The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
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The Alimond Show
Dr. Owais Naeem & Dr. Diana Saffarini - Braces to Boutique: Building a Family-Centered Orthodontic Practice
What if going to the orthodontist felt more like a celebration than a chore? This compelling question drives the innovative approach of Dr. Owais Naeem & Dr. Diana Saffarini, the husband-wife team behind Potomac River Orthodontics serving Virginia communities from Woodbridge to Falls Church.
Dr. Owais Naeem's journey to orthodontics carries a fascinating legacy – his ancestors were blacksmiths who worked with metal for generations before his father became the family's first dentist. Now, Dr. Naeem has come full circle, returning to metal-bending through orthodontics, while Dr. Diana brings her unique background as both a general dentist and former educator to their partnership. Together, they're revolutionizing the orthodontic experience through technological innovation, personalized care, and creating moments of joy throughout treatment.
The traditional orthodontic experience – painful adjustments, food restrictions, constant emergency visits for broken brackets – is being transformed through clear aligner technology and remote monitoring capabilities. Parents especially appreciate how their approach eliminates frequent school absences and office visits. Early intervention for children as young as 7-9 years old can now create proper jaw development, potentially avoiding extractions and more invasive procedures later. This proactive approach combines with their unique "boutique practice without boutique prices" philosophy, ensuring personalized attention without the assembly-line feeling of traditional orthodontic offices.
What truly distinguishes them is their commitment to celebration throughout the treatment journey – from stickers that personalize Invisalign aligners to completion ceremonies featuring favorite foods and ceremonial gong-ringing. Their community engagement strategies (including bringing camels to their grand opening!), faith-based business principles, and family-centered practice create an environment where treatment becomes an opportunity for connection rather than a medical obligation. As they prepare to build their third location from the ground up, they continue redefining what orthodontic care can and should be – a celebration of transformation, confidence, and beautiful smiles.
Considering orthodontic treatment for yourself or your child? Discover how this modern approach might transform your expectations and experience.
My name is OS Naim. Our business is called Potomac River Orthodontics. We serve the Woodbridge, Dumfries, Manassas and now, pretty soon here, Falls Church communities. And let me pass it to my wife Hi, I'm Diana.
Speaker 2:I'm a general dentist. We work together but separately. Technically I'm under a different name, so I say I work with Potomac River Ortho, just because I love the name, but I'm also with the general dental office and we share the same space. Naeem Family Dentistry.
Speaker 3:Awesome, and congratulations on the building of your third location. You said right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, we just started that up, so we're super excited. So this will be our first venture into building our own space, because we're pretty young into owning a business. We started in around 2023. We actually lived in Detroit for a few years and we moved back, but we both grew up in Virginia.
Speaker 1:So I actually grew up in the Dumfries Woodbridge area and then Diana grew up in Fairfax, and so when we came back, we were like, okay, we're ready, let's do our own thing. And we started the first two within my father's old location where he used to be a dentist. So the space was already made, everything was ready to go. We just kind of came in, updated things, made it a little more modern and took it over over, and then this new location will be the first one that's, uh, built by us, built from the ground up, um, built with our kind of touch and modern look that we're going for, which I'm really excited to show people once it's finally built and ready to go yeah, that's gonna feel so good when it's all done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's amazing. Did you want to add something?
Speaker 2:No, I mean so as a general dentist. I love arts and you know being creative, and I got the chance to help update the offices the current ones that we're in. So I'm like part-time dentist, part-time, I'm doing the marketing and helping with the you know, aesthetics and the managing of the Potomac River Ortho brand, and then part-time mom. So I'm pretty much doing everything. Wow, yeah, that's a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's fun, like it's nice to do a little bit of everything. I always have the kids in the back of my mind while I'm doing everything, so that's the only. I guess that's probably not part-time, that's definitely full-time. But yeah, I mean it's fun. I'm enjoying it too and being able to have a career that I can do part-time as a dentist it's been great. And marketing and managing I do a lot from home as well.
Speaker 3:Awesome, all right Well, take me back.
Speaker 1:Give me an overview of your journey, kind, all right, well take me back, give me an overview of your journey, kind of how you got to this point. Yeah, I mean, we could go all the way back, but I would say, growing up, I had the pleasure of growing up in a dental household. It's actually funny. We go even further back than that. We say, like my parents and their ancestors were all blacksmith, and so my dad was the first one to take his love of bending metal and working with his hands and things like that and turn it into a profession like dentistry. And then I took it one step back and kind of started bending metal again with orthodontics and braces.
