"The sterilization area has been really nice. It was well-designed and it looks great," he said. "Patients are very impressed with it. They’re a lot more confident that we follow procedure."
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The laboratory is a definite improvement over his old one, which was basically a big closet/storeroom. "You had to stand on boxes to grind models," he said. Dr. Lee’s lab is now home to a new bench grinder and his CEREC® MC XL milling unit. And since the lab is easily accessible from all of his operatories, he encourages patients to watch their restorations being milled. "Every patient I’ve done a CEREC on wants to get up and watch their crown being made," he said. "They just think it’s great."
The CEREC milling unit is just one of Dr. Lee’s patient favorites. Patients have complimented Dr. Lee on his new practice environment, the abundant parking, the new technology and the overall size of the new practice. "It’s two-and-a-half times larger than my old office. It’s very modern," he said. "They really like the new equipment and the comfort and they feel that they can get in and out of the chair more easily. They feel like they’re getting the highest-quality dentistry." The overwhelming patient reaction to the new practice has been pride. "They’re all proud of it. They’re as happy as I am and they’re proud for me. It makes me feel that I did the right thing."
New "love," new patients, new opportunities
For Dr. Lee, the new office was much more than a financial investment – it was also a much-needed change. "I’ve fallen in love with dentistry again. I had fallen into a rut and didn’t know how much longer I was going to do this. I was always under pressure," he said. "Now I’m excited to go to work. It’s recharged me for the last phase of my practice. I don’t feel like I’m winding down. I feel like I’ll go full tilt and then just hand it over [to an associate.]"
Dr. Lee is in no danger of winding down. Since opening the new practice, productivity and his new patient count have increased at least 20 percent each month. "It’d gone flat because we didn’t have any room for [patients]. Hygienists were booked up solid and I had no place for new patients," he said. "Our new patient count has doubled in three months since opening the new office. It’s all referrals." In fact, Dr. Lee recently hired a new hygienist to better accommodate all his patients.
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Booming business fueled by solid, lasting technology has Dr. Lee thinking about bringing on an associate sooner than he’d originally planned – most likely within the next five years. "I plan to bring them up slowly and bring me down slowly," he said. Dr. Lee figures he’ll practice for at least 10 more years. "I enjoy dentistry, so I don’t see myself quitting any time soon. I may cut back the number of days, but I’m not going to quit."
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