What It Really Takes to Scale a Dental Practice

Welcome to another episode of the Private Practice Playbook with Jay Geier. In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Dr. Anna Berik, an acclaimed Boston-based dentist and practice owner, to explore her remarkable journey from ambitious associate to the leader of a thriving multi-location dental organization. Through candid stories and hard-won lessons, Dr. Berik shares the realities behind building her empire, including struggles with work-life balance as a single mom, navigating challenging team transitions, and overcoming the chaos of a faltering practice. Along the way, she discusses the power of perseverance, continuous learning, and the importance of evolving both as a clinician and a business owner. Whether you’re looking to improve your practice, learn how to scale successfully, or simply need a reminder that growth comes with its share of bumps and breakthroughs, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and authentic encouragement for every dentist on their own journey. Ready to build a stronger team? Schedule a complimentary discovery call at mypgi.com to learn how Practice Growth Institute helps private practice owners build, scale, and exit more profitable practices. And don't miss future episodes—subscribe for podcast alerts at podcastfordoctors.com. Timestamps: 00:00 Shifting from biology to dental school 05:41 Growing Beyond a $3 Million Practice 07:33 Pursuing Excellence in Cosmetic Dentistry 10:35 Buying into the dental practice 14:51 Breaking up the medical team 17:09 Dealing with anti-growth personalities 22:14 Managing and improving the practice 23:40 Buying the right dental practice 26:28 Redesigning the reception area 29:39 Maintaining a professional office space 34:56 Designing a child-friendly therapy space 37:38 Growing into a leadership role 39:19 Advice on hands-on leadership 44:27 The challenges of growing a business 46:06 Importance of marketing visibility 49:21 Reflections on lifelong learning Quotes, Hooks, & Timestamps: "Today you have a practice running a team of about 10 doctors. You have 3 kids, Samantha, Sabrina, and Luke. So big accomplishment there." — Jay Geier [00:01:50 → 00:01:58] "My mom's like, you're gonna work at a lab, you're gonna be miserable, you know, you're not gonna do this." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:03:18 → 00:03:23] "I've never been happy at average. And so that takes work. It takes a lot of continuing ed, a lot of hours, a lot of learning how to talk to patients better than, you know, There's an art to all of it, and you'll learn on the way, obviously, wisdom and experience, right?" — Dr. Anna Berik [00:07:39 → 00:07:55] "I think it's illegal in most places to say you're a better dentist than anyone else in most board rules, which is kind of fascinating, right?" — Jay Geier [00:09:02 → 00:09:35] "In that way, your own progress isn't working against you when it comes time to buy in." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:11:11 → 00:11:16] "And what I think is important everyone knows that those people exist, and if you have them in your life, you have to cut them out." — Jay Geier [00:17:43 → 00:17:49] "Even when somebody says it's— you're a self-made person, there's a lot of players along the way to make you who you are, right?" — Jay Geier [00:21:33 → 00:21:39] "You go into a really nice car dealership and there's a desk. There aren't phones, there aren't other people. You don't see the service department right behind you when you walk in." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:26:46 → 00:26:55] "But it's the cost of doing business that you're going to reinvest in that office." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:30:01 → 00:30:06] Viral Topic: The Hardest Thing to Teach "It's true that that's a perfect, that's a perfect response of, you know, somebody like who just would never do it." — Jay Geier [00:30:45 → 00:30:51] "What if you could just walk up to my front desk and book that?" — Dr. Anna Berik [00:32:05 → 00:32:07] "You got to get out on the front line. You got to go down there and you got to stick your nose in and you got to talk to the troops and you got to— it's how you start trust. It's how they start listening to you. It's how you find out what's really going on." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:39:34 → 00:39:46] It's hard to look in the mirror and go, you're totally failing at this thing that you're truly responsible for. You're not giving it any time or any attention." — Jay Geier [00:44:57 → 00:45:03] "There are things that I do suck at doing, but that's where you have to employ someone else to do what you're not good at or what you hate doing. You're not gonna be good it's something you don't like to do either." — Dr. Anna Berik [00:45:39 → 00:45:49] “Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.” “Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.”