“How are we going to get through this?”

That question haunted Dr. Caitlin Loyd throughout the first year of owning her practice. Day after day, the same worry played on repeat in her mind as she juggled mounting business debt and a dental practice that seemed to be spiraling toward failure.

When Dr. Loyd purchased Lost Creek Dental in San Antonio, Texas in 2023, she was pregnant with her second child and working as an associate at another practice. The purchase wasn’t part of her original plan—she was supposed to become a partner at a different office. But staff members at Lost Creek kept encouraging her to buy it, and eventually, she took the leap.

She Didn’t Realize What She Was Getting Herself Into

“I never had access to the books before I bought it,” Dr. Loyd said. “When we started really looking at the accounts, this office was in the negative by $50,000.”

The challenges were overwhelming. The practice was overstaffed with inefficient workflows and lacked basic systems. Hygiene exams were scheduled at 50-minute intervals instead of 60. The books were a mess, and the accounts receivable aging was hovering at a disastrous 80% over 30 days. Things were so bad that Dr. Loyd was consistently a paycheck or two behind everyone else and sometimes couldn’t even pay herself fully.

Her husband, Justin Tice, who manages operations for the practice, painted a stark picture of those early days: “We were struggling to meet payroll from time to time. We weren’t able to write checks for the production Caitlin was doing or pay me either. Plus, we were almost maxed out on our line of business credit at the bank.”

To make ends meet, the family relied entirely on Dr. Loyd’s paycheck from a second office where she worked as a partner part-time.

The difficulties carried over into their home life, where they were caring for their newborn and three-year-old.

Making matters worse, it was affecting Dr. Loyd’s health.

“We were in survival mode,” Dr. Loyd recalled. “It was very, very stressful. We weren’t really present at home. Our minds were running a million miles an hour—thinking, ‘What are we going to do? How are we going to feed our kids?’ I lost a lot of weight because I was so exhausted from work and getting the kids to bed. And when I’m stressed, I don’t eat.”

The Conversation That Ultimately Saved Her Practice

Finally, it came down to a conversation no dentist wants to have. With payroll looming and credit cards maxed out, Dr. Loyd faced a painful decision: she had to let a staff member go because she couldn’t afford to pay them.

“I don’t like confrontation,” Dr. Loyd admitted. “It was hard because the staff member was great. But it got to the point where it was either I had to let her go, or the business didn’t survive, and we didn’t survive. We couldn’t even pay our rent at home.”

The Happy Accident That Changed Everything

In the midst of this chaos, Justin stumbled upon Dr. John Meis’s book, The Ultimate Guide To Doubling & Tripling Your Dental Practice Production, and began suggesting ideas to Dr. Loyd. Neither of them knew that just a few months later, they would encounter the book’s author in person.

In May 2024, at the urging of their Henry Schein Dental equipment rep, they attended Thrive Live—not to find a consultant, but to look at office equipment. Dr. Loyd signed up for one of Dr. Meis’s classes while Justin attended a session led by Wendy Briggs.

“We had no clue,” Justin said. “When Caitlin came out of Dr. Meis’s class and started describing what she’d learned, I said, ‘Wait a minute—I’m pretty sure I’m reading a book that says those same things.’ After that, we went all in and joined The Team Training Institute’s Blue Diamond program.”

The results were immediate and dramatic. Within their first month, production surged. It has since doubled and is now nearly triple what it was before.

“It wasn’t until after we started working with The Team Training Institute that I received my paycheck consistently,” Dr. Loyd noted.

“We’re also sustaining increased revenue and maintaining a gross annual profit while working less,” Justin added.

Dr. Loyd and Justin can now be present for their children, and Dr. Loyd has returned to a healthy weight.

Here’s how they did it:

A Hygiene Revolution

During their first month with TTI, Hygiene Coach Laurie Kimball was in their office conducting Hygiene Explosion training. The impact was immediate and measurable.

“The production for the month after we started was $40,000 higher than the previous month,” Justin reported.

The results were remarkable. One hygienist placed over 20 sealants the very next day after training. The entire team got on board, and daily production soared. While previously they were averaging $3,000 to $4,000 per day, they now regularly hit $8,000 to $11,000 per day. But the transformation went far beyond the numbers. TTI helped Dr. Loyd and her team implement several key strategies that completely reshaped the practice:

‍Standardized Hygiene Appointments

‍Dr. Loyd standardized hygiene appointments to a full hour and made the rooms more efficient by setting them up identically so patients didn’t have to be moved between rooms.‍

Product Utilization

‍They’d purchased Curondont from vVARDIS the previous October but didn’t know how to use it or what codes to bill. “When we bought Curodont, we knew it was going to work; we just didn’t know how,” she explained. “We didn’t know how to chart it out, and we didn’t know the codes.”

Laurie taught the team the proper codes, pricing, and charting methods. Beyond that, she taught them how to present these services to patients in a way that felt educational rather than salesy.

“Patients would rather pay for prevention than sit in my chair and be numb and drilled on,” Dr. Loyd observed.

“She showed us how to see gains, rather than ‘here’s what you need to do,’” Dr. Loyd said. “It helped a ton to know how to implement things versus just knowing what you need to do.”

Same Day Treatment

‍The practice began prioritizing same day treatment, especially for single-tooth procedures. “If patients need just one filling or one crown, we’ll usually get it done that day,” Dr. Loyd said.

