Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Tariq El-Badawi. I have an office in beautiful Sterling, virginia. It's called West Lake Dental Care. We have six operatories. They're all overlooking the lake. It's a nice view to calm patients down. We have all kinds of amenities to make patients feel comfortable, feel at home. That's the main goal I want from the patient experience is to have a nice patient experience so patients feel comfortable enough.

Speaker 1: 1:00

We have a lot of dental phobic patients that we've turned, thankfully. So I care a lot about this demographic, the patients who are afraid of the dentist. We give them time. We don't treat them as a mill or an office that sees so many patients. They're just numbers. No, we care about our patients. We don't treat them as a mill or an office that sees so many patients. They're just numbers. No, we have, we care about our patients, we give them time and we give them good service. So I have that office in Sterling.

Speaker 1: 1:24

We've been serving patients in the Loudoun County community for six years now and, yeah, we provide all implants, all types of implant procedures, from the single implant to the full arch, implant restoration, full mouth reconstruction. We do it also for patients with medical necessity, patients who have a lot of bone loss, a lot of pain. They're taking medications because of their inability to chew and eat well and we can involve medical insurance in that as well to help with the cost. We do a lot of Invisalign. I'm a gold Invisalign provider. I like to see patients' smile change from their regular, as we say, crooked or malaligned occlusion into nice, straight smile that they can be proud of, they can have confidence, they can smile. It makes a big difference. A good smile makes a big difference.

Speaker 2: 2:25

Yeah, it really does. It's literally one of the first things people see when they see you. Now I'd like to ask what inspired you to start Westlake Dental Care and what were the biggest challenges you faced in the early days of your practice?

Speaker 1: 2:34

What inspired me is to have full control of the patient experience. As I said, you can always have an influence in the offices you work in in terms of trying to shape the experience a certain way, from when the patient steps in until they get checked out, but you will never be able to do it unless it's your own office. So that's what inspired me to do it. I wanted to give a nice experience to my patients. The biggest hurdles, as any new business, you just have to be very diligent and some expenditures were not in the right place. I would say no return on investment, but there's no way to know unless you actually do it in some cases. So that's really what I would. The biggest hurdles are the spending money where it shouldn't be spent and maybe missing out on opportunities that I should have taken Absolutely, but overall it works out.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Yeah, it sure does. But overall it works out. Yeah, it sure does. And then you've been recognized among the 40 under 40 by the Virginia Dental Association and have earned a fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry. What motivated you to pursue dentistry and how have these accolades influenced your approach to patient care?

Speaker 1: 3:59

care. So I like dentistry because it's the art and science of restoring somebody's smile, chewing ability, removing bacteria from the mouth, removing any pathology from the mouth. But to be honest, here, like I have the fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry, I have the fellowship from the ICOI International Congress of Oral Implantology. I'm involved in organized dentistry, but no patient will come to you because of how many letters are behind your name. These mainly show my commitment to continuing education, to growing, to be constantly updated on the latest techniques and materials that we use in dentistry.

Speaker 1: 4:35

There's a lot of technology evolving dentistry right now AI and the way that insurance companies use it and offices use it. There is same day crowns, same day crowns, same day planning of big implant surgical cases of night guards, of big implant surgical cases of night guards. Just technology is helping us make it more convenient for patients and give them a better experience. It all revolves around the patient experience. Yes, so once we give the patient a good experience, to try to combat the stigma that dentists have that it's almost like a punishment to go to the dentist.

Speaker 1: 5:13

We don't want that. We don't want parents to tell their kids we're going to punish you by to go to the dentist. We don't want that. We don't want parents to tell their kids we're going to punish you by taking you to the dentist. It's always synonymous with pain and hurting. That's not how we do it at Westlake Dental Care. We try to make them make an experience a fun experience as much as possible, as fast as possible. We don't want you in the chair all day and at the same time, we give you your time. If you need time to relax and settle down, we give you that time. We're not going to be rushing you.

Speaker 2: 5:38

Yeah, love it. And then, what leadership strategies have helped you build a strong and motivated team at Westlake Dental Care?

Speaker 1: 5:46

I think the main strategy would be leading by example, servant leadership, example, servant leadership. We all help each other, help the office grow. I cannot do it on my own. Without my team, I'll not be able to do it. I have to have a rock star team, which I thankfully have now, and each are leaders in their roles. And in those roles, if you take ownership and you do your job as if you're owning the place, it shows and patients feel it. Patients feel when they come to a team that is well-drilled and a team that's in sync and in harmony with each other. So yeah, I've been told by patients before like, when you come here, people are smiling, people are having fun. They're not all like.

