Scaling Dental Practices into Millions: Dr. Alex Planes’ Blueprint for Growth
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This episode features Dr. Alex Planes, who transformed from poverty in Miami to building a multiple 8-figure dental empire across Florida. Born to a family living paycheck-to-paycheck, Dr. Planes took an extraordinary leap of faith at age 22, moving to the Dominican Republic to pursue dentistry when U.S. dental schools seemed out of reach. (00:29) After graduating, he strategically built his practice from $300,000 to over $1 million in revenue within the first year, eventually expanding to multiple locations and generating $2.5 million annually. (01:03) Now he runs a dental consulting company, helping other dentists scale their practices while sharing the raw, unfiltered truth about entrepreneurship.
- Main themes: Overcoming adversity through strategic business growth, the power of investment in team development, and building systems that scale across multiple locations
Speakers
Dr. Alex Planes
Dr. Alex Planes is a Cuban-American dentist and entrepreneur who built a multiple 8-figure dental empire across Florida. After graduating from dental school in the Dominican Republic and completing his residency at Columbia University in New York, he strategically scaled his practice from a struggling location to multiple successful dental offices generating millions in annual revenue.
Paul Alex
Paul Alex is the host of the Level Up podcast, a former law enforcement officer turned entrepreneur. He built multiple companies and now focuses on interviewing successful entrepreneurs to share their stories and strategies with aspiring business owners.
Key Takeaways
Invest Aggressively in Team Development
Dr. Planes made a game-changing $25,000 investment in training his hygienists, despite never spending that amount before. (17:08) This training focused on coaching patients better and selling more treatment. The result was a 10x return on investment within one year, generating $250,000 from that $25,000 investment. He followed this with a $150,000 investment that helped scale revenue from $1 million to $2.5 million annually. This demonstrates that professional development isn't just an expense—it's a strategic investment that can exponentially multiply your returns when done correctly.
Master Direct Response Marketing Through Consistency
The foundation of Dr. Planes' rapid growth was consistent direct mail campaigns, sending 8,000-10,000 beautifully designed postcards monthly to local households. (23:52) This generated a 5% response rate with 1% converting to treatment. He combined this with Google Ads and Facebook marketing, achieving an exceptional 20x return on ad spend. The key wasn't using every marketing channel available, but mastering a few proven methods and executing them consistently month after month, regardless of immediate results.
Sacrifice Short-term Lifestyle for Long-term Wealth Building
While other dentists bought luxury cars and expensive suits, Dr. Planes continued living like a student, saving aggressively to have 10% deposits ready for new practice acquisitions. (14:21) He managed his profit and loss statements obsessively, reinvesting profits back into marketing and business expansion rather than personal luxuries. This disciplined approach enabled him to systematically build multiple locations, each generating seven-figure revenues. The sacrifice of immediate gratification created the foundation for long-term wealth and business empire.
Build Systems That Create Predictable Revenue Growth
Dr. Planes developed a repeatable formula: acquire practices for under $350,000, then scale them to $1 million in revenue within one year using proven marketing systems. (26:21) He standardized everything from patient experience to marketing campaigns, creating predictable growth patterns across multiple locations. This systematic approach eliminated guesswork and allowed for rapid expansion because each new location followed the same proven blueprint that had worked before.
Leverage Market Timing and Positioning for Maximum Growth
During COVID-19, when many businesses struggled, Dr. Planes capitalized on increased demand for cosmetic dental procedures, particularly full arch dentistry. (27:47) He scaled from 3-5 full arch procedures monthly to 30-40, charging $21,000-$23,000 per procedure. His success came from recognizing that people spending time at home became more aware of their appearance, combined with low interest rates and increased disposable income. Smart entrepreneurs don't just survive difficult times—they position themselves to thrive when conditions improve.
Statistics & Facts
- Dr. Planes achieved a 20x return on ad spend (ROAS) with his Google marketing campaigns, spending a maximum of $2,500 per month and generating $50,000 in revenue. (24:45) This exceptional performance demonstrates the power of targeted marketing in the dental industry.
- His direct mail campaigns generated a 5% response rate with 1% converting to treatment, sending 8,000-10,000 postcards monthly per location. (24:01) This provided a predictable lead generation system that scaled across multiple practices.
- Full arch pricing in his market dropped from $21,000-$23,000 to $15,000-$16,000 over just 2-3 years due to increased competition. (33:14) This illustrates the importance of maintaining premium positioning in competitive markets.
