Why Patients Say Yes (E.324)

“I’m no longer trying to validate my skill set. I’m trying to validate that I’m worthy of their investment.”
– Dr. Jon Ehlers 

Brief Overview of the Episode

This conversation gets to the heart of case acceptance. Dr. Ehlers shares what patients are actually weighing when they face a big treatment decision, especially in high-value care like implants and full-arch cases. The answer is not more technical explanation. It is trust, emotional safety, clear goals, and a team experience that makes the patient feel understood from the moment they walk in. 

What This Episode Reveals

• Patients are not buying implants or procedures first. They are buying confidence, relief, function, and the chance to feel like themselves again.
• The real decision is not just “Do I want this treatment?” It is “Do I trust this person and this practice enough to move forward?”
• Bigger cases are emotional decisions. Once belief is there, friction in financing, scheduling, or follow-up can still kill momentum.
• Trust is built through small moments: eye contact, plain language, listening, emotional safety, and a team that feels genuinely present. 

What You’ll Learn

• How to shift the conversation from technical explanation to patient goals
• Why patients respond to emotional clarity more than clinical language
• How to remove roadblocks once a patient is ready to say yes
• What simple touchpoints help patients feel seen, safe, and certain 

If This Sounds Familiar

• Patients say they need time, but you can feel the deeper issue is hesitation, not information
• Your team is presenting dentistry well, but patients still are not moving forward on larger cases
• You know your practice does good work, but patients are not fully feeling the trust behind it
• Consults feel too focused on treatment details and not enough on what the patient actually wants back in their life 

Next Steps

1. Review your consult language and remove clinical phrasing that patients do not emotionally connect to.
2. Rebuild treatment conversations around goals, fears, and what life looks like after treatment.
3. Audit where momentum gets lost after a patient is ready, especially around financing and scheduling.
4. Train the full team to reinforce trust through every touchpoint, not just in the chair.
   

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TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:04] Sara Hansen: Patients aren’t just deciding on treatment, saying yes or no, but they are actually deciding, is this the place for me? Do they feel understood? You know, are they confident with the outcome?

[00:00:17] Regan Robertson: Thanks for tuning in to the Everyday Practices Dental Podcast. I’m Reagan Robertson.

[00:00:22] Regan Robertson: My co-host, Sarah Hansen, and I interview real dentists and experts who grow their dental practices using authentic marketing in a way that you can remember, repeat, and use in your own practice to get the patients you deserve. Let’s dive in. Sarah, in, in hindsight, you are, you are married. We are both married-

[00:00:38] Sara Hansen: Yes

[00:00:39] Regan Robertson: married women. And during our dating days, uh, you know, it was very, for me, it was definitely seductive to want to put forward obviously my best foot first-

[00:00:50] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm …

[00:00:50] Regan Robertson: and show the best of myself and maybe not be fully authentic. Like, you get a few dates in before you start to, like, release the weird. Like, I’m-

[00:00:57] Sara Hansen: Right

[00:00:58] Sara Hansen: a

[00:00:58] Regan Robertson: huge Star Trek nerd. Like, you kinda [00:01:00]hide it. And I think in, in dentistry, you know, it’s actually kind of the same way. Like, it can be really difficult to be truly authentically ourselves because we wanna impress people. We want people to feel like, you know, we have the expertise. And, and has that been similar for you, Sarah, in y- in your life-

[00:01:18] Sara Hansen: Yes

[00:01:18] Sara Hansen: in

[00:01:18] Regan Robertson: dentistry?

[00:01:19] Sara Hansen: Yes. You know, I think our doctors are so highly educated, and they are master clinicians. And sometimes I think, you know, they forget that really our patients don’t know all the clinical parts, right? And so really what they’re looking for is someone they can trust, someone that they know has their best interest, and really someone that listens to them.

[00:01:44] Regan Robertson: Yeah. Uh, the guest that we have today for us, uh, this is- Oh. I know.

[00:01:49] Sara Hansen: He’s amazing. My favorite-

[00:01:50] Regan Robertson: I- it’s- You know, what’s really, what’s really amazing, it’s Dr. Jonathan Ehlers. Uh, he is out of Sedalia. And his … He’s, he’s celebrated ac- I mean, [00:02:00] acclimated up the wazoo, 1% diamond producer for Invisalign. Go to tigerfamilydental.com right now.

[00:02:05] Regan Robertson: Just go ahead and pull it up on your phone and take a look while you’re listening to this today. Uh, I know that Sarah and I haven’t really met much more of an authentic dentist, and it doesn’t mean that life doesn’t happen and he doesn’t have to navigate some really big challenges in a really big practice, but mindset has a lot to deal with it, and being comfortable with one’s self is important as well.

[00:02:25] Regan Robertson: So Jon, we would love to welcome you to Everyday Practices today.

[00:02:30] Sara Hansen: Welcome.

[00:02:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It’s a privilege to be here, you know? And, and I’ve, I’ve … We, we, we go way back, so I know you all well. But at the same time, it’s been a while since we’ve talked. So, uh- Yeah … whenever I got the call to jump on with you guys, I’m like, “Absolutely,” just ’cause I wanna see what’s going on in your lives.

[00:02:45] Dr. Jon Ehlers: So a pleasure to be here.

[00:02:48] Regan Robertson: Oh, thank you so much. Well, I, I went and I reacclimated myself. Uh, I went to your website, looked at your Google reviews to kinda see what was up with John’s world. And, and listeners, you know, John’s here today because we really [00:03:00] wanna talk about, uh, you know, the patient treatment and conversation specifically from the doctor’s point of view.

[00:03:07] Regan Robertson: And John, we’ve asked you to be here today, one, because I every- the very first time I met you, you have a very relaxed demeanor about you. Thank you. Like, um, the mindset that I’ve seen you have is, is things will come up and we will navigate through them together. And you have over 1,600 five-star Google reviews, and as I read through…

[00:03:26] Regan Robertson: I mean, I- it took me a while to scroll just to get through the ones from this past month. So I don’t know what you’re doing on the review front, but it’s obviously working really, really well. Uh, and I look for, like, patterns and, and some of the words that came up over and over and over again was friendly and knowledgeable, amazing, compassionate, um, really took care of my anxiety.

[00:03:46] Regan Robertson: Like, I wouldn’t go anywhere else. There were a lot of recurring themes. And I humbly believe that, you know, how you show up in your reviews is how the practice is, and that comes directly from the leadership.