Speaker 1:But yeah, growing up I hated going to the dentist because my dad was one and I didn't want to spend my days after school with him sitting in his office just doing nothing, reading the magazines, things like that. So as I got older, though, it became pretty evident that it had everything that I wanted. I was able to work with my hands. I was able to do the science and the knowledge that I had from my background and use my love for science and just working with people and talking to people daily. So I feel like it kind of became the best solution for me and my dad was like I was telling you this from day one. Why didn't you listen to me? But we're all horrible about listening to our parents.
Speaker 1:So yeah went to dental school and then, as I was in dental school, I was like, hey, you do everything, you're a super dentist. Is there anything you recommend that I should do? And he was like there's one thing I don't really know how to do it's braces, it's Invisalign, it's orthodontics. So I would recommend going into that. And so that's what I pursued, and I was blessed to get into a program where they only accept four people each year.
Speaker 2:Wow, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a huge blessing, and while I was in dental school I got to meet Diana. So, yeah, I'll let her continue.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So to add to that, I mean, I always told him like you know, you're lucky, your dad was a dentist, because I never had anyone in my family whatsoever that I, you know, was in dentistry. There were doctors, there were pharmacists, but it's a very different field. You don't get to own your own business. You're still, you know, working on somebody else's hours. And I told him like I would love for our kids to be able to grow up in our offices too. You know, we can still be at work and then they can kind of do their homework, they can hang out, they can kind of do their homework, they can hang out, they can kind of just look around and enjoy the atmosphere. And he said, no, I hated growing up in a dental office.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, but back then the atmosphere wasn't really set up for that, you know. Now it's like you can, you know vibes or whatever. You know, everybody's talking about the vibe and the atmosphere and how they feel and the emotions around being in a certain space. So they feel and the emotions around being in a certain space. So we want to create a space that is not just awesome for us, you know, for our patients, but also for our kids that they actually want to come and they say, hey, I love going there, that's almost an extension of our household. So that's our goal with our designs and, you know, hopefully soon we can kind of integrate that even more in the offices that we already have. But those ones are a little bit smaller, so it's questionable. But we usually find a way to kind of find solutions to our problems.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I'm sure with, like your expertise in marketing too, it all ties together and I'm sure that this is what sets you guys apart, right, I'm sure it keeps people coming back when it's a welcoming space and it's a good environment and the vibe the vibe is good, so that's really amazing. I think on your website it said you grew up as a brace face. What do you think most kids and parents misunderstand about orthodontics and how do you help change that perception?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I think there's a couple of things. One is orthodontics is painful, which, yes, we've all had orthodontics. We know that beauty is pain and kind of moving your teeth through your body's, going through that same process of of getting really sore, um, and then it gets better and after like three or four days you're back to normal and everything feels, feels, great. So so, yeah, there is a little bit of discomfort, but it's it's very minimal and it doesn't last for long, um.
Speaker 1:The other thing that parents are always concerned about is, uh, food restrictions, not being able to eat the favorite things that they love to eat, taking a lot of time away from school, from work, and having to come in constantly.
Speaker 1:And I think that was kind of the old school way of doing things. Growing up, we would always be at the orthodontist, we would always have pokey wires, broken brackets, and we'd always have rules that we need to follow. But with the advent of technology and the way we're doing orthodontics now, especially with clear aligners, with Invisalign, things like that, we're able to avoid any pokey wires, any metal, any broken brackets, anything like that. No food restrictions. They can eat what they want, they can drink what they want, they just need to pop them in and out whenever they're doing it, and then for the parents it's just become so much easier with all the technology we have, especially what we use in our office. We use a lot of remote technology so they can reach us at any time. So not only is it more convenient and I like to say, you talk to me more than you used to, when you were just bringing the kid every four to six weeks, but now they don't have to take them out of school to bring them to us.
