Ep 75 - Dr. Scott Law on Leadership, Culture, and Building a Billion-Dollar Orthodontic Organization

Join Dr. Leon Klempner and Amy Epstein as they interview Dr. Scott Law, a trailblazing Orthodontist, Philanthropist, and Entrepreneurial Spirit behind Smile Doctors. From humble beginnings to leading a 550-location organization, Dr. Law shares how leadership and culture fuel success in orthodontics. His insights on branding, authenticity, and mentorship, paired with practical tips for navigating technology expenses and fostering relationships, make this episode a must-listen for orthodontists seeking practice growth and a lasting impact through coaching and philanthropy. Remember, as Dr. Leon always says, “There has never been a better time to be an orthodontist!” 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

• (00:00) Introduction

• (04:04) Discussion on philanthropy: Smile Rescue and Mount Kisco Childcare Center

• (07:20) Dr. Scott Law, co-founder of Smile Doctors, the largest OSO with over 550 locations

• (11:14) Smile Doctors' growth from a single practice to a billion-dollar organization, emphasizing culture and leadership

• (15:19) “Speed of the Leader, Speed of the Team," linking leadership pace to team performance 

• (18:04) Overhead, staffing costs, technology expenses and sound business strategies

• (21:46) Branding as a reflection of practice culture, stressing authenticity to attract patients

• (27:20) Dr. Law stresses relationships and systems for private practices to thrive with OSOs

• (29:43) Dr. Law shares his podcast and offers coaching for orthodontists

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• Strong mentorship, authentic leadership, and a values-driven culture are essential for lasting success in orthodontics and dentistry.

• Innovation and meaningful partnerships fuel sustainable business growth while leaving a positive legacy in the community.

• Aligning authenticity, values, and influence ensures both professional excellence and personal fulfillment.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

What follows is an AI-generated transcript. The transcript may contain errors and is not a substitute for watching the video.

GAOO Ep 75 Dr. Scott Law - Transcript

(00:00:00) Dr. Leon Klempner: Today we're talking with Dr. Scott Law, an orthodontist, philanthropist, entrepreneur, co-founder of Smile Doctors. It's got a ton of insights on leadership, culture, and what it really takes to grow a practice today. Stay tuned. Our Golden Age of Orthodontics podcast sponsors make it possible for us to bring you.

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(00:01:36) Narrator: The future of orthodontics is evolving and changing every day, but although the way to achieve practice growth has changed, there's never been a better time to be an orthodontist. Let's get into the minds of industry leaders, forward-thinking, orthodontists and technology insiders to learn how they see the future of the orthodontic specialty.

(00:01:56) How will digital orthodontics, artificial intelligence, clear aligner (00:02:00) therapy, remote monitoring, in-house printing, and other innovations change the way you practice? Join your host, Dr. Leon Klempner and Amy Epstein each month as they bring you insights, tips, and guest interviews focused on helping you capitalize on the opportunities for practice growth.

(00:02:16) And now welcome to the Golden Age of Orthodontics with the co-founders of People and practice, Dr. Leon Klempner and Amy Epstein.

(00:02:28) Dr. Leon Klempner: Welcome to the Golden Age of Orthodontics. I'm Leon Klempner. If you don't know me, I'm a retired board certified orthodontist. I'm director of ortho at Mount Sinai Hospital here in New York. Um, part-time faculty at. Both Harvard and Montefiore and the CEO of people in practice. And today I am joined by my partner in crime, my oldest daughter.

(00:02:53) Not that old, but oldest daughter. No, I'm 

(00:02:55) Amy Epstein: getting there though. That's the thing. 

(00:02:57) Dr. Leon Klempner: Uh, Amy Epstein. How you doing? Amy? 

(00:02:59) Amy Epstein: Doing (00:03:00) well, thank you Dad. Uh uh Yes. So we, we founded this business. You said you're retired. But you're not quite exactly, you, you may work as much as you did before, maybe with a little more flexibility.

(00:03:12) Mm-hmm. It's 

(00:03:13) Dr. Leon Klempner: true. True. You're retired from clinical practice. That's what I should say. 

(00:03:16) Amy Epstein: Yeah, that's, yeah. Well, you're a retired orthodontist. That makes sense. Retired from clinical practice, but you do a ton of teaching and I do, we have this business that's, uh, almost 15 years old at this point. And True.

