"Over the last decade Maranda has been instrumental in helping our practice grow from a 1 doc FFS office doing under $800k to a 21 op office with 7 docs doing over $8 mill while remaining FFS. We highly recommend Maranda Rice to any docs thinking of using Growing Practice Alliance."
Dr. Bryan Bauer
The original case study
The Multi-Expansion Story of Bauer Dentistry & Orthodontics
I will be eternally grateful for my management experience with this practice. Their growth story is truly amazing! It is what started my passion to help practices grow and will continue to be a source of inspiration.
Growth Challenge # 1
When I first started working with Bauer Dentistry and Orthodontics in January 2015, I came in as their Business Manager. Dr. Bryan Bauer, an excellent general and cosmetic dentist, and his wife Dr. Danielle Bauer, an extremely brilliant orthodontist, had just officially purchased the practice that Dr. Bryan Bauer was a partner of, in November 2014. They had a vision for their newly acquired business that involved developing a reputation as the go to practice in the community they were personally a part of and raising their children in. It was already a well-established general practice and they wanted to maintain the out-of-network model, but now had a new identity that involved adding in orthodontics and pediatric dentistry. This was key to their vision of making life convenient for the busy parents of the community by offering as much of the dental and specialty care as possible under one roof.
Their original office space had four operatories. The initial challenge was to bring in a pediatric dentist and build that part of the practice while balancing the chair space and schedule to allow the current general practice to continue and the orthodontic side of the practice to ramp up while the search for a new location began.
My previous practice management experience was with a primarily pediatric dental practice that had general dentistry and during my management time with them added the orthodontic specialty. This provided some insight into how the flow of these specialties could work together and the different systems and team education that would need to happen in order for this to be a success. With careful planning and a wonderful supportive team that was willing and able to take on the challenges of balancing all 3 of these dental disciplines in 4 chairs, we made the most of the time in that office space.
Growth Challenge # 2
In October of 2017 we moved into a new location and went from 4 operatories to 11. The second main challenge was growing the team and adapting to the larger space while still maintaining the small practice feel. Drs. Bauer continued to put their focus on building relationships with their patients and shared the importance of making a connection with each and every patient with their team. In preparation of this move we spent time as a team developing service standards to be able to communicate to every new team member how we want to treat our patients and every new team member was introduced to these standards before ever interacting with patients.
We built a team where continuous improvement was the set mindset. The goal was not to never make mistakes, but to never make them twice. Evaluate what happened, what could be learned from that experience, and how to prevent it from happening again. This learning cycle contributed to a solid system development and allowed patients to trust in the consistency of their experience and their care. The Bauers also supported the growth and development of their team members. They encouraged CE and provided mentorship to those that wanted to progress in the dental field.
Growth Challenge # 3
In December of 2020 an opportunity to purchase a practice down the street became available and we started to explore the idea of expanding our current space to allow for continued growth. The third main growth challenge became how to work out of 2 locations until the construction project was completed and we could accommodate all patients in our existing space.
We spent about 13 months working out of two locations during the construction that would take the practice from 11 operatories to 19, with room for 2 more to be equipped in the future. Through careful planning and the flexibility of our amazing team we were able to make all of these changes without having to close a single day!
Currently (as of 3rd quarter 2024) Bauer Dentistry and Orthodontics has 21 operatories, 3 general dentists, 2 orthodontists, and are looking to add their second pediatric dentist. They remain a privately owned, out-of-network practice with a focus on patient relationship and team development.
Lessons I Learned
- Having inspiring leaders like Drs Bauer that are clear in their vision and personally demonstrate the values of the practice really helps align the team to accomplish more.
- Communication is key. Be transparent with the plan to the entire team even if it seems like they may not be involved or need to know.
- If you are planning an expansion, ensure you have a strong support system of professional services such as contractors, IT professionals, equipment and supply representatives that keep you and each other informed of progress.