Shared Practices | Your Dental Roadmap through Practice Ownership

In this episode of Practice Underwater, Dr. George Hariri consults with Dr. "Alejandro," a solo dentist who has navigated dental practice ownership in the Midwest for over 20 years. Four years ago, Alejandro made the leap to drop Delta Dental and transition to a fully fee-for-service model. While this shift elevated his clinical freedom and defined his dental practice ownership style, it brought n...

In this episode, George Hariri and Richard Low explore the transition from "muscling" your practice to achieving true team-led success. If you are a burnt-out clinician, your dental practice management strategy needs an immediate overhaul. Stop stepping in to solve every operational problem and start building the infrastructure necessary to empower your staff. To achieve sustainable dental practic...

In this episode of Ask George, Dr. George Hariri and Richard Low tackle a dangerous mindset trapping the modern dentist: treating your practice like a stressful job you must escape. True financial management for dentists dictates that your clinic is the ultimate wealth-building asset, not just a stepping stone to fund outside investments. When you rush to sell to a DSO or divert focus to side hust...

Are you wondering how to buy a dental practice out of school? Richard Low and Dr. Andrew Clingan share the reality of early dental practice ownership via Shared Practices. Mastering dental practice management provided Andrew a safety net while his clinical speed developed. Learning how to buy a dental practice requires looking past shiny equipment. Acquisitions in dentistry hide challenges like de...

In this episode of Ask George, Dr. George Hariri and Richard Low redefine the approach to dental practice acquisitions for the modern dentist. Instead of buying a maxed-out, highly polished clinic, the key to sustainable dental practice growth lies in finding a "ready to grow" practice. Buying an under-optimized office with a massive overdue recare base allows you to rapidly increase dental practi...

In this episode, Richard Low sits down with Dr. Brian Belsterling to unpack his journey from a VA hospital residency to successful dental practice ownership. Many ambitious young professionals feel pressured to rush into buying a clinic, but Brian proves that strategic patience pays off for the modern dentist. By prioritizing clinical maturity during his associate years, he avoided combining clini...

Welcome back to Practice Underwater, where host Dr. George Hariri joins guest Nesto to analyze the messy operational realities of expanding your portfolio through acquisitions in dentistry. They break down critical dental practice management changes at Nesto's second office, exploring how he reversed a historical cash loss into a break-even operation while mapping out sustainable dental practice g...

Welcome back to Practice Underwater, a solo episode where host Dr. George Hariri steps up to detail the unconventional acquisitions in dentistry journey of Mastermind member Nesto. George explores the stark contrast between Nesto's two acquisitions in dentistry: a thriving $1.1M office with seven hygiene days and a slower practice losing $80,000 annually after a massive post-sale collections drop...

In this episode of Ask George, Richard Low and Dr. George Hariri map out the complete financial timeline of a dentist's career. For the ambitious professional, understanding the financial phases of dental practice ownership is essential to building long-term wealth. The hosts break down the crucial transition from wealth accumulation—where you grow the clinic and pay down debt—to wealth stagnation...

In this episode, Richard Low and Alex Sharp reveal how a resilient dental practice culture is the true engine behind elite dental practice management. Building a team of "missionaries" rather than "mercenaries" transforms your daily operations and ensures sustainable dental practice growth, even when facing unexpected staff turnover. For any dentist navigating the hurdles of dental practice owners...

In this episode, Richard Low sits down with Steve Steinbrunner and Brian Carroll from Provide to demystify financing for the modern dentist. If you are preparing for dental practice ownership, navigating banks and loan requirements can feel overwhelming. However, securing the right funding is the ultimate key to unlocking sustainable dental practice growth. Whether you are planning a startup or ev...

In this episode of Coach's Corner, Richard Low and Caitlin Embree tackle the ultimate productivity killer for the ambitious dentist: analysis paralysis. It is easy to confuse listening to podcasts or reading leadership books with executing actual dental business strategies. The hosts explain how endless "edutainment" acts as a sneaky form of procrastination, preventing you from implementing the de...

