Meet Brian Rich | Owner & Dentist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Rich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I bought my dental practice in September 2021, it was like stepping into three full-time jobs overnight. First, I was the business owner—paying bills, ordering supplies, and keeping employees happy. Second, I was the sole dentist, juggling hygiene exams, new patient consults, and every dental procedure our patients needed. Third, I was the weekend maintenance crew—for months, I spent every Saturday and Sunday at the office, cleaning, reorganizing, and remodeling rooms from top to bottom. Work-life balance? It didn’t exist back then.

Fast forward a few years, and I’ve learned the art of delegation. My team now handles supply orders, bills are on autopay, and vendors coordinate directly with staff. That’s lightened my load significantly. Still, I’ll never outsource one job: ensuring my team feels happy and fulfilled—that’s a responsibility I’ll always carry. As the only dentist, I’ve brought in tools like Pearl AI to review radiographs alongside me. It’s like having a second set of eyes on every X-ray, catching things I might miss and giving me peace of mind. We’ve also embraced tech like Cerec and InLab for restoring teeth. I grew up gaming and tinkering with computers, so designing crowns on-screen feels more like play than work—a rare job perk!

The maintenance grind has eased up too. We’ve shifted from full-scale remodeling to keeping things running smoothly. Over time, we’ve tackled big projects—redoing two hygiene rooms, turning the file room into an office, upgrading the patient bathroom, expanding the break room, revamping the dental lab, converting the darkroom into a CBCT computer room, and streamlining sterilization. None of it would’ve happened without my dad, brother, and extended family pitching in.

For me, balance isn’t about clocking out early—it’s about working smarter. Leveraging technology and trusting my team have given me breathing room, though I’m still tied to the practice’s success. I’ve come a long way from those relentless early days, and I’m grateful for it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In dentistry, most practices outsource your dental work to third-party labs. Not us. What sets us apart is keeping nearly everything in-house—about 95% of your dental needs are crafted right in our own lab. From crowns to night guards, I control the process start to finish, ensuring it’s done exactly how I want it. For the rare cases too big for our sintering furnace, we still design the work ourselves and send an .stl file to a lab for milling and sintering. I got fed up adjusting contacts and occlusion after patients wore temporaries for weeks. That frustration drove me to take charge. I’m most proud of how this hands-on approach delivers better, faster results for our patients—it’s quality I can stand behind.

Getting here wasn’t a straight line. My Cerec experience in the Army gave me a head start; I knew the hardware’s potential and had no trouble investing in it when I started my practice. But mastering it? That was the real challenge. Early on, I underestimated what it took to unlock its full capabilities. Enter CDOCS—their courses streamlined the learning curve, turning frustration into confidence. It wasn’t easy, but their structured training made it manageable. Along the way, I’ve learned a big lesson: if you want something done right, do it yourself—or at least oversee every detail.

I want the world to know that our practice isn’t just about fixing teeth; it’s about precision, ownership, and pushing boundaries. My brand is built on the belief that controlling the process means delivering the best care. That’s my story: a dentist who’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves, learn the hard way, and build something exceptional—one tooth at a time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a massive shoutout to CDOCS—they’ve been a game-changer for my dental practice. CDOCS is a digital dentistry group that brings dentists together through workshops, conferences, and support forums to learn, troubleshoot, and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Before joining, I thought my four years of Cerec experience in the Army had me covered. Turns out, I was barely scratching the surface.

The real eye-opener came from CDOCS faculty like Dr. Dan Butterman and Dr. Meena Barsoum. Their expertise unlocked workflows I didn’t even know existed, taking my skills to a whole new level. Thanks to their training and the CDOCS curriculum, our practice now runs a fully digitized workflow from start to finish. I’ve ditched the old-school dental stone and model trimmers for scanners and software. It’s not just faster and more accurate—it’s a smoother, better experience for my patients and me. CDOCS didn’t just teach me tools; they transformed how I practice dentistry. They deserve a huge chunk of credit for where we are today.

Website: https://www.brianrichdmd.com

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