Mickey (00:01.733)
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Beyond Page One, the podcast where we dive a little bit deeper beyond the cover of entrepreneurship. Today’s guest is Dr. Eric Block. I’m excited to have you. Dr. Eric is a dentist, an author, an investor, an advisor, a podcaster, and a writer. What doesn’t he do? He does it all. He is passionate about dentistry and providing the best possible care to his patients. He’s a lifelong learner who stands on.
Top of the latest techniques. He is the author of three books and working on a fourth by the sounds of it. It’s a children’s book, his first one. Looking forward to talking with him today. Dr. Block, you’ve been practicing dentistry for over 20 years at Afton Dental Associates. What keeps you passionate about dentistry and providing the best care for your patients?
Eric Block (00:52.558)
Well, first of all, thanks for having me. And I’m actually, I’ve written five books. My first children’s book was my fourth book, and then I wrote another book about dentistry. So I’ve got five out there on Amazon. I would say what keeps me passionate is I constantly add new things, new techniques, new treatments, new technology. I’m always trying to find ways to get more efficient, productive, and less stressed.
Eric Block (01:20.686)
I’m never going to be that type of dentist or business owner where I just, you know, say, okay, we’ve done it all. There are always ways to get better. And I find it very re-energizing. Dentistry is a profession like a lot of other high-stress professions where if you’re not careful, you can burn out. And I hear a lot about burnout. And so I’m always looking for the new thing and find ways to re-energize myself.
So far it’s been working out to the point where I love going to work every day. There are good days, there are bad days, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So you always got to try to find ways to kind of reignite the flame for your profession.
Mickey (01:55.781)
That’s awesome.
Mickey (02:07.717)
That’s a great answer. What first drew you to the field of dentistry?
Eric Block (02:12.174)
So I went to Tulane University in New Orleans and my dad is a retired dentist, but I didn’t go to Tulane thinking I was going to be a dentist. I applied to the business school and then I took macroeconomics and microeconomics and statistics and I said, this is not for me. And I dropped out of applying to the business school and I had to choose something. So I chose psychology.
I graduated with a psychology degree, but the real reason I became a dentist is I, one night just totally missed my mouth and I cracked my front tooth here with a beer bottle. And the next day, this is, I think my junior year of college, I went to a local dentist and I just loved the way they took care of me. And they walked in all embarrassed and they patched me up and I left with my smile again. And I said, you know what, maybe dentistry is something I could do. And I went.
To continue to graduate with a degree in psychology, but I took all the pre-rec classes to apply to dental school, all physics chemistry,, and biology. And then I took the year off after I graduated from Tulane and finished all the classes, taking the DATs, which is the entrance exam. I taught tennis. That was like my year off. Then I applied and got into dental school and I went to dental school in Fort Lauderdale.
Mickey (03:37.157)
Cool, in Florida, that’s awesome. It’s cool to hear how one sip of a beer kind of changed everything for you.
Eric Block (03:46.257)
I think it was many sips, but just that one where I missed my mouth.
Mickey (03:48.613)
Very soon. Yeah, after many beers. The International Academy of Dental Life Coaches, you co-founded it. It’s a unique concept. Can you tell listeners a little bit about it?
Eric Block (03:53.358)
Yeah.
Eric Block (04:05.166)
Yeah. So I, you know, I about halfway through my career, I went through a tremendous amount of burnout and I regretted my place in dentistry and I reached out to a local therapist and I went through psychotherapy, you know, for a good couple of years and I was able to overcome burnout. But when I went to the local therapist, they knew nothing about dentistry and dentistry is an extremely complex profession. Where we’re practitioners, we’re business owners, there’s so many things that go on. So I wanted to create a place for dental professionals who may be feeling burned out for them to go to and we’ll match them up with a life coach who understands dentistry. And now life coaching to me is, you know, I’ve had therapy, I’ve been with a life coach. It’s something that I’ll continue to probably do for the rest of my career. It’s when you have a coach, It’s it’s only you could talk to you and somewhere you could figure out problems if you’re feeling stuck or feeling burned out or stressed a life coach will help you move past these things so the International Academy of Dental Life Coaches is a place for dental professionals to go to where we match you up with a life coach that gets the profession.