Speaker 3:We can do a lot of virtual appointments and take care of them and see them every three to four months instead of every two to three weeks. Wow, yeah, that's great because I'm thinking back to my time when I had braces years and years and years ago, and I feel like every kid with braces was going into the orthodontist, leaving school almost every week with a broken bracket and complaining about, like this issue, that issue. So it's just fascinating to see how far technology has come and it's great that you guys are integrating all of that and you have like the Invisalign, because I know food restrictions are always like a big thing for kids too.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1:And the technology where, like, they can message you instead of having to come in every time, because that's another thing, people don't like to wait too long and you don't have like as backed up of an office, I'm sure For sure, yeah, and that's another reason why we do all of this technology, because I grew up in practices where it felt like a factory or it felt like a mill, where every day you're just you're sitting in queue, you wait to be the next one up and then you go into your seat and it's a five second appointment where the doctor comes in, they talk to you and then they leave and the assistant is pretty much doing everything for you.
Speaker 1:So there wasn't really much one on one interaction getting to know the doctor, things like that and parents always left with questions. I felt like. So our style of doing orthodontics and kind of our goal with it is to be a boutique practice without the boutique prices, but what that means really is getting the patient in, spending quality time with them, spending as much time as they need, having a private setup where they get to just interact with us. There's not multiple kids sitting next to them, all wailing, all going through different process of tying their braces and stuff like that, but it's very one-on-one, very, very easy to get your answer, your questions answered and to to basically know that you're getting the right treatment each time and it's being catered exactly to you, personalized the way you want it.
Speaker 2:And this way you also get to take, get photos, like regularly throughout the treatment. If someone has a question, they just submit the photo and it's through the app. Everything is pretty easy. So I think that's been really helpful for parents to get that peace of mind, because I think, as parents, like you know, you're always worried about your kids and you don't know, is this normal? Is that normal that you can't really remember how it was when you had your own braces, if you even had braces?
Speaker 2:You know, I think now more and more people are really into the aesthetics of having your teeth straightened, and not only the aesthetics but also, like the airway relationship and the health of it. You know, we've had parents, my kid's not sleeping. I think that they have a really constricted airway and we're like, yeah, you know what they do have a really constricted palate. That's something that could be expanded, et cetera. So there's always something and parents are more aware now with you know, social media and you know just being more connected to different stories that might not be in their community but could be somewhere that they see online.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's great that you guys, as parents, are able to be empathetic to the parents that come in and really understand that experience and address that as the parents need. So, yeah, I'm sure that sets you guys apart as well. You've turned something many kids dread, which are braces and orthodontic work and just dentistry in general, into something to celebrate. What would you say? Your secret to making treatments feel exciting and positive is I think it's that one-on-one environment.
Speaker 1:I think it's having the opportunity to talk to your orthodontist at any point in the process. We celebrate. We do tons of things to make the kids feel happy and excited to be there. For example, one of the downsides to Invisalign was kids were like oh, but I don't get colors on my teeth anymore and that was a big part of braces growing up, so we started offering little stickers, so now you can put little stickers on your invisalign so you still get that experience of of the colors and the emojis and everything there. Um, yeah, so we, uh, we try to celebrate on every step of the way, from the start to the finish, and then when they finish, it's a real celebration where we bring out a gong, we celebrate, celebrate. We have, yeah, we like pop bottles.
Speaker 2:We do whatever we can to get their dreams to get like.
Speaker 1:some of the things we focus on are their favorite foods that they didn't get to eat much of. During this process, we'll make sure we know beforehand what they want and we'll go out and we'll grab it, and the kids love that. So, yeah, it's been a very personalized experience, but a very joyous and celebratory experience as well Awesome.
Speaker 2:Also, I would add that a lot of times we meet the kids at schools.
Speaker 2:Sometimes we go in for school events or presentations or career days.
Speaker 2:We do a lot of marketing events where we go out into the community, swim teams, different family functions and things like that. So when we see the children and the parents in that environment, where it's a fun place and they're not having their first visit to meet us, be in that environment of being in the dental office or an orthodontic office, it's just, it's more comfortable, and then they come in and they see us as a human being rather than a doctor who might be more intimidating. So I think they've had good experiences that way. A lot of times they're like oh yeah, I saw you at that event and you know their parents are comfortable with us because they get the time to talk to us and meet us in that you know very fun environment. And then they come in and we always try to replicate that too. But you know there's anxiety once they're in the chair. But you know we try to get them to be comfortable beforehand and it works. I think that they've been very happy to have met us that way and they've trusted us as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Establishing that human connection before they sit down in the chair, I feel like makes a world of the difference, especially in the medical field. I think that sometimes I can just feel I mean sterile, as it should, but like there's this weird separation between doctor and patient, but when you kind of not come down to the patient's level but when you like, meet them before they come in, I could imagine that that makes just such a difference for their state of mind and their anxiety levels and just they feel like they know you on a human level rather than like this is the authority. This is like my doctor, my dentist, my orthodontist.