(00:03:26) And, uh, you know, for, from a history standpoint, we were doing our own things and then decided to team up and, uh. Bring marketing, uh, to the business of orthodontics from a marketing standpoint is local business marketing. And so, uh, with the industry expertise and the practice running practices and going through all the different possible iterations of a practice, uh.

(00:03:51) Partners, associates opening new locations, uh, selling all that we were, we were able to really help our clients cover anything that may (00:04:00) come their way. Um, branding's my favorite. However, uh, today our guest is not only a, an orthodontist, um, but also a leader and a philanthropist. Um, and we, in, in talking with him beforehand, some of that.

(00:04:17) Uh, philanthropy focus rang true for us. So we thought we'd talk a little bit about, um, how, for us, giving back is o is part of our ethos as an organization and as a family. Um, why don't you talk a little bit about small rescue. Dad. 

(00:04:34) Dr. Leon Klempner: Yeah, yeah, sure. I've been working on it actually, uh, this week. But, uh, just for our listeners, Amy's not just my oldest daughter.

(00:04:42) She's got her MBA in marketing, 20 years of PR experience. So the, you know, that that's what makes people in practice, what people practice is that combination. But yeah, you know, giving back, I think, uh, I is, is something that I felt strongly (00:05:00) about, uh, just because of the privilege of. Where I am and, and, and, and being an orthodontist.

(00:05:07) Uh, so, uh, uh, I, I've been on about, uh, 15 or so, uh, overseas missions with, uh, a lot of cleft palate, uh, teams and, uh. 20 years ago or so, Amy and I started a smile rescue fund for kids. Uh, there's a certain segment in the PO in the world of kids that have no resources, that have c craniofacial problems, and there's no, no charity that will, uh, service them.

(00:05:35) So we started this, uh, charity and, um, we've been working on it. We've had. Two children come over to the us uh, to have some pretty sophisticated, uh, c craniofacial surgery done. Um, so, uh, proud of that for sure. Smile rescue fund.org. If anybody wants to make a small donation, certainly would be appreciated.

(00:05:55) Appreciated. Yeah. And I know, Amy, you're involved in some, uh. Charity work as well. (00:06:00) 

(00:06:00) Amy Epstein: Yeah. Aside from Smile Rescue, um, you know, the, it stems from being privileged enough to be able to, to have a nanny and send my kids to childcare. The, the childcare center here, um, in Mount Kisco, it's called Mount Kisco Childcare Center.

(00:06:14) I. It's a nonprofit and they focus on offering scholarships to families who can't afford the cost of daycare, which by the way is, is very high, um, for any family really. It's typically the second line item in most families budgets, no matter how much money they make, it's the mortgage or the rent, and then it's the childcare costs.

(00:06:39) And so, um, you know, raising funds. For, uh, scholarships is something that I, I'm on the board of the, the childcare center now and, um, and also advocating for workforce compensation because these people who are taking care of your children day in and day out are underpaid for the work they do. And there really isn't federal or state.

(00:06:59) Um, I can go (00:07:00) on, but there isn't state funding for that. So advocating to get some line items into those state budgets is something that we also do. So anyway, I, you know, I find it really fulfilling. And you know that we try to bring that into the ethos of people and practice as well. So all of that said, now let's talk a little bit about our guest, who's also, like I said, a philanthropist.

(00:07:20) We're joined by Scott Law, who's an orthodontist. He's an entrepreneur. He's the co-founder of Smile Doctors, which I'm sure you've heard of the largest OSO in the world. With more than 550 locations across the us. Scott's story is grounded in entrepreneurial spirit. He's got that kind of, you're similar dad and Scott, you know, in some ways they're very entrepreneurial, um, in the way you approach things.

(00:07:46) I know that in dental school, Scott launched side businesses from carpet cleaning, house flipping, karaoke, DJing. Really cool stuff, but all, um, fueled by the desire to build something and to build something that's (00:08:00) meaningful. And that clearly carried into private practice where Scott focused on creating a culture that's, um, rooted in service, but also in fun, empowerment, and of course clinical excellence.

(00:08:12) Uh, and it was that approach that helped him scale a single office into a thriving national organization outside of Orthodontics. Scott's the founder of the Brotherhood Academy. A father of 10 in and of itself a very big job and, uh, grounds his mission to lead with purpose and to use business as a force for good.

