Episode #235: Dr. Mark Davis – Transform Your Practice: From Chaos to Calm

Dr. Eric Block: Welcome to the Stress-Free Dentist Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Eric Block. As always, I want to inspire, entertain, and educate you on the best tools and technologies out there. My goal is to help make your practice and career more profitable, efficient, and most importantly, more enjoyable. And check out all of my nonfiction and children’s books on Amazon and check out thestressfreedentist.com  for any upcoming events. And if you’re feeling you’re a dental professional that’s burnt out, or you just feel stuck or want to get to that next level, visit the International Academy of Dental Life Coaches or www.iadlc.com  and we’ll get you matched up with a life coach that understands dentistry. I also wanted to thank our amazing sponsor, Ekwa Marketing. They have helped me and my practice over the years to improve with SEO and website performance. And to find out how you can make your practice dominate in your area, go to www.ekwa.com/msmsfd  to book your complimentary meeting. Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode. And today I’m joined by Dr. Mark Davis. Mark, thanks so much for joining us.

Dr. Mark Davis: Thank you for having me.

Dr. Eric Block: Mark, I wanna hear all about Dental Simplified and your consulting and speaking career. But first, let’s get into how did you even decide to become a dentist? Tell me about your origin story.

Dr. Mark Davis: Uh, great story. I came from a medical background. My dad was an orthopedic surgeon and felt like that was not the right path for me. I wanted more confined hours and days, and dentistry seemed like the right fit. And it’s been already 37 years, and I’ve been practicing ever since and still practicing. Long journey.

Dr. Eric Block: And where did you go to dental school?

Dr. Mark Davis: I went to Loma Linda University in Southern California. I’ve had what I would classify as three different periods in my career. I was down there in Southern California for the first 10 years of my practice. I was an associate. Um, I did own my first practice in that period of time. I moved to the state of Washington for 13 years and had four or five practices there that were fairly large, and it was a really good run there. And my last block of time has been back in California. Uh, currently I’m in Manhattan Beach, but I’ve had practices in the Central Coast of California and, uh, Central Valley.

Dr. Eric Block: And just take me back to your journey in dental school. You said you went to Loma Linda. What was your experience like in dental school?

Dr. Mark Davis: Uh, interesting. I, I came right, went right from college to dental school, and I was burnt out. I probably needed a little time off. In fact, my sophomore year, uh, I got up in the middle of a test in my first quarter of that year, and I walked out. I went up to the dean’s office and I said, I just wanna know if I can come back. And they said, yeah, you can. And I was out of there. So I took a year off right in the middle of it, not knowing I was gonna come back. I just wanted to know if I had the opportunity. And I left and did some interesting things. Uh, one of ’em was being a ski instructor. I knew that’s what I wanted to, I thought I wanted to do and didn’t make any money. Uh, came back, had a couple of really lousy jobs, and decided to go back into dental school. And even when I got outta dental school, I was like, oh no, I don’t know if this is the right fit for me. I’ve carved out an interesting journey of owning quite a few different practices through my career, and I’ve made it interesting. So,

Dr. Eric Block: So did you say you actually got up in the middle of an exam and walked out and that you asked for a leave of absence from dental school?

Dr. Mark Davis: Yeah. And I was outta there in five days from the time I walked out of a test. Yeah, it was very spontaneous. It was very reactionary. And actually, I try not to be very reactionary, but I just, I felt overwhelmed. I didn’t ask my parents. I didn’t ask for permission. I just marched up there and said, I just need out.

Dr. Eric Block: Was that something that was kind of bubbling up, or did it just all of a sudden come crashing down during—

Dr. Mark Davis: I think it was. I mean, I went in there my freshman year. I did fine. I didn’t understand the volume of work that I needed, you know, just for studying and all those things that went along with dental school. And I started my sophomore year, and it just didn’t start out great. And I just felt this need of, I just gotta go. And it was probably one of—it was a risky move ’cause who knew if I’d come back—but it was probably one of my better moves in life. It shed a light on something that made me come back.

Dr. Eric Block: That’s great that you were actually able to do that and they allowed you to come back.

Dr. Mark Davis: I don’t know if they would do that now. Yeah, it was a quick, quick thing. I just said, I want out. I need out. And they granted it for me. And I said, great, I’m out. And then I told my parents and they were, they were like shocked. But, you know, such is life.

Dr. Eric Block: And then, uh, after you graduated dental school, did you say you associated for a bit?