Mickey (05:25.829)
That’s fantastic. How many dentists have you guys helped or are you currently helping?
Eric Block (05:31.95)
Yeah, we’ve, we’ve helped a lot. We have about, including myself, about 14 great coaches who are a diverse group. We kind of wanted to cover all bases. We have hygienists, we have dentists, men, women, we kind of have a broad spectrum, but, you know, we’re growing, we’re, you know, just trying to spread the word that most importantly is for a dental professional. And again, this goes for any high-stress profession.
If you’re feeling like there’s a problem if you’re depressed or burned out, if you feel like you hate your job, what we don’t want someone to do is ignore these problems. We want them to reach out for help and do it sooner rather than later because oftentimes, men particularly, are not good at expressing their emotions. We tend to stuff our emotions down and ultimately that can lead to depression, substance abuse, and suicide.
You name it, it can happen. So that’s what we’re trying to to spread the word on for people out there who are feeling down or depressed or just feel like they chose the wrong profession Even if you’re feeling great, you just want to get to that next level. That’s where a coach can come in and help.
Mickey (06:46.309)
Well done. That’s inspiring to hear. I appreciate the work that you’re putting in. You wear many different hats, you know, the dentist, the author, the podcast, or the entrepreneur. How do you manage all your time and energy between all these different things?
Eric Block (06:50.734)
Thank you.
Eric Block (07:01.87)
Yeah. So, I get up early. I get up at around 5:30 and I do good solid work between 5:30 and 6:30, before my kids get up and before I go to the office. I’m a dentist three and a half days a week. So I have like today’s Monday and I do a lot of, my side gigs. I do podcasts and work on webinars and do all kinds of other things. But I also squeeze a lot of this in, you know, in between patients, you know, I’m no longer.
Person who just, you know, scrolls the internet or sits back and reads the newspaper. I’m always, you know, busy doing something and it all just seems to fit. And, and, you know, my, my main gig is, is being a dentist, but, I find I have a lot of time for my side gigs and they just make the day fly by. Also when you have side gigs, as I like to call them, it helps with your main gig. So,
My whole existence before COVID was just being a dentist. That’s all I knew, that’s all I did. And if something didn’t go right in the office or with a patient or I got a bad review, I would just beat myself up. But now that I have all these other things going on, it’s like a mental distraction. Like I’m excited to do these other things, but then I’m excited to go back and be a dentist. So it all just kind of fits together.
Mickey (08:29.765)
Cool, very cool. Balancing work and family life is important to you and it’s important to a lot of other people. When you’re not treating patients, or writing books, what do you like to do in your spare time with your family?
Eric Block (08:44.846)
Yeah. So I mean, this whole summer we’ll just be hanging out. We joined a local pool. So we go to the pool. I pretty much finish up work around around four o ‘clock. I can get home. I coach my daughter’s soccer team. I try to be there. I, a nice thing that I’ve, I’ve done is I live and I work in the same town, which has its pluses and minuses, but I don’t have a long commute home. So, I used to drive an hour and a half to get home and it just.
Mickey (08:50.245)
Sweet.
Eric Block (09:13.614)
It just wears on you. Now I’m home in seven minutes. So I’m home. I can get to my kids’ school or, or, or, or do something with them. And for sure on weekends, I’m, I’m always around. But make no mistake, there are days when I get home and I am just junk. I’m toast. If it’s a busy day at the office, it’s going to happen. You know, it’s, it dentistry is a tough job. And I, some days I’m more of an introvert and I get home, and I just do not, I don’t want to talk to anyone but those days get less and less. So I’m able to balance it. I think living close to work has helped me. I also don’t beat myself up mentally. Like I used to as a young dentist, I was a good old-fashioned perfectionist and I used to mentally bring the day home with me.