(00:08:32) Scott, thank you so much for being here. 

(00:08:34) Dr. Scott Law: Welcome. Thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. 

(00:08:38) Dr. Leon Klempner: Great. So Scott, uh, and you know, I'm trying to remember when I first met you. It was a, a while ago. I, it might have been on one of the chats that we, we were jointly on. Uh, and I know you had, was it central Texas?

(00:08:51) I, I don't remember what your private practice originally started with, but, um, I followed you along and, and admired your (00:09:00) career and yes. You know, all of the accomplishments and, and smile doctors. But that, that's not what impressed me. What impressed me is all the other stuff that you do. I mean, it's impressive.

(00:09:09) Amy Epstein: Let's not, let's just add on. No, you 

(00:09:11) Dr. Leon Klempner: look, I'm, I'm not gonna state the obvious, but you know, the, the less obvious maybe would be that, that people don't know about you is that, that you, you really care about people and you really dedicate it to the profession. So, uh, I do appreciate that, and I know that you've always admired.

(00:09:29) Trying to get a mustache like mine, but have never been able to accomplish that. So that is correct. Keep trying, keep trying a couple more years maybe, so That 

(00:09:36) Dr. Scott Law: is correct. So, so Leon, I think I knew you. Yeah, we were in the progressive orthodontist, um, or, or the pro ortho study group. Right. And so we were in that.

(00:09:46) That's right. And, um, and yeah, so I knew you online before I knew you as a person and, um, so I was, I was super impressed. You. You had huge influence on me early, early in my career. 'cause I think I joined that (00:10:00) with, I was like a few months out of residency. And so I want to thank you for your impact on me.

(00:10:05) All these things that you help so many orthodontists with, with, uh, people in practice. It's something you've been doing your entire career. So, um, I have, I have learned a ton from you, so thank you. 

(00:10:17) Dr. Leon Klempner: I appreciate it. So that's a wrap. Thanks for listening. All right. So, so Scott, here, here's what I wanna know.

(00:10:25) Uh, I wanna know about your leadership. Okay. Because our listeners here really, I believe, can, can benefit from some of the things that, that, uh, you believe in and, and that you've done. So I have got like a two part question. Sure. First of all. I think, you know, for our listeners, for those that of you that had, that have their head buried in the sand, buried in the sand, and don't know about smile doctors, if you just give us like just a quick, like how did you get from one practice to, you know, where you are today (00:11:00) and more, more importantly for our listeners, I want to know what, what are the, the leadership lessons?

(00:11:07) Um, that, that, um, private practitioners can learn from, uh, in today's economy. 

(00:11:14) Dr. Scott Law: Yeah. Thank you. Um, let's see. So Smile Doctors started. This was I my original practice I purchased in 2009 and we were doing about a million dollars a year. It was a healthy practice. Um, and we slowly grew that. We formed Smile Doctors in 2015 with, uh, Greg Goggins and Dana Fender, and then from there.

(00:11:35) It has grown. There were people who the idea resonated with them that we wanted to, um, you know, bring more to organized dentistry than, than what was there. And we wanted, as, as orthodontists, we felt we wanted to control our destiny going forward and didn't want, uh, didn't want to be put upon by others.

(00:11:52) Right. And so, um, as we've done that and, and grown, I think it's because we. Put a focus on people just (00:12:00) like you guys. I love that your name starts with people first. Um, that's really what it is. Our, our motto is we love people first. We straightened teeth second. And someone asked me the other day, what, what was the thing I was most proud of?

(00:12:14) Uh, in our organization, I think this year we're gonna do a billion dollars of revenue. So we go from one 1 million to a billion. Um, and it's that we have kept our culture. And, and that's what matters. I think, I don't know that I would be able to work where I work if, if the culture was lost, um, my heart would be gone.

(00:12:33) It would be gone from it. And, uh, I couldn't do it. I could, I could not do it. And so, so I just, I just love that fact and that, that I think it resonates with so many who, who are a part of SMILE Doctors and who stay a part of it. Um, and so that, that's really, it is that leadership component that as orthodontists, whether you're in, whether you're in private practice, group practice, organized dentistry, whatever that is.(00:13:00) 

(00:13:00) We have to know that we're the leaders that, that our team follows us. That the culture of what's in our heart reflects on everyone we come into contact with, whether they're our team members or or our patients and our entire community. And that's what separates us and makes us all unique and different.

