“Never go backward. Attempt, and do it with all your might. Determination is power.”
—Charles Simmons
Each time Aaron Strickland, DDS, watches the sun rise in his hometown of Columbus, Indiana, he sees the flecks of orange, gold, and red that peek through the muted colors of dawn. The breathtaking display of nature reminds him of how—in his own life—determination in the face of adversity has led to his most significant success. Born with a cleft lip and palate, Dr. Strickland recalls being bullied in school. By the age of 18, he had endured 18 separate cleft palate surgeries. Instead of becoming discouraged, he chose to be inspired. He set out to become a dentist so he could show people they could get their teeth taken care of without pain.
“There’s nothing else on your body that stands out as much as your face,” says Dr. Strickland. “I thought, ‘I could help people fix their teeth as well as help them figure out things. I could get them on the right track without being embarrassed, scared, or fearful.’”
But when a bizarre patient crisis in 2016 threatened to bring down his practice, Dr. Strickland was tested again. The incident drew media scrutiny, caused one staff member to leave, and attracted national attention. Yet it was his determined mindset, which originated in childhood, that kept his business afloat and led to a turning point.
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In 2005, after earning two bachelor’s degrees and completing dental school, Dr. Strickland became a practicing dentist. In 2009, he returned to his hometown in Indiana to open his own practice. He launched White River Dental while working simultaneously at another office. At the time, the economy was in crisis. Dr. Strickland had to focus to keep things afloat. But since its inception, White River Dental has benefited from a culture of relentless improvement. For six years, Dr. Strickland sometimes worked seven days a week to reinvest in and grow his practice. Wanting to avoid stunted growth and being a “doc-in-a-box,” he chose to work with Jay Geier and Atlanta-based Scheduling Institute to build his team and a stronger practice. Things started to look brighter and brighter.
“The help of my team and [the] mentorship were critical to our growth,” he says. “Things were getting bigger and better. Our new patient numbers were getting higher, and our production and collections were all rolling significantly. By 2016, we were in a ‘the future’s so bright, you gotta wear shades’ kind of moment.”
Then, just days before Dr. Strickland broke ground on a new, 7,500–sq. ft. building, a patient falsely claimed that he received a treatment by Dr. Strickland that he had not agreed to. The patient also claimed that complications from the procedure sent him to the hospital, leaving him to relearn how to talk and eat. The patient threatened to file a lawsuit.
The situation further deteriorated. An in-home interview featuring the patient with his wife by his side was aired on Indianapolis local news. The video was uploaded to YouTube. The account of the patient’s experience garnered an extraordinary number of views. Dr. Strickland was unable to comment on the claims due to HIPAA laws, and his patient count dropped 12%.
Even though the alleging patient could not get a lawyer to take the case, the bank that had provided the loan on his new building wanted to delay the project. The stress from the publicity and subsequent upheaval caused employees to quit.