Speaker 3:So, I really love that. Let's see. So your journeys took you to some of the top programs in the country. You guys met at one of them, correct? I think you mentioned, and what lessons from your training from those programs most shape how you practice today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was pretty fortunate. My program was very clinical based, so it was like it wasn't as like focused on the books. We're not sitting in a room just reading all day long focused on the books. We're not sitting in a room just reading all day long. We're out in the open doing the actual work, which was a blessing, because most programs are focused for at least a couple of the beginning months or the year, the first year, on just research and knowing what you're doing.
Speaker 1:We were thrown in from day one and so I think that prepared us a lot on how to interact, how to deal with patients and then also how to do good clinical work that's going to make people happy and get the results that we want out of it along the way. So that was a big part of our education. I think, yeah, most places you go to when graduates leave, they'll say we didn't get much business education. We just were focused on how to do orthodontics, which is important. You should know how to do it, but at the end of the day, most people that are orthodontists are also business owners. So having that skill, having mentors, having people that you meet along the way that can guide you on how to run a business, how to answer people's questions, how to deal with complications. That's invaluable.
Speaker 1:So that was a big part of it. I was lucky enough to have a mentor when I graduated that I worked for in Detroit while Diana was in school, and so that really taught me like, okay, how do I answer difficult questions that patients have? How do I deal with concerns in a good way that doesn't put the blame on anyone and kind of makes the solution come to the front and make people feel at ease. So those lessons came afterwards, but I think starting that in residency was a huge benefit. Yeah, yeah, and I think Diana had that starting from dental school. I would say like even before residency.
Speaker 2:So my thought is that you know, dental school teaches you to be a dentist, but they don't always teach you, like you said, the business and how to deal with different situations. You only see a few patients a day in dental school in your third and fourth years. So you're not going to experience everything, but I think that my experience with you know a lot of the business related things. Learning was actually before dental school. I was a teacher before I went into dental school and so I taught for a couple of years. The latest was I taught ninth grade biology at a high school in the area honors and general, so I had like 120 students that I taught throughout the week, six classes. So it was a lot of work, it was a full time and I got to experience what it's like to, you know, interact with a lot of parents, interact with a lot of kids, and you know high schoolers that's ninth grader is pretty much the same age that we see a lot of right now for braces and Invisalign, and so that's actually where I learned a lot about how to work with parents, what parents want. You know parents will get mad about things that you never even think of to get mad about. And so I'm just like you know I took all that in to learn how to deal with all these issues and I talked to all these teachers who have worked for years and years. You know, like I had a parent who had emailed me. You know why does my kid have an A minus and not an A? You know just small things like that. And so you know now as a parent, I get that you're really worried about your kid and maybe you nitpick more than they even care.
Speaker 2:But same with dentistry, you know, and that feels even more detailed, right and even more serious than a grade, because you know you have four quarters in the grade. But when someone comes to your dental because you know you have four quarters in the grade, but when someone comes to your dental chair, you have one chance to make it right and to make them feel good and feel comfortable and make them happy. So, um, a lot of um training that I think makes a good dentist is what happens outside of dentistry other interests that you have, other um things that you've gone through a different life experiences and stuff like that. So, yeah, I would say honestly, teaching was one of my biggest lessons and I learned a lot and I recommend you know and you know now as a dentist. You're an educator, so you have to know how to properly teach parents and kids and families and your patients. You know proper aligner, wear proper, how to take care of your braces, how to take care of your teeth, your fillings, your crowns, everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that sounds like excellent preparation. That's really, that's super cool. It's cool that you have that background. I've never, like I've never, spoken to another dentist that had that educational background, but it makes sense. Even just hearing you speak, like the way that you speak is very like easy to listen to, and I feel like if you were my dentist and you were educating me on something like it would be very clear to me like why and you know what to do and the science behind it and I think that I think that a lot of dentists could probably benefit from being in a ninth grade classroom.
Speaker 2:I know, no, I mean the ninth graders.
