What You Don’t See When You’re Too Close to Your Own Practice

What happens when a successful practice becomes harder to manage than it is to grow? In Episode 7 of The Apex Perspective, Matt Hale and David Lohmann sit down with Dr. Jonathan Sanderson to discuss the realities of building a multi-location dental group and the challenges that often emerge long after the numbers say you're successful. Over the course of his career, Dr. Sanderson helped grow a single practice into a four-location group. Along the way, he discovered that growth doesn't just create opportunities. It creates complexity. Staffing, leadership, training, and operational responsibilities all begin competing for the same limited time and attention. The conversation explores a challenge many dentists quietly face: the better a practice performs, the easier it becomes to overlook the systems, processes, and support needed to sustain that success. Dr. Sanderson shares what it was like navigating those pressures, the moment he realized something needed to change, and how finding the right partner helped him refocus on the parts of dentistry he enjoyed most. For dentists who have ever felt pulled between practicing dentistry and running a business, this episode offers an honest look at the hidden demands of growth and what happens when success starts creating as many challenges as it solves.