A strategy for growth

A Conversation with Dr. Scott Doyle, Metropolitan Endodontics

Two years ago, it occurred to Dr. Scott Doyle and his partners at Metropolitan Endodontics in Minneapolis, Minnesota that it might be time to do a little fact finding about options for collaboration and support for their thriving practice.

“We didn’t need to do anything — we already had a very successful practice,” Dr. Doyle said. “But we thought we should go through the discovery phase and explore the idea of a Specialty Dental Service Organization. The landscape of endodontics is changing; it seemed better to have an answer now, rather than thinking 3 or 5 years down the line, ‘Why didn’t we do anything?’”

Dr. Doyle and his eight partners practice in four flourishing locations that serve the beautiful southern suburbs of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Founded by Dr. Eric Grutzner 30 years ago, the organization had an excellent reputation and was on solid footing — and the doctors had no intention of making a misstep that might jeopardize the future.

“It wasn’t an easy task. We brought it to the group; it was 5 or 6 months of discovery and discussion — difficult, candid discussion — with the partners about what we wanted to do to move forward,” he said. “Where do we want to be in 10 to 20 years?”

The answer? They wanted to grow.

“We went in open-minded, not expecting to do anything,” Dr. Doyle said. “Once we decided to go down the path, the decision about with whom to partner was easy. It was unanimous to partner with US Endo.”

Metropolitan Endodontics is currently building out one location to accommodate more doctor days and organically grow the practice, as well as actively looking for new associates. “Partnering with US Endo was not an exit strategy. It was a growth strategy,” Dr. Doyle said.

He envisions that Metro’s partnership with US Endo will be a huge asset in recruiting new endodontic talent, given the national network of clinicians now looking out for their practice’s best interests.

“Connection is everything in endodontics,” he said. “We have nine fantastic partners who work really well together; now we have hundreds of partners across the country to rely on for support.”

Dr. Doyle cited a variety of intangibles as other feathers in US Endo’s cap, including an exciting track of professional and personal development programs, a focus on encouraging board certification among its partners to continue shaping the specialty, and grass roots support of the AAE Foundation’s Domestic Access to Care program. “The fact that US Endo even thought about Access to Care made them attractive to me,” he said. US Endo made a seed contribution of $235,000 in 2021 to help the Foundation kickstart the Domestic Access to Care initiative, which provides a high level of endodontic care to people in need across the United States and spreads the life-changing power of saving teeth.

Dr. Doyle said the commitment to patient care is only one facet of the dynamic US Endo Partners community. He added, “The aligned mission and vision between Metropolitan Endodontics and US Endo Partners was extremely important.”

This information was provided by US Endo Partners.