Transcript
Speaker: ADEC's Smart Start program offers first-time practice owners their deepest discounts on equipment and furniture for two years, plus other savings and complimentary services. Ask your ADEC rep for details and start smart with ADEC.
Speaker: Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers.
Speaker: There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. All right. Welcome back to another episode of Beyond Graduation. i'm Savannah Craig with me as always. Renetta Sartor. We have a very special episode today coming from you in person from ADEC with our new best friends. It's now going to be a four person podcast. So we have Dr. Alyssa Hoover and ah the beautiful Crystal hanging out with us today. um Introduce yourselves to the listeners. Tell us where you been how we are all at adec today and so my name is elissa hoover um am a dentist in indianapolis indiana and i just did a startup practice um so i started my practice about a year ago i've been in practice about one year now and about a year and a half ago me and crystal both kind of came here designed my office, pick out everything for the office, and built it from scratch. And so now we're here back at ABIC hanging out.
Speaker: oh So, yeah. So I've been in the field. Oh, my name is Crystal. I've been in the field for 21 years. I met Dr. Hoover at an office that she was an associate at. I was her treatment plan coordinator, and she just, she blew me away. Like, I've been around for a while, and I've seen so many dentists in her work. And her ethics was just amazing. I'm like, you could do your own practice.
Speaker: You are good enough. And she's like, yeah, you're right. She pulled me aside one day and said, you need to go do your own practice. Yes, you need to do your own practice. You need do your own thing. Yeah.
Speaker: She's just amazing. It just blew me away. so and she And she did. so And I'm so proud of her. Her office ah is just doing so well. yeah So, yeah, super proud of her.
Speaker: What do you do in the new office now? um I help manage things. Yes, yes. Pretty much boss Dr. Hoover around. Heck yeah. need it sometimes. All the times, really. yeah She was kind of my like sounding board in the very beginning, so she has so much more experience and so many contacts that I used in the beginning. so She was kind of like even a consultant just like tell me everything I needed to do in the beginning. So she helped me out a lot and it was really fun.
Speaker: Yeah. That's awesome. So really, I just feel like. She does everything I need her to do. Yeah. I'm quite bossy. That's perfect. That's perfect. Crystal, how did you get into dentistry? um you know what i tried college i am just not book smart uh like you guys you guys are very book smart and i am not i have yeah it's just college i tried college was not for me i'm like what can i do that is still a good career but i don't have to work holidays don't have to work weekends or nights and then i went to the dentist and he's like become a dental assistant i was like okay So I went to a trade school and became a dental assistant. And then I worked my after two years of working in the dental field, I became an office manager and I've just been in a sense and I love it.
Speaker: So I work the back and front. And you also do what? Oh, yes. So thats well I didn't know if I should bring that up. yeah you This is a safe space. i can Plug it. So I'm also a twin. And my sister also did the same thing. And about, oh, 18 years in the field, we're like, you know what? Let's start a dental assisting school. There's so many dental assistant schools out there and they're crap.
Speaker: um have Really, all they do is take these kids money And they don't teach them, I think. It's really sad, actually. So we're like, let's start our own school. There's so many schools out there where they have like instructors, but they're not really in the dental field. So they don't really, they don't know. ah So we started our own dental assisting school up five years ago. And yeah, so we do classes. It is huge. It is a huge facility. How many chairs? ah We're actually about five, six, seven. We're about to have nine chairs. and Amazing. That's awesome. And we do Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays. We teach dental c assisting, expanded functions, dental assisting, coronal polishing, and all that stuff. So, yeah, we do all that. That's incredible. So we.
Speaker: I think we're close to like 2,000 students now that have graduated from our program. So it's just getting bigger and bigger. That's awesome. What's the name? How do people apply? it's called Dental Assisting School of Indianapolis. We have a website. Just go to Dental Assisting School of Indianapolis and it says enroll now. And the great thing about our program is it's very affordable. yeah These other programs, they're charging around $10,000 to $20,000. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: which is crazy. um it's Ours 4,100. It's a three-month program, one day a week. so Because there's so many people out there who have to work full-time. They can't afford to go to school full-time. So we wanted to make it where who someone who wants to like better their lives, get a better career, can do it. yeah And not have to go into like serious debt or worry about that. We just want them to focus on school and not have to worry about going into debt and things like that.