Dr. Mark Davis: Yeah, I tried a lot of different things. I worked in private practice, group practice. Uh, I even took a job for a larger dental company back then, and they were doing quality assurance for their offices. And I, you know, here I’m brand new out, and I was like, I’m not sure I’m qualified for this job. But I did that. I worked for Indian Health Services. I just tried as many things as I could and tried to learn some good habits and technique before I bought my own practice. I was out about five years, and then I bought my first solo practice. Uh, and I knew immediately when I was in that, I go, this is not the right fit for me to be in solo practice. I felt confined. I wanted time freedom, and I thought that was not the pathway.

Dr. Eric Block: And what, uh, if I remember, did you say you at one point had 16 practices?

Dr. Mark Davis: Through my career, I’ve had 16 different practices. I’ve had six at a certain given time. In Washington, I had four. I had a really good partner there, non-dental partner. So that was a really good run in Washington, and it gave me a lot of freedom of time. Plus, I could work. It just worked. And I understood the value of having multiple practices and multiple associates. It freed me up in a lot of ways. Then I came back to California, and I thought, oh, I’m gonna duplicate that process. And it was much harder.

Dr. Eric Block: And now tell me about that jump from one practice to two to three. And then ultimately, you said you had six at one time. What was that process like?

Dr. Mark Davis: It was stressful, uh, buying them and managing them. And I was still clinical with all of them on some level. It was a big juggle act. But I learned to be able to respond to things as opposed to react. I learned to have priorities for what was really important, what was not important for me. I learned to be able to go home and walk out the front door or back door and just like, I did my best, and I left it there and I didn’t bring it home. And I think—not that one practice isn’t hard, and two is harder, and three just keeps getting exponentially harder—you have more things that are on your plate and on your desk, and you just have to learn to sift through that and find the stuff that’s most important, ’cause you cannot absorb it all. And I got good at that, but it certainly came with its stresses, for sure. You know, like with COVID coming, and I had, like, I think at that time I had five practices, and I was like, oh, this is what’s gonna take me out. I thought for sure. I go, I didn’t think anything could, and I’m like, oh, this might do it. But I got through it.

Dr. Eric Block: And you said that trying to duplicate what you had in Washington in California was more challenging. What were the challenges there?

Dr. Mark Davis: I think dentistry was—I’ve been practicing for now 37 years. So my years of practice in Washington were from the late 1990s to about 2010, 11. It was just easier. Just wasn’t as much demand. And I moved to a state, California, where everything is really expensive and regulated and just harder. But Washington has gotten more so that way. But I had a really great manager that, you know, focused in on just the management of the practice. And so I didn’t have to take that burden home with me ever there. And I left a good situation, but it was time for me to move on. I felt a little bit under the constraints of that partner and felt like I needed to move on. I was a good partner, she was a good partner, but it was time to move on. My family was from California, and it just was a natural move to move back to California. And when I came back, I thought, oh, I’ll just be able to, you know, step right in where I left off up there. But it was stressful, and it took some work. But I did get there. Now I’m back to one practice. Let me go—that feels good.

Dr. Eric Block: And now tell me about your, your, uh, consulting and coaching and speaking career. It seems like you’ve started a whole second career.

Dr. Mark Davis: I have. And really, it’s about giving back. I’ve learned a lot of things throughout this journey. The journey is still going, ’cause I still practice at some level. I feel like I owe it to tell my story of how I got there. And, you know, I’ve come out on the other side healthy and happy, and I’ve made it not too stressful, even though I took on a lot of stressful things. And it hasn’t been all—you know, not everything has been total success, for sure. But I feel like I have a really good story and a journey to share and help others maybe see the pathway that I took, or at least, you know, ventured down.

Dr. Eric Block: And your website is dentalsimplified.com.  What would you say are some top tips for a dentist to have a smooth clinical day?

Dr. Mark Davis: I, well, I think if someone can learn how to respond versus react to things that happen—in just a typical solo practice, you probably have 10 changes of some sort in that day—you know, a new patient add-on, somebody came off, procedure change, hygiene, whatever happens. There are all these different types of changes that can happen through that day. And I think you have to learn how to be able to not absorb it on such a personal and deep level that it affects you. And you just react to it and you get upset, and it just creates this chaotic vibe in the office. And I mean, I’ve had to learn that. It’s not been just like, oh, I was given that gift, but I’ve learned to be much more thoughtful in how I react to and respond to situations that come up. And it makes for a much simpler day.

