In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, running a successful orthodontic practice requires more than clinical excellence. It demands business acumen, efficient systems, and strategic growth planning. That’s why many orthodontists come to us as their orthodontic consultants!
Many orthodontists find themselves caught in a challenging position—exceptional at clinical care but struggling with the business aspects that ultimately determine practice success.
That’s where Sturgill Orthodontic Consultants comes in—our orthodontic business consulting and coaching services partner with practices like yours to unlock your full potential and achieve sustainable growth.
Schedule a practice assessment call to identify your biggest growth opportunities
What Can Orthodontic Consultants Do For Your Practice?
Whether you’re wondering how to grow an orthodontic practice or seeking to take your thriving practice to new heights, our orthodontic practice management expertise provides the support you need.
Our comprehensive approach addresses every aspect of your practice:
Practice Operations & Efficiency
The day-to-day operations of your practice significantly impact both patient satisfaction and team morale. Our orthodontic business coaching evaluates your current workflows, identifying bottlenecks and implementing streamlined processes.
“Effective orthodontic practice management can reduce patient wait times by up to 40% while increasing daily capacity by 3+ patients.”
Our operational consulting includes:
- Workflow Optimization: We analyze your current systems and implement streamlined processes that maximize productivity without sacrificing quality of care. Practices working with us have reduced patient wait times by up to 40%.
- Scheduling Efficiency: Eliminate appointment bottlenecks with scheduling protocols that respect both doctor and patient time while maximizing chair utilization.
- Systems Change Management: Successfully transition to new technologies, software platforms, or treatment protocols with minimal disruption to your practice flow.
- Accountability Systems: Implement tracking mechanisms that ensure your team stays aligned with practice goals and performance metrics.
One practice we worked with was struggling with constant schedule delays and team frustration. By analyzing their clinical workflow and implementing our scheduling optimization system, they eliminated bottlenecks while increasing capacity by three additional patients per day—all while reducing team stress.
Increase Profitability & Case Acceptance in Your Orthodontic Practice
The financial health of your practice determines its sustainability and your personal satisfaction. Many orthodontists undervalue their services or implement financial policies that create unnecessary risk.
Our financial consulting services include:
- Profitability Analysis: Comprehensive evaluation of your practice financials to identify opportunities for improved margins without compromising care quality.
- Fee Structure Optimization: Develop competitive pricing strategies that reflect your value while maximizing profitability in your specific market.
- Case Acceptance Enhancement: Perfect your treatment presentation process to significantly increase orthodontic case acceptance rates. Practices implementing our protocols typically see increases of 15-25%.
- Credit Management: Implement effective financial policies that minimize delinquency while maintaining positive patient relationships.
Case acceptance is often the most significant financial lever in orthodontic practices. Our proven treatment presentation methodology addresses the psychological aspects of treatment acceptance, not just the financial ones.
“Orthodontic practices that implement structured case acceptance strategies see a 15-25% increase in conversions within six months.”
Team Development & Orthodontic Practice Management
Your team is your most valuable asset, yet many practices struggle with training, retention, and performance issues. Our orthodontic practice management consulting helps you build a cohesive, high-performing team that drives practice success.
Our team development approach includes:
- Staff Analysis: Evaluate your current team structure, roles, and productivity to ensure optimal staffing levels and role assignments.
- Training Programs: Develop your team’s skills in patient communication, treatment coordination, and clinical support through practical, implementation-focused training.
- Team Building: Foster a positive practice culture that reduces turnover and increases staff satisfaction. We implement concrete strategies that build team cohesion.
- Role Optimization: Define clear responsibilities and create accountability systems that empower your team to perform at their highest potential.
Team culture dramatically impacts both staff retention and patient experience. We help you cultivate a positive practice environment that reduces turnover costs and creates the kind of workplace atmosphere that attracts top talent.
Best Orthodontic Marketing Strategies to Attract More Patients
In today’s digital landscape, effective marketing requires sophisticated orthodontic growth strategies that go beyond traditional approaches. Our orthodontic marketing consultants help you develop a comprehensive marketing plan that attracts your ideal patients.
“The best orthodontic marketing strategies combine digital presence, community engagement, and referral systems to create sustainable patient acquisition.”
Our marketing consulting includes:
- Brand Development: Create a distinctive identity that resonates with your target demographic and differentiates your practice from competitors.
- Digital Marketing Strategies: Implement effective online marketing techniques that attract your ideal patients, including orthodontic SEO strategies, social media optimization, and targeted advertising campaigns.
- Referral Program Development: Build systematic approaches to increase patient and professional referrals through strategic incentives and communication.
- Community Engagement: Develop meaningful connections within your community to establish your practice as the preferred provider.
Referral programs remain one of the most cost-effective growth strategies for orthodontic practices. We develop systematic approaches that encourage patient referrals through strategic incentives and communication protocols.
