DR. ACE GOERIG
DDS, MS, ABE Diplomate OWNER & PRESIDENT
A practice that isn’t intentionally growing often feels stable. The schedule is full, the team is dependable, and the bills are paid. For many doctors, that stability represents years of commitment, management and clinical excellence.
At the same time, stability without growth can be misleading—not because anything is wrong, but because economic forces never pause.
Inflation, rising overhead, and increasing operational complexity mean that a practice producing the same results year after year is quietly losing ground. This isn’t a reflection of effort or skill; it’s simply the reality of running a modern endodontic practice in a changing environment. The impact is gradual and often invisible, but over time it affects what the practice can support for the doctor and their family.
What You’ll Learn
- Why a stable practice can still fall behind financially over time
- Why keeping up with inflation preserves comfort but not progress
- How intentional growth supports both professional success and personal fulfillment
Why Growth Matters More Than Ever
Growth isn’t about chasing bigger numbers for their own sake. In an endodontic practice, growth helps ensure that the value you create through your expertise continues to translate into opportunity, flexibility, and choice.
Many practices reach a natural plateau. Systems are working. Referrals are consistent. The days are predictable. That predictability can be reassuring—and it’s often earned. But when a practice is left on autopilot, that same predictability can quietly cap what’s possible.
Each year, expenses rise. Team compensation increases. Supplies, technology, insurance, and compliance costs continue to climb. When revenue remains flat, margins narrow—even when productivity stays on track. Over time, the practice may require more effort to deliver the same outcome.
The Quiet Cost of Standing Still
A stagnant practice doesn’t decline overnight. More often, it adapts in small, rationalized ways: postponing investments, absorbing higher costs personally, or working a little harder to maintain income.
Individually, these choices make sense. Collectively, they can change how the practice feels to own and lead.
Time off becomes harder to justify. Flexibility shrinks. Financial decisions feel tighter. The practice may still look successful from the outside, but the doctor’s range of options slowly narrows. What once felt empowering can begin to feel limiting—not because the practice failed, but because it stopped moving forward.
Why Keeping Up with Inflation Isn’t the Goal
Adjusting fees or efficiency to keep pace with inflation is responsible and necessary. It’s an important part of running a healthy practice. But it’s also important to recognize what that strategy truly accomplishes.
Keeping up with inflation preserves your current lifestyle. It does not improve it.
Most endodontists expect that experience, clinical mastery, and leadership will lead to a better life over time—more freedom, more security, and more flexibility in how they work and live. That expectation is reasonable, and it’s achievable. It simply requires growth beyond inflation.
Without that growth, each year in practice looks very much like the one before it. There’s no surplus to reduce days, expand opportunities, or invest proactively in the future. The practice stays busy, but progress slows.
Growth as a Path to a Better Practice Experience
Your endodontic practice is more than a clinical environment—it is the economic engine that supports your life. When that engine grows, the benefits extend far beyond revenue.
Growth creates margin. Financial margin. Time margin. Emotional margin.
With margin, stress eases. Decisions feel clearer. You gain the ability to invest thoughtfully in your team, refine systems, and shape your schedule with intention. Growth allows the practice to support your life, rather than dictate it.
Without growth, opportunities aren’t lost dramatically—they’re deferred quietly. Experiences are postponed. Goals are pushed out another year. Over time, even a good practice can feel smaller than it needs to be.
The Unique Opportunity in Endodontics
Endodontics is particularly well positioned for meaningful, manageable growth. Once fixed expenses are covered, incremental improvements flow disproportionately to the bottom line.
Small, well-designed changes—one additional case per day, improved scheduling efficiency, stronger referral relationships—can significantly increase take-home income without increasing stress or complexity. Growth doesn’t need to be disruptive to be impactful.
Over the course of a career, these incremental gains compound. The difference between a flat practice and a growing one is not subtle. It’s measured in financial security, reclaimed time, and long-term freedom.
Growth Is an Intentional Leadership Choice
Ultimately, growth is a leadership decision. Teams respond positively when progress is visible and goals evolve. Growth brings energy, engagement, and pride. It reinforces the sense that the practice is moving forward together.
As the practice leader, your expectations shape what’s possible. When growth is intentional, it becomes part of the culture. When it’s deferred, the practice can settle into repetition—comfortable, but constrained.
The encouraging reality is that growth doesn’t require starting over or working harder. It requires clarity, intention, and a willingness to thoughtfully design the next phase of the practice.
Key Takeaways
- A stable practice can still lose ground over time due to inflation
- Keeping up preserves comfort; growth creates progress
- Growth supports flexibility, freedom, and long-term fulfillment
- Endodontic practices have strong leverage for high-quality growth
- Growth is an intentional leadership decision, not a reaction
Read More on This Topic
Get Clarity and Confidence
If this article resonated, a Discovery Call with Endo Mastery is a helpful next step. It’s a brief, no-pressure conversation designed to bring clarity to where your practice is now and explore what opportunities may exist to move forward with confidence.