Speaker 2:They will challenge you, so you will you will learn, you know to tell them what they want to hear and explain things in ways that that makes them comfortable. And I always actually teach the assistants a lot too. Like the assistants, I'm always like you know why I'm doing this. And they're like, no, I don't know. I'm like, well, you should probably know by now. So, like this is the third time I'm doing it. And now, so, like this is the third time I'm doing it, I'm going to tell you yeah, you know now you've seen it done a couple of times and now I want you to know why we're doing it. And they learn, and they learn so fast and they enjoy watching it more if they know why the heck we're doing it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, you know, it can be really boring if you're just watching something, not even knowing what you're looking for, why you're doing it, what it's going to do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, education is big for me, yeah, and I feel like some of maybe like the old age or not old age dentists, but like the older generation of dentists, weren't as big Like correct me if I'm wrong, but just from what I've kind of gathered from my experience, from others' experience, some of the older generation isn't as big on education and on answering questions and taking the time to listen and address, like the why, and I think that's why the new generation of dentists, orthodontists, medical professionals are so exciting because they really take that into account and I'm just I'm thrilled at what the future looks like for dentistry and for healthcare. So thank you both. Now there's a lot more curiosity.
Speaker 2:Like patients, they come in already having some sense of background, maybe just from Googling. They might be right, they might be wrong, but you know, just informing them why we're doing what we're doing is really helpful because you want to build trust. I've had patients come to me for a second opinion and the first opinion was kind of crazy. So I want them to know that. You know my reasoning for what I'm diagnosing is this. You know my reasoning for what I'm diagnosing is this, and I show them the x-ray, I explain it to them as if they're learning it. You know, as a patient, they should know what's going on and why. It shouldn't just be, oh yeah, just do whatever, because people have different ideas, different opinions, and you know I want to help people and you know our biggest thing is honesty and integrity. So we would never recommend something that just doesn't scientifically make sense.
Speaker 3:All right, well, kind of shifting gears towards, like technology, innovations. What's one innovation?
Speaker 1:that you guys are most excited to bring to patients. I think there's actually a couple. I'm always like I think us as dentists and orthodontists, we're always on the cutting edge of what's out there because we are all kind of engineers in a couple. I'm always like I think us as dentists and orthodontists, we're always on the cutting edge of what's out there because we are all kind of engineers in a way, like we're all kind of they always say dentists are part dentist, part engineer, part artist, and those are like the three main things that we all kind of gravitate towards. But I would say the biggest technology changes that I'm loving, that I'm looking forward to kind of implementing for towards, but I would say the biggest technology changes that I'm loving, that I'm looking forward to kind of implementing for my patients, will be some of these ai tools that are coming out that can really make it easy to communicate, make it easy to kind of put away all the paperwork, which is the worst part of being a practice owner and a business person is dealing with all the the forms and filling things out and that kind of stuff. Like if that can all be automated, then we can focus on the real thing, which is the teeth and why you're here and what we can do to make your smile beautiful, and so that I'm really excited for and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of all these tools as they come out. The other thing is definitely the advances in clear aligner technology. We love it. It's amazing. I know for my kids I'm going to be doing that for them it just makes things so much easier.
Speaker 1:We talked about the food. We talked about the no emergencies, no pokey wires, things like that, but now we're seeing some really cool stuff for younger kids with clear aligners, which wasn't a thing back in the day, but being able to widen jaws, make space, develop mouths before they're even at the point of losing all their baby teeth. It allows us to gain the space they need for those adult teeth to grow in. So now we're not dealing with as much extraction of taking adult teeth out. We're not dealing with as much teeth that are stuck in. So now we're not dealing with as much extraction of taking adult teeth out. We're not dealing with as much teeth that are stuck in the bone that we need to bring down with a gold chain and things like that. So it's just become we're kind of avoiding the surgical side of things and we're doing treatment at a younger age, but we're getting better results and it's also boosting their confidence at a younger age. So, like I went through my awkward stage in middle school I didn't have braces. My teeth were crazy.
Speaker 2:I do yeah.
Speaker 1:You know it's a rite of passage, but at the same time how awesome would it be to not have to go through that and have a beautiful smile from from a young age and just kind of keep that going and maintain it and touch it up as needed, but not having two to three years of orthodontics at one point and just do it over time and a little bit here, a little bit there. At the end of it all it still just looks beautiful and it all fits together with the least amount of actual work needed and actual time spent in the chair and things like that. So it's really cool what's coming out and what we're able to do now, especially in the seven, eight, nine-year-old range, to be able to advance and create jaws that are larger and fitting all the teeth and taking away some of the issues we see as little kids.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it sounds a lot less invasive correct me if I'm wrong and like a little bit less painful yeah, hopefully, yeah, no, definitely I wish I would have had that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, seriously, and I would say this my kids are better than my adults when it comes to wearing their aligners. That's like the number one question. Parents say like, what if they don't wear it? What if they lose it? No, the kids are, they follow the rules. It's the, it's the older kids, the adults that I have trouble with.