Transform Your New Patient Experience & Increase Case Acceptance
The journey from initial contact to treatment acceptance represents the most critical conversion point in your practice. Our orthodontic consulting services transform your new patient experience to maximize both satisfaction and conversion rates.
Our new patient experience consulting includes:
- First Impression Enhancement: Optimize every touchpoint from initial call to first appointment, ensuring patients experience your excellence from their first interaction.
- Virtual Consultation Implementation: Develop efficient systems for virtual smile assessments and consultations that convert to in-person visits.
- Same-Day Start Protocols: Implement proven strategies that increase immediate treatment acceptance by addressing both logistical and psychological barriers.
- Treatment Coordinator Excellence: Transform your TC role with advanced training to increase case acceptance in orthodontics through better rapport-building and closing skills.
“Treatment coordinators trained in our case acceptance protocols typically achieve conversion rates 30-40% higher than industry averages.”
The treatment coordinator role is perhaps the most influential position in determining case acceptance rates.
We transform your treatment coordinator’s (TC’s) effectiveness through advanced training in building rapport, addressing objections, and guiding patients to positive treatment decisions.
Why Orthodontic Business Consulting Is Essential
In an increasingly competitive field, orthodontic practices face unique challenges that require specialized expertise to navigate effectively:
- Growing competition from corporate dentistry and direct-to-consumer options has created new pressures on traditional practices
- Rising patient expectations for convenience, transparency, and service excellence require systematic approaches
- Continuous technological advancements require strategic implementation decisions
- Complex staffing challenges impact team development and retention across healthcare
The practices that thrive in this environment are those that implement systematic orthodontic growth strategies rather than reactive solutions.
Our orthodontic business coaching addresses these challenges head-on, providing you with proven systems that have transformed hundreds of orthodontic practices across diverse markets and practice models.
“Learning how to grow an orthodontic practice requires expertise in both clinical excellence and business fundamentals—a combination rarely taught in dental school.”
The Sturgill Orthodontic Consulting Difference
What sets us apart from other orthodontic consultants is our comprehensive, implementation-focused approach:
- Personalized Assessment: We begin with a thorough on-site evaluation to understand your unique practice dynamics, challenges, and opportunities. This assessment includes interviews with key team members, evaluation of practice metrics, and analysis of your market position.
- Custom Strategy Development: Based on our findings, we create a tailored roadmap addressing your specific needs and goals. Your practice roadmap establishes clear priorities, timelines, and implementation steps that align with your vision.
- Hands-On Implementation: Unlike consultants who simply provide recommendations, we work alongside your team to implement changes and ensure adoption. Our consultants provide on-site training, role-playing, and real-time coaching that translates concepts into practical skills.
- Ongoing Support: We maintain a partnership through regular check-ins, performance tracking, and continuing education. This support includes regular data reviews, problem-solving for new challenges, and adaptation of systems as your practice evolves.
Results at a Glance
Our orthodontic business consulting delivers measurable results across every aspect of your practice:
Request your custom practice growth strategy session with Dr. Sturgill
What Our Orthodontic Consulting Clients Say
Dr. Sturgill’s easy to follow systems and individualized support has enabled my practice to grow 20% year over year. I have been able to develop processes to continually ‘wow’ the patient families from the front office call, treatment coordinating room, and all the way through until debond.
He and his team have mastered creating the ultimate patient experience.
He was also able to help me learn how to properly coach and motivate my team in order to gain efficiency in the clinic and administrative support. The individualized consulting helped me define my why and grow a positive practice culture that fit my personality.
His methods and practices not only grew my practice, but decreased my overall stress. He will be there to walk you through tough decisions and celebrate your wins.
I am so grateful for his mentorship and how much it has helped the practice and family life.
From the very beginning, Dr. Sturgill’s mentorship has been instrumental to my practice acquisition and transition at Giardina Orthodontics.
Early pieces of advice ranged from explaining the correct business entity, providing transition consultant and lawyer recommendations, discussing insurances needed as a practice owner, providing many vendor contacts (such as payroll and financial planning), opinions regarding marketing and practice logo development, explaining effective relationship development with current employees, and strategic planning for presenting and marketing the transition to current patients.
Like many other dental schools and residencies, we did not get a lot of business education within the program. Dr. Strugill explained everything so clearly to me and provided guidance while I was seeking a commercial loan lender.
I believe it is incredibly important to have a strong team in place when purchasing a practice and besides my amazing lawyer and transition consultant, having Dr.Sturgill, owner of a thriving orthodontic practice, was invaluable to the process.
After about 10 months of practice ownership, I scheduled a time where I brought five of my essential team members to shadow Dr. Sturgill’s practice in Johnson City. I wish I would have brought them sooner.
Once we came back my team was renewed with energy to put into practice what we saw working so well in his office. We updated many processes, from bonding techniques down to our new patient phone call script.
The place where I saw almost immediate change was our patient case acceptable rate.