Speaker 2: 6:33

Scared yeah, Quiet yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Negative energy yeah absolutely, and how many?

Speaker 2: 6:41

people do you have on your team?

Speaker 1: 6:41

I have six so far, okay, yeah, and one virtual in peru. Very nice, oh, peru okay I love how you're implementing technology.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Yeah, yeah great and you said you finally have your rock star team. As an entrepreneur, business owner, is that that a challenge for you to find that rock star team you have to go through? So many people Talk to me about what that journey has been like.

Speaker 1: 7:00

Hiring has been a problem. We all know from COVID days and I opened just a year before COVID started and it's a challenge having the right people that fit your philosophy, that fit the culture in the office and, at the same time, are good at their jobs. But not only that. They also have to work well together because it's a team. It's a dental office. Everybody in the office gets to touch a patient. They get to touch them at some point. So it's tough to find people that work together well and work individually well and, at the same time, believe in the philosophy and the culture of the office. Yes, because I don't want you to do it, because I'm telling you to do it like the authoritative leadership style. I want you to do it because you believe in it, you believe in the mission. You bring your parents to the office to be treated, which we have. So that, to me, is the most important thing to believe in what we do, and then we can all grow together.

Speaker 2: 7:58

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more with that. And then let's see, as a business owner and a healthcare provider, how do you balance patient care with the operational demands of running a dental practice Delegation?

Speaker 1: 8:13

Delegation, delegation I have to delegate. I have good team members I can trust. Then I don't have to micromanagement, manage them, manage them or see what they're doing. Of course I keep an eye on everything yeah but delegation and having any tasks that can be done by a certain team member done by that member. Takes it off my plate. Yeah, there's still always going to be done by that member. Takes it off my plate. There's still always going to be challenges, but thankfully I have a strong office manager, good dental assistants, good admin team.

Speaker 2: 8:47

They help me a lot. Yeah, I love it. And then at Westlake Dental Care, you guys offer a wide range of services, as you mentioned, from preventative, restorative dentistry to cosmetic procedures and orthodontics. How do you ensure a cohesive treatment experience for patients seeking multiple services under one roof?

Speaker 1: 9:02

That's it. That's exactly it If you do it under one roof. That's what. That's what reassures a good standard of care for all those procedures, because the same dentist is planning it. It's either me or my associate, dr Kogan, who's awesome, by the way. We discuss a lot of cases together, but it depends If that dentist is planning that case and it has multiple disciplines in the case, you're the one who's engineering the whole treatment plan. You're the one who's sequencing it, getting the patient from step A to step Z in the right order. You start with the end in mind, you start with the end result and then you go backwards. But yeah, doing it under one roof eliminates any confusion, any miscommunications between specialists or GPs. It ensures the quality is there Because you're in the same place. You'll get to the finish line quicker and better, without confusion, without going back and forth. I prefer to practice that way.

Speaker 2: 10:07

Yeah, no, I think that's great. And for your clients, how do you maintain those relationships where they keep coming back? How are you building that bond, making sure like, okay, their experience was great? And for your clients, how do you maintain those relationships where they keep coming back? How are you building that bond, making sure like, okay, their experience was great. They keep coming. They keep referring people. What's the secret sauce for you in your business?

Speaker 1: 10:22

What you just said experience being personable, having a relationship with the assistant, with the doctor, with the admin team, with whoever is there that touches them, that talks to them, that cares about their oral health. When they feel that you care, they will come back, they will refer their friends and that's really the key to care and to give them enough time to get to listen to them. To listen to them and to the care. That's why it's called Westlake Dental Care. We care about our patients, yeah, and then do them and to the care. That's why it's called Westlake Dental Care. We care about our patients, yeah.

Speaker 2: 10:56

And then do you feel like that's a challenge or a struggle for dentists nowadays, finding that happy medium of we care but also professionalism, or do you think sometimes they can be a little too professional that you lose that personable touch?