And I would focus on like, those one or two bad things that happened during the day and I just couldn’t shake them. And now with therapy and life coaching, I’ve gotten past that and I focus on the good things. So I don’t bring that junk home with me mentally. So, you know, physically you can be there, but mentally you gotta be there as well for your family.
Mickey (10:28.965)
Great answer. I like it. I want to take a little bit of a step kind of into the entrepreneurial side of your world. In your opinion, what are three crucial elements for building a successful and sustainable business in today’s market?
Eric Block (10:45.294)
Yeah. And, you know, trust me, I’m no entrepreneur whisperer. I’ve failed more than I’ve succeeded. And that’s yeah. And I think that’s like getting, understanding the fact that you will fail. And you may not succeed, I think it’s like a badge of honor. It’s the reality. So do not, you know, first of all, not beat yourself up if that does happen and just call it quits, you know, it’s lived to fight another day and.
Mickey (10:53.221)
most good entrepreneurs have.
Eric Block (11:15.534)
You know, if your startup didn’t work out, your organization didn’t work out, okay, you tried, you failed, move on and try something else. The other thing is, you know, having a great team. It’s, I think, more difficult now than ever to find great team members because of the post-COVID world. But having a great team or a great co-founder is, to me, crucial. That’s another reason I’m able to do so many things is I usually have a co-founder.
And it takes the mental stress. It helps a lot to have someone that you’re in the trenches with. Most important though is to do it, to take action, not procrastinate, not keep saying, I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna start this organization or start this startup someday. Do it, take that leap of faith, and do it. I’ve talked to so many people that say, I wish I had done something or I wish I had done something else or I wish I had written a book or I wish I had a great idea once, but I never pursued it. And those people live with regret. So better late than never, but you gotta start somewhere.
Mickey (12:29.605)
Cool. Well, speaking of books, what inspired you to write your first book, The Stress-Free Dentist?
Eric Block (12:36.398)
Yeah, that was just a story. I was just sharing my story of how I overcame burnout. And I felt like I had the story to share and if I could help a few dentists out there, it was worth it. And it turned into a book, a podcast, a whole brand. And The Stress-Free Dentist was the first book. And that’s, you know, kind of like an oxymoronic term. It’s, you know, there’s no dentist that’s stress-free.
But the important thing is that the stress won’t break me. I understand there’s going to be tremendous amounts of stress. There’s going to be good days, there’s going to be bad days, there’s going to be bad reviews. But like I said, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I’m going to live to another day and I won’t let the stress break me. And that’s really why I wrote the book. And it resonated with a lot of people who were kind of feeling the same things that I was. And I hopefully helped some dentists out there too…
To seek help and get, you know, take action and turn around their career.
Mickey (13:42.021)
Very cool. And the Stress-Free Dentistry podcast. What’s the overarching theme? Stress-free, but do you interview dentists? And is that the idea?
Eric Block (13:53.326)
It’s yeah, it’s dentists and then companies that serve dentists. And I just like, I like finding out people’s stories and it’s usually about a 15 or 20-minute episode of me just interviewing the person, finding out how they got involved with dentistry, how they helped dentists. And then I always end up with what advice would they give to a young dental professional. And it’s just a conversation kind of like you and I are having right now, just to see what advice they have, you know, what
Mickey (14:19.397)
Mm-hmm.
Eric Block (14:22.766)
what mistakes they’ve made, what successful dentists are doing, that type of thing.
Mickey (14:29.189)
Cool. So outside of dentistry as well, you know, you’ve co-founded multiple businesses that all have to do kind of within the dental field and the dental profession, right? What entrepreneurial challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Eric Block (14:47.246)
Yeah, I think that that is, you just mentioned they’re all kind of in the dental world. That is my niche. I understand dentistry. It’s what I do every day. I try not to get involved with industries that I don’t understand. So I do kind of try to stay in my lane when I’m investing in a company or I’m working on a startup now for SaaS software to help dentists.
I try to stay within my industry and my niche. And networking to me is so important. Going to events, going to study clubs, talking to other professionals, and just always interacting and asking questions. Asking people about their successes, about their failures. That’s been, I think, one of my biggest strengths.
