Episode summary
How to Build a Dental Practice That Runs Without You
The Dentist Money Show
· · 52 min · Hosts: Matt · Guests: Michelle Jorgensen
Summary
Dr. Michelle Jorgensen argues that a dental practice can run without the owner only if the owner stops treating ownership like a prize for tenure and starts treating it like a set of specific responsibilities. She describes how her practice in American Fork, Utah grew after she changed procedures because of mercury poisoning, eventually becoming a multi-location, fee-for-service practice with six associates, a partner, and a broader whole-health focus.
Her core point is that partnership should be based on contribution, not time served. She says associates are already “clinical partners” because they are paid for dentistry, and any additional ownership should be tied to a real management role such as facilities, marketing, or financial oversight. She argues that many partnership offers fail because dentists ask associates to buy into equity without giving them new responsibilities.
Jorgensen also pushes back on DSOs as a false solution. She says selling equity often gives up the “seeds” of future value while leaving the owner with many of the same management headaches. Her preferred model is to keep ownership, pay outside help from current profit, and build systems that allow the practice to grow without the dentist carrying every burden.
Key takeaways
- Michelle Jorgensen says partnership should be tied to contribution, not tenure, because clinical work is already compensated separately.
- She argues that dentists should define 12 administrative and managerial duties and assign ownership only when an associate can truly own some of them.
- Jorgensen says DSOs often leave dentists with the same oversight burdens while stripping away the equity that produces future value.
- She recommends using outside business training and mentors, because many of the skills needed to run a practice are not taught in dentistry.
- Her model is to keep the “seeds” of ownership, pay for help out of the harvest, and preserve long-term upside while reducing day-to-day load.
Notable quotes
“I actually call them clinical partners because inside of a inside of a dental practice, you have the clinical act of dentistry that we do”
“So tenure is the wrong thing to base a partnership on”
“compensation or what you pay someone equals contribution, what they contribute”
“the hardest part of all of this is deciding. That's it. The hardest part is decide”
“if you own a practice and you despise the ownership duties, you shouldn't own a practice anymore”
How the episode opens
Consult an adviser or conduct your own due diligence when making financial decisions. General principles discussed during this program do not constitute personal advice. This program is furnished by Dennis Adviserss, a registered investment adviser. Welcome to the Dennis Money Show, where we help Dennis make smart financial decisions. I am Matt and I am here with entrepreneur, dentist, author, gardener extraordinaire Dr. Michelle Jorgensson. Michelle, how are you?
Great. Thank you. So excited to talk with you again. — Yes, it's we love having you on. This is like third or fourth time you're becoming a regular on the show. We love it. And this episode is special. And it's special because we need to highlight. Where are you joining us from right now, Michelle? I am in the highlands of Scotland right now. Actually,
So amazing. I when you said that before we got on, you're like, I'm in Scotland. And I'm like, what are we doing? You should be on vacation. And you're like, I want to do this. So I we really appreciate you joining us from from overseas, the highlands of Scotland. Uh we'll have to talk separately because Scotland's like top of my list along with other areas over there. But I I want to talk to you about it.
It's very cool. We've been having a great trip.
Well, that's great. Um, so much to talk about. Uh, we've again, this is the third or fourth episode we've had you on.
Um, I've shared the last episode we did like I think beginning of last year. I can't even tell you how many times just the amount of knowledge and experience that you bring. Um, today we want to kind of continue that conversation.
you were saying uh even before we got on even just some changing of perspectives you've had through through kind of where you are in business and things that have happened.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- dental practice ownership
- leadership in dentistry
- building a practice
- partnership models
- sustainable growth
Watch the episode
Watch “How to Build a Dental Practice That Runs Without You” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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