Speaker 1: 11:17

I think the personable touch is lost by the constant or the stagnant reimbursement rates from insurances. Most dentists rely on dental insurance some cases Medicaid for income. The problem with that is that insurance companies have not raised their annual maximum since the 70s. The reimbursement rates are very low. There are state associations, like the Virginia Dental Association that I'm part of. We have raised Medicaid reimbursements two years in a row now and we're working with insurances and PPOs to get a fair rate. There's dental loss ratio that we're working on now that will impact that greatly. But I think the main reason dentists lose the personal touch is not being paid properly by insurance companies, having this stagnant annual maximums and reimbursement rates that haven't changed, so it makes it harder to spend enough time or justify spending enough time with the patient. But the patients don't know that dental insurance works opposite of medical insurance.

Speaker 1: 12:15

Medical insurance, you pay the first $1,000 or $2,000 or $3,000 and then your annual maximum is met, your out-of-pocket maximum is met and then insurance pays for you. That's medical insurance. Dental insurance is the complete opposite. Dental insurance you get the first $1,000 or $2,000 a year and then you're on your own. Patients think it's called dental insurance. It's not dental insurance. It's a coupon, it's a discount. It's a coupon that you get. You get a discount on your dental services, but it's not really insurance. It's not really coverage. It has blackout dates and caveats. It's like reward points. That's what it is, and reward points that's what it is. And it's like that because medical insurances are what employers care about, hr departments care about medical insurance, and then they tuck in dental insurance as an aside, as an extra on it. So it's the opposite of medical insurance. If you think how medical insurance works, dental insurance works the opposite. It's a coupon, so don't rely on it too much.

Speaker 2: 13:12

Yeah, oh my gosh. That's insane too, because you would think dental care is super important. It connects to everything your heart, your blood. Why would that be like just tucked in? Do you think that that could change one day? Like you said, it hasn't been changed since the seventies. Do you think one day it could change, or is it going to stay like this for a little while longer?

Speaker 1: 13:32

We are working hard on changing it. There is a pioneer in Massachusetts, dr Mohabir Scala. He passed question two in Massachusetts, the ballot question. He actually changed a law in Massachusetts, basically on the ballot, because they can do it that way In Virginia. We cannot do it that way In Virginia. We have to do lobby or lawmakers. But what he did was he invested millions of his own money and the ADA came in with another five and a half million To pass this question to dental loss ratio. It requires insurance companies to be transparent in what they're spending their money on and it also requires them to spend 83% of their annual income premiums that they collect from patients. They have to spend 83% of that on patient care or else they have to return the rest to patients. So that will improve the reimbursements. A lot State associations are working on getting this. In Virginia we passed a reporting bill. But all of these organizations the official organizations, ada, virginia Dental Association and other states, along with other groups like the Alliance of Independent Dentists there's other organized dentistry group, the DIG.

Speaker 1: 14:55

Advocacy Coalition, for example. We're pretty vocal about changing this and having a better life for future dentists, even for us, so we're working on this. I think it will change if we keep working towards it in unison, but we always have to be careful.

Speaker 2: 15:03

Yes, absolutely. I love how you stay up to date with that and that you know about this and that you're trying to make a change. I'd like to ask you how are you staying up to date yourself with the latest trends, technologies, new breakthroughs that are coming out? Is there like a convention you go to? Is it books? Is it a mix? Talk to me about that.

Speaker 1: 15:22

There's a lot of CE that's offered to dentists. As I told you, I'm part of the ICUI. They have their own CE. The Academy of General Dentistry have a lot of good CE, which is one of the main reasons I joined it. There's online CE everywhere Facebook groups, dental-specific Facebook groups are big and they help you get the collective wisdom of everyone. There's thousands in every group and you can learn from anybody that posts about what they did in this office or what cool case they've done, or this machine that they got that helps them do this and that. So it's um, it's through facebook, it's through the organizations I'm part of online uh, emails you will get. You will always get advertisement for ce.

Speaker 2: 16:08

So that's what I focus on I think that's pretty cool that it's on like facebook that you can talk to like I never thought like the doctor in the facebook community over there. That's pretty cool that it's on like Facebook that you can talk to Like. I never thought like the doctor and the Facebook community over there. That's pretty cool. With technology. Speaking of that, when it comes to marketing your business, your brand, all that good stuff what are you doing to get the word out there about yourself? We talked about how it's referral based and about the experience, but online you could be getting hitting those extra people just by going on there. What is it that is working for you or isn't working for you when it comes to social media?

Speaker 1: 16:39

The internal referrals and the best patients you will get. You will get from existing patients who refer other friends and family. So this is one of the most important parts, one of the most important refer sources. Advertisement on Google and Instagram is my biggest thing I use for advertising is Facebook and Instagram. Google SEO, organic growth. There's also Google LSA, which is a I forgot what it?

