ADAPT Blog

Dr. Sara Makary has worked in several different settings during her career. With each change, she’s gained new skills and experiences that have helped her become a well-rounded practitioner.

But change is never easy. That’s why Dr. Sara advises other dentists to stop and really think about their next move.

Note: this is part one of a two-part interview with Dr. Sara Makary. Be sure to check out the second part, How to Decide If It's Time to Make a Change. 

When Dr. Sara Makary started her career, she followed a path taken by many of her peers: a job in corporate dentistry. “I thought this is probably a good way to get introduced to dentistry, to patients, and have a safety net of providers around me,” she said. “As a fresh graduate, we walk into uncertain territory. When you get out of school, your security blanket gets stripped off very fast.”

Drs. Bob and Heather Heil owned two successful Wisconsin practices. After a tragic fire destroyed one of their practices, they began looking for another to help meet their personal financial goals. Despite years of searching and working with brokers, they didn’t find just the right place until Dr. Bob joined ADAPT.

Dr. Gagnon needed another dentist in her practice after her father retired. Dr. Sikora wanted her first associateship out of dental school to include plenty of hands-on mentorship – in a state where she had no connections.

Dr. Jessica Sikora had never been to Maine until 2016 when she visited and interviewed at the University of New England College of Dental Medicine.

“I immediately fell in love with the area,” said the Honesdale, Pennsylvania, native.

She’d also fallen in love, after four years of dental school, with the idea of practicing in her new state. 

42 years ago, Dr. Dean Hussong graduated from dental school and set out to build his own practice from scratch. After visiting 28 different towns, he and his wife, Ann, settled in Tomahawk (population 3,160) in northern Wisconsin. While Ann was initially skeptical of following her high school sweetheart to such a small town, it turned out to be the best possible move for both of them and an ideal place to raise three children.

Kristen started her practice search on job boards.

Joe was exploring a sale with a practice management company.

In both cases, they could not get what they needed – until they turned to ADA Practice Transitions.

Emily Ishkanian, former chair of the ADA New Dentist Committee, joined a practice that turned out to be the wrong fit for her long-term goals. She shared her experience with ADA Practice Transitions. Read on for her story and 5 lessons for other dentists.

This is part of the Transition Tales & Truths series in which we discuss practice transitions with real dentists.

Patience is a virtue when trying to find the ideal practice. However, it is important that you use the waiting time to prepare for your next steps.

That was Dr. Jim’s message to his dental colleagues when he got in touch with ADA Practice Transitions to share his story.

Dr. Jim and his wife, Pam (names changed at their request), worked together as a team to navigate the practice transitions process. Over six years and a variety of experiences, they refined their idea of the “perfect practice” and wanted to share their lessons with other young dentists ready to forge a path.

This is part of the Transition Tales & Truths series in which we discuss practice transitions with real dentists.

Today’s Transition Tale comes from our friend and 2020 New Dentist Committee Vice Chair Dr. Daniel Hall. He wants to share his learnings with other dentists so hopefully they can find the right fit, the first time.

Dr. Hall got in touch with ADA Practice Transitions because he believes that ADAPT, a service created by the ADA, could have helped alleviate many of the obstacles he found during his journey to practice ownership.