Since 2001, Dr. Andre’ Bruni has provided patients with exceptional dental care centered around artistry, comfort and care. He and his wife Dr. Jessica Bruni have earned a reputation for trusted care and were voted by Baton Rouge Parents Magazine as Baton Rouge’s “Family Favorites” Dentist 4 years in a row. Through the years, Dr. Bruni has established himself as a highly skilled dentist dedicated to achieving excellent results giving his patients the confidence to smile freely. Dr. Bruni and his experienced team of dental professionals are dedicated to providing care that is personalized to meet individual needs.
Andre’ Bruni provides his patients with implant, cosmetic, and sedation dental treatments and procedures. He creates customized treatment plans to restore both the full functionality and aesthetic appearance of his patients’ smiles. For patients wanting to enhance the look of their smile, he offers teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, dental bonding and contouring, gum contouring and sculpting and smile makeovers. Dr. Bruni has treated hundreds of patients with Invisalign and has earned the status of Premier Preferred Provider. Dr. Andre’ Bruni has notable experience in placing dental implants and has replaced thousands of lost teeth allowing his patients to chew and smile with confidence. He is also a qualified provider for Hybridge XD (Express Digital), the most efficient and simple digital protocol available to patients for permanent, full arch restorations.
Andre’ Bruni graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Microbiology and earned his dental degree in 2001 from Louisiana State University School of Dentistry. Following dental school, Dr. Bruni went into private practice where he excelled and grew his practice into multiple practices across 4 states. With a passion for innovation in dental office design and efficiencies, Dr. Bruni has built several successful dental practices from the ground up. Dr. Andre’ Bruni’s vision to create better access to care translated into the honor and privilege of being the first ever dentist office invited into Walmart Supercenters. As a multi practice owner, Dr. Bruni served as clinical director and mentor dentist providing leadership and training to other dentists. Dedicated to remaining at the forefront of his field, Dr. Bruni has completed hundreds of hours in continuing education courses throughout the years and has a relentless passion for creating the best possible dental patient experience. This has enabled him to design incredible facilities, using the best equipment, with the latest dental technologies and materials, using digital workflows and systems so patients receive the best care possible.
When not creating beautiful smiles for his patients, Andre’ Bruni enjoys spending time with his amazing wife and 5 children in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He enjoys watching his kids play soccer more than any other sporting event. He enjoys fishing, playing soccer, tennis and is feared on the ping pong table. Dr. Andre Bruni puts his faith in Jesus Christ and has led dental missions at home and abroad for the impoverished. He supports and has helped to construct orphanages in different parts of the world. Through their Big Smile Makeover Contest Andre’ Bruni, his wife and team of doctors have performed dozens of complimentary complete smile makeovers to people in dire need. Dr. Bruni’s heart and desire to help the most vulnerable led him to create the organization propertytocharity.org. which raises money for nonprofits he supports and who are on the front lines making a real difference around the globe.
Where did the idea for your career come from?