I have weaknesses. I think it’s important to understand your strengths and weaknesses. And you know, really try to, if you, if you do have weaknesses, try to find a co-founder or someone, bring on a team member that can help you with your weaknesses. So that’s just been, you know, the secret to my success is just, you know, getting out there and networking and just staying within my lane.
Mickey (16:14.085)
Make sense. Today’s economic climate, you know, especially after COVID, I speak to hundreds of dentists and there’s an overarching theme where it’s kind of a scarier place to be in. A lot of older dentists are kind of weary of where the dental field is going. What are some creative ways that dentists can attract new patients without, you know, breaking the bank, so to speak? And what’s worked for you?
Eric Block (16:44.046)
Yeah, I think there’s been, of course, a lot of negatives from COVID. There have been some silver linings though, where I feel like because of COVID, I’ve had more control over my schedule than ever in my history. And if you think about it, a dentist’s schedule is like the most important thing in their office. Our time is our most valuable asset.
And having control of our, I usually see patients, you know, depending on the procedure, an hour, half-hour, an hour and a half, but patients used to want those coveted time slots of 8 a.m. and 4 p before COVID. Now, because of the hybrid schedules and people working from home, they can mostly come in, you know, during the week and the day, there’s a lot more flexibility. So, Just taking control of your schedule, maximizing your time, putting patients where you want them. Just understanding that has been helpful to me. Focusing on Google SEO has been huge. I don’t get involved with too much of paid advertisements on Google. Focusing on Google SEO, we have a membership plan that we offer patients.
It’s an in-house membership plan. You can’t call it insurance because it’s legality. So we call it a membership plan. And then the biggest thing that we have done that’s been one of the most -re-energizing things in my career is we went fully out of network. So we no longer participate with PPO insurance. So that’s been one of the biggest things that I would recommend.
Mickey (18:29.605)
Cool. And how big is the clinic that you work in? How many staff are there?
Eric Block (18:34.318)
We have nine operatories, about 25 staffers. It’s me, my partner, and we have an associate, an endodontist, a periodontist, and five hygienists.
Mickey (18:47.109)
So I mean, you’ve worked your way up to be able to work only three and a half days. I’m sure it didn’t start that way. What are some of your favorite procedures or things that you enjoy doing? Is it cosmetic? Is it implant, veneers? Is it all of it?
Eric Block (19:03.982)
Yeah, I’ve been doing implants for about 20 years and you know, they used to be one of the most stressful procedures that I did. And now they’re one of the most important procedures because of added, virtual treatment planning and, and 3d, printed guides and we have a CBT. so I love doing implants. Two years ago, I added clear aligners to my practice. And then last year we added sleep and airway treatments.
Eric Block (19:33.294)
And I love doing all those procedures. And that’s another reason why I’ve been able to overcome burnout is by adding these new treatments, yeah.
Mickey (19:41.573)
That’s cool. What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see new dental practices make and how can they be avoided?
Eric Block (19:51.886)
I think getting too riddled with PPO plans early in your career and not taking action to start to reduce insurance dependency. I compare a patient who is in the network to someone who walks in with a big sign on their t-shirt that says, hi, I get 45 % off.
In-network insurance plans for your entire career are just not as rewarding. You have to work harder. You have to see more patients. So to me, trying to be strategic about maybe signing up with some PPO plans initially, but then weeding them out, building great relationships with patients is how you get these patients to stay, even if you do go out of network.
Taking classes on public speaking how to treatment plan, and how to talk to patients, I think is something that I wish I had done earlier in my career. Instead of just focusing on clinical continuing education courses, I would have done more classes on that type of thing or leadership. And then for sure, getting out there and networking and engaging with your peers is super important.
Mickey (21:15.237)
Yeah, that’s cool. It’s like, it’s the psychology behind it too, right? Most people that come to the dentist, they’re not thrilled to be there. I’m not, you know, I’m going to be in pain. So how, how can you as the dentist, you know, kind of talk me off that ledge and calm me down a little bit is important. So yeah. You mentioned for marketing that, you know, the SEO and the Google side of things. Do you do a lot of that yourself or do you outsource that?