[00:03:58] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Mm-hmm.

[00:03:59] Regan Robertson: Uh, could you [00:04:00] share, you know, so everyone kind of can be in your shoes and kinda be our, our ears and eyes, your, your philosophy and how you got into dentistry and, and really where you got this mindset from of kind of being comfortable in your own skin to show up authentically?

[00:04:16] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Uh, you know, I think, um, the, the first thing is a lot of it is how I grew up. You know, I, I had, I had two parents that instilled confidence in me and, and a- but also gave the, the realistic version of life, is that there are gonna be times when you t- when you struggle. There are gonna be times when you may not have an answer that day.

[00:04:38] Dr. Jon Ehlers: But if you’re true to yourself, if you’re a humble person that has grace towards others, um, then, then I think you can approach things and make it to where it’s not, you know, it’s, it’s not just a transactional relationship. It’s more like, you know, we’re, we’re, we’re approaching this as, basically as a, [00:05:00] a team together.

[00:05:01] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and then so that’s kinda just led me through my whole life, whether it’s friendships, um, you know, whether it’s, uh, playing on a sports team. I played, I played college athletics. I think that also shaped me in a way. Um, and then also my practice, uh, navigating relationships with my staff, um, and then also patients.

[00:05:20] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Like, all that together, it’s really just an approach of let’s, let’s, let’s do this life together. Let’s figure things out. Um, not be too quick to judge, not be too quick to, you know, make a decision, so- And then I think, um, so that was the first part, um, of just kind of like how I approach things. Um, but as far as like the practice, I think when we go back to the reviews that we have, um, you know, you can, you can pay a service 250 bucks a month for, to generate reviews.

[00:05:52] Dr. Jon Ehlers: But that, that doesn’t tell, tell the whole picture. The, the re- the review happens when the patient leaves the door and they’re like, “Wow, that was, [00:06:00] that was a little bit different than I’m used to with experiencing dentists or healthcare in general.” And then you get the prompt that says, “Hey, would you mind talking about Dr.

[00:06:08] Dr. Jon Ehlers: John or talking about, you know, the assistants- Mm-hmm … or the front desk?” And, and so when the patient can walk in and see our, a front desk member that is smiling and willing to help them, uh, from an assistant that greets them with a smile that truly appears happy to be there that day, like I feel like that’s another thing on our reviews.

[00:06:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: We… It happens not all the time, but fairly recent- fair- fairly often where they’ll say, “Everyone there seems to truly enjoy their job.” You know? And that makes me so happy because like, you know, that, that is the organic presence that we try to por- portray to our patients because like if, if all the, this whole team of 18, 20 people truly love working together, they’re…

[00:06:53] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I think they’re also gonna push that onto the patients and give them that awesome experience, you [00:07:00] know? So it’s, it- Mm-hmm … it starts with having a culture in your office of welcoming, listening, you know, um, and then that just, then the patients just kind of fall into that, and they wanna be a part of

[00:07:12] Sara Hansen: it. I love that.

[00:07:13] Sara Hansen: So we know patients aren’t just, you know, buying dentistry, right? That they’re, they’re really tapping into trust and certainty, and that definitely shows up within your culture and what you do. But I’m wondering, can you give doctors any tips about when you’re presenting, because we know that you do, you work with Yomi for implants, um, you do a lot of full arch cases.

[00:07:40] Sara Hansen: How do you build belief, not just explaining the procedure, but how do you get the buy-in and the trust from those patients with those big cases?

[00:07:53] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I mean, a lot of it, it, I think it can be pretty simple in terms of, you know, turn around, look the patient in the [00:08:00] eye, get on their level. Mm. You know? Like touch them on the shoulder and say, you know, “Well, thank you so much for being in our practice today.”

[00:08:08] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And then when you’re discussing the procedure, don’t say, “We’re gonna extract all your teeth. We’re gonna mow your bone down. We’re gonna like do all this,” or like- Or

[00:08:18] Regan Robertson: you- Do doctors say we’re gonna mow your bone down? Like that would be, wow. Totally

[00:08:20] Dr. Jon Ehlers: why not. Really, well, you know, well, they’ll say, “We’re gonna place six osteotomies into your upper arch, and we’re going to- Yeah.

[00:08:29] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. You know, it’s like-

[00:08:30] Regan Robertson: The technical terms

[00:08:32] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Patients are

[00:08:33] Sara Hansen: like, “What?”

[00:08:34] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. The, and, and really, like, the patient’s not there for implants, they’re there for teeth. Mm-hmm. So-

[00:08:42] Sara Hansen: Mm.

[00:08:42] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Mm-hmm … I talk to them about, “What, what are your goals? When, when this whole- Mm … process is over, what do you look forward to?” You know, and they say, “Well, man, I’d love to just…

[00:08:53] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I would love to eat a steak and not worry about my teeth breaking or my dentures moving around.” I’m like, “Okay, well, you know what? [00:09:00] This is our solution. We have a way to place implants and build you an arch of teeth that don’t move. They’re screwed in place. They never come out. And you’re gonna have the confidence to eat whatever you want, and then you’re also gonna have the confidence to smile.

[00:09:17] Dr. Jon Ehlers: How long has it been since you’ve smiled?” And believe it or not, you got, you have grown men that get teary-eyed whenever we have that conversation.

[00:09:24] Regan Robertson: I knew you were- And- … going to say that. I’ve seen that- … happen in real life, and it is- Yeah … ’cause it’s a real shock. It’s one of those moments where you realize what you’ve been carrying is so heavy and you haven’t been able to do some simple joys in life.

[00:09:35] Regan Robertson: Like, it’s a, that’s a- Absolutely … big weight to carry.

[00:09:38] Sara Hansen: Yeah.

[00:09:39] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It is. And because, you know, like, espe- you know, like I, I, I live in a, a rural farming community in central Missouri, and men aren’t supposed to be emotional. Mm. And so I think honestly what that does is it puts an even greater burden on them psychologically, you know?

[00:09:59] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Because, like… [00:10:00] And they, they can’t… Sometimes they can’t even talk to their wives about it, you know? Yeah. And, and so I’m there. And back to making the patient feel comfortable, Sarah, I, I’ve, I’m there and, and one of the things I always say too is, “Hey, there’s no judgment in our office. What me and my assistant, my team are here to do is find what bothers you and find a solution, and be part of, be part of that solution for you.

