Dr. David Lach

Stay open minded and open to new changes.

 

Dr. Lach is the owner and operator of Lach Orthodontic Specialists since 1992 and has been in private orthodontic specialty practice for over twenty-six years. He has successfully treated nearly twenty thousand patients, helping to provide his patients with beautiful new smiles that will last a lifetime. Dr. Lach is currently in practice at two locations in the Orlando (Lake Nona) and Oviedo areas of Central Florida. His progressive and modern practice is highly advanced and now offers clear and removable or invisible alignment options to his patients to correct almost any orthodontic condition in a comfortable and highly efficient manner. Dr. Lachs’ office has a fully integrated digital environment using computers and digital scanners to predict the outcome of orthodontic treatment before it is started. Dr. Lach was a top graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery DDS Degree. He was a Division 1 Collegiate champion and semi-professional soccer player as well. Dr. Lach then went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Oral Biology and certificate in Orthodontics from the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. His work focused on how computers can predict facial and orthodontic changes following orthognathic surgical procedures.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

I had always wanted to be in private practice and have the opportunity to practice in beautiful and sunny Central Florida and utilize the newest technologies and innovations available to create the most efficient and best possible smile outcomes for our wonderful patients.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I typically see quite a few patients daily which I enjoy. It’s usually fifty percent adults and fifty percent children ranging from six to sixty years of age. We see children no later than seven for early screening exams so we can diagnose any conditions such as structural jaw changes, issues with the airways causing breathing problems. We also create necessary spaces for permanent teeth to grow in properly, and a healthy stable bite that goes hand in hand with a cosmetically pleasing smile.

How do you bring your new ideas to life?

Being the owner and operator allows me to bring the ideas to life rather easily and efficiently as far as the technology aspect goes. Our staff is very accepting advances in technologies which allows us to train using the newer technologies. We were the first provider of digital orthodontics in the state of Florida dating back to the early nineteen nineties. We use a high definition 3d scanner which enables us to capture the patients smile and digitally produce changes on the computer prior to treatment. That helps us to assist with providing patients with their best possible smile. Our office conducts mandatory weekly training using the latest technologies to improve patient care and treatment results. The technology side of the industry continues to change rapidly, particularly in the area of clear aligner therapy for both adults as well as children.

What is one trend that excites you?

The one trend that excites me is seeing people leaving behind the idea of braces and accepting clear removable aligner treatment as an alternative. Instead of them having to wear braces made of metal attached to their teeth which can sometimes cause dental health and other issues, clear aligners can be removed for cleaning which is healthier for the teeth as well as the gums. Clear removable aligners can now produce even better results than braces and are more comfortable to wear and aesthetically pleasing. Another trend is accelerated orthodontics which allows us to speed up the treatments by treating the bone and jaw areas to promote more efficient and responsive tooth movement resulting in better and faster results. This can produce treatment results in up to fifty percent faster treatment time as most of our patients are able to be treated in less than 12 months.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

My interests lie in not only the orthodontic treatment results but also in the patient treatment experience process as well. Patients are interested in having their best smile possible and also want it delivered in the most pleasant and most efficient way possible. The smile transformatiion process utilizing the latest orthodontic advances process now enable the treatments to be more comfortable, predictable, and more efficient than they were years ago. I enjoy the daily challenge every day of making sure that our patients receive the very best.

What advice would you give your younger self?

To stay open minded and open to new changes. Since our profession is changing and moving along at a very rapid pace it is essential to train your staff to be open minded as well to keep striving to improve the process and outcomes for every patient and offering the best care we possibly can. Things will keep changing in the future so this is very important to do on a daily basis to keep up with those changes.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on?

I was the first office in Florida in 2005 that introduced Digital Orthodontics and digital scanning which is now very common to be able to scan and capture a patient’s teeth and use the technology to be more efficient and strategic with teeth movement and smile design. When clear aligner therapy was first introduced, it was never thought of to ever be a solution to treat complex problems which is now very common. No one thought we would be treating patients with severe bite problems, very crowded or rotated teeth with clear aligner therapy. Now I would say the great majority of our patients are being treated with clear aligner therapy while in the past, that was not usually an option for most. Clear aligners were thought to not be very effective where now the technology has advanced a great deal so we can now offer patients a choice between that or braces. Either way we can accomplish the same results using either technology. That’s something that no one thought would be possible. We can now accomplish the same things with clear removable aligners that we can with braces, but in a more comfortable and healthier way which is clearly something that no one ever expected.

