Just Two Minutes: Pivot

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

If you’ve ever changed your practice management software…
You already know the pain of pivoting.

Now imagine doing that every three months.
That’s what it feels like building a business from scratch outside of dentistry.

In dentistry, there’s a playbook:
You open.
You get patients.
You provide care.
You grow.

Sure, you might add services—Botox, implants, aligners—but it’s still dentistry.
You’re not switching from fixing teeth to juggling chainsaws because “the margins are better.”

But in entrepreneurship?
It’s not that clean.

You start building one thing.
Then you realize it needs tweaking.
And tweaking.
And tweaking.
And suddenly you're five pivots deep and can’t remember what the original idea even was.

And that’s when it hits:
This isn’t just a business problem.
It’s a confidence problem.
Because constant pivoting makes you question if you’re moving forward… or just spinning in circles.

So let’s bring this back to dentistry.

Whether you’re running a startup, scaling a second location, launching a side hustle, or just trying to improve your systems—the temptation to pivot is always there.

Especially when growth feels slow.
Or uncomfortable.
Or like everyone else is doing something shinier.

But here’s the thing:
Most people don’t need a new direction. They need to get more dialed in.

So before you throw everything out and start over:

Ask yourself:

• Am I pivoting because this isn’t working—or because it’s hard?

• Am I changing the whole strategy—or just avoiding doing the boring, consistent work?

• Am I chasing clarity—or just avoiding discomfort?

There’s a time to pivot.
But there’s also a time to stay the course.
And you don’t build anything great by starting over every time things get shaky.

Quick Takeaways:

• Pivot when it’s strategic—not emotional. If you’re changing something, know why. Know what success looks like.

• Don’t chase novelty. Just because another dentist added a med spa doesn’t mean you should.

• Refine before you reinvent. Sometimes what you’re doing is working—you just haven’t stuck with it long enough to see it.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. I’m not immune to this either. I’ve said “pivot” more times than Ross with a couch in a stairwell.