New Podcast lean and mean ➞ Get more details here
New Podcast lean and mean ➞ Get more details here
What if the better way to practice dentistry is also the simpler way?
In this episode of the Comfort Dental Podcast, Shawn sits down with Dr. Mike Bloss, one of the original Comfort Dental doctors and someone who has seen the organization grow from its earliest days into the model it is today.
Dr. Bloss joined Comfort Dental in the early 1990s after years in traditional private practice. He had owned his own practice, worked in a high-end crown and bridge office, and understood the pressure that comes with trying to be both a great dentist and a great business owner.
Then he heard Dr. Rick Kushner explain a different approach: lower overhead, lower fees, extended hours, shared marketing, group purchasing, doctor ownership, and a simple commitment to treating people well.
For Dr. Bloss, it just made sense.
One of the strongest themes in this conversation is that dentistry is not just clinical. It is also business, communication, leadership, and stress management.
As Dr. Bloss explains, the actual dentistry can become routine over time. The harder part is managing anxious patients, supporting staff, keeping the schedule moving, paying bills, controlling overhead, and still having enough left over to support your family.
That is where the Comfort Dental model made such a difference for him.
Instead of building a solo practice around one dentist’s name, Comfort Dental created a system where doctors could own their practice while also benefiting from shared branding, shared resources, lower overhead, and the support of other doctors.
For dentists considering Comfort Dental, Dr. Bloss offers an important perspective: ownership does not have to mean being alone.
Throughout the episode, Dr. Bloss comes back to one simple idea: overhead matters.
When overhead is too high, every decision becomes harder. It is harder to lower a fee for a patient in pain. It is harder to take time off. It is harder to make clinical decisions without financial pressure hanging over you.
But when the model is efficient, everyone benefits.
Patients can receive care at a better value. Doctors can take home more of what they produce. Practices can stay open during the times when patients actually need help, including evenings and Saturdays.
For current Comfort Dental doctors, it is a reminder that the system works because of its simplicity. The goal is not to complicate dentistry. The goal is to remove the unnecessary burdens that make dentistry harder than it needs to be.
Dr. Bloss also talks about the kind of patient Comfort Dental was built to serve.
In his words, every patient is the right kind of patient.
That belief is central to the Comfort Dental mission. The model is not about chasing only the highest-income demographic or building the most luxurious office. It is about creating a practice where people can come in when they need help and receive care at a price that makes sense.
Many patients come in scared, in pain, worried about money, or unsure of what to expect. But Dr. Bloss sees that as part of the responsibility and privilege of being a dentist.
When a patient has limited dollars, the doctor is often the best person to help decide how those dollars can be used most effectively to get the patient comfortable and out of pain.
That kind of flexibility is only possible when the business model supports it.
One of the most valuable parts of this conversation is Dr. Bloss’s comparison between traditional solo practice, DSO employment, and the Comfort Dental franchise model.
A solo practice can offer autonomy, but it can also leave a dentist isolated. A DSO may promise to handle the business side, but the dentist often gives up ownership, upside, and sometimes autonomy.
Comfort Dental offers a different path: doctor ownership with support.
Doctors still have responsibility. They still have to lead, work hard, follow the system, and take ownership of their success. But they are not left to figure everything out alone.
Dr. Bloss describes Comfort Dental as a place where doctors can learn from each other, visit other offices, improve clinical skills, and receive support from people who have already built successful practices within the model.
For dentists who want more than a guaranteed paycheck, that opportunity matters.
Dr. Bloss also speaks candidly about one of the biggest challenges facing the next generation of dentists: student debt.
With many young dentists graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, financial pressure can affect everything — career decisions, stress levels, and even clinical confidence.
For a new dentist, taking a guaranteed associate position may feel safe. But Dr. Bloss challenges dentists to think bigger. Getting into dental school already required betting on yourself. Comfort Dental is looking for doctors who still believe they can do that.
That does not mean Comfort Dental is for everyone.
It is for doctors who are confident, teachable, hardworking, and willing to follow a proven system. It is for dentists who want ownership, but do not want to build everything alone.
Another point Dr. Bloss raises is one many dentists do not think about early enough: what happens at the end of a career?
In a traditional private practice built entirely around one dentist’s name and personality, transitioning or selling the practice can be difficult. Patients may feel attached to the individual doctor, not the practice itself.
Comfort Dental is different.
Because the practice is built around the Comfort Dental name, systems, and culture, another Comfort Dental doctor can step in and continue caring for patients. That can make the practice more transferable and create a clearer path toward retirement.
For current Comfort Dental doctors, that is a powerful reminder. You are not just building production for today. You are building something that can have lasting value.
Near the beginning of the episode, Dr. Bloss shares Dr. Kushner’s simple summary of the Comfort Dental model: charge lower fees, stay open late, and treat everybody nice.
That may sound almost too simple.
But after more than three decades, Dr. Bloss’s story shows why the model has lasted. It works because it solves real problems for patients and real problems for dentists.
Patients need access, value, and kindness.
Dentists need ownership, support, mentorship, autonomy, and a business model that allows them to thrive.
For dentists who are burned out, buried in overhead, stuck in an associate role, or wondering whether there is a better way to practice, this episode is worth hearing.
Because sometimes the better way is not more complicated.
Sometimes it is a simple system that makes dentistry work better for everyone.
