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907: The Bright Future of Private Care Dentistry – Dr. Barrett Straub & Dr. Jeff Osborne

We've all heard it for years: private practice is dying. But is this actually true? In this bonus episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Barrett Straub, ACT’s CEO, and Dr. Jeff Osborne, chief dental officer of Smile Source, to talk about the state of private care dentistry and to prove that it is thriving now more than ever. Dentistry is still in its golden age! To learn why the future of private practice is so bright and how to love being a practice owner, listen to Episode 907 of The Best Practices Show!

 

Learn More About Dr. Straub & Dr. Osborne:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Episode Resources:

Main Takeaways:

  • Contrary to popular belief, private practice is thriving.
  • With AI and other technology developing, dentistry is in its golden age.
  • Patients need and want comprehensive care, and they are willing to pay for it.
  • Owning your own practice means freedom and a better life — it just takes some work.
  • Master the three circles of the dentist — clinician, entrepreneur, and boss — for success.

Quotes:

“They've been telling me [that private practice is dying] for 36 years. It keeps getting better, and better, and better. I'm more energized now than I've ever been. I mean, are there challenges? Absolutely. Nobody is going to say there are no challenges. But we wake up every day in every aspect of our life with a challenge. Your job is to get up and learn how to overcome these challenges and thrive, and the next day is a better day for you. You can sit around and wallow in pity. It doesn't do you any good. Find ways to make life better and find ways to make your practice better.” (2:28—3:02) -Dr. Osborne

“If what you want to be is a meat and potatoes dentist, fantastic. We need them. We need the people who are going to drill and fill, and I do that day in, and I do that day out. That's fantastic. But I've also learned that those are the things that dental school taught me, that gave me skills. What they did not teach me were orthodontics, dental sleep medicine, implant dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, full-mouth rehab. A lot of that sits outside the realm of dental insurance — and the patients are needing it, wanting it, and they're willing to pay for it. I tell everybody my competition is not the doctor across the street. My competition is Disneyland, the new Lexus. That's my competition.” (3:45—4:47) -Dr. Osborne

“When we look at growth rates over the next ten years — now, everybody can say it wanes, and it hems and haws. You have to decide who it is you're really going to believe. Mark Twain once said there are three types of liars. There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians. Always be careful of the person with numbers. They're trying to convince you of something. But if you look at the CAGR, Cumulative Annual Growth Rate, in dentistry, it sits at the 7% to 10% growth rate. That is a very robust, healthy industry. That tells us over the next 10 years, dentistry will continue to be healthy and grow. But when you look at something like dental sleep medicine, that cumulative annual growth rate is approaching 14%, 15%, and 16%.” (4:49—5:48) -Dr. Osborne

“Why is private practice so bright? Well, one, dentistry is a noble profession. Private practice, I believe, is the number one way for the next few decades that it's going to give you the path to the most profit. More importantly, it's going to give you the path to the most freedom and, in my opinion, gives us the path to that Better Practice, Better Life that we talk about. So, the beauty of independent care is you get to design your practice and your life any way you want to. Want to do ortho? Do it. Want to do sleep dentistry? Do it. Want to do conscious sedation? Do it. Don't want to do endo? Don't do it. You get to choose. Now, I believe private practice is bright, but there's a way to do it. There are some strategies that we have to do. What Jeff alluded to is we have to think a little bit more like businesspeople. There was a day when private practice was simply nothing more than opening your door and inviting people in. Kirk will elaborate on why that's not the case anymore, but that doesn't mean that private practice is dead. Absolutely not.” (8:57—10:12) -Dr. Straub

“Why I want people to realize that a second golden age is just at the beginning is the inherent qualities of private practice: it's freedom. It's you being able to be an entrepreneur, and set your schedule, set your strategy, and design your life. There's no downside — there's just a qualifier that it does take some work, and it does take a specific roadmap of strategies.” (10:33—11:00) -Dr. Straub

“In our coaching at ACT, we talk about three circles of every dentist. One is a clinician. That's the circle we all know really well, and we're comfortable there. Put our head down and do dentistry. For many of us, that's as happy as we get. However, if you own your own independent practice, there are two other circles or two other leadership circles you have to fulfill. One is the entrepreneur, and one is the boss. So, we have these three circles. You're the entrepreneur, you're the boss, you're the clinician, and they overlap one another. What we see is when someone is unsuccessful in private practice, it's when they focus only on the clinician circle. The most successful private practitioners are so not because they're only great clinicians — it's because they focus on being an entrepreneur, and thinking smarter, and being a really good boss, meaning organizational health, team culture, and alignment. When you connect those three circles together, private practice is going to rule the dental world for those that can fill those three circles.” (11:06—12:12) -Dr. Straub

