Just Two Minutes: Chasing Unicorns

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

I’ve had some pretty great assistants over the years.
But one in particular stands out.

He was young. Ambitious.
The kind of person who just got it.

Before I even walked into the op, he had already prepped the patient, reviewed their chart, added on two fillings, printed post-op instructions, scheduled their recall, and was halfway through writing the chart notes.

All I had to do was numb and drill.

It was a dream.

The kind of assistant you don’t have to micromanage.
The kind that makes your day run smoother.
The kind that makes you think, “Wow, maybe this job isn’t so hard.”

But… it didn’t last.

He was with us for about a year before deciding to apply to dental school.
And looking back, maybe I could’ve given him more support or a growth path to stick around longer.

But with people like that, there’s usually an expiration date.
They’re headed somewhere — and fast.

Here’s the thing.

If you’ve got someone like that — hold on to them.
Promote them. Give them a path forward. Let them know there’s a future with you.

But don’t build your whole practice around one superstar.

Because when they leave (and let’s be real — they usually do), you’re stuck.
Now you’re scrambling to replace them, lowering your standards just to get someone in the role, telling yourself they’ll “pick it up eventually.”

Then you spend months quietly comparing every new hire to the unicorn that left, wondering why nothing feels as smooth as it used to.

And before you know it, you’re hoping the next one just magically walks in.

But here’s what I’ve realized:
It’s not about finding another unicorn.

It’s about building systems that don’t need one.

Because if your practice falls apart the minute one person leaves, what you have isn’t a system — it’s a dependency.

So yeah, celebrate the unicorns.
Just don’t rely on them to carry your whole business.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. According to my 6 year-old, unicorns do exist.