In 1991, Dr. Mike Bloss saw a small ad in the Colorado Dental Association journal. A doctor named Rick Kushner was opening a new practice and talking about something called “lean and mean.” Dr. Bloss was already 10 years into his career, working as an associate in a high-end crown and bridge practice in Colorado Springs with 70 percent overhead. He drove up, listened to the pitch, met with a few other doctors, and signed on. He and Dr. Neil Norton opened the third-ever Comfort Dental practice. More than 30 years later, with over 150 locations and 500 doctors in the system, he sits down with Shawn Zajas to tell the story.

This conversation covers the early days of Comfort Dental, the moment the practices decided to share a name and market together, the lawyer who told them they were technically a franchise, and the partnership dynamics that made the model work when most dentists were going it alone.

Dr. Bloss talks openly about the parts of dentistry that wear a doctor down. The physical demands. The emotional load of treating anxious patients. The financial pressure that builds when overhead climbs and patient flow slips. He explains why he believes the people side of dentistry is harder than the clinical side, and why financial stress can lead to poor clinical decisions. He shares his concern about new graduates carrying $500,000 to $800,000 in student debt and the pressure that puts on the profession.

He walks through the NERD system, four core functions Comfort Dental built into every practice. He explains why Comfort Dental doctors present their own treatment plans, why partnership beats solo ownership in his experience, and why a Comfort Dental practice holds its value at sale in a way a solo practice often can’t.

For patients listening, the through-line is straightforward. Lower overhead means a doctor has room to meet patients where they are. Long hours and Saturday access mean care is available when it’s needed. High patient volume means doctors get more reps, which builds clinical skill. And as Dr. Bloss puts it at the end of the episode, every patient is the right kind of patient.

For dentists evaluating their next move, this is a candid look at the model from someone who watched it start.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Meet Dr. Mike Bloss, Comfort Dental OG
• 00:30 The 1991 ad in the CDA journal that started it all
• 02:05 Dr. Kushner the unicorn: clinical skill and entrepreneurship
• 04:30 Why dentistry’s hardest part is the people side
• 06:35 30+ years in practice and how Bloss avoided burnout
• 06:55 The NERD system explained
• 08:23 The “with or without you” energy of Comfort Dental doctors
• 09:30 Why solo practice is so hard to sustain
• 13:00 Becoming a franchise (and why it wasn’t planned)
• 17:50 The $500K to $800K dental school debt crisis
• 21:00 The $500 vs $200 copay story
• 22:42 How lower overhead enables clinical flexibility
• 25:30 Addressing the “mill” perception head-on
• 28:50 The ideal Comfort Dental doctor archetype
• 33:50 Why young dentists hesitate to bet on themselves
• 40:00 What dentistry is really like inside the model
• 44:30 The trial period and how to evaluate joining
• 47:30 Why retirement is harder for solo practitioners
• 48:30 How to contact Dr. Bloss directly
• 50:30 Every patient is the right kind of patient

Reach Dr. Bloss: cmbloss@comfortdental.biz | 303-862-2909

Dr. Jon Winnyk owns and practices at a Comfort Dental office in southeast Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from dental school on May 2, 2014, and started as a Comfort Dental partner exactly one week later. Twelve years in, his practice is built around same-day care, high-volume experience, and a mission to serve patients other offices turn away.

In this conversation with host Shawn Zajas, Dr. Winnyk shares the path that took him from wanting to be a weatherman to running one of the busiest practices in his area. He talks about the challenges of being a left-handed dentist, what it was like to shadow Comfort Dental doctors before buying in, and how he handled his peers’ skepticism about the business model. He explains why high patient volume has made him a better clinician, and why that matters for the people sitting in his chair.

He also opens up about what the work means to him now. He treats every patient like his own family. He has pulled his wife’s wisdom teeth, done his uncle’s implants, and a root canal on his best friend. He sees a large Medicaid population. He taught himself Spanish to serve his community directly. He regularly does pro bono work for patients who cannot afford treatment, including a root canal on a cancer patient who only had $100 to her name.

Dr. Winnyk walks through his approach to dental anxiety with a scary-movie analogy: if you know what is around the corner, it is not scary. He explains implants using a drywall screw. He tells the story of squeezing in a Friday afternoon root canal for a patient who had not slept in two days, and what it meant when the patient came back and called him the GOAT.

Outside the practice, he runs marathons and is training for his first Ironman. He has three kids. He keeps thank-you cards from patients on his shelf and looks at them every day.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:30 Why dentistry (weatherman to dental school)
• 01:53 Being left-handed in dental school
• 07:28 How Dr. Winnyk found Comfort Dental
• 09:40 Dispelling the “corporate” stereotype
• 12:35 Twelve years in, and what mastery looks like
• 14:56 The patient who called him the GOAT
• 19:06 Constructive criticism and the pain-free goal
• 22:45 “Treat you like family,” and the volume argument
• 28:05 Confidence, humility, and the weight of being a master
• 32:48 Pro bono work and the free-clinic background
• 35:49 The Columbus community and the team
• 39:14 Advice to his younger self, and learning Spanish
• 42:28 The stories that stay with him
• 44:05 Walking patients through procedures
• 46:35 The scary-movie analogy for dental anxiety
• 50:18 Thank-you cards on the shelf
• 51:06 Marathons, Ironman training, and life outside dentistry
• 53:14 Closing thoughts