Orthotown January/February 2023 - 34

OFFICE VISIT
You took an interesting
route to orthodontics.
What was your path?
During the internet hype of the late
1990s, I decided to major in computer
science in college and ultimately
wound up with a master's degree
while doing software development for
multiple years. I love technology and
I love problem-solving, but eventually
I wanted a change for two key reasons:
First, I wanted more meaningful human
interaction, and second, I wanted
to run my own business.
Although they seem very different,
I find that programming and
orthodontic treatment both require
some degree of abstract thought-
for example, imagining how you want
a treatment plan or software project
to come together over time.
I enjoy the physics involved in orthodontics
and, not surprisingly, I also
love all the cool technology we use every
day. I gained exposure to the field
of dentistry through my wife, who's a
dental hygienist, my father-in-law, a
periodontist, and my brother-in-law, a
general dentist.
I can confidently say I have achieved
a great deal of meaningful human
interaction in my career as an orthodontist.
I have great satisfaction in
producing confidence in my patients,
and I enjoy having the freedom to run
my practice the way I want.
Tell us about your practice,
its history and what your
day-to-day is like.
I bought an existing, well-established
practice immediately after I graduated
from my orthodontic residency at
Loma Linda University. I felt extremely
well prepared for the clinical challenges
that come into our office each day.
The existing practice was a twooffice,
one-orthodontist practice with
time spent equally in both offices.
I have kept things very similar thus
far, working essentially every other
week in each office.
Just because you've always
done something a certain way
doesn't mean there's not another,
better way to consider.
Coming from a computer science
and software development
background, it's no surprise that
you've embraced tech in your
practice. What elements of your
practice most reflect this?
Probably the biggest theme is that
I'm not afraid to adopt new technology
and, in turn, train my staff on
it. Immediately after purchasing the
practice, we transitioned into a 100%
paperless system. We've had 3D printing
in our office for years. We learned
how to make aligners in the office
for limited cases. The staff is trained
in how to work with CBCT and STL
files. Everyone seems to enjoy seeing
how different technologies fit into the
orthodontic practice.
You've been a beta tester for
some practice management
software companies. What
are some tips or advice for
other doctors who might be
underutilizing, or perhaps unaware
of, some features or capabilities?
Just because you've always done
something a certain way doesn't
mean there's not another, better way
to consider. Paper forms? Get rid of
them. Go to digital HIPAA-compliant
forms and never look back. Phone call
or email reminders? Consider doing
SMS reminders. Are you sending out
paper statements? Email them. Or
even better, get all your patients on an
auto-pay plan.
Which cases excite you most?
I like surgical cases a lot. Severe
Class III or Class II cases with strong
buy-in for surgery are great. I find
a lot of satisfaction with complex
impacted tooth cases, although
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 | 34 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
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Orthotown January/February 2023

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