Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Office Visit: Bust to Boom by Kyle Patton

View Comments (16) More by this author (18)
Categories: Practice Management, HR and Accounting;
Dentaltown Magazine 

This Townie turned a failing office into a high-producing practice within the first year, thanks to his commitment to tech investments, team training and a tight focus on implant treatments

by Kyle Patton, Managing Editor
photography by Jimena Peck

Dentists spend most of their working hours inside their own practices, so they usually don’t get many opportunities to see what it’s like inside another doctor’s office. Dentaltown’s recurring Office Visit profile offers a chance for Townies to meet their peers, hear their stories and get a sense of how they practice.
After a near-disastrous start to private practice, Dr. Bryce Richardson turned an outgoing owner’s outdated office into a production powerhouse in less than a year. With more than 600 hours of surgical training, including a year working on staff at one of the top implant education centers in the country, this Townie has raised the clinical bar in a Colorado town and more than tripled his production since he took over.

In our exclusive Q&A, Richardson talks about steering through a stressful transition, the necessity of careful rebranding, bringing enhanced treatment options under his roof and more.


Office Highlights
NAME:
Dr. Bryce Richardson

GRADUATED FROM:
Indiana University School of Dentistry

PRACTICE:
Vivid Smiles, Parker, Colorado

PRACTICE SIZE:
2,650 square feet; 5 operatories

TEAM SIZE:
6
How did you find your way into dentistry?

I come from humble beginnings; I remember coming home from school when I was a kid to the lights off. One day, I decided that was not going to be the life I was going to provide for my family.

During undergrad, I shadowed different medical professionals, trying to see what the day-to-day was like. My first day at Dr. Todd Whitlock’s private practice in my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, just felt different: They did things in a way that really got me excited, the office had technology I hadn’t seen and the overall environment was upbeat and relaxed at the same time. Dr. Whitlock ended up being my first mentor and I worked with him as an associate right out of school. That’s where I learned to do things the right way and hold myself to a higher standard. I also developed a great relationship with Dr. Doug Weir, a prosthodontist who was on his way to retirement. My time with Dr. Weir was invaluable and I truly learned things from a “prosth first’’ mindset, which allowed my surgical skills to evolve to another level.

From there, my time was spent at Implant Pathway with Dr. Justin Moody. I was fortunate enough to be on the team for a year, which allowed me to really dive into the deep end of surgical and implant dentistry and get out of my comfort zone.


What was the landscape like as you left dental school and entered the field?

During my D3 year, the COVID-19 pandemic really put a damper on the whole clinical experience. I think I speak for most 2021 graduates when I say we probably didn’t get quite the clinical exposure we would have liked. I was fortunate to have a mentor who took me in and allowed me to learn in a private practice setting, which helped me figure out how I wanted to practice and evolve from there. The mentorship I had right away really helped shape my first two years. It’s one thing I really love about dentistry—there are a thousand ways to do things, so find people doing it in a way you can see yourself practicing for the next 20–30 years and pick their brains.


How did you end up finding the right practice opportunity?

After about nine months of looking, I had signed to purchase a practice in Colorado and had sold my home in Indiana. Then, 10 days before I was set to close, I got a call from the selling doctor, who had decided to sell to a DSO instead because it could offer him more money.

I was heartbroken and upset—but I was also scheduled to head to Phoenix that weekend for a CE course, so I was at the Denver airport for a 5 a.m. flight. Turns out, a broker in Colorado I’d recently been put in touch with was in the same terminal for a flight, so we met and she gave me a prospectus for a different practice right there in the airport. I dug into the numbers on my flight and thought, “This might be perfect.” I closed on that practice two weeks later.

Young dentists looking for an acquisition, be patient and do your due diligence. I was looking for a practice that referred out most specialty procedures, did little to no marketing and was in a higher-income area with a growing population. Many older doctors who made a great living doing only fillings and crown and bridge are heading into retirement, and there is so much treatment just sitting there waiting to be done. It’s a gold mine!


 Describe the practice you took over and where it is today.

The doctor I took over from had one foot out the door—he was still doing amalgam fillings and basically living off the hygienist’s production. He didn’t even like to do crowns. Everything in the practice was outdated and needed a refresh; it was basically stuck in 1999. However, the clinical team was top-notch and hungry to learn and do more.

It felt like I was cooking in someone else’s kitchen that I needed to make my own, so we wasted no time. I started by rebranding the office and refreshing the decor with paint, new furniture and getting all the old stuff off the walls.

Existing patients would come in shocked, wondering if they were at the right practice. The 180° turnaround we did in a short amount of time was truly amazing: In less than a year, the practice went from old and outdated to modern and refreshed with all the technology. We have a full digital lab, CBCT, Cerec, Yomi, etc. Now my team is more confident and learning new things constantly. I see the difference in not only the practice itself but also the team!


Your practice grew from $90,000 to $300,000 per month in production in the first year. How’d you do it?

Month 4 was my first $300,000 month, and from there we’ve held pretty steady. When I took over, the practice was in-network with four insurances; I dropped three immediately and kept the largest. I also raised fees by 10% across the board. I was initially worried about patients throwing a fit but really, we saw none of that.

Technology-wise, I added lasers for my hygienists, Cerec, CBCT and 3D printers right away. Adding procedures such as implants, endo, soft- and hard-tissue surgery and full-mouth cases allowed me to treat current patients at a level they weren’t used to. There was a lot of treatment that simply had not been planned and was just waiting to be done.