Speaker 3:Yeah, did you want to add anything for that one? No, I agree.
Speaker 2:That was pretty much summed it up. I think he's really into all the latest technologies and always wanting to learn the latest. And it's nice because, as a young orthodontist, I think that people might think, oh, he's young, he's new, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Actually, he knows more because it's the most updated. Most you know latest technologies are being used, um, and it's not the old school methods anymore, and parents have actually been really impressed when they come in and they talk to him about the way he's gonna, um do the treatments there. They love it and then they see the difference because they have some kids who've gone through maybe an older orthodontist and then they have the younger kids go through him and they're like that was so much easier so they recognize the difference, those especially those parents who've seen both or parents who had braces as kids yeah, really that fresh perspective and that passion too.
Speaker 3:I can tell you guys both have such a love for this, so I'm sure that your patients love you. Orthodontics is as much about art as science, and one of you said something kind of about like the artistry. Maybe when you're talking about like marketing too, how do you blend precision and creativity in your work?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've got a Canva Pro subscription. We are big on Instagram. We try really hard to make good content that is relatable but also funny, but also sends a message and educates people. We try to stay away from the dancing and all of that stuff. We're not much, we're not much, we're not big dancers, but we definitely try to have fun but also educate at the same time.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, I think, just the way we do our marketing, the way we do certain things, we knew, coming into this, that we were new, we were younger. We have a lot of great people that work near us that are so-and-so, like quote-unquote competitors, but we don't consider anyone a competitor. They're all friends, they're all peers, they're all people that I've known growing up, especially since I'm working in the area I grew up in, and so they've got years of experience, they've got years of patience under their belt. They've got so much knowledge and expertise, and so we knew we had to be a little bit different. We had to find little pockets where maybe they hadn't had captured all the you know the market or that kind of thing. So we kind of focused on being a little creative with our marketing, the way we reach out to people, the people we get in touch with and the communities that we work with.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I mean, we love the swim teams, we love the HOAs, we love the mom groups, the Facebook groups. We do some cool stuff. We had a grand opening last year and it was at our office in Manassas and we had a camel come and we got this really cool ice cream truck that, like, everyone talks about on all the group chats, and so they came. We got this really cool ice cream truck that, like, everyone talks about on all the group chats, and so they came. So, with the camel and the ice cream truck, there was no reason for anyone not to stop by. And so, like you know, just just little marketing campaigns here and there where we can just kind of capture people's attention and cause we don't have there's only so much attention people have in the world and if we can just get five seconds of it, really, quickly to make sure you know that we exist and that we're out there.
Speaker 2:That's that goes a long way, I think, yeah, we had somebody comment on our instagram post about our grand opening and we had the camel, and a kangaroo was there too, by the way, just like a little pocket kangaroo you could just hold him. And someone said, um, oh, is this a dental office or a clown show? And I'm like that's awesome that you can't tell the difference. That's the point, like that's what we want.