Another important aspect, I think, is having really good time management. And if you’re not good with time management, the whole day goes downhill really quick. You get behind and patients are upset, and staff is upset, and it just creates so much drama that just doesn’t need to be.

Dr. Eric Block: There’s, to me, there’s no worse feeling than running behind and knowing, you know, you have a patient waiting for your chair, and then you also have hygiene checks to do. Yeah. And it just, it compounds, and nobody’s happy when they’re running behind. 

Dr. Mark Davis: And the day leads to a week, and a week leads to a month of all this, and it just, it really builds up where everyone is like, why am I doing this job, this job? So I learned good time management. Part of my consulting is explaining gears for doctors to have—you know, some things have to go slow, and some things you can go through so much quicker and faster. Not think you have to take some certain amount of time because that’s what you’ve been told.

And I use those efficiently every time, every day that I work. You know, super slow at giving my shots, and I still get patients like, "Oh, that was a great shot," but I really take my time. I’m very thoughtful on how I do that. But once I know the patient’s really numb and I don’t have to, you know, think they’re going to jerk—because I ask them if they’re numb. If you ask a patient, "Hey, are you numb?" they’re gonna go, "Yeah," ’cause they’re afraid; they don’t want an extra shot. But I really make sure they’re really numb. And then you can go to town. They’re not there for a massage. They’re there for, "Let’s get this done and let me get on with my day." And that’s how I look at it.

Dr. Eric Block: I totally agree. I do an endo ice test on the tooth, and if they feel the cold, they’re not numb. And I make sure that they’re totally numb. And once they’re totally numb, like you said, I pop that isolation device in and just go to town. They don’t wanna be there any longer than they have to. And, um, you know, I try to, while they’re getting numb, go and do my hygiene exams and try to, you know, get everything ready so I can focus on that procedure. What was your secret there for doing like a quick exam or a hygiene exam and not letting the patient feel like they’re getting less of a hundred percent of you?

Dr. Mark Davis: Yeah, that’s, I think, another really learned skill that I believe I have. I mean, some patients are wanting to have a lot of questions, they have a lot of concerns, and you have to be able to quickly learn who this patient is on very short notice. I try to be—like, full exams can take a long time if you let them. And I just try to focus in on what the problem is. If I’m running behind, I quickly go through the exam, identify that, and like, well, let’s focus on that. Let’s get that either booked or, you know, whatever we’re gonna do for the day. And I go, we can circle back around to the other things that obviously will probably need some attention, but focus on the thing they’re there for.

And I think they appreciate that. And obviously, if you even get it done, help them that day, they’re even more appreciative. So I just learned to shorten them up. And I think I understand who my audience is. You know, people are not real interested in what I have to say. I’m like, okay, I don’t take offense to that. It’s like someone saying, "Oh, I hate the dentist." I’m like, I’ve heard that a million times. But, I mean, what are you gonna do? There’s nothing to respond to that. And I don’t.

So I just feel like I know my audience, and I feel like they either want out and they don’t want a lot of explanation—they just want the cliff notes—and let’s do that. And other people, you know, if they’re leaning into it and want more explanation of what’s going on and have a bigger treatment plan, then I’ll take that time too and then try to maximize my time in some other way throughout the day so I’m not constantly behind.

Dr. Eric Block: If you are tight for time and you got, you know, Judy that’s in there chatting away, do you actually tell Judy, "Um, you know, I’m running a little bit behind, let’s get you back into focus on your problem"? And how do you handle a situation like that?

Dr. Mark Davis: I think I’d probably just go right into what her real issue is—what’s really bothering her and how we can manage that—and focus in on what’s the right fix for that. And really defocus on the other things. I don’t wanna make them feel like I am the one that’s behind and, you know, I’m not running a good shop there. So I try to focus in on them and focus in on the problem really specifically. And then like, okay, that’s where we’re gonna go. Let’s do that. And we will, you know, we can wrap this up at another time when we have, you know, a different day and possibly more time. So I don’t ever try to shortchange them on anything. And I don’t try to emphasize that I’m behind or, you know, my day’s not going like I planned. I just try to focus in on their specific problem.

Dr. Eric Block: What do you think is the biggest issue that patients leave with a bad experience? Do you think it’s that they feel rushed or they didn’t get numb? Or what do you think it is in your years that you’ve noticed?