Speaker: So it's one day a week for 12 weeks and they graduate and all of our students, we're at like a 97% job placement. Heck yeah. And the only reason why it's not at 100% because some of the students like move out of state and we're not allowed to count them as, because they get jobs out of state, but we're not allowed to count it because it's out of state, not Indiana. Or we'd be at 100%. That's incredible. Yeah. So there's just so many offices out there who need dental assistance. and it's good, well-trained dental assistance. And she knows a lot of dentists in the area. So we know her and can come to her and say, hey, we get calls every week from dentists. Like, do you have anyone? I'm like, just so happens I do. you have like a whole class. Right. go Yeah. Yeah. No worries. That's amazing. yeah thing um but And we do like 12 months, 0% interest financing. So the payments are reasonable and they don't have to stress about it. so And then we have students, like maybe they're struggling a little bit.
Speaker: um They get into their office. They're like, i just I'm struggling. Come back. We let all of our students come back for free for extra training, one-on-one. We don't charge a thing. So we had a girl just Friday.
Speaker: ah She's going for a working interview. And she's like, I'm really nervous. Can I come in and just practice? Absolutely. So she came in We did one-on-one practicing, taking x-rays, suctioning, cleaning rooms, breaking it down, sterilization. Just make sure she's when she goes for an interview, she's she's ready.
Speaker: That's incredible. So we always try to provide that. Yes, come back. We want you to come back. So. And we don't charge. sure You're awesome. I'm so glad. We want them to be. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We want them to succeed. Like, that's how much I want them to succeed. Sometimes I think I care more than they do. but Yeah. My gosh, I just I want them to be the best of the best.
Speaker: But yeah you need someone at that stage in your career who wants that for you and believes in you and gives you those tools to to succeed. And yeah, ah even like we have expanded functions dental assisting. And I don't know if you guys have that here. But I know like in some states only dentists can place the fillings. In Ohio, we have EFTAs. Okay. Love my EFTAs. Is that new? Is that recent? I don't think so in Ohio. I think we've had it for a while. oh South Carolina? No.
Speaker: Oh, you have to place your own fillings? murk. It's the best. It's yeah but the The doctors come in, prep, go. You have to prep and stay and do all the work. Nope, nope, nope. So we train them to place fillings, and sometimes they're like they're struggling. Like, I can't seem to not get overhangs. i Come in, let's practice. So we have them come in. We have typodonts. We prep the typodonts, all the teeth, and we practice. And... Yeah, so we have one girl, she's at an office and she's like, I'm just struggling.
Speaker: Come in. So she's been coming in like once a week and we've been practicing and so she can get better. So, yeah, that's so cool. mean I'm moving to Indiana. I'm.
Speaker: she's like She said she's mine. And then we also do... um go You can have Crystal. She'll help you assistance all the time. but i love to help i do I love to help. I want everyone to succeed. like My goal for Dr. Hoover is to be one of the most successful dentists. I want her to be the most successful in Indiana. like The top doctor. yeah That's just what I want for her i want her. I want her to be the best. And she will be.
Speaker: I love it. That's incredible. I want her to be the best. I want her to make the most money. i want her to have everything. I want her to have not just one house. I want her to have a house in Maui. She does always act like this. Yeah. i want to have that What can I do? i'm just going clean your floors. I'm like, okay, fine. I just want her to have everything. Like all the houses. i want her to have her own private jet. Like, you know, all that stuff.
Speaker: And we're here to treat the patients. Yeah. But because everyone's going to love her and everyone's just going to flock to and she's just to make some money, so much money from it because everyone loves her. We've known her for like two minutes and we flocked to her. So we'll circle back, but I want, what's your journey into dentistry? Okay. So to be honest, i went into undergrad for medicine. Okay. um And then about three years in, this is kind of funny story.
Speaker: Three years in that's my honest journey into dentistry. yeah But um I just loved it so much when I started shadowing. And after that, I think more my junior and senior year of college, we started shadowing a bunch together. And I'd spent a lot of time in his office and i just loved it. Yeah. And I couldn't really explain why, but I was like, I just love this. It's so fun. And I'm like artsy and yeah, work with my hands kind of person. So I'm like, this is so fun. um And so then, yeah, i fully switched to applying to dental school, took a few extra classes and then, yeah, applied to dental school.
Speaker: And here you are. Here I am. That's amazing. later So it into dentistry, but go ahead. Oh, go ahead. No, you were going to tell me next. No, let's keep going. you asked her So I was going to say, i mean, Crystal is like your biggest fan. She is my permanent hype girl. Yes. Yes. I love that. I love that for you. I need, I need that too. Yeah. We do that for each other. but the team um My question was going to be, you know, she was telling you, Hey, you have it all. hmm.