Speaker 1: 17:11

stands for, but it certifies you. It makes you a certified dentist. On Google, that's also another way. There's Google Ads. I don't use that as much. What works for me in my congested, saturated area is Facebook, instagram.

Speaker 2: 17:24

Beautiful.

Speaker 1: 17:25

And internal referrals.

Speaker 2: 17:26

Have you ever considered dancing on TikTok? Have your team members been like come on, doctor.

Speaker 1: 17:31

I've been told yeah.

Speaker 2: 17:32

I've been asked yeah, I think that would be kind of cool. But yes, I love it. And then let's see. I'm looking through my questions. I want to make sure I ask you some good ones Serving the Sterling and Potomac Falls communities. How does Westlake Dental Care engage with local residents beyond the dental chair?

Speaker 1: 17:55

We do my daughter's school. I go to fairs in that school. Like I have a table, I do a free scan, iteroscan. A free oral cancer screening, which is a very it's like two minutes can save your life literally with oral cancer screening device. We like to be active in the community as much as possible and through her school I do that. That's really basically it. I think I should get out more in the community.

Speaker 2: 18:21

Yeah, there you go, at least yourself more. But hey you've got to start somewhere. That's awesome. What do you like to do on your free time when you're not busy? If you have time, because you sound like a busy guy what do you like to do?

Speaker 1: 18:36

If, guy, what do you like to do If I'm not traveling for CE? It's going to be watching football. Slash soccer, okay, I love football. It's the best sport in the world. I like Mo Salah, liverpool. We're going to win the league this year.

Speaker 2: 18:43

My husband loves Liverpool, he loves Mo Salah. Yeah, yeah A hundred percent. Okay, they will win the league this year. Now I really like you and the.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Champions League and he will get the Ballon d'Or, I hope.

Speaker 2: 18:51

That's right, you never walk alone.

Speaker 1: 18:53

Yes.

Speaker 2: 18:53

I love it. Oh my gosh, that's great. I love that. I love this. This is why I ask these questions, because I love to know. And then, preventative care is a cornerstone of your practice. What strategies do you employ to educate patients about maintaining optimal oral health between visits?

Speaker 1: 19:09

The hygiene oral hygiene you can. Every person in this world has a great opportunity, and especially if they have kids, to give them good habits Like you. Literally do not need me if you use the brush and toothpaste and floss every night properly, every morning and every night properly. Sometimes you have genetic conditions. But as long as you keep coming for your professional visits, professional cleanings every six months or every three months, depending on what your gum status is and as long as you use your floss toothbrush toothpaste I'm not asking for anything else Floss, toothbrush, toothpaste.

Speaker 2: 19:44

Yeah, Isn't that crazy. Some people neglect it so much that they're just like how did this happen? It's just like, well, you gotta keep up with the hygiene.

Speaker 1: 19:51

It doesn't get better by time. And I say that to patients who also have active treatment needed, like actual fillings needed or crowns needed, and they ignore it because it doesn't hurt now it will hurt, it will get worse, it will get to the nerve and it becomes a root canal. That's an added expense and added destruction to the tooth surface. You want to remove as little as possible, so you have to remove that cavity when it's still in the beginning. If you wait until it gets deeper and deeper until you feel it, when you feel it it's in the nerve. It's another procedure, another expense. It only gets worse. Yeah, get, get your dental needs taken care of. Go to your dentist every six to three to six months, depending on your gum status. Yeah, and use your brush, floss and toothpaste. Yeah, you should be fine especially that pain.

Speaker 2: 20:33

You don't want to get to that pain. Besides all that, I could not, I'd be like I'm going every day, I'm scared.

Speaker 1: 20:38

Very, very bad pain.

Speaker 2: 20:38

yeah, and where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business? Where do you hope to be Any new goals or services that you're hoping to implement?

Speaker 1: 20:54

We offer almost all services under the office in the office Westlake, but I don't see me changing much from what I'm doing today, except adding technology. I always add technology whenever I could Like CEREC, cad, cam machines, 3d printers, ct scanners, digital x-rays Anything that makes a good patient experience and helps me do my job better. Yeah, I implement so within five years, any new technology in the market I'll probably have it.

