Case Study

Dentistry is a blend of art and science. Maximizing a variety of techniques and materials to construct a beautiful smile is something that Dr. Correa has been doing for almost 40 years. A passion for creating and working with his hands is how he ended up with a life-long career as a dentist. Finding his niche where he grew up in Alsip, Illinois didn’t come overnight though. In fact, he was left with no option other than to start over when his first business partner decided to bring on his son instead of continuing to work with Dr. Correa. “I thought to myself, ‘well, blood is thicker than water,’ that’s the way it works.” Not only was rebranding a stressful experience, managing increased business operations without the support of a partner made providing exceptional patient care more difficult. “Dentistry is stressful enough. It’s tough and it’s getting tougher. Rather than running a practice during the day and going home at night, I didn’t go home because I had to do everything else.”

In late 2017, Dr. Correa learned how Smile Brands business support could afford him the time to focus on dentistry and while they managed the behind the scenes operations. “The thing about Smile Brands is that it’s like a family. They said, ‘Hey, we want you to be successful. We’re here to support you. You’ve got autonomy of your own office.’ People plus systems equals an equitable and profitable business, and that’s the truth. That’s what impressed me, of course they care about us doctors but they care just as much about all our team members.” He felt understood during the transition because the transition team is made up of dentists who have been in the same position. Even better was that his entire team saw the benefits of the change, “everybody took to it. Everybody stayed and it’s been great.”

At 65 years old, Dr. Correa continues to create beautiful smiles without plans to retire because of the work/life balance he found since joining forces with Smile Brands. Nowadays, he’s able to take off a little more time than he used to with peace of mind knowing that his office has systems in place to keep the doors open without him there. “It’s only been four years but I probably should’ve done it before that. It’s been a great move!”