Speaker: you would be great out on your own. You're going do great. What was it like internally? Like, you know, what was the internal battle of going from, okay, I'm an associate. Okay. Now i feel like I'm ready to step out on my own. Yeah. So I really hadn't thought too much about it. I was in an associateship associateship where I was pretty comfortable and we all had, there's four doctors. We all had separate teams and Crystal was on my team and she was pretty new at that office and she kind of,
Speaker: A, she pushed tree-on planning-wise or scheduling-wise or whatever it is, to be better. So she just kind of saw my potential in that, how I could kind of push my team and do a lot of stuff clinically. so i think, I...
Speaker: i Didn't ever think about owning my own practice or doing it. And then at some point she just came me and she was like, you're kind of past this. Like, I think you can do more. she's like, so there's, she's like, there's no, it was a certain situation in my ah chair associate's open an office, but she was like, you can do more. you need to kind of step out and do your own thing where she's like, you're not growing here. Like you've kind of maxed out your growth and you can do more. And I was like, well, I don't, I don't think I can, like, I don't know how. And she's like, I will help you. i will show you like
Speaker: A, B, and C, just to get started. And then it just kind of took off from there where i was like, okay, I can do this. So really like having one person like look you in the face and believe in you and be like, you can do this. I see your potential. That's all you kind of need to push yourself to kind of make the first step. So... Yeah, you're like, if if you believe in me, I guess I'll believe in me. Right. and like I really do. you owe Everything to Crystal. I've been like, hey, like, just go. like It's on the recording now. You can't take it back. She knows. She's very well aware. But um yeah, just it was just nice to have someone look at you and be like, you can do this. Like, go. yeah Like, go on. And I did and figured it out because I was like, i don't know how she's like, you'll figure it out. Yeah. Just go and you didn't do it. And that's the moral of the story. just She's so smart. And not only is she's so smart, but she has so much common sense. And gosh, yeah. Yeah. what not doubt her one What did you see in her that you hadn't seen in other doctors? Because you have been in the industry forever. You've seen the good, the bad, the ugly. Yes. What are the things that.
Speaker: She is so ethical. Yeah. What does that look like day to day you noticed? It was so nice. I have seen dentists treatment plan things. Like, you know what?
Speaker: This dentist, he's like, I got a speeding ticket today. I need to diagnose a couple more things to pay for that ticket, yeah even if it's not there. Sure. i was like, OK. Wow. um And she's like i' like she's like, we're just going to watch it, ah put a watch on this. I'm like, for what? Why? Yeah. like yeah Let's just do it. Yeah. She's like, Crystal, still no. i was like, yeah, she's just so ethical. And I do believe when you're ethical, the money will follow. Yes. When you do things the right way. And just and I love how she cared so much for the patients. It was never about the money. Yeah. um Patients always came first where I've worked with dentists. Money first. Yeah. And then patients like the last thing. Yeah. um And I just love that. And no matter what, she'd never changed. Yeah.
Speaker: in the amount of time we were together. and I was like, wow, she will be such an amazing dentist. She takes such good care of her patients and she just cares so much about her patients and making sure they get the best treatment. And like you said, I've seen so much in my 21 years um I just, yeah, i just love that about her. And I just know, like, she's going to do so good. I was like, you have to do your own thing. And she was. She was not growing there anymore. And it was time to, it's time to grow. yeah Time to spread those wings and fly, baby bird. but
Speaker: So when you decided to, you did a startup. Mm-hmm. how did you decide ADEC? And what was that journey like? You know, we have to give credit. ADEC brought us here and brought us together. and I know we're like loading you down with questions, but at what part of that startup journey did you guys reach out ADEC to see what happened? um Yes. Yes. So Crystal knew Are you looking for a job?
Speaker: But not just any job, a really good job. And by job, we mean in dentistry, of course. And a job in dentistry could be an associateship, starting your own, or acquiring a practice. There's a lot of ways to be a dentist. If you're looking and you've been looking, Ignite DDS Coaching is the way to go. Take a look at IgniteDDS.com. We've got all of the resources to find the perfect dentist job for you.
Speaker: Things. um So she set me up with my realtor who she had worked with previously, who was also friends with my Patterson reps. And Patterson reps were friends with.
