Orthotown March 2023 - 26

MESSAGE BOARD 1
Changes in Practice Growth When
New Docs Enter the Area
Townies compare past and present and discuss a possible changing of the guard
Brbraces
Post: 1 of 6
1/29/2023
Hey, all. I was once the new kid on the block when
I purchased my practice in the early 2000s. The
other orthos in my immediate area were maybe
10-15 years ahead of me. We've been the same
batch coexisting for a while, but in recent years, I'm
noticing the orthos around me are starting to retire
and sell their practices. (Three have done so in the
past two years.) Now I'm the old dude surrounded
by younger new grads (who bought out those retired
docs). A changing of the guard happening in my area.
For those who are in a similar stage or further
down the road ...
* Did you notice a dropoff in practice growth or
production, or any other changes in your practice
dynamics, whenever new orthos entered
your area?
* Did you feel pressure to make pivots in your
businesses or marketing strategies to keep up
with the new kids?
Or is the need to keep up and adapt less of an
issue at a certain point after years in practice
because you're already " established, " and the inflow
of patients is at a point self-sustaining (e.g., reputation
in the community, years of patients referring
new patients, etc.)? Just curious about any of your
experiences. n
past. I used to offer late-night and weekend office
hours to keep patients happy. I used to type up the
treatment reports and send them to all the GPs.
The referring GPs, who are around the same age as
me, also have fewer patients-thus, they have fewer
cases to refer to my offices. I've stopped putting in
the effort and that's the result I get. Well, it's time
for the young hard-working new grads to take over.
They are the future of the profession.
There had been a huge spike (record high) in the
number of new starts at my offices when I reopened
my offices after the COVID-19 shutdown. As the
stimulus money ran out, the number of new-patient
consultations and starts has declined. n
Brbraces
Post: 5 of 6
2/4/2023
Yeah, I'm the same way. Single and no kids, starting
out: I used to work Saturdays, cold-called GPs
who didn't know me to set up lunches, made regular
visits to the offices of the existing GP referrals (drop
off goodies, a little chit-chat, show my face), set up
marketing booths/tents at the local community
events and local dental society meetings, made my
own holiday gift baskets, etc.
Now married with kids, years into my career:
ucla98
Post: 3 of 6
2/3/2023
I have seen the decline at all of my offices. I recently
closed one of my four offices permanently, and
cut down the number of clinic days and the parttime
assistants' hours to reduce the overhead. I just
turned 51 and I no longer have the same energy and
motivation to run my practices the way I did in the
No way I'm working on Saturdays, quit the calls and
have no clue who the new GPs around me are, haven't
done a GP lunch or in-person office visit in years,
the marketing booth/tent is now my family picnic
tent for Fourth of July and Labor Day BBQs at the
park, and I go to Costco for my holiday gift baskets.
I'd be fine if I lose out some to these new orthos
with more hustle. Just hoping my years of patients
and goodwill are enough to keep the practice running
at this point. n
MARCH 2023 | 26 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
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Orthotown March 2023

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