Dr. Mark Davis: I think it comes down to two things, almost a hundred percent. And I ask patients all the time, if they’ve had a bad experience, I go, what was it? And I think it’s a painful shot—they didn’t like that and how it got administered. And number two, I think the biggie is they weren’t numb. And they felt it the whole time, and the doctor didn’t pay attention to that and take care of it. I use a Ligajet. I mean, there are a lot of dentists that don’t, and they—for whatever reason, I don’t know—but that’s been really important for my practice: happiness and success of getting patients really numb. And, you know, there are a lot of other systems, but it’s sort of the concept of what that is. And I fully believe in getting that patient really numb. You take so much of the stress away from the whole day, and certainly procedures, by that.

Dr. Eric Block: A patient in number 19, huge filling. You’re doing a crown. What’s your flow to get them numb?

Dr. Mark Davis: First shot, superficially go in there really slow—they won’t feel it. I just kind of infuse a little bit on the surface of the tissue. If I’m—let’s say we’re doing a lower block—second shot, then I’ll go back. They’re not feeling anything. I can go back where I need to go. I’ll ask ’em, how numb are you feeling? And usually they’re like, I’m good. And I will typically use a Ligajet just to make sure. And I know that I’m ready to go. There’s not gonna be a, you know, “Oops, I’m feeling something.” I just take that out of the equation. Certainly with endo and extractions, I use—I do that system for sure. And a crown too.

Dr. Eric Block: In between your first two, your mandibular blocks, how long do you wait?

Dr. Mark Davis: Depends on what my day looks like. I mean, I try to get other things done, so I’m just constantly managing my day the best I can. I just, you know, will either try to get my exam done in hygiene. I’ll go over there and say, “Hey, I’m here, I’m available, let me get in here and do that,” and just try to use that time efficiently. Even with endo, I don’t—sometimes even—I take very few x-rays when I do endo, almost none. But if I need time, I’ll take an x-ray. I just build in time with stuff that I can kind of get here and there and keep up with the day so it just doesn’t ever get away. And honestly, I can’t even remember when I’ve had a day where I was just like, “Crap, that just went to hell for me.” I was so behind and everything felt stressful. That is a mindset I have—not to have that. And I think I’ve been able to learn that pathway. And it’s not—I mean, it’s come with a price, ’cause I certainly, in the beginning, did not manage my time nearly as well as I can now.

Dr. Eric Block: Yeah, I think that definitely comes with experience. Very similar—I give two lower blocks. In between, I’ll go do a hygiene check or two, and then I’ll go around buccal with some Septocaine and go right around—kind of like a Ligajet like you do—and do another hygiene check, and then endo ice test the tooth, and then if they’re numb, it’s go time.

Dr. Mark Davis: I agree. You know, like I said, they’re not there for an hour. And if you can get that procedure done in, you know, half an hour, 45 minutes, they’re like, “Great.” And I think that adds to their happiness. It’s not like they feel gypped on any level of that. I think a patient knows when hands are careful and thoughtful in how they touch them. And they know confidence in what they’re feeling. And they understand unconfident hands as well—that felt shaky. And I think there are so many dentists that just don’t get their patients numb, or they trust that the patient says they’re numb, and here they go, and, you know, it’s just so backwards for me to do it that way.

Dr. Eric Block: Yeah, that’s a good point—patients understand confidence. And early on in my career, I didn’t do this, but now, when I have that isolation device in and they’re numb, I direct them where I need them to go. You say, “Judy, up and to the left,” or, “Judy, can you look down towards your shoes and to the right?” I’m directing them where I need them to go. And it helps me get the job done quicker. But that’s definitely something patients appreciate. They want to get out of there and be done. And early on in my career, I felt funny about it, like I was bothering the patient to constantly tell them to go to the left, to the right, open.

Dr. Mark Davis: For sure. It obviously comes with experience. And, you know, like for a patient—if I’m doing an exam and I feel a lot of pushback and they don’t want to hear what I have to say—I just stop. And I’m not rude on any level, ’cause I don’t get into conflict with patients. That’s another area I just don’t go. But I’m like, okay, then let’s just give you what you want. And I don’t worry about that. I don’t go, oh gosh, I didn’t do everything that, you know, I didn’t tell them everything they needed. If they’re shutting you down, then use your time wisely. Why spend that time with that individual when there are other people that really deserve your time and want your time? That’s where your focus should go.