Her staff is so committed to this approach that they now hold Dr. Loyd accountable on days when she might be tempted to schedule treatment for later.

Meaningful Huddles

Morning huddles have transformed from simply reading the schedule to interactive planning sessions. Questions such as “Where are we at today?” “Can we add treatment?” and “Where can we be more productive?” have become the new focus. Hygienists now review their own schedules, and assistants discuss Dr. Loyd’s appointments, creating more engagement and ownership across the team.

“We didn’t used to discuss our goals,” Justin said. “Now that the staff knows what our expectations are and what we’re trying to put in place, it makes it easier for them to understand. If they don’t see the vision, they don’t know what they’re trying to accomplish.”

Efficiency and Consistency

Prior to working with TTI, the management was self-taught, which led to inefficiency and messy books.

“Before, it felt like the blind leading the blind,” Dr. Loyd said. “We needed somebody to show us how to do things correctly and efficiently. Once we learned to be more efficient, it made us more profitable.”

Patients are happier, too. “Before, it was like a revolving door with dentists in here, and a lot of patients weren’t receptive to that,” Desiree, the office manager, said. “Since Dr. Loyd took over, she’s planted roots. Even with the changes—adding sealants, same-day treatment—a lot of patients are so receptive to it because she’s the main provider and has been here the longest. They’ve built rapport with her and trust her.”

Building a Cohesive Team

Describing the feel of the office on the employee side as “night and day” since working with TTI, they also experienced some turnover, but it was for the better.

“It feels more like a family within the office. We all get along really well and feel a lot more close-knit than before,” Justin said.

Systems & Accountability

TTI helped them create standard operating procedures for everything—from entering insurance plans correctly to daily task checklists. They developed a comprehensive binder, a “playbook” that tells team members exactly how to do everything, making training easier and reducing errors.

These systems allowed Dr. Loyd to clearly document expectations, which ultimately helped her address performance issues with underperforming staff members.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Using Dental Intel, TTI showed them specific numbers that quantified problems they could feel but couldn’t measure before. This visibility into key metrics—like accounts receivable aging, which dropped from 80% over 30 days to 30% after the office manager change—gave them the ability to make informed decisions.

Coaching & Community

Beyond practical strategies and personalized guidance, success came through collaboration and learning from their coaches. Having access to experienced coaches proved invaluable. The network of TTI doctors provided mentorship and problem-solving support, making Dr. Loyd feel less isolated as a new practice owner. TTI helped guide difficult personnel decisions, including how to document issues and hold staff accountable.

Navigating Difficult Staff Decisions

“Our previous office manager and her daughter both worked here,” Dr. Loyd recalled. “There was a lot of tension and pushback, along with a lack of efficiency. Things weren’t getting done. They were resistant to implementing systems. Our accounts aging was horrible and climbing back up to where it was before I bought the practice—80% over 30 days.”

While at a TTI retreat, Dr. Loyd and Justin discussed the problems they were having with their coach, Laurie, and a group of doctors.

“They went out of their way to help us make decisions about what we should do and different ways we could address the problem,” Justin recalled. “We started writing down systems for what was supposed to be done and when and held them accountable. We ended up having to write them up for not following procedures. Two days later, the office manager quit, and the daughter also quit.”

“TTI opened my eyes to how a business should be run, what a good aging report looks like, what a good collections system looks like,” Dr. Loyd said. “I became more educated as TTI showed us the numbers and helped us quantify what we needed to work on. I realized something wasn’t right, and I tried to fix it. We tried having multiple conversations. Things would change for a day or two, but then things would return right back to the way they were before. It just got to the point where I had to say, ‘You’re not doing your job.’”

Desiree, who was previously the assistant office manager, was promoted to office manager. “She was on board with what we were doing and had the same mindset of always looking for ways to be more efficient,” Dr. Loyd said. “It’s night and day in how the office is being run. Communication is a lot better. Systems are being implemented. Accounts are maintained.”

“Being able to talk to other doctors and having that network of people has helped us,” Dr. Loyd said. “It’s great to bounce ideas off others and get feedback on how to handle different situations, especially as a new owner. We’re all having similar issues, so being able to share those experiences and provide solutions for problems you’ve already been through helps others solve the problem faster and move forward.”

Working Smarter, Not Harder

By implementing these solutions, Dr. Loyd reduced her schedule from five working days to four days per week while maintaining the same year-over-year profitability—around $700,000 in gross profit. Hygiene production became so strong that they consistently hit goals even when doctor production was lower.

“Thanks to The Team Training Institute, I enjoy dentistry again,” Dr. Loyd said. “Having the right people and systems in place has allowed me to focus more on the work I enjoy and less on the operational stressors I was experiencing before. TTI has built my confidence, as well as Justin’s and Desiree’s confidence. They’ve given us the tools and resources we need to make the practice successful and set us up to strive for more.”

Advice for Other Practice Owners

“For anyone looking to improve their practice, I have one piece of advice: Don’t resist change,” Dr. Loyd said. “You’re asking for help for a reason, and they are shedding light and giving you a path. But it’s really up to you to take control of what they hand you. What you were doing before might not have been wrong, but it wasn’t working, so try something new. We invested in ourselves, tried something new, and it changed everything for us.”