Dr. Rick Kushner founded Comfort Dental in 1977. Fifty years later, the franchise has around 500 partner dentists across 10 states and is approaching half a billion in annual collections. In this conversation with Shawn Zajas, Dr. Kushner tells the full origin story for the first time on the show.

He walks through the years he practiced solo, the three associates who left him holding the bag, and the moment he decided to sell a half partnership to the dentist who stayed. He explains why he lowered his fees when every other dentist was raising theirs. He describes the lecture circuit where he watched the profession refuse Medicaid, refuse middle income families, and refuse the patients he was building his practice around. He talks about the personal background that shaped all of it, including the family dentist who saw him for free when his parents could not pay.

Dr. Kushner also addresses the misconceptions. Comfort Dental looks like a corporate chain from the outside. From the inside, every doctor owns their practice. He explains why the DSO model does not apply, why he predicted the rise of private equity dentistry 40 years ago, and why he still believes the partnership model is the only sustainable answer to the debt crisis facing new dentists today.

This is the foundational episode of the series. If you want to understand Comfort Dental, start here.

Chapters 00:00 Why Shawn wanted this conversation 00:45 The recruitment challenge and why partners outperform associates 06:14 The original solo practice and the watershed moment 09:34 Selling the first partnership to Dr. Eirik 14:26 The decision to franchise and the birth of the Comfort Dental name 17:33 Lecturing the profession and being told no 19:07 Why most dentistry leaves middle and lower income patients behind 20:03 Where it came from, the family story 27:04 Dental school as a means to an end 28:49 Building the Fantastic Five 30:53 Predicting the rise of DSOs 33:20 Doing the opposite of every other dentist 35:46 What Comfort Dental does for dentist income 38:30 Why most dentists will not work the hours 40:52 Hard work as the real catch 44:39 Why dentists burn out and why patients pay the price 48:42 What makes a successful Comfort Dental dentist 53:50 Why Comfort Dental is not a DSO 55:02 No community left behind 57:44 What is most misunderstood about Dr. Kushner 58:45 Advice to dentists who feel trapped 01:02:45 Doctor autonomy inside the franchise 01:04:16 Closing thoughts

Dr. Alex Kaiser of Comfort Dental in Montrose, Colorado joins Shawn Zajas for a conversation that gets at what it actually looks like to practice dentistry with honesty, compassion, and zero judgment.

Dr. Kaiser shares his unusual path to dentistry. A great family dentist. Five years in braces as a kid. Two years of missionary service. A master’s program at LECOM in Bradenton, Florida that gave him a second shot at dental school after he was waitlisted elsewhere. He talks openly about being more of an artist than a scientist, why he paints watercolors in his spare time, and how that creative instinct shows up in the way he restores teeth.

You will hear why denture cases are some of his favorite work, why his wife calls him the most honest person she has ever met, and how he learned to communicate as someone who grew up introverted and uncomfortable with public speaking. He also gets candid about the moments that test you as a young dentist, how he separates his professional and personal sides when a patient is unhappy, and why he chose Comfort Dental straight out of dental school.

There is a clear thread running through this conversation. Dr. Kaiser treats the person, not the tooth. He talks about patients who feel ashamed about their oral health, about being honest without being harsh, and about why no one should feel afraid to walk into his office.

If you have been putting off the dentist, or if you are looking for a doctor in Montrose who will treat you like a human being first, this episode will give you a real feel for who Dr. Kaiser is.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:22 Why dentistry: family dentist, five years in braces
• 04:09 Honest with patients about his own flossing
• 04:51 The path to dental school and LECOM’s master’s program
• 07:43 Artist or scientist: Dr. Kaiser on being a craftsperson
• 09:38 The shadowing moment that sealed his decision
• 10:47 Watercolor painting and Bob Ross
• 12:03 The gap between expectation and reality as a new dentist
• 15:32 Why honesty with patients matters when things go wrong
• 16:41 What he thinks about on the drive home
• 17:36 Why he loves denture cases
• 19:00 The denture story you have to hear from Dr. Colledge
• 20:35 Separating the professional from the personal
• 23:11 Why he picked Comfort Dental straight out of school
• 25:24 Betting on yourself with the ownership model
• 27:10 Caring for Medicaid and uninsured patients in Montrose
• 32:20 Finding the right practice fit on the first try
• 33:49 What patients can expect when they walk in
• 36:10 The high-leverage skill of building trust
• 37:53 Learning to communicate as an introvert
• 40:59 Treating the person, not the tooth
• 42:58 What he wishes every patient knew about oral health
• 45:37 A message for the patient who has been putting it off

Dr. Matthew Carlston leads doctor recruitment, expansion, and growth at Comfort Dental. In this episode, Shawn sits down with Dr. Carlston to break down what Comfort Dental actually is, why it gets confused with a DSO, and what the recruitment process looks like for doctors at any stage of their career.

The conversation covers the franchise structure, clinical autonomy, ownership pathways, and the specific math that flips a dental student from employee thinking to owner thinking. Dr. Carlston explains why the average Comfort Dental doctor stays for around 10 years, why students with more debt often outperform their peers, and why the company carries no private equity or venture capital.

Chapter markers below.

• 00:00 Cold open and introduction
• 00:00:58 The biggest myth: Comfort Dental as DSO
• 00:02:17 Why doctors stick around for 10 years on average
• 00:03:43 Scheduling, vacation, and the partner dynamic
• 00:05:52 The employee mindset problem with new graduates
• 00:07:47 Why dental school does not teach business
• 00:09:49 When the light bulb turns on for students
• 00:12:40 Targeting dentists three to five years out
• 00:14:35 Looking corporate, behaving like a franchise
• 00:16:23 Stories from dentists burned by DSOs
• 00:18:42 The Dr. Kushner principle: leave the majority on the table
• 00:19:36 Why Comfort Dental is not a DSO (no private equity, no VC)
• 00:21:56 The Comfort Dental doctor DNA
• 00:22:47 Mentoring and 50-plus combined years of clinical experience
• 00:25:04 Contrast is the mother of clarity
• 00:27:22 How new doctors ramp clinical confidence quickly
• 00:30:11 Transparency on numbers across 150-plus offices
• 00:34:08 The mindset that predicts success
• 00:36:29 Why students with more debt perform better
• 00:37:17 The recruitment paradox: why are there openings
• 00:40:00 Lower overhead and how it changes treatment plans
• 00:42:23 Why guarantee-focused candidates are usually wrong fits
• 00:44:04 What “that type of dentistry” misconception really means
• 00:45:21 People management as the hardest part of dental practice
• 00:47:39 The hygienist who walks back and the dentist is playing video games
• 00:50:33 Removing barriers for patients to access offices
• 00:52:11 Students who do not say no, they just stop responding
• 00:55:38 Where to learn more: comfortdentalfranchise.com
• 00:56:04 The quarterly Denver meetings explained
• 00:58:29 The Oregon doctor who did not care about the price
• 00:59:39 Next meeting and how to reach Dr. Carlston

• Comfort Dental Franchise: comfortdentalfranchise.com
• Email Dr. Carlston: mCarlston@comfortdental.biz
• Comfort Dental: comfortdental.com