Program Details

I lectured for over 30 years to orthodontists from USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on the business principles of orthodontics in a year long program I called The Bottom Line (TBL). Over the same period I gave shorter 1-3 day courses to orthodontists on 5 continents.

For more than 25 of those years I lectured yearly (through 3M Unitek) to all orthodontic residents in these same countries over a long weekend (16 hours of content) and with the full support of their departments and faculty. The topic was the business principles to run a practice not taught in their training. I taught residents about different orthodontic business models including private practice, corporate practice, and the economics of each model.  

There were and still are no “right answers” on these topics. It is all about what you want from your practice and importantly, your life, and how to achieve them. It is, however, also about how to best treat the patients we have the privilege to serve. Business principles are still NOT taught in school. Orthodontists for decades had to learn by trial and error… usually a lot of error. The world is changing ever more quickly. This is the nature of the information age, computerization, social media and the rest.

It has been 6 years since the last TBL program. Time flies. So… what has been going on and what has changed in the orthodontic world? Well, a lot. Disruptions abound. Most of the monumental changes are permanent. Joel Barker called them “paradigm shifts”. He stated when a paradigm shifts everything goes back to zero. This means the old ways of doing things and the old rules no longer apply. ONLY those who react to the change in a positive and proactive way survive. He called these adapters paradigm pioneers. They were the winners in the brave new world. They became the innovators, the inventors, and the billionaires that run todays best and most successful businesses. Think Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos. So what does this mean to a century old business called orthodontics? EVERYTHING!

This program is designed for anyone in attendance to learn about the disrupters and the solutions that have come to orthodontics in recent years from experts in the field. It also affords the opportunity to have discussions with other practitioners and users who have already adapted their practices to use them. It will prove to be an exciting and educational 4 days.

This program is not about how to survive. It is about how to thrive! I chose the location of Aruba because it is an amazing destination in the dead of winter with great beaches, water sports, golf, great restaurants, world class shopping, friendly English speaking natives, and even casinos for those so inclined. Aruba offers guaranteed weather (82 degrees by day, 74 at night). It can be reached nonstop from multiple USA locations in 5 hours on Saturdays.

The program is designed to run from 7AM to 1PM to allow the doctors time to enjoy the island but also to interact in the afternoons and evening with attendees and faculty on subjects discussed during the meeting. Importantly, it is a great venue to enjoy with a significant other, and even the kids at this paradise I have been to 40+ times.

This insightful meeting will apply still current TBL concepts to the new world we live in and practice in. The TBL principles I taught for 40 years are still valid. The execution today, however, is totally different.