In this testimonial-style seminar excerpt, the speaker describes how Bill Hang’s orthodontic practice has achieved higher patient satisfaction, reduced stress, and strong financial performance despite operating with half the previous staff and seeing fewer patients. The success is attributed to Bill’s meticulous, time‑intensive adjustments and deep listening to patients, which the speaker intends to teach to other clinicians. The narrative highlights the competitive pressure from direct‑to‑consumer orthodontic solutions like Invisalign and SmileDirect, and criticizes widespread bicuspid extractions that can exacerbate patients’ problems. Patients from around the world (e.g., New York, Chicago, Switzerland, London, Australia) travel to receive Bill’s specialized care for a wide spectrum of issues—from narrow smiles and tongue‑biting to facial pain, jaw discomfort, snoring, and sleep apnea. The treatment is portrayed as life‑changing, prompting patients to willingly pay premium fees. The speaker also reflects on how orthodontics has shifted since Bill started his practice, noting increased student debt and market saturation, but framing these challenges as potential opportunities for clinicians who adopt Bill’s methods.
Chapters
We have half the staff we used to have, and even though we're seeing so many fewer people, the satisfaction that Bill gets, as well as the rest of the team, it has gone through the roof. We have done as well financially, if not better, and the stress level has drastically reduced. Seeing fewer patients, and there's a lot more of him when he comes home at night. Yes, people feel well served because Bill himself is spending a lot of time with them. A lot of it is in the very meticulous, very specific adjustments that he's doing. A lot of it is just listening to his patients, and that has allowed him to get better at what he does. And that's what he's going to try to teach those of you who want to learn. The treatments have changed. You're now not only competing against a lot of other dentists and orthodontists doing orthodontics, but there's Invisalign, SmileDirect, that type of thing. What Bill is teaching is not something that can come in a box. These people are everywhere. Thousands, I mean, tens of thousands of people have had bicuspids extracted. And a lot of them never understand that their problems are derived from that, or at least are exacerbated by extractions or retraction. And so, to be able to give these people hope that the treatment that we would render would make their life better is phenomenal. And so many of them have tried so many things prior to our— to their being here. They are more or less desperate and will do anything. So we have people who pay us a very nice fee to come and have this work done. And some of them fly from New York or Chicago or Switzerland or London or Australia for it. And we don't have other people in a lot of places where these people live to give the treatment. And we want others to be able to be able to help these people as well. Everything from, gee, I don't like my smile because it's not as large anymore, It's a very narrow smile, to I bite my tongue all the time, to I have facial pain, my jaw hurts all the time, I snore, I have sleep apnea. These people, their lives have been changed, and they want their lives back. Some of them are simple, Gee, my smile is really small. I don't like it. And some of them are almost to the point of, it's not worth my being on this planet any longer. We had one woman who said something to the effect of, my family would be better off without me. Her meaning was that they had spent so much money Trying to make her better. These people aren't thinking about money. They're thinking about their lives. And so when I present treatment, there's no sell to it. They're wanting it. And we want to be fair to everyone, but we make a— it's very difficult treatment, and we make a very good living at it, and they're very willing to pay it. Orthodontics has really changed since we began practice. When Bill started his practice, you could put a shingle out pretty much anywhere and do very well. That isn't the case anymore. First of all, so many of you have so much student debt. That wasn't the case when we started. But there's a bigger threat than even that. And maybe it's not a threat, maybe it's an opportunity.