[00:10:27] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Not part of the judgment. Not part of the past to where there’s trauma there. Uh, but be part of the solution to where you can, you can be proud of, of the teeth you have,” you know? And, and that kind of like, I feel like that opens up a door in their mind to where they’re like, “Okay, I trust this guy.” And now they- Ah

[00:10:45] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I mean, the consult, the consult can go long at that point because it’s not about their teeth anymore, it’s about- Mm … all the other things that have happened, but that’s okay. You know? Like, when the patient- Yeah … is gonna invest that kind of money in you and your practice, I think they’re [00:11:00] worth giving them the time to listen to them and, and, and that all builds trust.

[00:11:05] Dr. Jon Ehlers: That way by the end of that consult, you know, when we really connect, the patient’s like, “I don’t even care what the money is.” Like, we’re gonna make that work, you know? And you have on the- Mm … your practice has to have tools to make that work, but money aside, they’re ready to go because they trust us, they want us to help them.

[00:11:23] Sara Hansen: Gal, I feel like there’s this, um, invisible gap between what a dentist is presenting and telling the patient what they need and what your patients are actually processing. And I love that you kind of take the dentistry out of it and you say, “Hey, let’s have a conversation. What is important to you?” You really listen to them.

[00:11:44] Sara Hansen: So I’m curious, do you think that patients care more or make decisions based on logic or emotion? What have you seen?

[00:11:56] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah, it’s, it’s emotion 100%, you know? Yeah. [00:12:00] And, and that, that’s also why I think when you have a patient that’s ready to go emotionally- Mm-hmm … you have to, you have to take all the curbs out of that process.

[00:12:11] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Like, you have to m- from the moment you get them to say, “Yes, I’m ready to do this for me,” you gotta get all those roadblocks out of the way, you know? Mm-hmm. Like financing, um, you know, scheduling concerns, all those things. Like, the, that’s when, that’s when the practice infrastructure has to come in and say, “We’ve s- we’ve solved for all these other problems,” because it is emotional.

[00:12:33] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And if you say- Mm-hmm … “Well, we’ll figure it out in a couple weeks,” in, in two to three weeks, that emotion has now fallen back. Oh. They’ve forgotten how good they felt for that m- moment in time.

[00:12:43] Regan Robertson: Yeah.

[00:12:44] Dr. Jon Ehlers: To where it’s like, “You know what? I’m not doing it. I’m, I’m … I, I lost it. I’m not comfortable with it.” And so you do have to work on that emotion.

[00:12:54] Regan Robertson: You said, Jon, a little bit earlier, “We do life together.” And, and I, you know, [00:13:00] um, Sarah and I are particularly passionate about the micro-intersections, and I know you’ve been to the PDA conferences and heard that and watched all the little micro-interactions that patients have before they even get to your chair.

[00:13:11] Regan Robertson: Uh, you know, the website being one of them, maybe a referral, maybe a phone call in the waiting room, all of those little pieces. And, uh, what’s really interesting to me in saying that, it’s almost like a core tenet, if you will, of we do life together, because life happens, and it’s not always positive. And sometimes you’re having to juggle y- family sicknesses or your car breaks down or, you know, something, something happens like that.

[00:13:33] Regan Robertson: But again, you know, going back to the reviews and looking at that, to see friendly and knowledgeable so many times over and over and over again, like, it was, it was kind of ridiculous. It tells me that they’re a happy team. Like, nobody can just fake being friendly. Uh, I’m, I’m curious what you pour into your team and what you’ve done, um, from the culture side to actually be able to create an environment that is joyful and that does have people who genuinely like…

[00:13:58] Regan Robertson: I, I think I would be the [00:14:00] envy, that would be the envy of many dental practices today who are struggling with staff. What is it that you, uh, that you’re doing to kind of help bring your team along in your beliefs and, um, creating that culture that, I mean, you deserve and your patients deserve for sure.

[00:14:15] Regan Robertson: But that’s, that’s hard-won in my opinion.

[00:14:19] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. I, I think- I mean, getting real transparent, we didn’t always have it in my practice, you know? And, and so- You’re

[00:14:26] Regan Robertson: not

[00:14:27] Dr. Jon Ehlers: perfect? There

[00:14:28] Regan Robertson: was a time-

[00:14:29] Sara Hansen: What? I disagree.

[00:14:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I actually was- Well, you

[00:14:32] Regan Robertson: know, I think- … kind of thinking you were gonna say, “Well, I’ve kinda always been that way, you know?

[00:14:36] Regan Robertson: I had the great home life growing up, and it’s just, I’m just lucky.” But that’s good. That’s… You actually, uh, you know, you had to go through it. That’s great.

[00:14:43] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Well, I, I think it’s a good, it’s a good story for dentists, and the dentists that are listening to this. I think it’s… If you’re at that point where you’re like, “Man, my culture sucks.

[00:14:52] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Like, I’ve got hygienist bitcher- uh, you know, like bickering.” I’m sorry. You can edit that out. [00:15:00] Um, um, I have hygienists bickering over here. I have assistants complaining because their, their team member’s not picking up the slack. I’ve got front office complaining about nowhere to put patients in the schedule.

[00:15:11] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and those are all… You know, I think with, uh, with my practice, we started super small. It was a startup. We had three operatories. We had three employees. And it was beautiful. I mean, it was amazing. But as we scale a practice, you add team members, you add, uh, personalities, and it gets really tough. And, and so- Mm

[00:15:33] Dr. Jon Ehlers: that’s where we were at. It was 2021, 2022, and, um, maybe before that. Anyway, it… We were at a point where I could tell, like, the culture was really starting to crumble. And, and so we made some changes with office managers. Um, and really, I- it’s a testament to, I think, me saying, “Let’s, let’s find a solution,” but then [00:16:00] also, uh, my office manager.

[00:16:01] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Finding the right people in management positions within your practice. Because at the end of the day, we as dentists, we have to produce for our practice, and you have to delegate certain things to other people. And, and so finding an office manager like my, myself, with Holly-

[00:16:18] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm …

[00:16:19] Dr. Jon Ehlers: she’s amazing at, uh, pers- you know, personal relationships.