Speaker: not friends with, worked with obviously the ADEC reps. So I started my journey with the Patterson team and they were like, hey, we're designing the space. Once I decided I wanted actually do a startup and not buy with the realtor, He's like, okay, get with Patterson. We're to design the space. They'll design it for you. And then we'll go to ADEC and kind of plan all the stuff if you want to use ADEC. And I got the choice and I did want to. yeah um But then we came to ADEC, designed everything, designed all the chairs and equipment with the space as went while we were designing the space together. And then when I was all done with that, I would take that to my architect and start building, et cetera. But um yeah, once I got connected with the ADEC team, it was just the ADEC's
Speaker: passion for the equipment and for everything they were selling and how well it works. Obviously, ADEC has the best reputation in the dental field, so I already knew that I wanted ADEC chairs at least. But after I came here and saw everything, it was just so fun. And I was like, okay, yeah, let's do it all. And I feel like ADEC's equipment, like their chairs, like they're just top notch and they last forever. We have ADEC in our school. All the chairs are ADEC and yeah, the brand is just amazing. In my previous office, we had 20 chairs. So they were pieced together. I call them garage hill chairs. so yeah I'm sure they're great, but they were just all different kinds of brands. And I... knew when I left there i was like I can't stand these the difference in every room you go into yeah I can tell which chairs are ready to like how they move how they function and I know they're gonna last like for me it was just where I was willing to put my time and effort and energy so yeah I just always knew there was really good yeah yeah yeah if you get to do it and you get to pick what you want that was the thing i was like I get to pick all this stuff so I'm gonna get exactly what I want and i got to pick out the colors the
Speaker: Textures, whatever it is What exactly what I wanted, because at my old office, it's like, here's your chair. You don't get to pick everything you want. yeah And so I got to sit down. try everything, see what I wanted, and then pick exactly what I want and wear. And it just felt so fun and special. but That's awesome. That's great. That's awesome. and Yeah.
Speaker: I don't remember the question. Nope. You nailed it. You nailed it. we We gave you like four questions. Yes. And you did it. It was so fun. So did you use 8X Smart Start? I did. So it was about a year ago. It was a while back, but...
Speaker: I know that I got a big discount with a Smart Start ah package. um So that really helped me. Go ahead. I was going to say, I know a lot of dentists, the equipment is expensive. It doesn't matter where you're getting it from or anything like that. yeah But, you know, as you stated, it it's something that you're going to use every single day.
Speaker: And depending on what type of practice you have, the chair is going up and down. up Yeah. And you get what you pay for too. so For sure. And i yeah I knew that going in. But I think with the Smart Start, i was crazy about numbers. And I was like, hey, I'm going to save where I can, when I can. I'm willing to splurge on my chair's equipment, etc. But the amount of money it saved me doing the Smart Start program was...
Speaker: pretty large, I guess you could say. And then they also give you that discount for a whole year. So you can buy whatever you want in the next year with that discount. And then it just helped me a lot being a startup because iu started with two rooms and then they're like, well if you build anything, then you can just use the discount and it kind of encouraged you to build and grow and things like that so it helped a lot that's awesome and they gave you like i don't know freebies like i think i got a chair for free with that program like a yeah provider chair yeah yeah yeah um things like that so it was just really nice they tried to help you out however they could because they knew you were a startup now you don't have billions of dollars to spend for sure try and help you wherever they can yeah Yeah, that's awesome. What um what advice would you guys have on the dentist team dynamic? I feel like this is such a unique experience. In offices, there can be, and you've kind of switched sides from assisting to front end and that sort of thing. And there's, whether it's true or not, this idea of like, there's these little clicks in the office and the doctors are a click and the front is a click and the office manager and the doctor battle and the hygienists and the assistants battle. And then in practices that have EFTAs, there can be this EFTA assistant hierarchy and all of these things. Oh, I've seen that. Oh, yes. I've seen it all how
Speaker: How have you guys managed it on your career in your office now with each other? Because, you know, this could be a hierarchy, but it's it's clear how much respect and and admiration you two have for each other. What's your advice for... My pod got along so well where it was always a team effort and there was no like separation of...
Speaker: stuff i don't know it's just an aspect of it i'm also a female like i take the approach of like being best friends with my team i know a lot of people don't like to take that approach but i just feel like that works best for me sure um and when i started out i was 26 so most of these girls were either older than me or my age and it just felt like a friendly vibe and sometimes that works sometimes it doesn't but it just worked for me And so I just made it like a best friendship through the team. And then that made everyone else like feel like best friends. So my pod, we spent so much time together that we all were like best friends. How everyone... There was no drama in our pod. Right. Yeah. How everyone got along with others was a little...
