Very Dental: Two Gen X Dental Practice Owners Shake Fists at Clouds with Dr. Craig Harder

Gen X has seen a lot. We've been around for the introduction of cable tv through the smartphone and social media. Gen X dentists started practicing in the "golden age of cosmetic dentistry" of the 90's and we've seen a lot of change. Some of it for the better and quite a bit of it for the worse.

Al is joined by Dr. Craig Harder to talk about some of these changes. Both Craig and Al were practice owners early in their careers and owned practices at the turn of the century. Their wide ranging discussion covered all kinds of topics:

• Drake the black lab/bird dog
• Yellow page ads
• David Hornbrook's mullet
• "Instant orthodontics"
• Profitable after 3 months!
• Dental benefits and bang for the buck
• "The amount of money you made was directly proportional to the number of hours that you worked." 
• Texting is the new junk mail
• Al's first cell phone (1991 Infiniti Q45)
• "Patients are able to blow off dental appointments with new and impressive technologies!"
• Medical insurance has wrecked patient understanding of money in health care
• An older dentist selling their practice to a younger dentist was very typical...probably the most common way for dentists to become practice owners. DSOs weren't a thing.
• Al's old office building
• Debt as a way of life
• Dental school costs vs. clinical experience
• DSOs and how practice exit strategies have changed
• Longing for the good old days
• TV clicker remotes, VHS, DVDs and minidiscs
• How much impact will Gen X have made in dentistry?

Some links from the show:

• Shared Practices
• The Dentalpreneur Podcast

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