[00:16:24] Dr. Jon Ehlers: She has a relationship with every staff member in our office. And, like, this is, this is, this is Holly to a T. So she is currently on vacation right now, but, um, Thursday she left a, a box with two or three boxes of candy and she, she m- made sure to write a note to me and says, “Do not forget to give the staff candy on Thursday before we go-” Aw.

[00:16:49] Dr. Jon Ehlers: into Easter weekend.”

[00:16:51] Sara Hansen: Aw.

[00:16:51] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and she’s on vacation. She’s on the beach. And sure enough, first thing Thursday morning, Holly texts me and says, “Don’t forget to give the staff candy.” [00:17:00] And then I think that’s just, that’s a very small token, but what it me- what it shows the staff is that we do really care about them.

[00:17:09] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? Yeah. It’s like- Staff has sick kids. Okay, let’s figure out… A- and again, this is just life. Life happens. We had two staff men- Right … we, we had five inches of rain overnight, uh, two nights ago. The next day, two of our staff members, their basements are completely flooded. So we figured out a way to pass some of those patients, one of, o- of our hygienists onto someone else.

[00:17:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Other hygienists stepped up and said, “We’re gonna see two patients this hour.” Someone else said, “We’re gonna s- see two patients that hour.” It’s like, it’s things like that. It’s when we have leaders in the practice that are willing to, to go the extra step. Mm. Now all of a sudden- Mm-hmm … we’re seeing team members go the extra step to help- Yep

[00:17:50] Sara Hansen: others.

[00:17:51] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? And it, it just- Yeah … it snowballs. Yeah. And so I know I’m long-winded on that, but it’s just-

[00:17:56] Sara Hansen: No …

[00:17:57] Dr. Jon Ehlers: it’s great.

[00:17:57] Sara Hansen: Very good. No. Uh, what I love that you’re [00:18:00]talking about is, again, it starts with you, right? As the leader of the practice. You wanted to establish specific values, feelings, emotions, a culture, and you took that on.

[00:18:13] Sara Hansen: You now have given that to your team to take on. And then what happens, it’s a ripple effect, and that is what your patients feel. And that’s the relationship that you’re cultivating, not only with your team, but every patient. And I remember, Dr. John, you and I had a conversation, we were talking about different things, and one of the things you said to me is, um, we were having a conversation that we were discussing numbers and some, you know, kind of what some doctors would consider confidential information.

[00:18:45] Sara Hansen: And, and I asked you, I said, “Hey. You know, do you want Holly to be a part of that?” And you said to me, “Yes. I trust her with everything. She’s always involved. I appreciate her. We trust each other. We have a good working relationship.” And I thought that was [00:19:00] really special because, again, you, you have given her the gift of, you know, this relationship and the trusting atmosphere, and then risen with her as a leader too, you know, where now she can carry that on with other team members and stuff like that.

[00:19:16] Sara Hansen: And again, that ripple effect is so powerful. So tell me about how that now has kind of rippled into your patients when they come in, because we know relationships are big. So what does it mean for your team to have a relationship with those patients?

[00:19:33] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. A- and so we treat patients that come in, you know, w- when, when they’re establishing, you know, it’s not, like I said, it’s not so transactional.

[00:19:42] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know- Mm-hmm … when they come in for the full exam, they’ve, they’ve touched, you know, four or five of our staff members, and then obviously the, the, the doctor as well. And so we try to remember those things. You know, we, we make little notes- Mm … in the charts that says, you know, she, this, this is their employment.

[00:19:57] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Or this, these are their kids. This is what their kids [00:20:00] do. You know? The- these are- Mm-hmm … these are hobbies that the patient has. You know, and it’s little things that I think that we try to, uh, just remember. That way we can bring that up. And again, like, it’s, it’s so s- it’s so little, little things that you can do like that.

[00:20:14] Dr. Jon Ehlers: But patients- Mm-hmm … they remember that and they you know- Yeah … like, I can’t, and I, I can’t believe that they, they remembered that this was my hobby and we were going to this thing and, you know. And so all my team members, they value that. Yeah. And I think it… They’re, they’re excited to witness that. And, you know, it’s so cool, and I think it’s part…

[00:20:33] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Again, it’s a, it’s a testament of, um, how we value those relationships. But we, we take a, a patient photo when they first come into the practice, you know? And, and so we always do this, like when the pa- It’s… We have some patients now, the practice was started in 2016, so we’re coming up on 10 years.

[00:20:51] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Congratulations. Um, and we have some of those- Yeah. Yeah, it’s crazy. I, I, I cannot believe the practice is that old, but, uh, we have those photos of these kids when [00:21:00] they were five, six years old, and now they’re 16 years old. And every once in a while we’ll just pull up that initial photo f- of the patient and say, “This is how we see you when you…”

[00:21:10] Dr. Jon Ehlers: “‘Cause like this is how we remember when you first came in.” Yeah. “And now-

[00:21:13] Regan Robertson: Yeah …

[00:21:13] Dr. Jon Ehlers: look at, look at all the life you’ve gotten to have and, and all the moments you’ve shared with us.” You know? And that, like, that’s the… I remember my mentor, he said that’s the coolest part of dentistry, is seeing these kids grow up and see them get old enough that they have kids and like you have this like generational relationship- Mm-hmm

[00:21:32] Dr. Jon Ehlers: with these people.

[00:21:33] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm.

[00:21:33] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and like when I started seeing that at this 10-year mark, it’s like holy cow, that is… It’s really cool to see that and, and see what happens in their lives. They go on to be dentists or they go on to be physicians or- Yeah … it’s just, that’s really neat. But you, you… But that, that’s also…

[00:21:50] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It has to be organic. You can’t fake that stuff, you know? So like-

[00:21:53] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm …

[00:21:54] Dr. Jon Ehlers: if you’re a dentist that’s struggling with that, I think you just gotta take a step back and say, “Why am I doing [00:22:00] this?”

[00:22:00] Sara Hansen: Mm.

[00:22:01] Dr. Jon Ehlers: If it’s for production or to check a box in your day, um, yeah, it’s just… That’s not how, that’s not how a dentis- true dentistry, successful dentistry works.

[00:22:12] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It’s, it’s about you have to, have to re- have a relationship with patients and, and be active in their lives. And if you do that, you’re gonna have a robust practice because patients wanna come back- Mm-hmm … and share those things to someone that’s willing to listen, so.

[00:22:28] Sara Hansen: Yeah. Regan, I’m like, “Cole, I wanna be a patient.”

