You trained to be a great dentist. Nobody trained you to run a business.
Twenty three years inside Adelaide dental practices, eight of them running a two site group. I help practice owners build the systems, teams and numbers that let the practice run without them.
Based in Adelaide. Working with practices across South Australia.
What usually brings someone to me
None of these are clinical problems. They are all business problems wearing clinical clothes.
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The practice only works when you are in it
Every decision routes back through you. Taking a week off means the place runs at half speed, so you stop taking weeks off. That is not a growth problem, it is a delegation and systems problem.
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Treatment gets planned, then it does not proceed
You present a plan you believe in. The patient says they will think about it. Nobody follows up in a structured way. The plan quietly dies and the chair time gets filled with something smaller.
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The team turns over faster than you can train them
You lose a good nurse or a good receptionist. Eight months of knowledge walks out with them. Without documented processes every new hire means starting the training from scratch.
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The numbers arrive too late to do anything about
You find out how the quarter went once the quarter is over. No weekly view of production, no early warning on the diary, no clear picture of which parts of the practice actually make money.
Not theory. Twenty three years on the floor.
I have not read about dental practices in a textbook. I have run them. Reception, recalls, rosters, recruitment, accreditation, budgets, the awkward conversations, the software migrations that go sideways at 8am on a Monday.
Where I usually start
Three ways to work together. Most practices begin with the first one.
Practice Diagnostic
A full day in your practice, watching how it actually runs rather than how the org chart says it runs. You get a written report with what is working, what it is costing you and what to fix first.
- Front desk, phones and the patient journey end to end
- Diary structure, cancellation rates and lost chair time
- Team roles, handovers and where the bottlenecks sit
- A prioritised plan you can action with or without me
Ongoing Partnership
Monthly work with you and your practice manager to put the plan in. Systems get written down, the team gets trained on them and the numbers get reviewed often enough to matter.
- Documented processes your next hire can actually learn from
- KPIs reviewed on a regular rhythm, not once a year
- Coaching for your practice manager so the load leaves you
- A steady hand for the hard staffing conversations
Team Workshops
Onsite training for the whole team, run in your practice on your systems. Practical sessions rather than a slide deck about excellence.
- Front desk and phone handling
- Treatment conversations and structured follow up
- Team culture, roles and accountability
- Accreditation and compliance readiness
Most practices do not need a new strategy. They need the basics done properly, every single day.Karen Harris, Practice Management Consultant
Start with a confidential conversation
No obligation and no pitch. Tell me what is frustrating you about the practice and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.
Get in touch