How ACT Helped Us Build Our Dream Dental Practice

Some dreams don’t start with a plan. They start with a conversation—the kind you keep coming back to, late in the evening, when you let yourself think about what you actually want. For Tara and Tyler Crews, that conversation went on for seven or eight years.

As dentists, they had each built strong, independent practices—different locations, different teams, different strengths. But they kept coming back to the same idea: one place, one model, one practice that could do everything they’d individually been working toward.

A functional medicine approach to dentistry. A team culture built on shared core values. Comprehensive care, all under one roof. “If we had a place, it would be this, this, and this.” They said it to each other for years. They just hadn’t figured out how to make it real.

Built Separately, Better Together

What made their individual practices work was also what made a merger make sense. Where Tara’s practice was strong, Tyler’s filled in the gaps—and vice versa. The areas of dentistry they each loved were complementary, not competing. Two strong cultures; the same core values. That’s not a complication—that’s a foundation!

But they still needed a way to turn two independent teams into a unified one.

That’s where ACT Dental came in. Pro Coaching helped Tara and Tyler articulate what they were building toward—a framework to look honestly at where they were and a roadmap for getting somewhere better.

Coaching the Transition

Tara’s coach, Robyn, tackled the fundamentals dental school never teaches. When Tara took over, the practice had a serious AR problem and no system for collecting. Robyn fixed that—and went further, building Tara’s financial literacy and leadership skills from the ground up.
“I took a practice that was not profitable and made it profitable in the first year,” says Tara. “That was because of Robyn helping me along the way.”

For Tyler, the shift was about moving from running a reactive practice to running a strategic one. With Robyn’s help, both doctors learned to delegate with confidence and schedule intentionally.

“This year, we’ve spoken much less about the frustrations of running a practice,” Tyler says, “and more about the strategy.” “ACT forces you to kind of look at your future,” says Tara. “What do you actually want? What
will make you happy?”

With that clarity came momentum. Tara took over her practice. Tyler grew his. And the shared vision that had lived in late-night conversations started to take shape. They found the space. Then, they bought the building—the whole building.

The Practice They Always Imagined

Crews Dental 2026 isn’t just a merger. It’s the realization of a model they’ve been designing together for nearly a decade: one location, complete care, and a team culture that reflects exactly who they are.

“We can provide all of the dentistry in one place for patients. They don’t have to go anywhere else,” says Tara. “We wouldn’t have been able to get there—or it would have taken a lot longer—without ACT.”

If you have a vision for your practice that feels big, that’s exactly the right place to start. ACT Dental’s Pro Coaching is built for owners who want to grow on purpose. Not ready for coaching yet? The Best Practice Assessment is a clear first look at where you stand—and what’s possible from here.