[00:22:32] Sara Hansen: I’m like hearing you talk about- Well, yeah … your patients and how much you care about them. I’m like, “I want that.”

[00:22:37] Regan Robertson: Yeah, all I could think of was those patients will be with you for life. And I-

[00:22:41] Sara Hansen: Yes …

[00:22:41] Regan Robertson: I had my optometrist from when I was, I think, eight or nine years old until just a couple of years ago when he finally retired.

[00:22:48] Regan Robertson: And I tell you, John, I, I clung to him. And I was like, I don’t… And his daughter is an optometrist. She took over the practice and they brought in a partner.

[00:22:56] Sara Hansen: Oh, cool.

[00:22:57] Regan Robertson: I ended up getting the partner, and I was so skeptical. I felt [00:23:00] like a little rural town old biddy. I was like, “I don’t know who you are.” “We’ll see how it goes.”

[00:23:05] Regan Robertson: Yeah. She’s amazing, and why wouldn’t she be amazing? I had an amazing optometrist. But you do life with that person. You really do get to know them.

[00:23:13] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:13] Regan Robertson: You know, it’s wonderful when things are working well, and I wanna paint a scene. You know, for everyone listening right now, y- John, you, you’ve purchased big equipment.

[00:23:20] Regan Robertson: You, you brought in a Yomi really early on. You’ve upgraded that building. Um, uh, did you build one from scratch? I can’t remember if you built it up from scratch or not. But you have a gorgeous facility. We did. Yeah.

[00:23:31] Sara Hansen: Then he expanded. Yeah.

[00:23:33] Regan Robertson: Yeah. You took- Yeah … financial risks. And so, um, how, how do you think these little micro moments of showing up, caring, and remembering those details, um, how have they been affected over the years in relation to you taking on bigger and bigger risks?

[00:23:49] Regan Robertson: Because I find personally it’s hard to be vulnerable and authentic when numbers get tight. Like, it- when things are going great, it’s easy because you’re happy things are going well. But when things [00:24:00] are, you know, you have a risk in front of you or they’re not going as planned, it can be more difficult to re- you know, focus in on those little moments.

[00:24:07] Regan Robertson: Do you have any tricks that you deploy yourself, uh, when things are hard?

[00:24:14] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Well, uh, things will always come up. Things will always be hard, you know? But you have to… I think if… And this goes back to having analytics within your practice, you know, measuring things, having a tr- having a track record of success.

[00:24:31] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know, before I, before I even, you know, purchased Yomi or I decided to build on the practice or build the larger facility, you know, there was a track record. Okay, these, we’re having 100 to 150 new patients a month, and that’s predictable. Yeah. So I think you, you can’t just, you can’t do this dentistry thing on a whim.

[00:24:54] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Like, you have to have analysis. You have to have data that supports it. And [00:25:00] so with my practice, that’s how we did it. Because yeah, you’re right, you never wanna be in a situation where you’re like, “Man, I really need this patient to say yes to this treatment because if they don’t, I can’t pay for Yomi this month.”

[00:25:11] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Like- Mm-hmm … that is, that is absolutely the, the wrong way to approach it. You know, it’s, it’s more like you, you, you do the analysis, you, you have the data in front of you to where you know that if you treat patients with respect, if you listen to them, you provide them plenty of, uh, avenues for m- saying yes to treatment, then everything else will get taken care of.

[00:25:36] Dr. Jon Ehlers: So again, that’s not blind faith though. It’s saying that I have the data to support that because it has, it has not failed me yet. And so that’s how I approach it. You, you never want finances or this, this big dream to get in between you and your patient whenever you’re making treatment recommendations.

[00:25:55] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know, that’s a, that’s a slippery slope that gets into ethics that I think no one wants to be a [00:26:00] part of.

[00:26:01] Regan Robertson: You said earlier-

[00:26:02] Sara Hansen: Yeah. So-

[00:26:02] Regan Robertson: Oh, go ahead, Sarah.

[00:26:04] Sara Hansen: Well, I was just wondering, because I’ve heard so many doctors over the last six months or so say, “I’m having a harder time closing,” or, you know, “Having my patients say yes to a 10,000, 20,000, $30,000 treatment plan.”

[00:26:23] Sara Hansen: So what do you think’s going through their head, and what recommendations would you give doctors that, you know, are seeing a little bit of a downshift with that? You know, we know that, that times get hard for patients, and it’s not that they don’t believe in the treatment, but, you know, they’re not always saying yes.

[00:26:40] Sara Hansen: So what recommendations would you give talking about, you know, finances and that sort of thing so that a patient can get the care that they deserve?

[00:26:49] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Well, I think a lot of it is it’s, you try to put it into, like, their perspective. You know? Like, I, whenever- Yeah … uh, like, I’ll, I’ll bring [00:27:00] it up, you know, a farmer comes in and he’s drives in with a brand new pickup truck, you know?

[00:27:06] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and so I, I, I kinda say it half-heartedly, but I’m like, “Just think of this as another pickup truck, but that allows you to eat healthy foods. Like, instead of investing in stuff, you’re investing in your health,” which, I mean, who, who wouldn’t put that as a priority? And so you, you almost… Like, for me, I try to put it back on the patient, you know?

[00:27:27] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It says, “You came here for a reason. Like, there’s, there’s a reason why you called us. There’s a reason why you walked-” Mm-hmm … “through that door. It’s because deep down, you know that you need this.” You know? Yeah. Like, it’s not okay to brush your teeth and your gums, your, your mouth full of blood. Or it’s not okay to worry about eating something that’s gonna break off another tooth.

[00:27:49] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Mm-hmm. You know, it’s not okay that you have blood sugar in the 300s because your oral health is so poor. And so, like, y- I think you, you list all [00:28:00] those basically just statistics of them, ’cause you can see it, you know? Like, you, yeah, they have a, a medic- med list of 10 medications because of the diabetes or hypertension.

[00:28:09] Sara Hansen: Right

[00:28:10] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? And, and so you, you find a way to say like- Yes, this is an investment, but this isn’t … You don’t have a choice. It’s either this or you’re continuing down this path of poor health and systemic conditions.

[00:28:25] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:25] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And so that’s why I always bring up the pickup truck because I’m like, “There was a, there was a part of you that was okay to buy that truck, to make those payments.