(00:13:18) Amy Epstein: We feel the same way. By the way. That's why the people mm-hmm. Like you. Yes. I love it. Amy is first there and you know, the culture of our, of our, um, our company sounds very similar. We really value the, uh, we call 'em growth consultants, uh, people in practice. And we put them first. They are first. They really are.

(00:13:36) And our clients, um, you know, I think. Recognize that in working with us, that we invest in our people, we invest in them, but we invest in them by virtue of investing in our people and making sure that they feel, um, empowered and valued. And that's how they can do their best consulting for our orthodontic clients.

(00:13:57) So I think we're, we're in sync (00:14:00) in in that respect. The other thing I just wanted to say before I a ask you, um, something that I had in mind is, um. That there are, there are real business outcomes that come from that sort of approach too, right? Mm-hmm. Like you, um, spend time, not that you should do it because of them, but you know, when you invest in people, whether they're your clients or their patients, or whether they're staff members or whatever, they.

(00:14:24) Wanna stick around. They want to learn more so they can give back more to the organization. There's like, you know, a unending number of business benefits to taking the approach that you've outlined that I'm fully subscribed to. Um. So, okay. Let, let's talk a little bit about something that I heard you say once.

(00:14:45) Yeah. Um, in listening to you speak, and it's, you said, speed of the leader, speed of the team. Mm-hmm. Um, now we've got, you know, speed of the leader, but we also have speed of the environment and how that's changing significantly for orthodontists. Um, (00:15:00) what does it mean practically for a doctor who's leading a private practice?

(00:15:05) Um, or, or. In practice in general. And how do you bring your team with you when I imagine you're moving pretty quickly. 

(00:15:15) Dr. Scott Law: Yeah, yeah. I think, well, I interpret it and I got this, this phrase, I got this from, uh, our CEO Jay Hedrick a few years ago, and that was one of his, one of his. 12 tenets that he really loves and, and, and talks about is speed of the leader, speed of the team.

(00:15:30) And I think it's the pace. It's the pace at which that leader runs and comes and shows up every single day. And, and that as orthodontists, as business owners, that is what. We have that responsibility to do. We have that res, we owe it to our team. We owe it to our patients to continually get better. I think it applies in business.

(00:15:51) I also think that it has to apply personally, uh, in our, in our own lives, in our personal development and how we're (00:16:00) looking to improve in every single way. With relationships at home, relationships at work all the way around. You mentioned Amy. Um, not only is it the right thing to do for people personally, but it is the right thing to do business wise.

(00:16:12) People stay and love working where they work, where, where they have friends, where they have support, um, retention's, better motivation's, better, um, engagement's, better in in initiatives of what you wanna do. And especially in this environment where outside, you know, we can't control everything that that's outside.

(00:16:30) We often say we can control what we can control, and we're gonna do a very good job with that. But as a team, when you're united, you know, you can really fight, fight the waves that are coming or, or whatever you're up against, and that, that solely re relies and lies on the, on the leader to take care of.

(00:16:47) Mm-hmm. 

(00:16:47) Amy Epstein: Yep. 

(00:16:48) Dr. Leon Klempner: You know, so I, I I'm gonna shift the conversation a little bit. Yeah. More towards the business side. Great. Uh, because I know that our listeners are interested in hearing from somebody that (00:17:00) is. Bringing in a billion dollars. Um, so you figure this guy must know something about business. So, um, my, my, my question is, you know, orthodontists right now with, particularly with the expense of some of the newer technology, um.

(00:17:18) Staffing costs. I mean, they're getting, feel like they're getting squeezed and they, you know, they feel like their overhead is going up and they look for ways to, to uh, cut back. And, you know, I've had many conversations with orthodontists that tell me, well, first thing they're gonna cut is their marketing.

(00:17:36) Which I said, wait a minute, you know, the practice. Wait a minute, maybe we should, maybe we should look a little deeper. Right. And, you know, that's. Cut off the, the funnel, bringing new patients into the practice. So I'm curious from your perspective, you know, if you look at the p and l, um, where, where are the opportunities, uh, to be, uh, more efficient basically so that (00:18:00) there, that we can save some money on the overhead side of things?

(00:18:03) Dr. Scott Law: Absolutely. Uh, uh, this is a conversation I have with orthodontists all the time inside, outside my organization, but. Um, it is very much looking to see. It's a mindset more than anything else. Uh, from, from the doctor where I think a lot of doctors approach it in the traditional way where orthodontics is a lifestyle practice.

