From Dining Room Chairs to Diplomate
Written by Dr. Kevin Haiar, DDS, DABOI
Life is just as much about the journey as it is the destination. Little did I know that journey would lead me to becoming a dental practice owner, doing a denture adjustment from a dining room chair due to construction delays.
The first 30 years of my life had been completely focused on education. As much of it as possible. In my first 5-year continuing education cycle after dental school, I completed about 15 times the required hours for renewal. I couldn’t get enough of it. Multiple Maxi-Courses, sedation training, annual meetings - you name it, I was a part of it.
I was heavily guided by the AAID's credentialing pathways. As I moved steadily along that path, my desire grew for greater ownership in running a practice and for giving the absolute best care to my patients, staff, and community.
Everything came together in early 2022, when Sioux Falls Dental Implant Center opened its doors for the first time, even if that meant seeing a few patients in dining room chairs! The countless hours of continuing education were now spent building and running a business.
Maxi-Courses became business-planning sessions with the SBA, staff training, and supply ordering. With so many unknowns building a scratch-start practice, you learn to embrace and enjoy the journey.
Almost 5 years into building an implant-only practice from the ground up, I have shifted my focus back into education. This time from the other side, as an AAID examiner for my colleagues looking to gain their credentials. Giving back in this way is truly important to me because leaning on my own credentials has been critical to my success in building a practice. There is absolutely no substitute for the educational foundation as a diplomate of the ABOI/fellow of the AAID.
"If you build it, they will come" holds true with a dental implant practice. My advice for anyone considering a similar route is to make sure you focus on building the correct foundation first, the educational one. Once you have the skills in place to provide excellent care, the rest will follow. I am beyond grateful to have the AAID in my corner for over a decade, and look forward to a continued relationship, giving back the same support I have received to future generations of implant dentists.
Kevin Haiar is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology and Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He is located at Sioux Falls Dental Implant Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota—an implant-only practice offering a full range of surgical, sedation, and prosthetic procedures. Dr. Haiar is the sole dentist and practice owner, providing a private, comfortable setting for patients and consistent care as the only provider in the office.
"Affordable care with a luxury experience, by a board-certified implant dentist."