[00:28:35] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And so what we’re saying is this is a really important deal, and so you need, you need to make that decision.” And so not to shame them, not to do anything like that. Right. But basically just put, try to put life in perspective for them that says, you know, if there’s anything worth investing in right now, it’s your health, and it starts with your mouth.

[00:28:56] Dr. Jon Ehlers: So that’s kind of, that’s, that’s how I frame that. But [00:29:00] then also, you know, it’s, um, yeah, life’s li- like things are gonna happen in terms of the economy or a global conflict. Like these are- Yeah … things you can’t avoid. Um, but that’s when relations- it comes back to relationships. Because if they’re just a patient that you, you had a, a paid Google ad, they come to your practice, there’s no relationship there, you know?

[00:29:21] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Mm-hmm. And don’t get me wrong, we use those things ’cause you, you have to get them in the door. Right. But you have to form the relationship because otherwise they’re g- it, they’ll be very quick to say, “Not, not today. I’ll do that next year,” whenever something happens, so.

[00:29:36] Regan Robertson: John, I, uh, I, I love everything that you’re saying and, and especially I can see you in the chair and holding those conversations.

[00:29:43] Regan Robertson: What, uh, like what is your rhythm with your team to infuse your values and let them know the why behind what, what you do and then what Tiger Family Dental overall is doing? Is it like a once a month meeting? Is it team training? Is it a retreat? Like what is your cadence every [00:30:00] year?

[00:30:01] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Um, so we have … I can, I can get really into the weeds.

[00:30:06] Dr. Jon Ehlers: We have morning huddles. We have a weekly team meeting. Um, we do at least quarterly we’ll have, uh, family dinners we call them, or family picnics, you know. And, and it’s just ways that, um, the team just gets together and, and we, we, we share how things are going. And this is something we’ve, we started doing too, which is kinda cool.

[00:30:26] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Um, we have these, these sheets where the staff member will say, “This is a…” From, and we do it from the previous week. So they’ll say, “This is a, this is a win for me from the previous week.” Oh. Whether it’s, you know, I got all my follow-up calls, or I had a really scared patient that said they hate the dentist and they end up scheduling all their treatment because they loved us.

[00:30:49] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Um, and then the next was something that I’m gonna work on. And then, and then there’s another, a- another section that says, um, this is, this is something that I’m gonna do [00:31:00] to improve myself over the next year, whether it’s CE or a hygienist getting laser certified, things like that, you know? So, um, and the…

[00:31:08] Dr. Jon Ehlers: That’s, that’s my favorite part of the week when we go through those, those, like, wins and things we’re gonna work on. Like, we all laugh. It was, it was fun. We had bingo night last week, which was so fun. Love bingo. Um, so yeah.

[00:31:22] Sara Hansen: Oh my gosh.

[00:31:23] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah, it was so cool. Like, we, right after work, we, we all just sat down, and Holly pulled up the, the board, and we had, we had bingo.

[00:31:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And it was such a easy, simple thing, but those little things, like, where you can laugh with your team after work is, uh, it’s, it’s, it’s very profound. It really is.

[00:31:43] Sara Hansen: I… Cole, you know, I think that makes such a difference within even the vibe of the office, right? And what patients feel as they walk in. So can you walk us through a patient’s perspective?

[00:31:59] Sara Hansen: I want [00:32:00] you to put yourself in the new patient, um, you know, situation right now. What, as a patient, what would they experience as they’re walking through your office, through maybe some of the different touchpoints, um, that you know your team has really learned to handle well?

[00:32:18] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. So, um, right when they walk in the front door, you know, it’s, it’s a, it’s a direct vision to either Sarah or Jen.

[00:32:27] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Those, they’re our front desk team.

[00:32:29] Sara Hansen: Mm-hmm.

[00:32:29] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And they greet them with a smile. You know? In fact, they maybe yell at them before they even fully get in the door, “Hey, welcome. Come on in,” you know, and, and they get their paperwork, you know? And so it’s a touchpoint of a, a, a smiling greeting before they even say a word.

[00:32:45] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? Like, we don’t want, we don’t want the patient to just walk in and have to get in line and, and wait for something. Like, we- Yeah … when they first walk in, it’s like, “Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for coming here.” And so they get their [00:33:00] paperwork filled out, and then we’ll have, typically for new patients, our hygienist will, will greet them.

[00:33:05] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? So the hygienist will walk in and, and welcome them, take them back to their chair, and then it’s just like a set of questions. You know? It’s like, what’s your dental history like? You know? What are some things in your dental past that you don’t like? Um, what can we do and remember that we never do that again for you?

[00:33:23] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? Like, what are the things that-

[00:33:24] Sara Hansen: Oh, I

[00:33:25] Dr. Jon Ehlers: love that … that we… ‘Cause we don’t wanna repeat bad experiences- Yes … at all. And so, and that starts, that starts triggering answers to where then we can note those things down, and I see that. Oh, this patient cannot get numb. Okay. Well, I gotta make sure that if we ever do treatment on them, they are getting numb.

[00:33:41] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Or I’ll even bring it up to them. When I come in the room, I say, “I, I hear you have some anxiety with, with feeling things during your dental treatments.” You know? And so I’m like, “I will tell you-” We will do everything we can to make this comfortable. And you always have the stop sign. If I’m ever doing anything uncomfortable or it’s hurting, just know you can stop [00:34:00] me.

[00:34:00] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? And just like even just giving that little bit of re- like, relief, like, I, I, I… Like, it’s almost like they’re, they just… Like, their tension just drops, you know? Yeah. And so… But yeah, the hygienist will go through all that. They’ll kinda… Will break down, you know, what they’re seeing in their mouth.

[00:34:16] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And, and at the end of that, um, if it’s… You know, we, we have… We do wellness scans in the practice now too, so we have a scan- a scanning person. Uh, she’s actually super bright. She’s gonna go to dental school in the fall. Um, and so that’s another touchpoint. So she gets to introduce herself, you know? I think the more- Yeah

[00:34:34] Dr. Jon Ehlers: people that can even just stop in for 10 seconds and say, “Oh, hey, welcome. You know, your, your wife came last week. Thanks for coming.” You know, like, little things like that. Um…

[00:34:43] Sara Hansen: Yeah …

[00:34:43] Dr. Jon Ehlers: because even just that little comment, “Hey, we saw your wife last week,” now they’re saying, “Oh, my gosh. They remember my wife.”

[00:34:50] Sara Hansen: Yep.