The name Pearl Dental Group was birthed from the story of the Pearl. The process of a Pearl being created takes several years. First, a mussel must reach a mature age, which can take up to 3 years, before they naturally receive an irritant. Once the irritant is in place, it can then take another 3 years for a Pearl to grow to its full size. The object that came into the life of the oyster as an irritant, instead of being cast out, is turned into something lovely within the oyster. The true value of the Pearl is not seen from the outside. To the world around it, a Pearl is just another barnacle covered, muddy looking shell. Unlike diamonds or other precious stones, a Pearl is formed through a living object! The very life of the oyster is given to the Pearl. The Pearl, to me, is an analogy of how years of toil can be turned it into something beautiful and of worth. It represents the wisdom gained through years of experience. Pearl Dental Group is the culmination of our lifelong work and experience in dentistry to create practice facilities and care that are trusted and embraced by the patients we serve.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My workday starts with a 10-minute team huddle. This helps drive our team engagement and to serve as a self-correcting measure to keep the practice on the path toward achieving its goals. We discuss, key performance indicators, previous day’s patients, what worked, what didn’t and how we can improve. We then go into today’s patients and schedule and how to be prepared for each patient and ways to make the day go smoother. We try and make our day productive by scheduling our surgical and sedation procedures in the mornings and then smaller procedures are usually planned in the afternoon. The day is constantly evolving depending on what presents itself, with the end goal of being how many people can we help today.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Ideas to me are the building blocks for visions which is necessary for any successful endeavor. When ideas come to me it’s important that I capture them at that very moment because they might be lost forever. Ideas have come to me even while I’m asleep and once awake, I have had to write them down then and there because like dreams I often forget them. I like to write my ideas in my I-phone note pad which dates and stores information and can be easily accessed when I want to revisit. Once I have enough collective ideas, I form my vision. I’ve learned that a vision will never become reality without action. Action without vision is wasting time and vision without action will remain only a dream. However, vision combined with action can change the world around you. For me action involves casting the lines off out of my comfort zone to bring the vision to reality. My first action usually begins with collecting research data, including location, market analysis, demographic studies, or competing concepts. I also like to get lots of opinions about the vision from mentors, colleagues and family members. Also, there are lots of companies focused solely on market research which can pinpoint the types of businesses that are lacking in a particular market virtually guaranteeing a concept’s success. Once the project is rolling, from there it’s whatever it takes!
What’s one trend that excites you?
Dentistry has shifted towards a digital work environment. With the advent of intra-oral digital scanners, we have shifted to a digital workflow which has allowed for more predictable and better cosmetic outcomes for our patients. 3D Cone beam imaging now enables us to perform more accurate treatment planning and guided dental implant surgeries. We recently introduced Hybridge XD (Express Digital) at Pearl Dental Group. Hybridge XD is the most efficient and simple digital protocol available to patients for permanent, full arch restorations. Hybridge’s breakthrough requires only one appointment after surgery, shortening the entire treatment process down to just two weeks from implant placement to delivery of a final full arch prosthesis. So, while everyone may leave the office the day of surgery with temporary teeth, with Hybridge XD, our patients are also completely done in as little as two weeks.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I spend a lot of time thinking but sometimes the normal workday puts me in the reactive realm where I’m just doing dentistry and taking care of patients. However, I understand the importance of working on the business not just in it. So, I routinely find that uninterrupted, quiet time to work in the creative realm where I can focus my thoughts on the business. I’m more of a night person so after everyone goes to bed, I like to stay up learning new procedures, developing ideas, or exploring opportunities. This habit lets me refine my vision for the business and create new task lists which will be shared and delegated at team meetings so we can all be aligned to accomplish the vision together.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Life is like a one-way train ride with a lot of stops in different places along the way. The goal is not to get to the final destination as quickly as you can. You need to get off the train, see the sites, taste the food, and smell the roses. It’s a big world out there. Go explore it and make some new friends and help as many as you can with your gifts. There is a lot of satisfaction in helping solve other people’s problems than in trying just to solve your own. Don’t let any one thing consume you. Your health is your wealth so exercise and eat right. Read God’s Word more, pray more, and listen for the subtle voice of the Holy Spirit which will guide you into all truth. When you’ve lost your way remember this one verse……“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.”
