire team, from front desk staff to hygienists and dentists, is invested in successful patient outcomes, putting the patient’s well-being at the forefront of their endeavors. Our job at OPA is to make this approach easier and more accessible for dental practices by lending our leadership through the restructuring phase and supporting your teams every step of the way.  

The success of a dental practice hinges on the three pillars of patient care, patient experience, and access to care, all built upon a solid foundation of harmonious teamwork. When these elements are incorporated and running optimally, the result is not just a thriving practice but also healthier, happier returning patients who are more likely to become advocates for your dental practice. 

Empowering your Dental Practice: Build Stronger Teams to Transform the Patient Journey

At the heart of an outstanding patient journey lie three foundational pillars: quality of care, quality of the patient experience, and a mission-driven commitment to access to care for all. When each pillar stands strong, your practice isn’t merely treating teeth—it’s crafting life-changing experiences and building enduring trust.

  • Quality of Care ensures that every procedure, interaction, and outcome reflects your clinical excellence and deeply caring ethos.
  • Patient Experience, from the very first phone call to follow-up scheduling, creates a seamless and thoughtful journey—one where patients feel seen, supported, and listened to every step of the way.
  • Access to Care invites your practice to lead with a greater purpose, ensuring that the communities you serve are welcomed and empowered to receive the care they deserve.

But these pillars only hold strong when the team behind them is unified—when clarity, accountability, and cohesion are woven into the very structure of your operations.

That’s where the OPA Accountability Chart steps in. This tool was designed to help dental practices like yours map functional roles, streamline communication, and ensure that every team member shares in your vision—so each pillar can support your mission more powerfully.

Ready to elevate your practice?

Download the OPA Accountability Chart to:

  • Clearly define roles and responsibilities
  • Strengthen team communication and execution
  • Bring your mission-driven vision to life through unified action

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Accountability Chart

The Power of Authentic Partnership in your Dental Practice, Part 6: Values & Norms

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Do you live your values even in your dental practice? In this post, the last of my series on the power of authentic partnership, I talk about the importance of living your values even at the office. It’s been great to write this series of posts. I’ve gotten to relive my experiences meeting my partner, Dr. Jack Bayramyan.  

In my last post I got into the fine print of business deals and how you cannot allow that fine print to influence your core relationships. If a partnership is strong enough it can weather and survive the due diligence of creating a business partnership.  

There is a lot of trust that goes into that process. You both may get along, share common interests, and even share core values and visions. But if there is no trust as a basis of your relationship it will not survive the fine print.  

The Power of Authentic Partnership in Your Dental Practice: Part 6

How Does Partnership Survive Dental Practice Politics?  

So then, how do you wade through the irrelevant to find the meaning in a relationship? This is where I rely on a principle called reciprocity. This is one of Robert Cialdini’s six principles of ethical influence. In his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. In the book, Cialdini describes reciprocity as giving first to get something later. When Jack and I were going through due diligence for our partnership, Jack came to me with a simple request.  

He had spent days answering repetitive lines of questioning for lawyers. He knew they had everything they needed for due diligence so he was perplexed by the constant barrage of questions, seemingly searching for a “gotchya” moment, that was honestly never going to happen. Jack was a man of his word; he opened his entire company to our due diligence process and was an open book during this period. So, why were the lawyers hounding him? They were just doing their…due diligence.  

He called me asking me to step in and help out. I knew the lawyers had everything they needed, so I called them off. In essence, Jack had been extremely open, offering up his entire company and entrepreneurial history. I reciprocated by choosing to trust the foundation our partnership was being built on and asked the lawyers to wrap up.  

Figure Out the Values That Will Guide Your Dental Practice   

Why? Why did I reciprocate in this way? Why didn’t I say to Jack, “well, if we’re going to be in partnership, they need to do their due diligence.” I didn’t say that because I knew that Jack had come to me with a simple and vulnerable request. I wanted to honor that and my values first. The lawyers came second.  

I take the values and norms that I instill in my teams just as seriously as I want them to do. I walk my talk and if I don’t, I want people to call me out on it. Our team values don’t just hang in framed photos on the walls in our offices. Our company values reflect our personal values and guide our teams, decisions and visions for ourselves and partners.

Two of those norms are being who you say you are and when you say you’re going to do something, do it. Pretty simple, but they make a world of difference when you live into them day after day. When you live your values, people know where they stand with you; they trust you; they trust your word; and everyone from your teams to your vendors and partners, begin to rely on your consistency and constancy.  

From the beginning, I knew that my relationship with Jack was not transactional. Transactional relationships especially in the workplace, are necessary to move the needle in your business. But longevity in a partnership and in an organization is born of more than just transactions. In order for a partnership to survive and thrive it needs a foundation of trust, communication, clarity of intention and transparency. Those qualities, by the way, are core values at Optimize Practice Services. Read more about our values here.

What are the values you hold and espouse in your dental practice or dental organization?

Trust As a Guiding Principle in your Dental Practice Organization 

Another norm that my team and I practice is assume positive intent. What does this mean? I think in business, it is very easy to assume that people are out to get their mission accomplished, or their goal met, no matter the cost, even if it means stepping on people or overlooking simple societal agreements like courtesy and cooperation.  

It’s very easy to allow that assumption to sort of color our views on the people we work with or see every day. It’s easy to assume that people are just out to get what they want and are planning to disregard you once they have it. However, I have found in my 20+ years of managing teams and leading people that by and large, people don’t walk around with ulterior motives. They don’t even lead with bad intentions. I have found that is the rule, not the exception.

So, I make it a point to lead my teams with this norm and to instill it in our workplace environment. We start by assuming positive intent, that people, by and large, have a positive intention, even if they don’t follow through with what they said they would do as the basis of cooperation and working together. Many times it’s overwhelm and forgetfulness that are the true ‘culprits’ of one not fulfilling one’s obligations, not negative intentions.

Someone doesn’t return an email; someone doesn’t close the loop on the detail of an important project; someone doesn’t follow through with a commitment. It’s very easy in these typical, quotidian occurrences, to assume bad intent or even negligence, isn’t it? So, assuming positive intent really goes against the grain of our thinking. But it’s a wonderful discipline that leads to greater harmony, cooperation and trust among co-workers, teams and partners.  

The Power of Living Your Values and Norms in Your Dental Practice Organization 

Of course, these values and norms I’ve described are just the ones that work for us based on the collective leadership experience of myself and Dr. Jack. I urge you to find out what works for you, your partners and your teams. Values-based exercises: Gallup’s CliftonStrengths finder, Julia Waller’s Unique Ability™ exercises, Via Institute on Character and the Kolbe Index assessments are all wonderful tools to help you determine your values and build them into your teams, organization and partnerships.   

Reflecting on my first meeting with Jack and the partnership that led to Optimize Practice Alliance has been incredibly meaningful. That shared commitment to values, vision, and integrity is what continues to move our organization forward. Scaling a dental practice, entering partnership, and building a lasting legacy are among the most important steps an entrepreneur can take—and those steps are most powerful when they’re rooted in clarity and alignment.

That’s why we created the Extraction GPS. This tool helps dental entrepreneurs clarify their values, define their current reality, and articulate a clear vision for the future, so growth, partnership, and leadership decisions are guided by intention rather than pressure.

When your values are clear, your path forward becomes clearer too.

Thinking about scaling, partnership, or the next chapter for your dental practice?
Download the Extraction GPS and start designing a future that aligns with your values, your vision, and the legacy you want to leave.

Download Your Extraction GPS

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