When it comes to culture, especially corporate culture, building from scratch sounds a lot easier than it often is.

When Dr. Kelly, Operation Dental's founder and CEO, and Matt Robinson, its COO and co-founder, set out to create a spectacular professional dental experience, they envisioned a world where dentists could have the best components of group dentistry and private practices. Having worked for a corporate DSO, Dr. Kelly saw the gaps that provided an opportunity to rewrite the rules on management style, one that considers its people and prioritizes those people over any cent that the company could make.

Also, seeing the need for a dental services space that fostered a culture of excellence and compassion, Dr. Peter and Matt began designing a foundational roadmap that would always guide them back to decisions that put the people first. Operation Dental offers partnerships, investment opportunities, and a culture that genuinely drives individual success, all thanks to a philosophy called "The Way of Eight,” which we'll dive into below.

Their vision centered around creating opportunities and environments for dentists and team members to reach their full potential. To have them love getting up, getting ready, and coming to work.

Hiring great people that share their mindset toward dentistry, giving them the tools to succeed, and being there when they need support set the stage for a successful business with engaged employees at all levels. This is what we mean by putting people before profits. All of this informs the Operation Dental culture and can be summed up in the following values:

The Way of Eight

1. Shattering the DSO stereotype with a “people before profits” ethos and uncompromising core values of honesty, integrity, and accountability. In action: Providing a fluoride treatment to a patient who needs it yet has no funds to do the treatment.
2. Upholding a culture of respect, trust, and open communication with every doctor, employee, and stakeholder through a commitment to servant leadership. In action: When an uncomfortable issue arises, staff feel comfortable communicating with anyone in leadership and feel confident that they will be heard and the issue will be resolved.
3. Providing the freedom to practice dentistry in a way that fulfills your unique life ambitions. In action: Our partner dentists can create their schedules and have access to courses that help them grow clinically.
4. Combining the best of private and group dentistry through a leadership philosophy that puts you first and gives you a voice. In action: Inviting the entire staff to traction meetings and implementing the feedback from staff members.
5. Creating unmatched opportunities for clinical, professional, and personal growth, including investment opportunities and business mentorship. In action: In addition to the courses we offer to our dentists, they also have the unique opportunity to invest, building a passive income stream.
6. Supporting our doctors and employees with the systems, resources, and services they need to produce exceptional clinical outcomes. In action: Dentists never have to worry about the minutiae of the day-to-day if they don’t want to.
7. Enriching our communities with access to high-quality, individualized dental care. In action: We utilize the latest technology and materials to ensure the best outcomes for our patients. We also prioritize using local labs.
8. Driving innovation and setting a new standard in our industry through a better way to practice dentistry. In action: From 3D printing to photogrammetry to Itero and trios scanning, we only use the most current technology, educating our staff to be able to serve with the highest levels of excellence.