--- title: What I Wish I Knew Before Running a Dental Practice description: Dr. Gregory Luerding learned a lot at school, like how to fill a cavity, but there were things he had to learn about running a practice through experience. image: https://blog.heartland.com/hubfs/Heartland_Dental.jpg --- [![Primary_Logo_RGB_transparent-2](https://blog.heartland.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Primary_Logo_RGB_transparent-2.png?width=87&name=Primary_Logo_RGB_transparent-2.png)](https://heartland.com/) - [Heartland Dental Blog](https://blog.heartland.com) - Articles by Topic - [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) - [Careers in the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry) - [Industry Insights](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/industry-insights) - [In the News](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/in-the-news) - [Career Opportunities](https://jobs.heartland.com/careers-home/) - [Affiliate With Heartland](http://heartland.com/affiliate-with-us/) read # What I Wish I Knew Before Running a Dental Practice By Heartland Dental ![](https://blog.heartland.com/hubfs/Heartland_Dental.jpg) Dr. Gregory Luerding, a Heartland Dental supported doctor, learned a lot at dental school. Like how to fill a cavity and interpret X-rays. But when it became his time to run a practice, there were some things he just had to learn through experience, such as ...   1. **Managing costs and accounts receivable effectively ** The high prices of supplies and labs can be a real shock and a real financial strain. Utilizing tools that help keep operational costs organized and processing payments in a timely manner is essential.    1. **Creating systems and workflows that promote efficiency** As the head of your practice, being a strong leader means building trust among the staff and assigning clear responsibilities, as well as implementing well-defined systems and protocols that keep workflows efficient.   1. **You aren’t taught how to be a good leader; you must learn it ** Learning and teaching how to lead is not a class in dental school. As a dental practice owner, building leadership skills and shaping doctors into effective leaders is crucial.     1. **Affiliating isn’t the end; it’s the start of a new chapter ** Often, supported doctors who have already affiliated with a DSO and a supported practice mention how they wish they would have done it sooner. From the cost optimization in supplies and labs to the continued education opportunities and non-clinical administrative support, consider affiliation to bolster your career.    [Find out how affiliating with Heartland Dental](https://heartland.com/affiliate-with-us/#heartland_affiliation-section-anchor) can give you more freedom to do what you love.    Gain insights from other Heartland Dental supported doctors [here](https://heartland.com/masters-and-mentors/).  Tags: [Careers In the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry), [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) ### Related Articles ## [Women in Dentistry: Leadership, Career Growth, and a Changing Profession](https://blog.heartland.com/women-in-dentistry-leadership-career-growth-and-a-changing-profession) *( read )* Topics: [Careers In the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry), [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) ## [Take the Bite Out of Modern-Day Dental Dilemmas](https://blog.heartland.com/take-the-bite-out-of-modern-day-dental-dilemmas) *( read )* Topics: [Careers In the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry), [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) ## [Considering a Broker to Sell Your Dental Practice? Essential Questions to Ask](https://blog.heartland.com/considering-a-broker-to-sell-your-dental-practice-essential-questions-to-ask) *( read )* Topics: [Careers In the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry), [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) ### Subscribe to The Chronicles of Marketing Newsletter - [Heartland Dental Blog](https://blog.heartland.com) - Articles by Topic - [Dental Practice Ownership](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/dental-practice-ownership) - [Careers in the Dental Industry](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/careers-in-the-dental-industry) - [Industry Insights](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/industry-insights) - [In the News](https://blog.heartland.com/topic/in-the-news) - [Career Opportunities](https://jobs.heartland.com/careers-home/) - [Practice Management & Transition](https://heartland.com/affiliations/?_ga=2.26866429.1519429506.1623942221-1998440239.1613661303) - - - - - - © 2021 Heartland Dental All Rights Reserved - [(866) 929-0040](tel:8586331915) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Heartland Dental", "url" : "https://blog.heartland.com/author/heartland-dental" }, "dateModified" : "2025-04-02T14:58:21.673Z", "datePublished" : "2025-04-02T14:58:21.000Z", "headline" : "What I Wish I Knew Before Running a Dental Practice", "image" : [ "https://blog.heartland.com/hubfs/Heartland_Dental.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.heartland.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-before-running-a-dental-practice", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.heartland.com/hubfs/Primary_Logo_RGB.png" }, "name" : "Heartland Dental" } } ```