Ep. 1 | From Dental Consultants to Owners | Case Closed: From Consult to Crown
Case Closed: From Consult to Crown | Episode 1 — From Dental Consultants to Owners
Welcome to the very first episode of Case Closed: From Consult to Crown, the podcast built specifically for the general dentist who wants to grow their practice through implant dentistry, without losing sight of what matters most: the patient.
Your hosts, Ryan Pritchard (founder of Maxilla Marketing and Crown Dental Group) and AJ Davino (founder of Dental Plant, Inc. and former treatment coordinator extraordinaire), bring a combined 25 years of hands-on dental industry experience to the mic. They've consulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of dental offices across the country, and now they've taken the ultimate leap: they actually own dental practices themselves. And that changes everything.
The Philosophy Behind It All
Their mission isn't just about making money, though they've turned more than a few non-millionaires into millionaires. It's about growing implant revenue while putting the patient genuinely first. Their ten-word guiding principle: "Grow your general practice with implants without leaving the patient behind."
Why They Started Buying Dental Offices
It started on an American Airlines flight when AJ casually floated the idea of just owning the offices they consulted for. Ryan thought it was insane... until the plane landed and he was already convinced. Hear how their first acquisition, a solo-doctor practice doing $817K per year, became a $1.7 million operation in under a year, and how their second acquisition went from $1.8M to $3.2M.
The Implant Treatment Coordinator and Why This Role Is Everything
AJ makes the case that the real consult isn't about convincing a patient they want treatment. By the time they're in your chair, they already want it. The consult is about helping them figure out how to afford it. That distinction is everything, and it requires a dedicated, skilled, empathetic person in that seat. AJ also shares why he hired an ITC straight out of the luxury automotive industry and why that unconventional decision turned out to be one of his best.
Lessons They Didn't Expect to Learn as Owners
Ryan and AJ get refreshingly honest about what humbled them once they were actually running offices. Staff culture is harder to shift than they thought. New systems trigger real resistance. They've developed a whole new appreciation for why dentists don't always do what consultants tell them.
AJ's Adventures
From time to time on this podcast, AJ will share a story from life on the road. This episode he tells the tale of a cramped coach seat, an onboarding document with some very questionable dental personality profiling, and a fourth-year dental student sitting right next to him reading every word of it. Awkward doesn't begin to cover it.
Whether you're a solo GP who's been curious about adding implants, a practice owner whose marketing works but cases aren't closing, or a dentist tired of having nobody to talk to about the business side of running your office, Case Closed is exactly what you've been missing.
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Case Closed: From Consult to Crown is hosted by Ryan Pritchard of Maxilla Marketing and Crown Dental Group, and AJ Davino of Dental Plant, Inc.