Dr. Eric Block: That’s so true. Some people just—they don’t want to talk. They just want to get in and get out. And yeah, you don’t need to waste that mental energy on a long rambling story. These are great tips. Tell me about your consulting business.

Dr. Mark Davis: So my consulting business correlates with the speaking and what I want to talk about. I want to help—I wanna work with three to four clients a month who feel like they need help clinically. I’m not there for helping them with management. I’m not there to help them with, you know, what kind of software they need. I’m not there to look at their insurance. I’m not there to necessarily tell them how to do things clinically. I’m there to help them find a pathway that makes every day simple and meaningful. And you go home and you focus on the things that are most important—that’s your family and the things that you love. And I’ve been able to do that. And that’s why I’m still standing here at 64, you know, healthy. And I’ve had a great career and I’ve been happy.

Dr. Eric Block: So you actually focus more on the clinical? Because that’s a great niche. A lot of coaches or consultants do focus more on the managerial side, the backend things, where you’re actually going in there and helping the dentist get more efficient with their actual clinical dentistry.

Dr. Mark Davis: Yeah. And time. And if they want help clinically—how I’ve done things, where I’ve been able to cut time down on procedures—I’m happy to do that. You know, dentists as a whole don’t wanna be told necessarily how to do clinical dentistry, so I will approach that as how they need or want—that would fit their needs. I do have gears that I talk about, like I said: first gear, second gear, third gear. And I have sort of a process of what those look like and how that can help them use those gears.

And those are clinical gears. Like I said, injection is Gear One—you’re going slow, really methodical. And Gear Five is, you know, your patient’s numb and you’re like, okay, I’m gonna get this crown prep done and let’s get it on.

So I think those are the mindset of how you do things. And even with PPOs—you know, you get paid, so, and it’s not all about money—but you’re not getting paid like fee-for-service. So you have to learn to maximize your time and procedures. You can’t do an endo in three different times and spend two hours each time. I mean, you’ll go broke. So learn to be efficient with how you do procedures.

I mean, I love the line that’s, you know, “Perfection is the enemy of good.” And I think that’s so true for dentists—just constantly wanting… I mean, we’re trained to be perfectionists, but you can’t give perfection. I mean, if you look in someone’s mouth and you see they have a lot of lousy dentistry, that patient has probably only allowed those dentists to do that type of work. And you just have to sometimes let things go. You can’t just keep grinding away on things ’cause you think, I’m gonna make it a little bit better. Learn to know when good is good enough and I’m done—and you move on. And that’s worked for me.

Dr. Eric Block: And what would you say about—I totally agree with everything you just said—and also perfectionism. I see it as being a major problem with young dentists. You know, like you said, they were trained to try to be perfect. And a lot of these young dentists, all they’ve known is success. You know, they did well in school, and then they get out into the real world and all of a sudden, they have an upset patient or they got a bad review, and they just mentally beat themselves up. And it’s, um, you know, every day is not gonna be perfect.

Dr. Mark Davis: No. And I think if you can get through that and change that mindset—and that’s what I do want to help with the clients. You know, some of my clients are gonna need different things, and I can adjust to that. But I think you can just beat yourself up for so many years, and then you’re in the middle of your career and you’re in your forties, you’re like, “I’m done. I want out.” I mean, I’ve gone through the whole gambit of like, okay, I’m done, I’ve done this. I’m gonna be done when I’m in my fifties. And I thought, that’s for sure—I’m not gonna be clinically practicing, I’m just gonna be doing different things. And here I am, 64, and I’m down to my last practice, which feels pretty good. But, uh—

Dr. Eric Block: That’s awesome, man. I love what you’re up to and I love how you’re giving back and helping out other dentists. Mark, tell us—how do we find out more about what you’re up to?

Dr. Mark Davis: Um, website is dentalsimplified.com,  and that’s the best way to get a hold of me. And I can reach out to you, or you can reach out to me if you contact me through email, and we can talk about any specific needs that you might want help with.

Dr. Eric Block: Love it. Mark, Dr. Mark Davis, thank you so much for joining us. Such a great episode.

Dr. Mark Davis: Thank you.

Dr. Eric Block: Thanks again for listening to the Stress-Free Dentist Podcast. And don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at info@thestressfreedentist.com.  And if you haven’t already, please subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Until the next episode, I’m Dr. Eric Block, the Stress-Free Dentist.