Speaker 3:We want you to know it gets them talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Like you can't tell. I know he could tell and I know it was just a snarky comment, but I love that. I'm like, if you can't tell what it is, then that's exactly the point. That's why we want people to come in and feel comfortable and think that's such a fun, fun atmosphere. And we've had a lot of patients say, oh, we saw your grand opening or we were there. That was so much fun. You guys are so cool, so we want to come see you and they come and they love it. So, um, another thing I think about precision is like you know, when you know your work is going to be posted on Instagram and you know, you, you know that you have to do a really good job. You know, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:There's no hiding it, there's no shabby work. You know you have to have everything. You know. Not only you know, please you and please the patient, but please the general public. And the general public is very quick to scrutinize anything. But I think that we are more picky than our patients. We've had patients say, okay, I'm done, take off my braces, and we're like but wait, there's a little bit more we can do, and they're like you know. So sometimes we can convince them to just do a little bit longer, stay in treatment for a couple more months just to perfect everything, Because you know it might be okay to them, but to us, you know, you're in this treatment for, you know, a year to two years and you spend a lot of money on it. It should be right, right, it should be done, right. You don't want to grow up a couple years later say, yeah, you know, this one tooth is really bothering me. I wish I would have just fixed it from the beginning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and I mean part of that is also like we'll go, we will bend over backwards to make sure that the result is exactly what you want and exactly what we want, because we want to make sure that not only do you love it, but also that it's ready for the world to see, because every patient that comes through our office is a walking billboard for us, and so anyone that sees them in the street, we want them to notice that patient and be like wow, that smile is gorgeous, where did you get it? Oh, we got it at the pros, and so that's kind of the thought process behind it and partly why we named ourselves Potomac River Orthodontics because we love the acronym PRO and we want everyone to smile like a pro and that's what we stand for. So, yeah, I think that precision and that artistry really comes through in the work that we do and then, outside of that, in the marketing that we do and how we try to capture people's attention as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I was going to ask you both, like, what it means to create a smile that leaves a lasting impression, but you really captured it with that, like people walking down the street and they have these perfected smiles, and it's because of your attention to detail and your high level of care, so that's really amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and on our website we kind of highlight the main things that we look for in a beautiful smile, and I mean, everyone has their own thoughts and their own opinions on what they like, but this is kind of the thing that I'm drawn to when I see a smile, and every orthodontist leaves a little bit of their own touch in every patient that they treat. And so I have friends who work on the West Coast and they do these gorgeous, beautiful smiles. I'll show you after this. The results are amazing and I was like there's no one on this side of the coast that's doing something like this that I've seen, and so I'm like I want to be like them, and so when I create my smiles, we call it the. Specifically, they're in Utah, the Utah smile, but really wide arches, everything's super straight, everything's even. The gums are even even. So, um, we just want it to pop. We want people to see you from a distance and notice that, that your smile is gorgeous.
Speaker 1:I think I've seen that term on social media, the Utah smile because, it almost looks like unreal yeah, but it looks good like it looks natural, but it's like very perfected, so yeah very natural.
Speaker 2:It's the wide smile arch yes, and honestly, that helps with, um, you know, breathing it's, it's healthy, you know, rather than having a really narrow arch. When we widen that arch, um, it's really appealing too. Just um, you can see more teeth. When you're smiling, it's a more full smile. Your cheekbones are accentuated and supported, so you feel it's a full face. It doesn't look hollowed out or anything.
Speaker 3:All right. So my next question, just a few more. You guys run this practice together as a team. How would you say? Your different strengths complement each other.
Speaker 2:We definitely have different strengths.
Speaker 1:Yeah, go ahead. What are your strengths?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, since we have different specialties right, I'm a general dentist and he specializes in orthodontics that alone kind of sets us apart, so we don't really like step on each other's toes. We do give each other ideas and suggestions, but it's not like we're two people trying to do the same thing. So that helps. But also I, as a former teacher, I kind of took on the role of helping to manage the assistants and I kind of just hire random people and they just show up at the office and he's like who are you? And but he loves them, like everyone I've hired. He's like, oh my gosh, they're amazing, I can see why you hired them. And we all just become really close, like as a team. We're very close, almost like family.
Speaker 2:But I am the one to kind of say, hey, you know so-and-so, you do this better. This could have been improved. And I kind of take on the mean role. But I mean, at the end of the day everybody loves each other. But it's things that he wouldn't feel comfortable necessarily saying to his team. And I don't know, maybe girl to girl it's easier to say certain things, whereas for him he's more into like just teaching them the clinical, which I agree, but for me it's more like, okay, do the clinical, but on time, or do this, but you know, take the extra step to help the patient, make sure the patient was, you know, felt fully accommodated. I want the experience to be great. He says he wants it, I make it happen.
Speaker 1:Basically, yeah, I think I'm more of a dreamer, like I'm more of the vision kind of guy. Like I have this dream, this vision. I see posts, I see what other people are doing and I get ideas from it and I'm like, okay, how can we implement this one new thing and make it work for us and make things more efficient? I'm kind of like if I were, I like to put myself in the shoes of the patient. If I were a patient, what would make this experience the best possible? And then I'm like, okay, now implement it.