Also, I feel like the team had been in “cruise control” mode when I took over but wanted to do more, so I empowered them and showed them what was possible. Now, less than a year later, my hygienists are comfortable talking to patients about advanced procedures, and they can pretty much nail the treatment plan before I even walk in. It makes me proud to see what they’ve learned in such a short amount of time! My two wonderful expanded-duty dental assistants have taken on so many responsibilities and skills; I push them and they excel. They run my lab and require zero assistance from me at this point—from single crowns to full-arch fixed cases, they do it all, while assisting on some cases that nine months ago they had zero experience with.

Empowering your team, trusting them and delegating is such a powerful tool. Without this team, $300,000 months would be impossible.


Implants have become a major part of your practice. What implant-related tips and insights have you gained?
Top Products
Office Visit Richardson Cerec

Cerec Primescan and Primemill
I love being able to provide same-day treatment with less time chairside and better outcomes. We have full control of contours and aesthetics. Allows for a very efficient workflow in our day.

Yomi Robot
I use this for every implant I place. I really find it useful for full arches being able to push the boundaries and reduce the pucker factor when negotiating around the nerves and sinus.

SprintRay Printer
We have a Pro 55S and use it daily for night guards, models, wax-ups and printing immediate-load full arches. My assistants, Tina and Linh, have taken initiative and really run with it.

SIN Implant System
This is one company that is focused on digital solutions and leading the way when it comes to innovating. I get amazing stability and the company has solutions for every situation. Its new Pterygoid kit is incredible.

Campbell Surgical
Customer service is very important when it comes to my surgical supplies. For the products I rely on every day, Campbell Surgical delivers!
Providing dental implants in your practice is one of the best things you can do. With proper training, single implants as well as immediates can be a very profitable and predictable service to offer to patients. You don’t have to dive deep into the full-arch world, but having the skills to predictably extract teeth, graft and place implants can be a game-changer and your patients will have a lot of confidence in you. It is one of the quickest, most efficient procedures we can offer.

You’ve got an impressive piece of technology in your office. How should other dentists approach the weighty decision of making similar, significant purchases?

You must be talking about Yomi! The first time I got my hands on this, I was blown away. I love to freehand, and that’s how I think every surgeon should be taught, but if I had to have a dental implant placed, I would want it placed as accurately as possible and that’s what Yomi allows. Did I need Yomi? No. Did I really want it? Yes. For full arches, it even allows us to plan bone reduction using robotic assistance. A huge advantage for me is being able to push the envelope, and no longer am I second-guessing when placing an angled implant around the mental foramen or sinus.

If you want to make a significant purchase in your practice, first do a gut check and then prioritize. I can’t practice without milling in my office, and I need 3D imaging to be able to place implants, so those purchases were non-negotiable and done right out of the gate—they were necessary if I wanted to grow. I bought Yomi because it would make my procedures less stressful, but I didn’t expect a financial return on it; I bought it because I saw the advantages clinically for better outcomes.


What marketing strategies have you found most effective in growing your practice?

The practice was doing zero marketing when I took over. I started with a rebrand and new website, and from there I started dumping into Google ads for new patients and emergencies. That helped get things moving. Now we’re doing full-arch marketing as well as a strong Google and social media ad campaign for general dentistry. I don’t have the luxury of having my own building with great signage (yet), so marketing is key for me to build my patient base. In hindsight, I would have hit marketing harder from the beginning.

One of the most important things for me is strong Google reviews. We focus on asking for reviews. In nine months, we went from 30 reviews to 160 and climbing. I think patients sharing their positive experience is the most influential thing you can do.


Give us a snapshot of your life outside of dentistry.

When I’m not working on the practice, I’m usually with my wife and our dogs. We have a golden retriever and a dachshund, and actually just rescued a three-legged golden retriever from Turkey! We are building a house here in Colorado, which takes up a lot of time on the weekends but has been a really fun process.

We enjoy visiting the many mountain towns Colorado has to offer. There is so much to do here and we just absolutely love it! As far as hobbies, I enjoy fast cars and golf.  
More In Practice Management, HR and Accounting
Economic Trends in Dentistry and What They Could Mean for Your Practice
Economic Trends in Dentistry and What They Could Mean for Your...
Mark Greenstein and Timothy Quirt, DDS
CE Credits: 2
Get Off the Dental Roller Coaster... Filmed Live at Townie Meeting
Get Off the Dental Roller Coaster... Filmed Live at Townie...
Dr. Bruce Baird and Ms. Vicki McManus
CE Credits: 2
How to Lower Dental Office Overhead Without Losing Your Sanity
How to Lower Dental Office Overhead Without Losing Your Sanity
October 2025
Howard Speaks: Reassessing Dentistry’s ‘Villains’
Howard Speaks: Reassessing Dentistry’s ‘Villains’
by Dr. Howard Farran, DDS, MBA
March 2024
Dentaltown Magazine
October 2025
Dentaltown Magazine October 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Do you place implants in your practice?
  
Related Articles
Office Visit: Dr. Mitchell Mactier
Office Visit: Dr. Mitchell Mactier
by Kyle Patton
March 2024
Office Visit: Dr. Ross Bennett
Office Visit: Dr. Ross Bennett
November 2024
Protect Your Practice
Protect Your Practice
by Robert Niles
May 2025
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
The Dentaltown Team, Farran Media Support
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: support@farranmedia.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450