“The market value for dentistry in the world in 2023 was $449 billion . . . Its revenue forecast for 2030, that's seven years, is $610 billion. Dentistry is growing like crazy. So, you're sitting in this moment because people are aware. They know now how important oral health is to their overall health. There's more awareness. You're sitting at this crossroads of an opportunity to write your own ticket.” (14:56—15:32) -Kirk

“The ADA Health Policy Institute did a study recently and said the average GP is working 220 days a year. I did say 220. The last time they did a study, it was 209. So, dentists are working harder than ever for less money. We recently found a dentist working 250 days. That's insane. You guys, time is the new rich. What that means is you as an entrepreneur, you get around the right people, you start thinking well about your business, you can have an amazing life. Our best producers in the United States don't work anywhere near that. They're working in the 170s, 180s. They're making a lot of money doing the right thing, and they have a great life, and they're not working evening hours. You can't do that alone. You’ve got to be around other people who say, ‘Don't do that.’ It's impossible to do this on your own.” (15:36—16:30) -Kirk

“The average write-off now for a practice that's heavily involved in PPOs is 42%. Some say it's 43%. We find practices that are writing off more than 50%, which means they're working half of those 220 days for free. Think about this. For 110 days out of those 220, you're working for free. Don't do that. I would argue you're not working for free. You're actually working for less than that because you’ve got to pay everybody and you’ve got to pay rent. Here's what's so cool. If you get your arms around this and you know more about your business, you're around people who do this, you, little by little, can reclaim your freedom. Do you have to get off of PPOs completely? No. But the more you move away from them and start putting your own flag in the ground and say, ‘I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to create value. I'm going to create my own hours. I'm going to charge my own fees,’ little by little, you start to feel better about this amazing profession called dentistry. It is your opportunity to reclaim your freedom, and I think the future has never been brighter.” (16:31—17:36) -Kirk

“One of the greatest things you can do as a leader is to create a future that you believe in — like really believe in the road ahead. Your best years as a dentist have to be in front of you. They can't be behind you. We call it the future pull. You have to look at your team in December and go, ‘Hey guys, amazing year. But next year, it's going to be our best year ever.’ When you start doing that, you're blessing everybody around you. Part of it is your mindset, your understanding of your business, and who you surround yourself with. That's why we created this movement. If you own your own practice, it's time to put the flag in the ground and say, ‘I'm going to do this, and I'm going to get the help of the people around me. I'm going to create that future pull and believe that the road in front of me is going to be powerful.’ Do it. I promise you it works. So, join us.” (22:49—23:41) -Kirk

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:12 Why dentistry is still in the golden age.

10:31 The three circles of being a dentist.

13:35 It’s never been a better time to be a practice owner.

17:53 More about ACT’s BPA.

Dr. Barrett Straub Bio:

Dr. Barrett Straub practices general and sedation dentistry in Port Washington, Wisconsin. He has worked hard to develop his practice into a top-performing, fee-for-service practice that focuses on improving the lives of patients through dentistry.

A graduate of Marquette Dental School, Dr. Straub’s advanced training and CE includes work at the Spear Institute, LVI, DOCS, and as a member of the Milwaukee Study Club. He is a past member of the Wisconsin Dental Association Board of Trustees and was awarded the Marquette Dental School 2017 Young Alumnus of the Year. As a former ACT coaching client that experienced first-hand the transformation that coaching can provide, he is passionate about helping other dentists create the practice they’ve always wanted.

Dr. Straub loves to hunt, golf, and spend winter on the ice, curling. He is married to Katie, with two daughters, Abby and Elizabeth.

Dr. Jeff Osborne Bio:

Dr. Jeffrey Osborne earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston in 1989. He opened his first dental office in West Houston upon graduation and has owned multiple offices throughout the Greater Houston area.

Dr. Osborne was also on the Board of Directors of the Greater Houston Dental Society and served as the vice president for two years. He holds an MBA in healthcare administration from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and has served as a dental director for Cigna Dental. He was also the Texas dental director for United Concordia Dental Insurance. While at United Concordia, he oversaw the administration of the dental portion of the Texas Children's Health Insurance Program. He was also employed as the director of quality assurance for South Texas Dental.

Dr. Osborne is now the chief dental officer for Smile Source, a group dedicated to helping independent dentists thrive together. He currently resides in Pilot Point, Texas. He is married to Kim and is the proud father of Shelby, Heather, and Jack. 
ACT Dental Team

ACT Dental Team

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