Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Dr. Cheryl Watson-Lowry has more than 30 years of experience as a practicing general dentist and owns and operates her own dental practice, Watson and Watson Dental Associates. She is 2019 President of the Chicago Dental Society, a non-profit organization that represents dentists across the Chicagoland area. CDS also organizes the annual Midwinter Meeting, one of the largest exhibits of dental products and professional dentistry in North America. Dr. Watson-Lowry is also a spokesperson for the American Dental Association and a member of the Illinois State Dental Society. Dr. Watson-Lowry received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her dental degree from the University of Illinois, College of Dentistry. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Bill Lowry Sr., and their three children, Bill Jr., Evan, and Clarke.

Gene St. Louis, CEO, is a nationally recognized expert in dental practice management. She built her company from the ground up, holding both clinical and administrative positions prior to her consulting career. Having participated in the day to day operations of dental practices, gives Gene a unique, insider advantage of how offices succeed. Clients feel confident with her first-hand experience that translates into relatable, personable, and reliable expertise. Gene has worked with hundreds of clients nationwide. She writes for a variety of dental publications and is regularly invited to speak at the nation's top dental meetings throughout the United States and Canada. What She Believes: Gene St. Louis Consulting is passionate about creating a relationship oriented, tailored approach to dental practice management coaching. Her team provides guidance, education, and direction specifically personalized to you as a business owner. They continue to make an enormous impact through their commitment in helping dentists and their teams establish exceptional customer service and the successful practice they envisioned when they hired them. They believe every dentist deserves balance and productivity to secure their financial future.

Dr. Addison Killeen is a dentist, author, entrepreneur, and coach. His passion is about bringing dentists business and life success through running their dental practices well. He began his business career doing the numbers for a business with over 20 Million in annual revenue from Defense Department equipment, 5 restaurants, a brewery. He then attended the University Of Nebraska College Of Dentistry. He proceeded to build a profitable network of 6 dental offices, with over 50 staff and 10 dentists under the core value of, Treat Everyone like Family. In 2018, he sold out of that company to become the COO of Dental Success Network, a disruptive company in the dental field. His book, By the Numbers, is proof that if you don’t have to be a PhD in statistics to be able to run your practice well with low stress. He works with the Dental Success Institute to provide coaching to their more than 140 clients across the world. Dr. Killeen is devoted to mission trips to underserved areas in developing countries, including Peru, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. His annual trip to Haiti is very successful seeing around 1,400 patients per year.

Dr. Carlo Biasucci is a practicing dentist in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and most notably has tripled his practice in 3 years to a value of 8.2 million, but even more interestingly has done this while reducing his time in the practice every year. The practice has 9 dentists, 30 staff members, and sees over 175 new patients each month consistently for 3 years now. Presently he is treating patients between 5 and 7 days each month. He has removed dependence on him and shifted the running of the practice to his team, all while increasing the income from practice. Now, this wasn’t a straight line. Dr. Carlo suffered an injury in late 2012 than nearly ended his life, and as his doctors told him, would end his career in dentistry. After 6 months out of practice and getting back on the right side of things, he began his journey and quest for knowledge that allowed him to grow a very frustrating 2 million practice into a practice valued at 8.2 million in just 3 years. He documented every step, tested and turned it into a complete system that the practice runs on, and also has taken this model into the practices of dentists across North America under the banner of Elite Practice, a complete practice growth partner. Today’s interview will, I think, suggest new possibilities for you, your practice, your family and your future.

