Check out the podcast featuring Dr. Cedrick McDonald of Victory Dental Center
Dr. McDonald attended dental school at Howard University, followed by a one-year residency at University of NC, Chapel Hill. After two years working in a public health dental facility in Greenville, SC, he founded his own practice in 2010 – Victory Dental Center in Indian Land, SC, a suburb of Charlotte.
When asked if he always wanted to be a dentist, he admitted, “I also considered being an OB-GYN, but babies come when they want to. Whereas, back then, it was more advantageous to be a dentist because you had bankers’ hours.”
He has since found that not to be the case at all! He acknowledges that given how much the dental industry has changed, working nine to five is no way to maximize the business and the profits. In fact, he works rather unorthodox hours – 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. plus weekends – but says, “I see the numbers paying off so I’m cool with that, even though I’m working harder than I thought I would when I made the decision 20+ years ago.”
Victory Dental differentiates itself from other practices in surrounding communities not just by offering such extended hours, but his staff is unusually diverse. In addition, Dr. McDonald is skilled in many procedures that his nearby colleagues do not offer, creating a niche for his practice.
What it Means to Be a Top Practice
Dr. McDonald knows that being a Top Practice goes way beyond the balance sheet. For him, it started with having a vision, and believing in himself as a successful practitioner and a successful practice owner. He further explained, “A lot of times we are our own biggest detractors and biggest critics. But to me that’s always a good sign; it means you’re not satisfied with where you are, and you’re always looking to grow and evolve into something bigger and better, whatever that is to you.”
“We are our own biggest critics. That’s a good sign; it means you’re not satisfied with where you are, and you’re always looking to grow and evolve.”
He also believes the staff mirrors the success of a practice. Gone are the days when people tended to spend their entire career with one employer, so some turnover is inevitable. But too much is noticeable to the patients, and detrimental to the practice on many levels.
Although one of his biggest challenges, Dr. McDonald credits his success in navigating the transient nature of today’s workforce partly to the experience of going through dental school, and the strong work ethic a student must develop along the way. He also cites these characteristics of the practice as key factors:
- Solid culture
- Efficient, effective systems
- Letting the people run those systems
He added, “That doesn’t mean you’re going to be bulletproof, but if someone decides to leave, you’ll be able to recruit to the person, implement them into your practice, and keep the show going.”
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Despite everything that was going well, in late 2021 Dr. McDonald discovered one thing that wasn’t going so well. He believed the practice had a good handle on billing processes, including the submission and collection of dental insurance claims – until realizing the hard way they did not. “We got to the point where we would continue trying to comb through everything and try to figure it all out ourselves. Or, I could hire someone who does this all the time. It took about six months to get on a smooth pathway because our eAssist billing team was uncovering a whole bunch of things that weren’t addressed, and not followed up on.”
“It’s been a good dynamic; don’t ever take [my eAssist billing team] away from me!”
In particular, Dr. McDonald appreciates the many reports he receives, and the consistency of feedback and communication from his eAssist billing team.
Advice to New Dental School Graduates
Dr. McDonald is somewhat critical of the accuracy of information and advice provided to soon-to-be graduates that is supposed to help them make their best decision. He explained, “Expectations are set so high. Professors are telling them what they should do when they get out, but a lot of times those professors are not working in private practice themselves; they’re working in an educational environment and just looking at numbers.”
Many of today’s dental school graduates are reluctant to become independent practice owners, preferring instead to go into corporate dentistry for the security of income. After a while, though, many feel the void of not having ownership; they want control of the reins and the freedom to run things their own way.
“You have to really dig in and make sure [owning a practice] is something you really want to do. You have to maintain focus, be a great leader, and keep everyone pulling in the same direction.”
Although a strong proponent of independent practice, Dr. McDonald cautioned, “When you get on this side, it’s a different ball game. You don’t have the venture capital behind you to just throw money at everything. And even if you did, money doesn’t solve all problems. You have to be able to pick up the pieces when everything is not ideal. And mostly every day is not going to be ideal, I don’t care how good you think you are. Somebody’s going to fall off the schedule or call out sick. Things happen.”
He went on to say, “You have to be able to operate amidst the chaos. You have to maintain focus, be a great leader, keep everyone pulling in the same direction regardless of what’s going on. And, communicate that to your staff and even to your patients so everyone understands what you’re trying to do.”