Speaker 3:Okay, now help me. It's a great dynamic though. You guys have been very successful, so congratulations, thank you. Yeah, is there anything else that you wanted to touch on that I didn't ask you or anything like that? Any advice to anyone maybe wanting to pursue dentistry or orthodontics?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean no, we allow kids to come in anytime. We've got tons of high school age kids coming to Shadow and we just give them specific times of the day to come in, because I know what it's like. I was in their shoes at one point and I I want them to have the opportunity to at least learn about it. Maybe it's for them, maybe it's not, but they learn about the the fun part of it. They also learn about the hard part of it, which is the business side of like, okay, if this patient cancels their appointment, how many mouths aren't going to get fed today? Like that kind of thought process it's. It's something that a high schooler doesn't really necessarily think about, but a business owner definitely has to. So, um, I want them to experience that. So we invite anyone who wants to come shadow us to to just shoot us a message and come by and and we can show them the ropes.
Speaker 1:Um, but, yeah, other than that, I mean our whole thing, the way we do things, it's all kind of guided by our faith. That's kind of what brought us together to each other, and the leading principle of that is honesty, integrity. Do good to others and good will happen to you, and so every friend, every relationship we make, everything we do is guided by that. And so I think, as long as you kind of have your principles and your values embedded in what you're doing, there's no way you're going to fail. And so that's kind of our mantra and what we believe and so forth. We don't depend on people, we just kind of depend on God. You know, if God is going to, you know, god is the one. That's kind of our mantra and what we believe and so forth.
Speaker 2:We don't depend on people, we just kind of depend on God. You know, God is the one that's going to sustain you. So that's where you're going to get your patients from. It's just all fate. At the end of the day, If a patient is meant to be treated by you, then they're going to come to you.
Speaker 2:Of course, we put in our effort and our time and we, you know, we do marketing and we spend money on events and we do a lot of. We go to schools, we spend a lot of our time in the community, but at the end of the day, I mean, whatever's meant for us is what's going to come to us. So, and we believe that and we understand that so when something doesn't work out or, you know, we feel like we're, you know, short on our goal for the month we're halfway through the month we're like it's fine, you know, whatever's meant for us will come, and if we don't reach the goal that month, the next month we might double it, and that's happened many times and we just notice every time like what a blessing. You know, it's just because we depended on nothing but God. So we've been very successful in that.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know, it's a startup, it's hard, but we have to. You know, sit back and look at how far we've come. And I keep telling him, like you know, don't be hard on yourself, Look how far you've come. You would have dreamed of something like this just a couple of years ago. And every month we improve something that's improved, whether it's, um, you know, efficiency or patient experience or something in the office. We upgrade something and make the experience even better. So, um, just, you know having that faith and being thankful, and every time something good happens, you just have to recognize it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's super Sorry. And then just kind of integrating that back into our family. And you know they talk about work life balance. For us, it's all about work life integration. How do we make it work together? Because there's no balance. It's all like life and work are both together at all times and we agreed to that. That's what we decided when we started um, the decision to open this practice, and so we're like let's bring our kids in, let's take them to events, let's have fun with them, and those are the moments that we cherish. So it's not like it never really feels like work, it just feels like life.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, and people love to see our kids at events. They're're kind of like, oh, you guys are real people too, you know, I'm sure, and I love bringing my kids.
Speaker 2:You know it's a community event. You know if we go for some kind of like you know there was a Jubilee event where there's a bunch of tables set up like hundreds of tables you know we take turns, we hang out with the kids. Some of us, you know, walk around with the kids. Someone's at the table, we just make it fun. You know we don't just sit there because it's a long event. It's like from like 10 to 5 or 6. I mean, you can't just sit at the table the whole time.
Speaker 2:And we take our kids, you know they go get their face painted. They go, you know, during lunchtime we go eat with our kids. So it's it's fun and we enjoy it and I think our kids like to kind of see what we do too. Yeah, they're one and two, so they're really little, but they're definitely getting an idea of what it's like to be at the office.
Speaker 3:They have their toy room in the office too. I love that you guys set that example to your kids as well, for having a work-life balance, because I think that that's kind of rare or it can be rare. And I especially love that you guys lead with kind of your foundation, of your morals and your faith. I think that's really beautiful as well. So thank you both for coming on today and talking to me. Thank you both for coming on today and talking to me. I learned so much and I'm sure this is going to be a great episode for people to listen to and get to know you guys even more.
Speaker 1:But yeah, thank you so much for coming on. Thanks for your time. Thank you guys.