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Wired for Success: Building Your Dream by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

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Building Your Dream

by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

One of the most important parts of your professional life is the physical environment where you go to work each day. Whether building out a leased space or building your dream from the ground up, it is important to get it right. “Getting it right” for one doctor might be completely wrong for another. By following a few simple steps you can get this all-important process done right.

Dream Big

It all starts out with the vision of how you plan to practice. Whether you are a young resident starting out or a veteran orthodontist transitioning from the 2D paper chart world to a new all-digital 3D workflow, the process is the same. Start by interviewing orthodontists and visiting as many offices as you can to see what workflow matches your style of practice. During my residency, one of my favorite activities was to visit the offices of adjunct faculty of the department of orthodontics. Being the son of an orthodontist and working in the family business during school breaks, I was shocked to find not all practices ran like my father’s. In most parts of the country you can travel 30 minutes or less to visit offices that don’t compete with yours to get ideas about how to build your dream. If a 30-minute drive is still within your competition zone, hop on a plane and visit a metropolitan area. Go see at least five offices to get your creative juices flowing. Taking pictures and notes about your experience will help your dream become a reality.

Next it’s time to look at your area and develop an idea of your demographics. You should consult the best available information to make sure you know where you’re planting your business. An analysis of your competition, along with the demographics of your patient population can be accomplished using tools on the Internet. Additionally, you can seek the assistance of a business demographer such as Scott McDonald of DoctorDemographics.com, who will aid in making sense of complex data.

Meet with designers and equipment sales people, but beware your goals and their goals are often at odds. When building out a shell, start with the empty space and layout your design taking into account the key elements of business production. Today’s orthodontic offices are successful when patients are impressed enough to sign the contract at the first visit to the office. Each proposed floor plan should take into consideration the choreographed new-patient dance. The physical environment where you will greet the patient, take records and present proposed treatment all form the stage upon which this dance occurs. Put yourself in the shoes of your patient and imagine how each design element builds buyer confidence and which features detract from your ideal new- patient experience.

Once you have your design, show it to trusted colleagues or mentors on the message boards of Orthotown.com. Interview multiple architects, both those who specialize in dental and orthodontic spaces and those who are more general. Get a bid for the blueprints and select the one who best understands the vision you have previously outlined. With each iteration of your plan, walk through the patient’s first visit mentally and view the proposed experience.

Once your blueprints have been finalized, begin the process of getting contractor bids. Upon bidding out my plans to five different contractors I was amazed to see how disparate the bids came back. The plans were very specific with regard to the finishes called out. The itemized bids included mark-up on the true sub-contractor elements. Most general contractors will gladly show you their profit but won’t always be forthcoming with regard to general conditions (an area where money flows from your pocket to the contractor’s). Have a budget and stay within it. Change orders are inevitable. However, the more specific your plans, the better your bidding process will be.

Plan for Scalability

Not every element of your plan needs to be finished out prior to occupancy. Plan for growth that will come with time. Plan for more chairs and additional design elements (patient entertainment, additional treatment coordinator rooms, etc.) that can be finished later.

Have your recently gone through this process or are you just starting the process for yourself? Share your experiences online at Orthotown.com.
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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