Eric Block (21:41.742)
I don’t do any of it. We have a marketing company that does it for us. I try to stay in my lane when it comes to that. There are great companies out there that can do it for you. We do try to, and we’re going to do more of it, social media posts, a good mixture of educational posts, or just fun posts with us and the staff.
Eric Block (22:09.422)
Focusing on getting great reviews from patients is, I think, a great way to help with, you know, because most patients or potential new patients, they’re going to look at your website, your About Us section, and they’re going to check out your reviews. So you got to have, you know, a good website and good reviews.
Mickey (22:26.917)
100%. So what key metrics do you look at to track a successful marketing campaign and then demonstrate or return on your investment?
Eric Block (22:37.39)
Yeah, I think an often overlooked, sure you want to see, you know, we have a specific phone number. So we’re able to track from the marketing campaign to see how many incoming calls we’re getting. But I think an often overlooked thing, what we do in our office is we listen to phone calls. So we can review, you know, if there is a marketing campaign, if we’re pushing for, you know, clear liners or sleep in the airway or, Same-day crowns, I want to hear what’s going on on the phones because if you could, you could spend all this money on great marketing and you’re getting patients to click on your website and call. But if you’re not converting those calls and for those potential patients to schedule, then your marketing money is just a waste. So, focusing, on the staff and their phone call skills is so important.
Mickey (23:11.941)
review.
Mickey (23:36.613)
I could not agree more with you. That’s a great answer. As AI continues to advance, we’re living in the world of chat GPT now, how do you see the practice of dentistry and the dentist-patient relationship changing?
Eric Block (23:53.998)
Yeah, AI is everywhere. We have an AI x-ray diagnosis software. It helps us to communicate with patients and show them issues with their X-rays. It’s helped there. I ultimately think that it’s going to help us. I would say the most common things that happen.
The phones in the dental office could easily be handled by an AI, such as when is my next appointment or what’s my balance or if I need to reschedule my appointment. These are things that can be done by AI, not necessarily by a person or a staff member. As these things get, these chatbots or AI services help us with those sorts of things.
I can have my staff focus on the most important things, the patients in the office or talking to new patients, having them spend their energy more focused on those things than the kind of trivial things that most people call about.
Mickey (25:07.109)
Cool. This is gonna be the last question for today. If you could offer one piece of advice to someone who’s starting a career in dentistry, what would it be?
Eric Block (25:17.838)
So I’ve talked to a bunch of young dentists and they are already feeling the burn. They’re in a lot of debt. You know, they’re coming out of school with $400 or $500,000 worth of debt. They’re in maybe a DSO situation where they’re working in a high-volume office. They’re stressed. They’re not seeing their skills progress. They don’t feel like this is what they signed up for type of thing.
My advice would be to understand that the first few years, the first couple of years are not great. It’s like, you know, you’re, you’re in the minor leagues and you’re trying to make it to the major leagues. There’s going to be lots of ups and downs. It’s, it’s going to be, a struggle at first, but to hang in there, you know, focus on your speed, get your skills up, engage with your peers, seek out coaches, therapists, mentors, consultants, reach out for help but eventually, you’re gonna get there. It may take some time, but you’re gonna get there. And I wouldn’t wait longer than three or four years to open up my practice. I waited way too long. I waited about 10 years before I became a partner and started to own. I would have done it a lot sooner because when you’re an owner, you can create your own culture. You typically can make more money and you’ll be Happier as a dentist. So seek out help. Don’t go in this profession alone. A lot of us are solo practitioners and we’re in our little bubble. Reach out to your peers and reach out for help.
Mickey (27:01.189)
That’s awesome. Well, thank you, Dr. Eric Block, for joining me today. It was a pleasure getting to know you and listening to you and I’m sure our listeners are gonna appreciate it as well. As always, all the information to contact Eric will be linked below. And if you have any questions, I’m sure he’d be happy to answer them. Thank you again.
Eric Block (27:19.342)
Thank you.
