The Situation
After expanding from 7 to 12 operatories, this practice had ambitious growth goals but felt overwhelmed.
The doctors were producing at a high level clinically while trying to run an increasingly complex business. They had recently moved into a larger facility, changed PMS systems, and were struggling to keep growth organized.
The principal doctor wanted to focus primarily on surgery but wasn’t sure how to transition away from general dentistry without risking patient retention.
At the same time, the practice had never successfully implemented an Office Manager and lacked the leadership infrastructure needed to support continued growth.
What We Did
1) Built a Growth Roadmap Around the Owners' Vision
Rather than chasing random initiatives, we helped the owners define what success looked like and reverse-engineered a plan to get there.
Key Outcomes: Principal doctor transitioned toward a surgical-focused practice. Patient transition plan protected retention. Implemented Cerec and Invisalign growth initiatives. Created a multi-year growth roadmap.
Result: Principal doctor production increased from $700/hour to $1,500/hour.
2) Installed Leadership Capacity
The practice had tried hiring Office Managers before—with poor results.
We led the recruitment, onboarding, and training process while helping the doctors establish accountability systems and KPI reviews.
Result: The owners spent less time managing operations and more time leading the business.
3) Unlocked the Hygiene Opportunity
Weekly KPI reviews quickly revealed the biggest growth lever: hygiene.
We increased pre-scheduling from 65% to 90%, created and trained a dedicated Hygiene Coordinator role, added 40 hours of hygiene capacity per week, and expanded the hygiene team strategically.
Result: $30,000/month increase in hygiene production. 95% utilization of expanded hygiene capacity. Stronger patient retention and restorative opportunities.
Why This Worked
- Large practices often have the greatest untapped opportunity. They already have patients, team members, infrastructure, and community reputation.
- The challenge isn’t finding opportunity—it’s focusing on the right projects and executing consistently.
- For this practice, that meant leadership structure, weekly KPI reviews, hygiene optimization, and clear accountability.
- Small improvements across the right areas compounded into transformational growth.
The Outcome
In less than two years, the practice grew from $5.5M to $9M in annual production.
The principal doctor now spends significantly more time performing the dentistry he enjoys most.
The business runs with greater predictability, stronger leadership, and a clear path for continued growth.
Want Similar Results?
This is exactly what we implement inside the DDA Growth Advisory Program (GAP)—a hands-on execution framework for practices ready to scale without burnout.
To get started, book your complimentary 30-minute discovery call with DDA founder and CEO, Stephanie Richardson.
More Case Studies
Unlocking $500K in Annual Growth
How one practice leveraged Dental Director Academy's Growth Advisory Program to break a revenue ceiling and scale to predictable growth in 6–8 months—through leadership systems, standards, and scheduling discipline (not “more marketing”).
Read More →
From $280k to $520k EBITDA – Then a Top-of-Market DSO Exit
DSO’s pay top of market for practices that are predictable, sustainable, and still growing. Sellers want to maximize their exit. This practice did both—with systems and infrastructure.
Read More →