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Independence Day by Kyle Patton, Associate Editor

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You've built your business around advocating for the independent dentist. Why is that particular type of doctor so much more important to dentistry?
I've always been an advocate for the independent dentist, but in this emerging era of corporate dentistry, I've gotten even more fired up about it.

To give you a quick snapshot, here's what's happening in dentistry right now. Big corporations are spending millions of dollars to buy up smaller practices in order to turn a quick profit. In my opinion, corporations don't care about quality dentistry or patient care like independent dentists do. Instead, corporations care more about their bottom line and their checkbook.

So the fear or assumption that an independent, private-practice owner could be nonexistent in the future is completely laughable to me. I have more than 800 doctors in my coaching program today, and these doctors are ambitious dentists who can not only survive the current landscape, but can truly thrive in it! So yes, I am absolutely an advocate for that dentist. If I were a betting man, I'd put all my chips in that corner, because I know the independent dentist will not only thrive but will successfully grow his or her practice with the right guidance and information.

The problem is, the majority of dentists don't have the right guidance. They aren't aware of what's really happening in dentistry right now. Sure, they've seen corporate offices popping up and they've seen the ads from these big companies in every magazine, but they don't know how to be competitive in this ever-changing market. I've cracked that code and tested my strategies, so I know what works… and I've compiled a series of free webinars that will educate any independent dentist on the high-level information he needs to know to outperform the competition.

What kind of impact are those big corporate buyouts having on the independent dentist? 
Right now, with the emergence of corporate dentistry, private equity funds, and large group practices, we are seeing firsthand that what our country was founded on (the freedom of both money and time) has become jeopardized for dentists. Many dentists are deciding to sell their practices without really knowing what the fine print of that signed agreement means. That's the big motivating factor behind the creation of my 7-Part Practice Protection Webinar Series. [Editor's note: See sidebar for more information.]

Every independent dentist has put her blood, sweat, tears (and a lot of money) into her practice. I've made it my personal mission, and the mission of the Scheduling Institute, to work with the smartest, most ambitious, and hardest-working independent dentists to grow their practices to a level where the quality of service and profitability of the practice increase together—creating the best practice in any town. This creates an energized and unstoppable practice that the corporate model simply can't compete against.

You've seen firsthand what happens to a practice when a corporate buyout takes place. What have you noticed?
Commoditization would probably be the best descriptor of the impact corporate dentistry is having on the indusry. In other words, the service level is not going up. 

Maybe convenience is going up in some situations. But what a patient really wants is quality care, an incredible in-office experience, and personalized relationships that make him feel valued and important. Those big corporate offices know that they can't replicate that on a big scale, so they just don't do it. This is great news and an opportunity for the independent dentist.

One other major thing that is happening is that the equity is being taken out of the practice and leveraged to the benefit of the corporation and its investors, as opposed to making an investment that benefits the practice or individual doctor who founded the practice and spent her life building the patient base.

Now, I'll admit, these corporations do provide good marketing for their practices, but by and large, the ability to retain the patient long-term is a big problem for them. Any dentist knows that getting a patient in the door is great, but if you don't get him coming back again and again, you're in big trouble.

Many doctors resort to these corporate buyouts because they think that's their only option for exiting dentistry. Is that really the case?
The truth is that the return on a family-owned, privately held corporation is greater than that of publicly traded corporations. Which means that, instead of seeing buyout money as the answer, doctors should begin to respect the value and the long-term benefit of holding the stock in their company and building the equity in that company instead of (in some cases) selling it at rock-bottom price. Corporations claim they're offering a fair price, but just to be sure, get your practice appraised by an independent appraisal company.

As a practice owner, what you should be doing is spending time creating a strategy to maximize the value of your businesses stock. There are a lot of ways to grow that stock, but some methods produce a better return than others. I go over some of those highest-producing investments my new webinar series.

One quick example is how growing your patient base builds your practice's value and increases production, collections and cash flow. Whereas adding an expensive piece of equipment doesn't. In the long run, growing the value of a practice's stock means that if a dentist wants to sell in the future, he can do so on his terms. It just needs to be done at the right time and at the height of value, as opposed to the first time a buyer comes into town.

