Dr. Jared Stasi grew up in his father’s orthodontics office in Colorado. His dad was the orthodontist. His mom was the dental hygienist. They met in residency. By the time Jared was in high school, he had watched enough patients leave with new smiles that the path started to make sense. He went to Creighton in Omaha for dental school, married his childhood sweetheart in his second year, finished ortho residency, and moved back to Colorado to join Comfort Dental in Centennial. That was six years ago.

Now he runs two locations: the main office in Centennial, about 25 minutes south of Denver, and a satellite location in Silverthorne, an hour and fifteen minutes up into the mountains. The Silverthorne office sees a population that is 80 to 90% Spanish-speaking. About 90% of his staff there are fluent in Spanish.

In Centennial, his practice has shifted over six years from 75% kids to 55% kids, with adults now making up 45% of cases. A lot of those adults are people who had braces years ago, lost their retainer, and never got back in. Some are adults who couldn’t afford it the first time around.

In this episode, Dr. Stasi talks through what a first visit actually looks like for a nervous kid, why the American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first evaluation at age seven, and how he explains x-rays and prep syringes to children in language that doesn’t scare them. He talks about the shift in adult orthodontics, the difference between braces and aligners, and what parents should know about the cost of doing nothing.

He also shares a story that stays with him. A young boy with special needs who was non-communicative when he started treatment at eleven. Apprehensive. Didn’t engage. Two years later, his grandmother left a review. She wrote that her grandson was happy to smile now, and that he was talking, and that he had never done either of those things before. Dr. Stasi says that is what makes it worth it.

Monthly payments at his Centennial office start at $100 to $150. Practices up the street in the same neighborhood charge five times that for a down payment alone.

He finishes the conversation talking about his two-and-a-half-year-old son, his wife who works in cardiac surgery at the University of Colorado, and the second boy they were expecting in April. He works three days a week. He was home watching his son the day we recorded.

If you are in the Centennial area and you have been told braces cost $10,000, come check them out first.

Learn more at comfortdental.com.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:43 Why dentistry, and growing up in his father’s practice

01:30 Childhood sweetheart, Creighton dental school, and a wife in cardiac surgery

03:02 When he knew he made the right choice

03:38 Orthodontics at Comfort Dental Centennial

05:32 Affordability and accessibility in orthodontics

07:20 What monthly payments actually cost

08:28 Patient shock at the price difference

09:48 Private practice style with corporate backing

11:14 The psychology of orthodontics and self-esteem in kids

12:21 The story of a nonverbal boy and his grandmother’s review

13:28 Who his patients are (kids and adults)

17:15 Adult ortho and aligners

17:35 When should your child first see an orthodontist?

19:29 Braces vs. clear aligners

21:50 What drew him to orthodontics

24:06 His dad’s practice and growing up around it

26:06 Most challenging cases and jaw surgery

30:10 AI and the future of orthodontics

32:36 What he loves most about the work

37:42 Dental anxiety in orthodontic patients

40:02 What to expect on your first visit

43:41 The communities his practice serves

45:15 One word patients would use to describe him

46:23 Every patient deserves confidence

46:41 A message to patients in Centennial

47:43 How Comfort’s economies of scale pass savings to patients

48:59 The Silverthorne satellite location and Spanish-speaking patients

49:55 What makes him smile outside of dentistry

51:26 Work-life balance and being present for his family