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You Should Know: Truenortho by Chelsea Knorr, Editor, Orthotown Magazine

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You Should Know: Truenortho
by Chelsea Knorr, Editor, Orthotown Magazine

Orthotown Magazine talked with President and Founder of Truenortho, Bob Haeger, and he explained what you should know about his company’s ability to help grow your practice.

What is your background in ortho?
Haeger: I have been a full-time private practice orthodontist for 24 years (Board Certified in 2000), managed the statistical analysis for the Schulman Study Group for eight years, am a member of multiple inter disciplinary study clubs, and have been an adjunct professor at the University of Pacific for the past four years. In 2001, I joined the Schulman Study Group and saw an immediate opportunity to study our profession across a much larger sample.

Tell us about Truenortho and what the company offers orthodontists.
Haeger: Truenortho is the fact-based resource tool that channels metrics and business analytics into key insights and recommendations for growing your orthodontic practice. Truenortho provides a thorough analysis of orthodontic practices, and outlines a clear path for implementing updates to help make each practice run more efficiently and more profitably. Truenortho looks beyond collections and production and provides a strategic understanding of your business to make you proactive instead of reactionary when new situations arise.

Our assessment of orthodontic practices is unique in that we measure the three areas of an orthodontic office (generation of patients, clinical techniques and expenses). By analyzing these critical business metrics and comparing practices to the most profitable offices, we are able to identify best practices for orthodontists, evaluate the financial implications of clinical techniques, and provide a detailed report on every single practice. The Truenortho Report not only includes expenses but also provides targets for marketing activities, profits per doctor per day worked, and conversion rates based on amount of Phase I treatment and adult exams. I then personally review the report to identify the key leverage points within each practice that, if improved, will lead to the highest increase in profitability.

For an in-depth discussion of the findings and implications, I will give an annual Truenortho Lecture just prior to the AAO meeting. The lecture will provide insight on topics not reported elsewhere— satisfaction for various products, how clinical techniques affect profitability, and how various office policies such as patient contracts into retention or past due amounts impact profits.

What is the driving philosophy at Truenortho?
Haeger: Truenortho was founded on the principle of building a better mousetrap and finding the truth. One of the major changes I have observed over my 24 years of attending orthodontic meetings and lectures is the fact that a large percentage of speakers are now being sponsored by orthodontic companies. Though I will work with vendors to improve their products, the information in the presentation and reports will remain unbiased in order to achieve our goal of improving business outcomes.

What would you consider to be the “best kept secret” about Truenortho?
Haeger: Truenortho brings the power of actionable metrics to our profession. For the most part, orthodontists practice in silos and have to rely on imprecise metrics—production, collections or exam comparisons—to manage their business. But none of these are an indicator for profitability. Truenortho totally upends our current business model by providing the same detailed metrics for managing and improving our businesses as Fortune 100 companies use on a daily basis.

How can a practice begin working with you?
Haeger: Orthodontists can email DrHaeger@truenortho.com requesting their Truenortho Report. I am available by phone 253- 850-7043 or e-mail seven days a week to answer any questions that arise while completing the survey or interpreting the reports. Once the survey is completed, the report and recommendations will follow shortly thereafter. Also visit Truenorth.com.



Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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