Dhiren Agrawal, BDS, MPA, DMD, FICOI, earned his first dental degree in Gujarat, India, before coming to the U.S. and obtaining a master's in public administration with a healthcare minor from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He then went on to receive his doctor of dental medicine from Boston University. He is an active member of the Lake County Dental Association as well as a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Dr. Agrawal has engaged in ongoing postgraduate education with a focus on implant dentistry, including masters level seminars. He also has specific training in sleep apnea treatment, which allows him to help his patients achieve a better night's sleep without the use of a CPAP machine. His commitment to lifelong education means he is constantly evaluating emerging dental methods and technologies in order to provide his patients with the best results in the least invasive manner with a high emphasis on comfort. This commitment ensures the highest level of care, both today and tomorrow. Dr. Agrawal is also a member the prestigious Academy of General Dentistry and has earned over 600 hours of continuing education credits toward his Fellowship.

Dr. Bill Blatchford developed a large and profitable practice in Corvallis, Oregon starting in 1970. Dentist would come to visit to see what he was doing . He was also asked to speak at meetings all over the US and Canada. It developed into a business coaching dentist how to live a healthy life style and to develop a practice to support their life, not the other way around where life is what is left over. He has spoken at every major dental meeting in North America and many other countries including India, Dubai, Egypt, England, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand. He and his wife Carolyn have been married 52 years. They raised two daughters, Tiffany and Christina. Dr. Christina has followed him into dentistry and now is the owner of Blatchford Solutions. Bill and his wife enjoy traveling, adventure trips, cycling, skiing, fishing, boating, physical fitness. He and Carolyn spend winters at their home in Mexico and summers on their boat on the BC coast and Alaska. Bill has recently started Blatchford Transitions helping dentist buying, selling and merging practices.      Before becoming co CEO of Blatchford Solutions with my Dad two years ago, I had several different careers leading me down this path. My parents were encouraging and supportive of any direction, as long as it was forward, that I chose to take in my career. I chose a degree in Fashion Merchandising, my Dad says I majored in shopping! from the University of Arizona. Working as a sales associate at Nordstrom for a year, I learned much about sales and myself. Retail did not allow me to have the life balance so I chose another degree in Commercial Interior Design and worked in this field for five years. I designed medical and dental offices and I enjoyed the creativity this allowed. Yet, I was still seeking more. I craved being able to make a difference in the lives of others plus the lifestyle I had seen my Dad provide our family. Additionally, I had come to the conclusion that I was unemployable. I wanted to be my own boss and make the big decisions, all signs pointed to a career in dentistry. Growing up, I was able to see that my Dad was able to provide a full life for our family. I saw dentistry as a great profession. It was during my childhood, I saw the changes in him as he wanted more time with us and to pursue his interests. He wanted more return and to share the wealth with his team. This lead to the creation of Blatchford Solutions, one of the most trusted Coaching Programs for dental practices today. I purchased my first practice as soon as I graduated OHSU School of Dentistry. I also am very fortunate to get to raise Grace, age 7, with my husband, Dave. After success as a dentist, I started coaching some clients and found it is just the best feeling ever to coach our Doctors to reach and succeed further than they thought possible! As I have grown into the co CEO position, I feel strongly in continuing to practice dentistry. I feel it gives our program a new relevancy. My experience mirrors that of new practice owners with new ideas, new excitement and new energy, along with a new vision for the business. My plan is to help my dad take Blatchford Solutions to the next level of dental business coaching. With new ideas, new programs, new seminars, new growth, my question to you is…….are you ready to take your life and practice to the next level?      

Timothy A. Brown has risen to national prominence as President and CEO of ROI Corporation, Canada’s number 1 dental practice appraiser and broker. His insights, research and experience in the dental field has made him a highly sought after professional speaker and a respected author. As a leading national authority in understanding and identifying the potential of today’s dental market, Timothy has customized a presentation that illuminates themes and trends that are of interest to dentists at all stages of their careers. His book, Profitable Practice, Why a Dental Practice is an Exceptional Investment, is a potent reminder that dentistry can indeed be very profitable if the right steps are taken from the very beginning. Timothy brings these credentials to the podium and delivers a message that inspires and energizes dentists to reach their highest potential. He communicates clearly and concisely, empowering dentists to acquire the business acumen needed for success with this enthusiastic, insightful presentation.