Speaker 2: 21:23

I love that attitude yeah that's so good that you're staying on top of the line, top of the line technology care, all the stuff you you really are into that I can tell. Speaking of technology, have you had incidents where patients are just on social media and they see things and they come to you and they're like is it okay for me to do this? Do you think that that has negatively impacted or positively impacted? What are your thoughts on that, with trends and all that?

Speaker 1: 21:46

I haven't seen dental trends really. Maybe I don't have a hip patient population, but we don't. I haven't been told. I've seen some stuff online, but I don't really remember anything. Nothing jumps to mind.

Speaker 2: 21:59

Okay, yeah, like people are just like, use charcoal to brush your teeth to make it whiter.

Speaker 1: 22:04

It's not going to damage your gums, that's the first thing that came to mind when you said that.

Speaker 2: 22:07

You see, but nobody.

Speaker 1: 22:09

I think one person asked me about it. Yeah, I think one person asked me about it. Yeah, I don't recommend it.

Speaker 2: 22:12

Okay, yeah, they should just come to you, to an actual doctor instead of relying on social media, got it, and then we talked about this a little bit, but I want to bring it back as a gold Invisalign provider. What advantages does Invisalign offer over traditional braces and what has been your experience with patient satisfaction using the system?

Speaker 1: 22:30

It's faster With clear aligners. It's faster with clear aligners. It's faster than braces. It's not visible. There's 6 million patients, or 7 million patients, treated by Invisalign. So far I've had 78-year-old men and older women and younger men and women. They all love having a well-aligned smile, a well-aligned smile. You're going to be confident. We do whitening with all our Invisalign as well, so it's going to be white, straight teeth. You go into any room, you smile, it's the first thing you see, as you said, and it just gives you confidence.

Speaker 1: 23:03

And at the same time some teeth might not be in the right position so they might be wearing further. With the IteroScan I can do something called time-lapse, which takes the scan from this year and the scan from last year and we can see the computer calculates. I'm not guessing, you're not guessing. The computer calculates how much wear is on that tooth to the millimeter, how much shifting, how much recession, how much any changes that are in the teeth. We can empirically tell you that you lost this much and in five years, if it goes to that rate, you will lose that much.

Speaker 1: 23:38

So if the teeth are not in the right position, they can wear further and quicker. So it can protect their teeth from wearing. You don't have as much buildup. When your teeth are crooked and over each other, you have a lot of calculus buildup. You don't have that much buildup anymore. Some people have found cavities on the teeth that are, like so crooked and so crowded that you can't see it. A tooth is overlying a tooth and there's cavity underneath, and when we align the teeth we then fill those cavities. It's important to have your teeth in the right position. Some people are worse than others, some people are needed more than others, but overall, having a straight smile is beneficial from many angles.

Speaker 2: 24:11

Yes, not just physical. Yeah, I love it. That's incredible that you, once you make your teeth straight, you're like oh, you've got some cavities here, let's fill it. Be like I would have never known that had you not had straight teeth.

Speaker 1: 24:21

I'm scared now, but it has to be really badly crowded, cover a whole cavity. Some people are just like this that's fine, but if you're overly that, you never know, you cannot see it. With an x-ray, you cannot see it.

Speaker 2: 24:33

No, that's. I hope y'all heard that. Go see a dentist, All right, is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you want to share, whether it's about your industry, your business, something personal, conventions that you went to, this is your time to share and speak about it.

Speaker 1: 24:49

If you are a dentist in the state of Virginia, be active, give us your feedback, join the ADA, the Virginia Dental Association, and have a say. Don't be the meal on the table, but have a seat on the table. That's what I can tell you as a dentist in Virginia. Please join us and help us fight for your interests.

Speaker 2: 25:09

Yes, I love that. All right, my final question Is there a quote, saying or a mantra that inspires you, or maybe something that somebody told you in your life that resonated with you? Would you mind sharing that with us?

Speaker 1: 25:22

Dr Bloom, my mentor in the University of Maryland. I was doing the AGD there and he said measure twice and cut once. That's very important in dentistry, specifically Like plan, plan, plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail, like this president said. I forgot his name, but measure twice, cut once, start with the end in mind. That's Dr Bloom.

Speaker 2: 25:45

Yeah, I love it. Thank you so much for being here and offering us a lot of your insight, experience and wisdom. We really appreciate you.

Speaker 1: 25:51

Thank you, it was my pleasure.

Speaker 2: 25:52

Thank you so much, absolutely.