Inside Year One: Lessons from Launching a Modern Dental Practice | Dr. Jessica Pushee | 573

Sep 18, 2025

Dr. Jessica Pushee, the founder of Charm Dental in Foxborough, shares her candid insights from her first year running a modern dental practice. She discusses the bold decision to stay out-of-network with Delta Dental and the impact on her business. Jessica reflects on her evolution from micromanager to empowering leader, emphasizing team welfare over sheer numbers. She shares lessons from mistakes, like a consent form mishap, and highlights small patient experience details that drive referrals. Her ultimate advice? Happy staff equals happy patients and sustainable growth!

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ANECDOTE

Choosing To Stay Out Of Network

Jessica chose to open out-of-network with Delta Dental immediately despite warnings and headaches.
She says the decision was risky but ultimately aligned with her startup goals and practice philosophy.

ADVICE

Relinquish Control To Grow Your Team

Let staff make mistakes and learn rather than micromanaging every task; step back and coach after errors.
Use mistakes as training moments and ask what support they need to succeed.

ANECDOTE

Consent Form Wake-Up Call

A new assistant failed to get a whitening consent and the patient experienced lip swelling from product exposure.
Jessica took responsibility and used the incident to create mandatory consent workflows and morning checks.

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Change is never easy, but every bold decision shapes the story of your entrepreneurial journey—just ask Dr. Jessica Pushee, who returns to share the honest highs and lows of her first year running a dental practice in Foxboro, Massachusetts. From the start, Dr. Pushee made gutsy moves, including staying out of network with a major insurance company, Delta Dental. She pulls back the curtain on how these choices have both tested her resolve and ultimately benefited her business, underscoring the delicate art of balancing uncompromising care with savvy operations.

In this candid interview, Dr. Pushee opens up about her transformation from a hands-on micromanager to an empowering leader committed to supporting her team. She recounts pivotal learning moments, like the fallout from missed consent forms, that sparked essential changes in her workflow and culture. You’ll also hear her best and worst ideas for patient acquisition, from the surprisingly powerful impact of cozy office details to the hard lessons learned from ineffective advertising spends. Dr. Pushee’s reflections culminate in her top advice for practice owners: focus less on obsessing over numbers and more on nurturing your team, because happy staff means happier patients (and sustainable growth.)

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

The real effects of opting out of insurance networks on a new dental practice
How owning mistakes can lead to better systems and a stronger team culture
Strategies for delegating effectively and letting your staff grow from experience
Practical tips for creating a welcoming environment that delights patients
Which marketing experiments failed and what consistently drives new referrals
Why investing in your team’s needs pays off in patient satisfaction and retention
The benefits of shifting from financial obsession to purposeful leadership

Hit play now to discover Dr. Pushee’s hard-won wisdom on building a practice (and a culture) that truly lasts.

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