Success in the Windy City: Where I Was and Where I am Going

The last time I wrote an article for Dental Entrepreneur, I wrote about the difficulties that a first year graduate faces in the early phases of real-world practice. At the time, I remember thinking about how insurmountable my student loan debt seemed and how owning my own practice was just a pipe dream. After three years of practice as a general dentist, my perspective has become a bit more optimistic.

After graduation, looking for a job can be difficult because new graduates have no experience, and many private practices are wary of hiring someone that may take time to refine their clinical skills. Plus, there is a limited amount of time to look for a job before new graduates have to make that first month’s loan payment. This is where a lot of the corporate dental chains have the advantage. They are willing to hire the eager, inexperienced and heavily indebted young dentists. They let you focus on building your clinical skills while they take care of the business management side of a dental practice. Some of these corporate practices even offer benefits and continuing education for their dentists. It’s a tough package to turn down. I know because I worked for a company like this.

Corporate dentistry turned out to be a really great stepping stone in my career. After two years of working 5-6 days a week at a primarily Medicaid dental office on the south side of Chicago, I felt that I had gained enough clinical experience to search for another opportunity. Don’t get me wrong; I loved the patients I worked with. They were extremely appreciative of my work and filled me with a sense of pride every day. The trouble with Medicaid is that it doesn’t pay for many services, which made patient acceptance of optimal treatment plans very difficult. I struggled to find options for these patients that didn’t leave me feeling guilty about the choices they had to make about their health due to finances. I decided it was time for a change. I wasn’t necessarily looking for more money, just a different style

of practice.

Armed with these two years of experience, I scoured the ADA online ads, called practice placement services and even looked on Craigslist for job opportunities that sounded promising. To my surprise, I found an office in the heart of downtown Chicago that was looking to replace a dentist who was leaving. I emailed my resume, and I was offered an interview soon afterwards. I was blown away by the beautiful city views and the glowing online reviews for this practice. As one of the premier practices in Chicago, keeping a good reputation through patient satisfaction is important to everyone who works there. The doctors there seemed happy and their work was top notch. There are literally hundreds of dental offices in downtown Chicago, and to find one with so many positive attributes was a blessing.

I am happy to report that I have been working at this downtown Chicago practice for over a year now. I’ve experienced

growth as a dentist in ways I never thought possible. In the last year alone, I’ve gained valuable experience in technology I didn’t have access to at my previous job. For example, our office utilizes 3D CADCAM technology for Cerec crowns. I’ve completed full Invisalign cases, which I learned in school but never attempted at the Medicaid office. I have had the incredible opportunity to work directly alongside a periodontist and an endodontist, both of whom work in our office a few days per week. Needless to say, I know that I still have plenty to learn, but my clinical skills and decision-making are getting stronger every day.

wife has a great career here in Chicago. We are both working to pay off our student loans together, and we hope to be finished in the next few years. With that in mind, the idea of owning my own practice is certainly something that I want for myself in the future. With my current practice, I have seen more of what it takes to run the business side of a dental practice. I know there are late nights, early mornings and weekends of billing, scheduling, returning emails and phone calls from patients, maintaining equipment, coordinating lab cases… the list goes on. The question is whether I could supervise all these tasks while being an attentive clinician for my patients. Of course, this is why a well-trained staff is extremely important in the success of any dental office. If I started my own prac-

So where do I see myself going from here? Well, a lot has happened in my personal life in the last few years that plays into this. I recently got married and my

tice, I know it will take much more than being an excellent dentist to succeed. It takes a leader.