Joseph McGregor is a leading dental attorney based out of Dallas, Texas. He and his team handle a diverse array of dental transactions, including practice sales, practice startups, and employment agreements. Joseph is a 2007 graduate of BYU Law. He is the father of 5, enjoys reading, the outdoors, traveling, and photography. He is also a devoted sports fan, with his primary loves being BYU Football, the Texas Rangers baseball, and Huddersfield Town soccer.

Hamish Khayat the founder of BURST Oral Care. He moved from Britain 2 years ago to launch BURST with the ambition of providing the highest quality oral care products for everyone across America.

Dr. Dixson is a three time INC Magazine 500 out of 5000 awarded entrepreneur, and the Founder and CEO of The DSO Project, dentistry's first and only dental support organization, DSO accelerator. Formerly, he was the Founder and CEO of Smiles Services LLC and Founder and President of Smiles Dental Group PC. He is a visionary, inspirational, and transformational leader who builds unified individuals, teams, cultures, and world class organizations. Dr. Dixson became the managing partner of Smiles Dental in 2008. In 2010 he finalized a buyout of his former partners, assumed the role of President and immediately accomplished a successful relaunch of the organization, setting Smiles Dental on a path to explosive growth. The company proceeded to double its number of locations, triple revenue and quadruple its valuation in the ensuing three years. From 2013 to 2015, Smiles Dental roughly tripled the number of locations, revenue, EBITDA and organizational valuation again. He also concurrently codeveloped the dental analytics technology software platform that became Practice Analytics, one of the industry leaders in real time dental practice management analytics. Under Dr. Dixson's leadership, Smiles Dental was recognized three years in a row, 2013-2015 by INC Magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States, topping out at 550 in 2013. Additionally in 2013, he completed a successful private equity transaction. In addition to his MandA Advising and Consulting work at The DSO Project, Dr. Dixson provides Board Services to private equity firms. He also currently serves as a trusted DSO and dental industry advisor for private equity firms, dental technology companies and global dental brands in a variety of capacities. Dr. Dixson returned in mid 2017 from a one-year sabbatical where he and his family visited six continents and thirty-five countries while homeschooling, with only what they could carry on their backs. Visit dixsonsout.com to learn more.     Ian is a Partner at The DSO Project, a national consultancy advising dentists on how to start, grow and successfully exit a DSO. Ian is also a Co-Founder and Partner at WEO Media, a 3X award winning “Best of Class” dental marketing firm. Under his leadership WEO Media has grown quickly to become one of the most widely respected dental marketing firms in North America, and has garnered an impressive list of industry endorsements and awards. Ian McNickle is a nationally recognized marketer, writer, and speaker. He has developed significant expertise in online marketing, website optimization and conversion, search engine optimization, SEO, pay per click marketing, PPC, social media, video marketing, online reputation management, marketing strategy, and related topics. In addition, he has developed a set of critical KPI’s, key performance indicators for measuring the effectiveness of any marketing program. Ian lectures all over North America at dental conferences, study clubs, dental societies, and conducts numerous seminars and webinars. His teaching style breaks down the complexities of dental marketing in an easy to understand approach that the non marketer can comprehend and implement. Ian writes articles for Dental Economics, Dental Products Report, The Progressive Dentist, and other industry publications on various aspects of digital marketing. Prior to his work with The DSO Project and WEO Media Ian worked in the high tech industry for 10 years in various engineering and management positions at Siltronic and Xerox. He left high tech in 2006, and founded a regional marketing consulting firm which he ran for several years before eventually cofounding WEO Media in 2009. Ian has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University where he was also a graduate of the University Honors Program. In addition, he graduated Cum Laude with an MBA from the University of Washington. Ian is an avid endurance athlete having competed in numerous marathon, ultramarathon, Ironman triathlon events. His favorite activity is simply spending time with his wife Andrea, and three kids Evelyn, Morgan, and Brendan.