As an entrepreneur what is the one thing that you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Explore new methods so that you are able to try and improve the experience for the patient as well as their results. Keep striving to make the experience better for the patients every and strive to deliver and produce amazing results on a consistent basis in a timely manner.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Always listen to your customers or patients, as far as what is important to them. Please take note on how their needs change over time. Patients time is extremely important to them and they are very concerned about how their time was spent in the office and whether it was a pleasant experience for them. We offer after hours care and evening appointment times during the week as well as other things to make their experience there as pleasant as possible. We offer treatment choices that are highly effective and predictable so that enables for a better treatment result as well as making the process more enjoyable. We always ask them what their treatment preferences are and hold ourselves accountable to delivering the best results possible. Being experienced in all aspects of orthodontic care enables us to provide more options and choices and to give patients a better experience and their maximum treatment results.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur and how did you overcome it?

There are times when we have tried different things, such as Lingual braces which are braces on the inside of the teeth. We thought that could be a viable option for patients so we offered that as a treatment option and though it is aesthetically pleasing we found that patients were not as comfortable as we expected. We then began clear aligner therapy and found it to be very functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. If something does not work we do not continue, we find better more effective solutions which is a continual process. We will not hesitate to look at another better option for the patient that will help them out just the same, if not better.

What is one business idea that you are willing to give away to our readers?

Communication and listening to your customers whether they are patients or customers is essential to any successful business. Keeping your communication with your patients at a very high level while encouraging your staff and team members to do the same is very important. The consumer nowadays is very knowledgeable and most will do research and gather a lot of information, good and bad. Patients want to discuss and have an input on their treatment and understand what they are going through. They usually have preformed opinions and preferences on how they want do their treatment. You have to stay open to all of those things. Always listen to their opinion and then help them make the best outcomes happen for them.

What is the best one hundred dollars you recently spent on what and why?

Spending time with my family has been the best investment for me. Whatever activities you are doing with your family, be it a lunch date or going to the movies, beach, or just being together is the most beneficial thing you could spend your money on, period!

What is one piece of software or web service that helps you to be productive?

I would say the digital scanning and treatment planning software technology we utilize helps us to be as effective as possible. Being able to template treatment plans per a particular diagnosis assists us in organizing the various detailed steps or procedures needed to complete a case is also extremely important. This helps us to be more organized, thorough, and complete in the way we approach someone’s needs or even just with the initial diagnosis and treatment planning details. It also allows us to have more customizable treatment options that way as well which I find to be quite helpful. OrthoFi is also a software we use as well that helps to provide flexible financing for the patient before beginning a treatment. It provides the patient with the option to choose their financial arrangements and then offers them a flexible payment option for insurance and copays making the treatment easily affordable for them.

What is one book that you could recommend to our community to read and why?

“The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorites. I would also recommend “E Myth” which is a book by Michael E. Gerber. The Tipping point is based around “disruptive” technology and the critical mass of support needed for it to gain acceptance and becomes commonplace. Clear aligner therapy in orthodontics has clearly experienced a tipping point in our profession. Clear aligner therapy was minimal and now it’s more commonplace. The E Myth describes the small business environment and goes into detail about why most small businesses fail. Success in small business according to this book seems to hinge on the entrepreneur seizing a CEO mentality and transition from a technician employee. This important transition of the business owner seems to be a critical event that needs to occur for a small business to be successful. It is important to know if someone is suited to be an entrepreneur owner versus someone being a technician before becoming a successful business owner.

What is your favorite quote?

Tough times never last but tough people do.

Key learnings:

• Listen to patients or customers at all times and provide solutions and protocols that can consistently provide them what they want.
• Gather data and make the best decisions that you can. Get advice from people you respect and that have demonstrated higher success than you in the area that they are providing advice on.
• Do what you love and love what you do.

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