After my treatment coordinator and I modified the consult process to mirror Dr. Sturgill’s, our case acceptance went from low 50 percentile to 90 percentile.
It is honestly amazing to see how these ‘Sturgill efficiencies’ literally change the game. He’s a great person, wonderful clinical orthodontist, and an amazing business coach and orthodontic practice consultant.
I could not recommend him more highly!
Ready to Transform Your Practice?
The most successful orthodontists understand that clinical excellence alone doesn’t guarantee practice success. By partnering with experienced orthodontic consultants, you gain access to the business expertise and proven systems that can take your practice to new heights.
Whether you’re struggling with specific challenges or looking to accelerate already positive growth, our consulting services provide the strategic guidance and practical implementation support needed to achieve your practice goals.
Contact Sturgill Orthodontic Consultants today to schedule your initial consultation and discover how our specialized orthodontic consulting services can help you build the practice you’ve always envisioned—one that provides exceptional patient care while achieving your business and personal goals.
Book your no-obligation discovery call today
Frequently Asked Questions About Orthodontic Consulting
What exactly does an orthodontic consultant do?
An orthodontic consultant provides specialized guidance and expertise to help orthodontic practices improve their operations, financial performance, team management, marketing, and patient care. We analyze your current systems, identify opportunities for improvement, and implement proven orthodontic growth strategies to help you achieve your practice goals.
How long does it typically take to see results from orthodontic business coaching?
While some improvements can be implemented immediately with quick results (such as treatment presentation protocols to increase orthodontic case acceptance), most practices see significant measurable improvements within 3-6 months of beginning implementation.
More comprehensive practice transformations typically show their full impact within 9-12 months.
Is orthodontic practice management consulting only for struggling practices?
Not at all. While consulting can certainly help turn around struggling practices, many of our most successful clients are already-thriving practices looking to reach the next level of growth and efficiency.
Even the most successful practices benefit from outside expertise and proven systems to learn how to grow an orthodontic practice more effectively.
How involved will my team need to be in the orthodontic business coaching process?
Team involvement is essential for successful implementation. Our approach includes comprehensive team training and development, as team members are often the ones executing the systems we help implement.
That said, we work with you to schedule training and implementation in ways that minimize disruption to your daily operations.
How is Sturgill Orthodontic Consulting different from other consultants?
Our approach focuses on implementation, not just recommendations. Many consultants provide reports and suggestions but leave you to figure out the how.
We work alongside your team to implement changes, provide hands-on training, and offer ongoing support to ensure lasting results.
Additionally, as active orthodontic practitioners ourselves, we understand the real-world challenges of running a modern orthodontic practice. We also provide specialized expertise in areas like search engine optimization for orthodontists that many general consultants lack.
Do you offer virtual consulting options?
Yes, while our initial assessment is typically conducted on-site for maximum effectiveness, we offer ongoing virtual support and consulting options for practices.
This hybrid approach allows us to provide comprehensive support while minimizing travel expenses.
What types of orthodontic practices do you work with?
We provide orthodontic business consulting for a diverse range of orthodontic practices, from solo practitioners to multi-doctor groups, from startup practices to well-established offices.
Our orthodontic consulting services are customized to address the specific needs and goals of each practice.
How much does orthodontic consulting cost?
Consulting investment varies based on the scope of services and level of support needed. We customize our orthodontic consulting services to address your specific goals and challenges.
Most clients find that the return on investment is substantial, often seeing revenue increases that far exceed their consulting investment within the first year.
Can you help with orthodontic practice transitions or acquisitions?
Yes, we provide specialized consulting for practice transitions, whether you’re purchasing a practice, preparing to sell, or bringing on an associate.
Our transition consulting helps ensure smooth handoffs, staff retention, and patient continuity through these significant changes.
What are the best orthodontic marketing strategies you recommend?
The most effective orthodontic marketing strategies combine digital presence (website optimization, SEO, social media), internal marketing (patient referral programs), and community engagement.
We customize marketing approaches based on your practice’s unique positioning, target demographic, and competitive landscape.
Our marketing plans focus on measurable ROI rather than vanity metrics to ensure your marketing investment generates actual patient starts.
How to increase orthodontic referrals from general dentists?
Building strong relationships with general dentists is crucial for practice growth. Our approach focuses on creating mutually beneficial relationships through proper communication channels, educational opportunities, and professional courtesy.
We help you implement systematic outreach programs, lunch-and-learn sessions, and seamless referral systems that make it easy for general dentists to send patients your way. Many practices implementing our referral systems see a 30-50% increase in professional referrals within 12 months.
How do I know if my practice would benefit from orthodontic consulting?
If you’re experiencing challenges with case acceptance, team performance, operational efficiency, or practice growth—or if you simply feel your practice has untapped potential—orthodontic consulting likely offers substantial benefits.
We offer an initial consultation to discuss your specific situation and determine if our services would be a good fit for your needs.
Take our free Practice Performance Quiz to identify your biggest opportunities for growth