Speaker: more volatile because of management or whatever, per se. And I ran my team a certain way where other doctors didn't run their team a certain way, other assistants might be mad that their team is not run like that or whatever. But it just worked. My team, I made them... I'm a very like, i want to say aggressive doctor, but like a. You have expectations and you hold people accountable. Expectations are like, i we do a lot and I expect a lot. So. and she will tell you too. And I think that's a big thing where a lot of doctors don't like confrontation. yeah They hate it. um But she'll come to you be like, hey, like you're not doing what I asked you to do. I'm like, oh. Yeah.
Speaker: So she'll hold you accountable. And I like that she doesn't like, she was not a doctor who would go behind your back and talk to another team member about you. And then here, then you would have to hear about it. Like, Oh, did you hear doctor? So-and-so said this about you. I'm like, huh? Right. very She's not like that. Um, she won't say anything behind your back that she wouldn't say to your face. Yeah. So, and I feel like that's really clear and kind. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. what do you I don't know about the kind part. I'm very direct. And some people didn't do well with that. And my team did. So,
Speaker: I just very direct with everyone and then had expectations. And they always said, like, it made us better because we were just all pushed to this higher standard that maybe other teams weren't pushed to. So when I worked with our team members, it didn't really work out sometimes because they're used to working in a certain way. And but...
Speaker: I hope that answers the question. now Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's the doctor sets the tone. And i think that's they're the captain. The point even as an associate that you are in charge of your team and you can own that and and run with those expectations. And you should have those for your people. I like to act like we're a team. It's not like doctor hygienist assistant. We are on the same level. We're all working for the same goal. We all have a job to do.
Speaker: Your job is this. My job is this. Just because I'm drilling doesn't mean that I'm more important than you and I'm not going to act like I'm higher up than you. yep We're all together and we're getting this done. Even front office and back office, they're always in constant communication and they're always working towards the same goal. yeah So a lot of people have front office jobs, back office jobs. no everyone knows insurance. Everyone knows treatment planning. Everyone knows the same things. And we're scheduling everything. Everyone is working together. If one person's busy, the other person can pick up that job. So there aren't clear, clear roles because we're all doing everything together all the time. So that's kind of nice. And being smaller now, it was harder as a bigger team, but being smaller now.
Speaker: We just all work together so well. Yeah. so That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. She's never acted um like some doctors have these complexes like I'm God and you're this puny little person. I, you know, um I've worked with that, but she's always so humble. She is not the type of doctors like she will ask for help if she needs help or she's not sure on something, even though I'm not a doctor or a dentist. um She'll like, what do you think of this? Yeah. She always takes everyone's opinion in. She's like, just because I asked you doesn't mean I'll do that. But I want everyone's opinion. Everyone's opinion matters. And she takes them all in consideration. But in the end, she'll do what she feels best, but which is great. And that's what she should do. um
Speaker: But she's just so humble and doesn't act like I'm better than you. And she knows that, like she said, just because I'm the one drilling doesn't mean I'm the most important. It takes everyone to run the office. 100%. I was standing the other day.
Speaker: And I just like got up and handed it to my assistant. And I said, I'm sorry, my assistant's better at this. Like she's going do it And the patient goes, she just said you were better at that than her. i was like, she she is. So I'm going to give her the scanner. No, I have this conversation with my team and shout out to my team. They keep, they're like, we we want shout outs on the podcast. Okay. Um, so here you go, girls. Um, but no, I tell them that all the time. like, honestly, I'm replaceable. Like you can take me out of this equation and plug in another doctor and this hand piece is going to spin. Yeah.
Speaker: I can't do this without you guys. Like I would be toast. yeah. And she definitely doesn't act like we're just like a dime a dozen. She's like, she values every single one of us. um And that's really nice. And yeah she's just like when people are gone. just love that. I was humble. She is. And join us for this episode of beyond graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
Speaker: Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DBS and at Dr. Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey. ADEC certified pre-owned equipment is a sustainable, affordable choice that makes genuine ADEC equipment available to every doctor. Each package is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. So if you see one you like, contact your dealer. For more information, go to www.adec.com backslash findadealer. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and future dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS coaching.
Speaker: We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.