[00:34:51] Dr. Jon Ehlers: So it’s not just, you know, get ’em in, get ’em out type thing, you know?

[00:34:56] Regan Robertson: It’s so counterintuitive at time. And I, and I think, you know, not [00:35:00] everyone is extroverted or naturally relaxed or even actually has that, that caring instinct in them. I mean, I don’t mean to be harsh by saying that, but there are people who just wanna get in and do dentistry and, and be done with it.

[00:35:12] Regan Robertson: And these are the intangibles that really make the biggest difference of all. I remember- Mm-hmm … shout out to my hygienist, Michael, who I don’t even know how many episodes I’ve shouted this man out. Uh, I, I… The first time I met him, I remember him asking me if my teeth were sensitive. And I was surprised ’cause I hadn’t been asked that before, even though I do have sensitive teeth.

[00:35:31] Regan Robertson: And he said, “Great. I just have this gel that I put on before I begin my, you know, cleaning with you, and it, and it helps lessen the sensitivity.” I felt cared for, like, in that moment. Yeah. And since my time meeting him to now, one, I will do anything he says. And two, it’s for two reasons, though. One, he’s super clinically gifted.

[00:35:50] Regan Robertson: He’s gone to Kois. He’s, he’s a wonderful hygienist, so clinically, he’s great. But the other… This is the part, this is, like, the emotion, Jon, I think, that flips it [00:36:00] over. He remembers everything. Like, he knows, he knows my music preference. He knows if I’m going on trips. He knows about my family. He knows every little detail, and he goes above and beyond.

[00:36:10] Regan Robertson: Like, he really seems to care about my overall health, not just what’s in my mouth. And that- Mm-hmm … is probably, like, the hill I will stand on forever is, you know, your mouth is your gateway, and it really informs all of your health. And he makes me feel that way. I think it’s phenomenal what you are doing and what you’ve helped cultivate within your team so that everybody works together to help that person feel cared for, like you’re doing life with them.

[00:36:38] Sara Hansen: Yeah.

[00:36:38] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Absolutely.

[00:36:39] Sara Hansen: You know, I had the thought when you were talking about, um- Getting to know them and even asking them, you know, maybe some negative experiences or things that they haven’t liked. I often think there are probably a lot of dentists that unintentionally break trust, not because they [00:37:00] don’t want to have a relationship or things like that, but they just simply haven’t maybe taken more time with the patient.

[00:37:06] Sara Hansen: So my question to you is, we know dental practices are chaotic and crazy, and there are a lot of things happening, and really time is probably the thing that we need most, and yet we don’t seem to have enough of it. So we know that creating these great patient experiences, you know, creating trust, having them be lifelong loyal patients, saying yes to $30,000 treatment plans come from that relationship.

[00:37:31] Sara Hansen: But what do you do when you don’t have time to, or what you don’t feel like is time to spend with them to create that?

[00:37:41] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah, it, it is, it is challenging. You know, we have… There, there are times in the day where we have five hygiene checks an hour. If I have… You know, my associate may not be there that day- So you’re hopping- And that’s not the treatment that I’m doing.

[00:37:54] Sara Hansen: Y- exactly.

[00:37:55] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah But I always, I always like, I try to check a couple boxes with every [00:38:00] interaction with the patient. Even if it’s someone that I’ve seen them for five years and I know nothing is going on- Mm-hmm … I still, I will, I will make a comment about recent events. I’ll make a comment about family life.

[00:38:11] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And then I always will say, “Are there any concerns or questions you have for me today?” And that, that really can take 40 seconds. But- Mm … I feel like in the patient’s mind that still gets them back home where the reason why they’re here is that Dr. John cares about them. And so-

[00:38:29] Regan Robertson: Mm …

[00:38:30] Dr. Jon Ehlers: little things like that, um, it doesn’t take a lot of time, but it’s just, it’s just like another thing that says, “Dr.

[00:38:36] Dr. Jon Ehlers: John asked me.” You know, I… ‘Cause they, th- they always comment it. They’re like, “Man, the… I couldn’t even find a parking place. How do you have time to even say hi to me?” You know? And so patients see it. Yeah. But at the same… So that, that also breeds trust though too, when they see a, a parking lot full of patients and they know you’re running around like crazy, but you still have time to ask a couple-

[00:38:58] Regan Robertson: Yeah

[00:38:59] Dr. Jon Ehlers: pointed [00:39:00] questions. You know? And so it’s, it’s things like that. And that’s not really tricking patients. It’s just saying, you know, like, “I do. I wanna know. How’s your family doing? You know, your, your kids started college this year. How are they doing?” And it doesn’t take long, but you have to do that. That’s part of it.

[00:39:14] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And if you can’t, if you can’t find a way to navigate that in a timely process, and you’re gonna have to adjust your schedule in a way. You know? ‘Cause like- Mm … you can’t just build this very, very busy schedule and then pull back on the things that got you there. You know? It’s like you don’t wanna be that.

[00:39:31] Dr. Jon Ehlers: You know? ‘Cause that, then that’s just like this, this corporate, you know- Feel of, of patients will leave at the, at the, at the easiest turn, they will leave your practice and go somewhere else because you- they’ve just given up on that relationship

[00:39:47] Sara Hansen: You know, I think one of the biggest takeaways that I’ve gotten from today’s conversation from you is patients aren’t just deciding on treatment saying yes or no, right?

[00:39:59] Sara Hansen: But they are actually [00:40:00] deciding, “Is this the place for me?” Do they feel understood? You know, are they confident with the outcome? And I think when those things are missing, that’s where that hesitation comes in. Um, and so Reagan, going back to our dating, right? That’s really… You’re… Those patients are dating in a way.

[00:40:20] Sara Hansen: They’re, they’re figuring out if you’re the right practice for them, you know? Do we have a, a good relationship? Are you gonna listen to me? When I say that I am afraid, are you gonna be patient, you know, or are you gonna be frustrated? Um, so again, I think improving case acceptance, um, growing your practice, you know, really attracting the patients that you want is going back to everything you said today, is really all about relationship.

[00:40:44] Sara Hansen: Because when those patients feel certain, they feel seen, they feel heard, they establish trust, that decision really never becomes a decision for them anymore. It now becomes, “Yes, what do I need to do?” You know, whatever you say, how… Whatever your [00:41:00] recommendations are. And that really is that relationship that, that dentists and their teams are looking for with patients, but that’s what patients want too, you know?

