The success of your practice comes down to one simple truth: you can’t wait for better patients to walk in the door – you have to create them. And you do this by following a powerful process: educate and elevate.
This is the key to turning every interaction into an opportunity to build long-term patient loyalty and transform your practice.
Many doctors make the mistake of lowering their standards to meet the expectations of patients who aren’t aware of all that dentistry can do for their lives. They only offer quick fixes to urgent needs or let patients dictate the conversation from the start.
But that’s the wrong approach.
You don’t start at the patient’s level. You start at your level – and you bring them up. You educate them about their long-term health and then you elevate their mindset about what they deserve.
That’s how you build better patients.
Educate and Elevate
The truth is, it’s not difficult to get patients to make smart decisions about their health. If they’re properly educated, they will see the value. But that’s on you. Your job is to inform, inspire, and guide them to make those decisions for themselves.
And believe me, there are plenty of great patients out there.
You don’t need to attract everyone. In fact, that’s the problem – too many practices try to be all things to all people. They cater to the masses and wonder why they can’t break free from volume-driven care.
Here’s what you need to do: focus on the 20%. The top-tier patients. These are the ones who appreciate the value of comprehensive care, who are committed to their health, and who will invest in long-term solutions. Screen out the 80% who don’t align with your practice philosophy.
What happens when you do this?
You create better patients. Patients who value you, your expertise, and the care you provide. And in return, you create a better practice – one built on relationships, not transactions.
Beat Them, Don’t Join Them
Don’t worry about what the rest of the industry is focused on – simply focus on your practice mission and clinical philosophy.
After all, you can’t beat the competition by copying the DSO approach.
Most of these practices are built on the idea of volume. And that’s where you can win by playing a different game. You’re not chasing volume – you’re chasing value. By focusing on relationship-based care, you position yourself to beat DSO-types in the one place they can never compete: personalized, patient-focused care.
While DSOs are growing, you can carve out your own space. Play the game on your own terms, in your own arena. Don’t get sucked into the volume trap or commoditized care.
Stay focused on your identity, your mission, and your philosophy of care.
Insurance Isn’t Your Savior – It’s Your Shackle
Let’s get real about insurance. Insurance doesn’t bring you patients. What it brings is a pre-conditional commoditized mentality to your practice by putting you in a pool of other providers. When you rely on insurance, you’re letting your value be dictated by third parties who don’t care about you or your patients.
Now, don’t get me wrong – insurance can be leveraged. It can be used as a tool, even a form of patient generation. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that discount dentistry will help you achieve your goals.
If your practice is dependent on insurance, you don’t have a truly independent business. You’re at the mercy of insurance companies. You don’t own your economy – they do.
Create Your Own Economy
Now, on that topic, here’s the most important part: you can create your own economy.
Too many doctors get caught up in what the larger economy is doing – what the market looks like, how money is moving, what the competition is doing. But the truth is that it doesn’t matter.
Generally, it’s all manipulated anyways. Strings are pulled, decisions are made, and outside forces control the narrative.
But inside the four walls of your practice, you control everything.
That’s the power of creating your own economy. You build a bubble around your practice, your patients, and your community. The care you provide, the relationships you build, and the loyalty you inspire all exist inside that bubble.
And in that space, you design the rules.
This is how you make your own economy. You stop worrying about what the rest of the world is doing and focus on your practice, your vision, and your patients.
By doing that, you create independence. You create freedom from the constraints of insurance, corporate dentistry, and market conditions. You aren’t bound by external forces because you’ve built a world where you’re in control.
This is where independence lives. This is where you make your own rules and build a better future for yourself, your team, and your patients.
The result? More profitable dentistry on your own terms, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re not at the mercy of the industry.