In this episode of Ask George, Richard Low and Dr. George Hariri reveal how to buy a dental practice correctly to avoid acquiring a "ready to shrink" clinic. Too many buyers rely solely on financial profit and loss statements without evaluating the true health of the active patient base, resulting in massive post-acquisition revenue drops. A prime example discussed is a doctor who bought a $690,00...

In this episode of Shared Practices, Richard Low interviews the multi-talented Dr. Brady Smith, a dentist who has mastered the art of bold pivots. From acquiring and eventually decoupling from a Comfort Dental franchise to launching a national stand-up comedy tour, Brady proves that successful dental practice ownership does not require a rigid, traditional playbook. Instead, true fulfillment comes...

In this episode of the Shared Practices Podcast, Dr. Richard Low and Dr. Alex Sharp tackle an important question: Once you’ve built a thriving practice and reached financial success, what’s next? Most dentists focus on growing their practice and increasing income, but after hitting a financial milestone, the next steps become less clear. Richard and Alex explore the challenges, mindset shifts, and...

In this Coach’s Corner episode, Richard and Caitlin dive into one of the most common challenges for practice owners—getting their team to truly buy in. Spoiler alert: It’s not about throwing more money at the problem! They break down three key areas that drive real engagement: genuinely caring about your team, defining the “why” behind your practice, and clearly communicating your vision and expec...

Expanding a dental practice is an exciting but high-stakes challenge. In this episode of Ask George, Richard and George take a deep dive into the operational and financial realities of scaling up. From hiring the right office manager to streamlining systems for efficiency, they discuss the critical steps that can make or break a growing practice. The discussion also touches on the financial stress...

In this episode of the Shared Practices Podcast, Dr. Richard Low interviews Dr. Simon Wu about his journey from associate to successful practice owner in Southern California. Dr. Wu shares how he navigated the challenges of buying a practice with high overhead and low new patient flow, the strategies he used to turn it into a thriving business, and the role coaching played in his success. Listener...

Dr. Richard Low and Dr. Alex Sharp dive into the personal financial strategies that dentists need to achieve financial escape velocity. They discuss how to manage student loans, build financial security, and make the strategic moves that lead to wealth and financial freedom. Whether you’re a new associate, an early practice owner, or looking to optimize your finances, this episode provides real-wo...

Expanding from one practice to multiple locations is a whole different ballgame—are you ready for it? In this episode of Ask George, Dr. Richard Low and Dr. George Hariri break down the critical decision points, from assessing your readiness to navigating the burdens of multi-practice ownership. They dive deep into the challenges of acquisitions vs. startups, the importance of long-term vision, an...

In this episode, Richard Low sits down with Dr. Mohiuddin Ifaz and Lori Williams to discuss an incredible practice transformation journey. Dr. Ifaz shares how he acquired and modernized a 40-year-old dental practice with no digital systems, turning it into a thriving, fully digital, fee-for-service practice. Lori, one of Shared Practices' top coaches, details the critical role of coaching, team ma...

In Part 2 of our deep dive with Gregorio, we lay out the step-by-step blueprint to scale his $1.9M, 7-op practice into a $3.5M mega-group practice—all while reducing his clinical days to just two per week. George walks through the critical decisions Gregorio must make, including expanding the facility, hiring the right associate, and implementing an office manager to streamline operations. They al...

In this episode of 'Practice Underwater', George Hariri sits down with "Gregorio," a real dentist with a fake name but real numbers. After a four-year journey from associate to owner, Gregorio now runs a thriving $2M practice but faces a major crossroads—how to scale his business while reducing his clinical hours. George dives into Gregorio’s background, practice dynamics, and vision for a two-day...

Dr. Jesspreet Parmar shares his incredible journey from solo doctor to scaling a thriving fee-for-service group practice—but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. From navigating a rocky practice acquisition and staff drama to unlocking massive growth through hygiene, leadership, and internal marketing, Dr. Parmar reveals the hard lessons and game-changing strategies that took his practice to $2.4 million...

Selling your practice to a DSO can be tempting, but is it the right move? In this episode, Dr. Scott Leune joins us for part two of our deep dive into practice sales, exploring when it actually makes financial sense to sell and how to avoid the biggest pitfalls. We break down net multiples, walkaway options, and the long-term impact of your decision—so you don’t trade one set of problems for anoth...