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Most scientists agree that the universe had a beginning, one reason being that we know the sun will eventually burn out. Science books teach us that the earth and the entire universe came into existence by the Big Bang theory without any mention of a higher power. I cannot look around to see a vast universe that is complex, a highly ordered, finely calibrated, beautiful, amazing and an earth filled with life, love, music, mathematics, physics, logic and believe that it was not created by a higher power. I think it takes more faith to believe that time, space, matter and life came into existence from an explosion of nothing by nothing than to believe a higher being caused it to happen. In other words, before the universe existed, science books would have us believe that everything we know and see came out of nothing caused by nothing with chance as a cause. I don’t believe chance can be argued as a cause. It’s kind of like believing that if I throw up a stick of dynamite in the air, that magically a 747 would appear. You would have to ask, “Where did the dynamite come from and who lit the fuse? “. My belief is that there was a Big Bang but that it had to have been a higher power that is timeless, immaterial, and all-powerful that caused it.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
In business I think it’s important to take a humble approach, ask a lot of questions and be a good listener. It is easy sometimes to get caught up in some in of my successes and think I have things figured out. So, I try to surround myself the smartest people on a subject or field. Never in time has it been easier to connect and be informed with the advent of social media. I am part of various Facebook dental groups and other mentor groups where we discuss everything from specific challenging patient cases to Human Resource issues. I ask a lot of questions and spend time building a consensus before making directional decisions. It’s hard to go wrong in business when you have a group of experts guiding your decisions, especially the important ones.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
It’s no secret that most people hate going to the dentist, especially when it comes to having major procedures done. Many people have anxiety or fear when they even think about the dentist and some just don’t have the time to take off of work for multiple appointments. A major focus, or let’s call it strategy, in my practice has been to offer sedation dentistry options to our patients. They can relax in comfort while we complete their dental treatment in just one to two visits with little or no recollection of the entire procedure! Sedation makes us more productive because we can accomplish more dentistry in less time because the patient is relaxed with less needs for stops. This has been an extraordinary service to our patients and has made many Pearl Dental Group “believers” who in turn refer us other sedation patients.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
One failure was a Walmart dental office we opened in Missouri. This was a large and beautiful office built on the best corner of the store known as “Main and Main”. However, what we overlooked was that the location had much less foot traffic than the average Walmart Supercenter. Moreover, the store was located in a sea of competing food and retail stores that was at least mile long! Demographically, the area had a lot of dentists and the patients in the area didn’t respond to our offer driven marketing. Lack of patients made it difficult for us to keep doctors and the decision was ultimately made to close. This set back cost over a $1,000,000. However, the other Walmart offices we opened proved to be successful and the loss ended up as a tax write off. From that experience we came away with a better understanding of who our patients were and the variables involved for choosing successful locations. My advice to others is to form a plan, work the plan, and if the plan is not working, change the plan then work the plan. Rinse and repeat. Be adaptive. Constantly evolve to meet the demands of a changing environment. Be resilient and know you’re going to fail from time to time. It’s okay. Be prepared to meet those failures. Cut your losses and be confident there will be a brighter day.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I attend a lot of conferences and continuing education (CE) courses and pretty much never get a physical certificate showing attendance. The bottom line is that I never come home with something ready to hang on the office wall. I think if there were a company focused on everything CE that would mail attendees a permanent plaque or a custom frame of participation, it could be very successful. This company could be linked to anything CE, events, CE instructors, and be present at trade shows. Attendees could save all their CE credits on the site and just order plaques or frames direct from the company, delivered to their office and ready to be hung. This would add validity to the business as perceived by customers and create more pride and sense of accomplishment for attendees.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
The past year has been tumultuous to say the least. For my family as many others, it’s been lots of to-go food and cooking at home. Recently, my mother-in-law come from out of town to spend the night. We didn’t have any plans for the evening, but wife popped up with the idea of us having a date night. I was like Whaaaat?! (All the couples with five kids know what I’m talking about). We left the kids at home and went to Fleming’s Steakhouse and treated ourselves to a lovely dinner. It was just so nice to go out to a nice restaurant, alone with my wife, and dine in. Sometimes the simple pleasures are the most valued.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
I use Microsoft OneDrive to store all my documents and photos. I can quickly organize documents, share folders, upload, and share files, all from the Cloud which I can access from any device anywhere. It allows for easy access to the Microsoft Office Suite where I can create or modify Excel and Word documents that are used in a lot in my work.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The best book I’ve ever read is Unfair Advantage by Robert Kiyosaki. He is the author of Rich Dad/Poor Dad. Unfair Advantage takes you deeper into the actual strategies of how to be more successful by understanding the importance of positive cash flow and the four ways to produce income. It transformed my thought processes and truly is a must read. I think if anyone has a desire to be successful this book is one of the greatest roadmaps to understanding how to get there.
What is your favorite quote?
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with
God all things are possible.’
Key Learnings:
• My faith in Jesus Christ and my family are my priorities.
• I have an irrational passion for building beautiful offices, amazing teams, and beautiful smiles.
• Have the compassion to help the most vulnerable through dental missions and philanthropic support.
Connect:
Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.