Dr. Dinesh Sanmuganathan

Dr Dinesh graduated Dentistry from Sydney University in 2001, and worked as a general dentist for 7 years before completing a three year specialisation in orthodontics in 2010. Dinesh is the owner of three multi chair, and multi disciplinary clinics that provides facilities for 9 specialists and fifteen general dentists. Dr Dinesh has been able to build greenfield orthodontic practices that bill over 4 million dollars a year, alongside general/specialist practices that bill over 6 million dollars with annual growth rates exceeding 20% over 8 consecutive years.

The journey of integrating specialist dental practictioners within a general dental setting has been complex and comes with a gamut of considerations that a practice owner should take into consideration before making the decision to incorporate specialists into their practice. He has made multiple, costly mistakes wading into this relatively unexplored business model, and is keen to share lessons learnt and traps for young and not so young players venturing into this sphere. If you are a general dentist practicing orthodontics there are some key take homes to understanding cost centres and cash flow issues associated with providing orthodontics in your practice, and that profitability can be grossly affected by case selection and case management.