An Interview With Dr. Melissa Zettler on Dental Practice Growth
I recently had the chance to
interview Dr. Melissa Zettler who is the owner of Cherrywood Dental Care in Savage
Minnesota. Dr. Zettler is an extremely experienced dentist with a very
successful practice. Let’s jump right into the interview and see what Dr.
Zettler has been doing to grow her practice over the last 21 years.
Dr. Zettler, give us a little bit of
your background.
I am an Army Brat. I moved
every 2-3 years growing up, and have lived all over the world. I settled
in Minnesota after going to St.Olaf College. After college I attended the
University of Minnesota dental school. I graduated in 1995 so I have been
at it for over 20 years. What keeps me engaged is the ability to connect
with my patients and team. I look forward the seeing them daily.
So can you give us a little bit of
information about your practice? How long have you owned it, what is your
treatment philosophy, etc.?
I started Cherrywood Dental Care in
1997. My goal was to create an environment where excellence was achieved
not only clinically but also in the way we treat our patients. We care for
people. Not just teeth. This means that our treatment is to do whatever we
can to get the best outcome for the patient. We probably spend more time with
each patient because of this philosophy than many dentists do.
What are some of the changes that
you have seen in the dental industry since you started?
There have been many changes in
dentistry since 1995. I never thought I’d make my own crowns when I
graduated, or have a 3-D printer. But now I do both.
Online marketing was also pretty
much non existent when I started, and now that is the primary way that we are
getting new patients.
Do you view these changes as
positive or negative for you and for dentistry as a whole?
These changes have made my job
easier and more fun. And my patients love the convenience of one visit
for crowns, so that is definitely a positive in my practice, and I believe it
is positive for dentistry as a whole as well.
As for the online marketing, many of
our new patents come from internet searches and from insurance websites, so
that has definitely been positive for us since we have a good online presence.
I would say for people who didn’t stay ahead of the curve, or that don’t work
on their online marketing, that might be more negative because they will miss
out on that new patient flow.
If you could only choose one method
or investment to grow your practice, what would it be?
If I had one marketing strategy it
would be my website and finding the right marketing partner to build my online
presence. That is having the biggest impact on my practice growth at the
moment.