(00:18:24) And because the margins were so good traditionally, uh, that you could kind of get away with a little sloppy here, sloppy there. Um, you know, if somebody wasn't working out, it's okay. You don't want the conflict and have to, uh, you know, adjust that with them or. You really like the reps, so you're gonna buy all of their products and, um, all the new technology you feel that you need to have it.

(00:18:45) And so really what we end up with is we are throwing all the mud against the wall or kind of taking a shotgun approach and in reality, in, in this environment, as, as. Price is compressing, costs are (00:19:00) increasing. Um, there's, their labor costs are increasing, everything's happening that way. It's a, a much more surgical or a rifle shot, uh, approach is needed.

(00:19:10) And that's where I think an orthodontist coming outta school. Or, or one who who isn't really strong in, in business could really use some advice and really use, uh, some mentorship or some, whether it was study clubs, like what, what we had early on, Leon, where we were sharing, sharing, sharing and just absorbing all of that.

(00:19:31) Or it's, find someone that resonates with you. And then really go with them and, and whatever that looks like and understand, take that consultant's advice. They've been there, they've done it. They see all these different practices, and then go and implement it. Implement it, implement it, implement it. I think the orthodontists that are the most successful are the ones who know where to seek the best advice, check their ego, and then are just dogged at implementing.(00:20:00) 

(00:20:00) Amy Epstein: That's really good advice, so thank you for that. Um, let's, let's go back to, we both do this. We sort of like drive the conversation in the directions that interests us the most. Yeah, we're gonna, that's great. We're, we're gonna detour a little bit and go toward, uh, culture a bit. Okay. Because, uh, I mentioned, you know, earlier on, I, I heard myself mention it came outta my mouth before I realized I had said it.

(00:20:23) It was that my favorite work to do is the branding work with practices because branding is. A function of culture, it has to be right, because you know, if you're gonna develop a practice brand and communicate it out so that patients can interface with it before they even step through your door, when they actually do step through your door, it better be true otherwise there's immediate trust broken, right?

(00:20:49) Like that's gotta be something you can deliver on. And our philosophy obviously hinges on that, but we also do, you know, there's differentiation. So you've gotta evaluate what. What the competition is doing. (00:21:00) And then there's like, you've gotta, you know, whatever you're saying, your culture might be great, but if it doesn't actually resonate with the people you're trying to, like, engage your, your potential new patients, then you know, there's a disconnect there.

(00:21:11) So it's gotta be relevant to the patients you're looking to connect with. It's gotta be true when they walk through the door and it's gotta be different from the competition. So how, how do you get involved in coaching? Uh, orthodontists about, uh, you know, building brands that reflect their true culture.

(00:21:30) Mm-hmm. Um, or maybe even identify what their true culture is. Uh, sometimes that's a thing too. Not everybody is bang on in terms of understanding what they bring to the table, but, uh, and then help them deliver on it so that patients experience it when they walk through the door. 

(00:21:45) Dr. Scott Law: Yeah. Yeah. I, I would say, I think you have to really understand what makes you fun, unique, different, what's your unique marketing appeal, right?

(00:21:54) And, and understand that. But it's always, orthodontists always want to go right to the teeth or go, (00:22:00) uh, you know, they're gonna buy this technology that's out there that everybody else has access to. When in reality what makes them unique is them. Yeah. And it's their relationships, it's their interactions.

(00:22:10) It's, it's kind of maybe some interests that they might have that aren't outlandish, but are, but are fun that people enjoy and they, and resonate with others. I think philanthropy is one, as, as we've, as we've talked about early, it's, it's finding people when they walk through your doors, your brand says something to them at the, at the, you know, right in their gut, right.

(00:22:33) Where they feel it and they're like, ah. I feel really good here. This is all full of integrity. These people are who they say they are. I enjoy being here. I can feel the atmosphere right off that your team loves it and that, that this is true. This is where people want to go and get their, get their treatment done.

(00:22:49) It's when it's, if it's cold, it's sterile, or as you said, Amy, it's uh, it's, it's not true. You know, their marketing is really flashy. Maybe it's really high tech and the office you have isn't, (00:23:00) isn't such, or you talk about all sorts of, uh, relationships and life changing smiles and what occurs and you walk in the door and the, you know, your front desk is very cold and right.