For the last 15 years you've become known as the "phone guy" in the dental industry. Can you explain what that really means?
Well, let me start out by clearing up one thing: we deliver new patients to dentists. Period.

When you invest in our New Patient Generation Telephone Training, we aren't merely teaching you about telephones. We're giving you a fully comprehensive overhaul of the "new-patient entry points" that produce the biggest results for your practice.

There is a big difference between those two things. One is focused on telephones, and one is focused on the result—new patients. We are a results-focused company, so everything we do provides a return on your investment, and we guarantee that. It's been nearly 20 years since I started the Scheduling Institute, and more than 30 years since I created the New Patient Generation Telephone Training, and we have guaranteed our results since day one.

Our new-patient trainings and solutions are so widely used and are so effective with the results they produce that this has actually overshadowed some really significant things that the Scheduling Institute has done in the last decade.

While our new-patient training is certainly what we're most known for, we also have the largest coaching program for dentists (with more than 800 doctors enrolled), the largest dental-staff training university (more than 7,000 staff members enrolled), the largest private-practice growth events and workshops in the industry (more than 17,000 dentists attended our events last year alone)… I could keep going, but you get the point.

While we're widely known for our new-patient solutions, we are actually the best in the industry at practice-growth solutions for every area of your dental practice. Twenty years ago when I started the Scheduling Institute, I set out to build a business that would serve independent dentists, grow private practices, and significantly improve the care and experience for their patients.

You're telling dentists they don't need corporate dentistry to build a thriving practice. What are you teaching your clients that backs this up?
Right now, my most elite coaching group includes doctors who are growing their practices five times larger, and they've proven that they can do that in any town, whether corporate dental practices are present or not. We are able to create significant growth and substantially improve the equity position of a doctor who is willing to put forth the effort. As well as dovetail the real estate investment, which is a unique opportunity for most dentists. In other words, she is able to fund and pay off real estate through the practice, which if you get outside of dentistry is a very common practice for people who own and keep businesses in the long term.

Most wealth really comes from holding businesses long term and maximizing their value. Another major advantage we've been working on with our coaching clients is to expand their practices, so we've been able to put 400 to 500 associates in our independently owned client's offices over the last two years.

That is one big benefit of what corporate dentistry is doing—allowing independent dentists to be able to hire associates very easily in the marketplace.

Again, there are hundreds of strategies for maximizing practice value, but the Scheduling Institute has conducted tests over the last decade to narrow down the ones that produce the best long-term results for our clients.

What should dentists expect to see from The Scheduling Institute in the coming years?
Our commitment is to provide the unbiased resources for the individual doctor who is working to develop a high net worth, and a high-service-oriented practice in the current marketplace.

So our commitment is to provide all services, to truly be a clearinghouse of services so that doctors can deal with the space and equipment issues that they will be challenged with, the human capital issues that they will be challenged with, the training functions, and the financial mastery that is required to successfully execute a full and abundant life.

And we keep building services based on the needs of our clients, and will continue to do so—as opposed to what we think the client needs. Our client base is truly our "laboratory," because they tell us what they need, and we develop and test a product over and over until it is perfected to a level that surpasses their expectations. We are doing this every day, with clients in every state, clients in more than 20 different countries, some who are just starting their practice, others who have been around for decades. It's the single most effective product and service development strategy for the Scheduling Institute, because it simply requires listening and watching for the needs of our clients and their growing practices.

How can a doctor get more information about you, The Scheduling Institute, and your solutions for building a thriving practice?
If you are an independent dentist wanting to grow and protect your practice on your terms, with maximum compensation and minimum stress, then the brand new 7-Part Practice Protection Webinar Series is the best next step for you. It's free and online, so it's easy and convenient for you to join from anywhere.

This is a series that I felt compelled to create because dentists deserve to be prepared as they enter the corporate dentistry era. Space is reserved for independent dentists in private practices, and you can register or learn more online at ProtectMyPractice.com.

And of course, if you're interested in growing your practice with more new patients, my New Patient Generation system is (and always will be) guaranteed to increase your new patients by 10 percent to 40 percent in 90 days or less, with no additional marketing or advertising. You can learn more and get a free New Patient Opportunity Assessment at The5StarChallenge.com.



Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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