[00:41:10] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Absolutely. Yeah. We live in a world where we have, we have information at our fingertips. And so-

[00:41:16] Sara Hansen: Yeah …

[00:41:17] Dr. Jon Ehlers: it’s, I… What I’ve seen more is, like you said, patients, they wouldn’t really be in your office if they didn’t know that you could do the treatment, you know? So, like, that’s kind of… That box is already checked.

[00:41:29] Dr. Jon Ehlers: So now you’re winning them on, “Do I want this guy to do the treatment on me?” You know, “Do I want to invest the money in him, in his team?” And so, yeah, like I, I’m not, I’m no longer trying to validate my skill set. I’m trying to validate that I’m worthy of their investment. I’m worthy of them opening themselves up to me and being vulnerable to let me fix them.

[00:41:51] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yeah. So, like, that’s, that’s where the sales comes in. It’s not… You’re not selling that, “Oh, I went to so and so, you know, [00:42:00] CE education. I’ve done all these internships.” Like, yeah, that’s okay. I mean, I get it. You need to have it on the wall. You need to have it on your website when the patient’s looking. But when the, the patient’s in your chair, you’re not…

[00:42:12] Dr. Jon Ehlers: That’s not what they care. They, they care about, you know, “Is this guy gonna care for me? Is he not gonna hurt me?” You know, “Is, is he g- is he gonna be…” You know? Like that. So yeah, that, that’s, that’s where I feel like really separates the ability to close a case versus not close a case.

[00:42:32] Regan Robertson: Yeah. Uh- As we wrap up, John, I love how you’ve really demonstrated emotional safety and what it means to have emotional safety so that people are willing to be vulnerable and open up and, and really explain to you what their goals are so you can get them there.

[00:42:46] Regan Robertson: How about your own healthcare team? Do you see that showing up in your own healthcare team as you take care of yourself? Do they embody the same values that you put in your practice?

[00:42:58] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Uh, oh, man. [00:43:00] You know, the, it’s a challenge of rural living. Um, I don’t- You know, you don’t, you don’t have, you don’t have the, that type of choices in a way, you know?

[00:43:11] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It’s like this is the family practice office in my town, and I go to them and, you know? That’s- … how it is. Um, so i- i- it’s a… And I think not to, not to talk badly about medicine, but I feel like medicine in a way is, uh… Th- they have some growth to do in this, in this realm, you know? It’s, they’re more analytical, you know?

[00:43:34] Dr. Jon Ehlers: It’s, um… And, and God bless them. I mean, they, we complain about our schedule, like a, a me- like a family practice office, holy cow. Like, that would… I would be, I would be- Yeah … miserable in that scenario. Right?

[00:43:47] Regan Robertson: That was my indication that healthcare was broken when I was going to the primary care physicians and looking at the- Oh

[00:43:53] Regan Robertson: like realizing they were running late from a different late appointment, and really they had 15 minutes with me. That was really [00:44:00] what they had.

[00:44:00] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Yes.

[00:44:01] Regan Robertson: And I remember just trying to put myself in their shoes, and I thought, “You know, it takes about 45 minutes to get someone, like, through an entire appointment of, to just even get them to really open up, honestly.

[00:44:12] Regan Robertson: Like, from front to back.” Yes. So they’re having to cram this in, uh, an incredibly short amount of time. So I like that you called out the compassion for it. I agree. I think medicine has a long way to go. Um, and not- Yeah … it’s not necessarily the physician’s fault, it’s the system’s fault, I think. It’s

[00:44:25] Dr. Jon Ehlers: not, no.

[00:44:26] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I, I, I completely agree. I, I got to that, my last appointment, and by the end of it I wasn’t mad, I felt sad for them. Not even for me, because I could just see the stress. Like, they would… Like, I, and it’s like as they’re listening to me, I can see in their mind they’re like, “Okay, I got, I got a patient in room three.

[00:44:46] Dr. Jon Ehlers: I got a patient in room four. What are the, what’s going on with them? How am I gonna navigate that and get the doctor in there?” Yeah. It’s like, you know, so we could talk on this for hours about healthcare in our country, right? Um, but

[00:44:58] Regan Robertson: yeah, it’s- We’ll

[00:44:58] Dr. Jon Ehlers: grab you

[00:44:59] Regan Robertson: for an episode [00:45:00] two for another date.

[00:45:02] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Exactly.

[00:45:03] Dr. Jon Ehlers: But no, um, they… But you know what’s fun, though? They have these, these, um, oh, what do you call them? Boutique- health- healthcare places- Mm-hmm … even popping up in our area. So I’m really excited about it. You know, just like we have a monthly membership, they have a monthly membership. Mm-hmm,

[00:45:19] Sara Hansen: yeah.

[00:45:19] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And it’s more relationship driven.

[00:45:21] Dr. Jon Ehlers: And so it’s not that… It’s about an hour from us, so I’m thinking I’m gonna try our family out with something like that. I think that’s, uh, that’s more r- with what we’re going, you know, going to. Yeah. And, uh, so I’m excited about that.

[00:45:35] Regan Robertson: Yeah. Well, thank you, John, for taking all this time with us and sharing with our listeners the, the tricks and the, really the life experience that you’ve had that’s led up to- Mm-hmm

[00:45:44] Regan Robertson: having such a tremendous practice and, and team.

[00:45:47] Dr. Jon Ehlers: Thank you, all. It’s, uh, it’s always a pleasure to talk with you. I love talking about this, as you can probably tell. You know, it’s, uh, we need, like, three or four episodes to cover it all. But either way, I’m, I’m real happy. Thanks for ha- Thanks for [00:46:00] inviting me on.

[00:46:01] Sara Hansen: Always. You’re the best. Thank you.

[00:46:03] Regan Robertson: Hey, thanks for joining us on Everyday Practices Dental Podcast. It would mean the world to me if you could leave us a like or a review on iTunes, or go to Productive Dentist Academy through Google and leave us a review there. You know, we are here each week to talk about what’s possible when you lead your practice with clarity and courage.

[00:46:21] Regan Robertson: If you are ready to build a business that supports your life and not the other way around, Investment Grade Practice Coaching powered by Productive Dentist Academy can help. Visit investmentgradepractice.com to schedule your free 60-minute coaching session so you can start designing the practice and lifestyle you’ve been dreaming about all along.