(00:23:11) And. No one's there friendly and, and it's not inviting. It's, it's the opposite. And so it has to, branding is, is that, um, it's very different than your cool logo. Branding, as we know is Yeah. Is very different than, than that. It's, it's who you are at your core and it's an, it's one of my favorite exercises to do is to find that in people and, and then go forward and just really lean into it and, and then it just resonates through and through with them, their whole team and, and then out into the community.

(00:23:43) Amy Epstein: Do you ever have to tease, tease this stuff out of, out of people? 

(00:23:47) Dr. Scott Law: Oh yeah. Right, because 'cause they think they need to be somebody else. 

(00:23:50) Amy Epstein: Yeah. Or 

(00:23:50) Dr. Scott Law: they, they want to be somebody else. It's kinda like, ah, you know, a with so many practices that we have, we have some that, that. (00:24:00) Let's say they're, uh, they're in a lower income area of a large metropolitan area, right?

(00:24:06) And so, um, a lot of times in some, uh, some populations love that there are braces on the teeth. It is a status symbol. And, uh, and so the parents will pay often in cash and they will pay because they wanna show that their kids have treatment, that this is something they could afford and show off. And what's always interesting to me is somehow, and this has happened on occasion, where, where a doctor will go, I wanna change my practice to all Invisalign.

(00:24:35) You know, or, or, uh, really change it and, and change colors, right? Or change the stripes on this tiger. And it's like, no, no, no. Lean into who you are and the population that's around, what resonates with them. Let's show that off. And so, so it's going through that exercise to try and understand what is it Everyone loves being treated well.

(00:24:56) Everyone loves, um. Amazing customer (00:25:00) service and personal relationships and being met at the door by their name, and that they matter and we're interested in them as people. It's, uh, it's the most simple thing. It's the basics, but it is the hardest thing to do and to do consistently and to keep it up and make that a part of your culture.

(00:25:18) Mm-hmm. But it's, it's what, it's what all the good ones do. All the good will do it. Yeah. And 

(00:25:22) Amy Epstein: if, if you don't keep it up, that's where the, that's where you make all these promises in the outward marketing around something, and then when, when they come through the door and it's not met, it's like just an immediate, uh, notch down on the confidence scale.

(00:25:36) Dr. Leon Klempner: Exactly. Exactly. You know, Scott, you know, as, as people in practice, we are representing, uh, orthodontists that are dealing with, uh, Osos DSOs coming into their community and, and the competition and you know, how that will affect how that is affecting their practice. (00:26:00) And one of the things that really. Uh, got me upset about SMILE doctors is that at some point you decided to leave the practices alone and, and keep the identity of the practice.

(00:26:12) I hated that you know, that it's much easier to, to, to market against an, uh, a corporate entity Sure. Than it is to the local, uh, orthodontist. So. Um, so I, that, that really pissed me off. I have to say that. I mean, it was strategically a good move, obviously, 

(00:26:30) Narrator: but, 

(00:26:30) Dr. Scott Law: uh, oh man, that was a big, make it harder. Right, right, right.

(00:26:34) That was a big blunder on our part because we took all the equity away. All these things I'm saying about like, I know why, why this matters. Yeah. You know, it, these relationships matter. That brand equity, the, the, the personality, the doctor, the brand there. And so when we ripped that out, that was in, oh man, for those first few years, I think we started changing around 2018, but yeah.

(00:26:54) Um, yeah, no. Yeah, we, it was, uh, I remember, I remember. That was ugly. It was ugly. 

(00:26:58) Dr. Leon Klempner: Yep. (00:27:00) So I, and time's running out. And then I'd be remiss if I didn't, um, tap into your brain here and ask you, you know, as you look 10 years down the road, is it gonna be all corporate? Is there any room for private practices?

(00:27:15) Where do you see the landscape going as time goes by? As time goes by 

(00:27:20) Dr. Scott Law: a hundred percent I think. Yes. So I'm a part of SMILE Doctors. It is a very large OSO. We, we also win patients in the exact same way as, uh, as, as every other private practice orthodontist. It is always all about relationships. It's about relationships with the general dentist.

(00:27:40) It's how we take care of patients, and I think anyone who does that well and, and who can have the systems and the team and the workflows behind the scenes in order to facilitate that will thrive. That's really what it takes. And so it's just a matter of, Hey, what feels good for you? What modality (00:28:00) work?

(00:28:00) Or excuse me, what, what model works best for you? That, that. That's how I encourage every orthodontist. Every orthodontist is not a fit for an OSO. And I think there are many, many who are not a fit for private practice success. And so it's just what career path is the best for you? But, um, yeah, the future's bright for orthodontists so long as we continue to put people first and not commoditize the, the service that we offer.

(00:28:26) Um, otherwise it's a race to the bottom. And so we all have to, we all have to. Um, again, put people first, take care of our patients, um, give them the highest quality finishes that we can and, and, uh, make sure they have a life changing experience. It's what it's all about. I love it. I love it. Um, as you guys were talking about, um.

(00:28:51) The philanthropic, um, measures that you're involved in, it's about kids and it's about changing their life. It's what you guys, you guys are part (00:29:00) of it. I I have the same thing. Uh, the Brotherhood Academy is the same way in that this is about people and making a difference, and we're so blessed, so, so blessed in orthodontics to be able to, to be a part of a profession that, that.

(00:29:16) Affords us the means to bless others, but also the avenue too. That's, this is the profession we're in, and then with the, the, the means that we have, we can go and do good in the world outside of that too. So it's awesome. 

(00:29:30) Amy Epstein: It's a good deal. That's how I, I, I weaseled my way in as a non orthodontist into the orthodontic industry.

(00:29:37) He tried, he failed, but I'm still here. 

(00:29:42) Dr. Scott Law: I love it. Amy, love what you bring. 

(00:29:43) Amy Epstein: Thanks Scott. Thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. You're a pleasure to talk to. Uh, Scott has a podcast too. Um, and so please check it out. What's the name of the podcast, please? 

(00:29:53) Dr. Scott Law: It is called, uh, smile Doctors, the Off Mute podcast.

(00:29:58) Okay. And, um, yeah, and if anybody wants to reach out, you (00:30:00) can. You can get me on my email. It's Scott [email protected]. 

(00:30:05) Amy Epstein: Amazing. Thank you. We appreciate you being here. We hope you'll come and visit with us again. Um, and then, and we'll, we'll hope to bump into you at, uh, an event coming up soon. 

(00:30:15) Dr. Leon Klempner: Can't wait.

(00:30:16) Thanks. Thanks Scott. 

(00:30:18) Amy Epstein: You can subscribe or download other episodes of the Golden Age of Orthodontics on Apple Podcast, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you enjoyed it, of course we'd appreciate you telling a colleague. We also want you to know if you don't already, that we have another podcast, um, hosted by a people in practice growth consultant Lacey Ellis.

(00:30:40) She's amazing. Um, she, uh, has been in every position in an orthodontic practice you can imagine. And has been a consultant for many, many years as well. She's, uh, like I said, she's, uh, amazing, but in what she knows and she's also an amazing person. Um, we really appreciate her. She (00:31:00) works toward amplifying voices of other team members in order to reveal strategies for creating thriving practices that can help team members is really focused on team members, helping team members and elevating their voices.

(00:31:13) So if you're interested in that, it's called practice Talk by people in practice and, um, you know, listen in. 'cause I think you'll really. You'll really enjoy it. And lastly, if you're interested in people and practice and what we have to offer, you can visit our [email protected]. 

(00:31:29) Dr. Leon Klempner: And Scott, I, um, I, I, I think I saw on your website that you also, uh, are open to coaching other orthodontists.

(00:31:37) Is that, is that the case? 

(00:31:39) Dr. Scott Law: Yes. Yeah, I am. If, if people wanna reach out, I do have some people who, who, uh, yeah. Who need a little advice starting up or where they're at or they're stuck in a, in a certain point. So, yeah, I'd love, love helping others. I got a lot of help early on myself. Yeah. 

(00:31:54) Dr. Leon Klempner: Okay. Um, again, thanks again, Scott.

(00:31:58) Thanks everybody for listening. (00:32:00) Um, I know that, um, Scott is with me when I close our podcast with. It's never been a better time to be an orthodontist 'cause we really believe it is. We are in the golden age, so take advantage of it live for now.

(00:32:21) Narrator: Thank you for tuning in to the Golden Age of Orthodontics. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or visit our website at the golden age of orthodontics.com for direct links to both the audio and video versions of this episode.