Course Description

While the clinical evidence for minimally invasive dentistry continues to grow, many practitioners wonder whether this approach is financially sustainable. This presentation demonstrates that minimally invasive dentistry is not only clinically superior but also economically viable and scalable.

This presentation will explore the economic realities of minimally invasive dentistry from a provider perspective, including how practices can remain financially viable while dramatically reducing reliance on complex surgical procedures. Dr. Norris will address common concerns about reimbursement, productivity metrics, and practice overhead, demonstrating how a team-based approach that maximizes scope of practice for hygienists and assistants can increase efficiency and access while maintaining strong margins. Participants will learn how minimally invasive care creates a sustainable business model by improving patient retention, reducing no-show rates, increasing treatment acceptance, and allowing providers to serve more patients without sacrificing quality of care.

The presentation provides actionable insights relevant to dentists, dental therapists, hygienists, practice administrators, and policy advocates seeking to transform dental care delivery.

Educational Objectives

1. Understand the financial sustainability model for minimally invasive dentistry practices, including how to maintain profitability while serving high-Medicaid populations
2. Identify strategies for implementing minimally invasive dentistry approaches while maintaining or improving practice profitability and patient access
3. Recognize how minimally invasive care simultaneously addresses access, cost, and outcome challenges in modern dental practice
4. Apply practical implementation strategies for scaling minimally invasive approaches in diverse practice settings, including team-based care models and maximizing scope of practice for all team members
5. Evaluate the business case for transitioning from traditional surgical-focused models to minimally invasive, medically-focused approaches

Biography:

Jonny Norris, DDS, Diplomate ABPD

Dr. Jonny Norris is a board-certified pediatric dentist and co-founder of Montshire Pediatric Dentistry, a family-owned practice network serving nearly 30,000 active patients across New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts. Dr. Norris has built a national reputation for demonstrating that minimally invasive dentistry is not only clinically superior but also financially sustainable, particularly when serving underserved populations.

Dr. Norris graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry and served in the United States Air Force, where he completed a general dentistry residency at the Air Force Academy. After his military service, he pursued specialized training in pediatric dentistry.

He completed his pediatric dental residency in Anchorage, Alaska, where he gained extensive experience managing severe early childhood caries in a highly surgical environment. Each week, Dr. Norris was in the operating room treating children as young as one to three years old who had been flown in from remote villages. At the time, he wore his surgical prowess as a badge of honor, earning the nickname “Johnny Rocket” for his technical skill and efficiency.

After moving to New England in 2016, Dr. Norris joined six hospitals to provide sedation dentistry, believing he was following best practices. However, after a year of intensive work, he realized he wasn’t making a dent in the childhood caries epidemic. In 2017, a colleague invited him to a continuing education course on Silver Diamine Fluoride. That six-hour lecture changed everything. Dr. Norris spent the weekend reading over 60 research articles, experiencing what he describes as a “religious conversion.” The following Monday, he transformed his practice with one guiding principle: “We will exhaust the least invasive options first before jumping to more invasive ones.”

Starting with just 11 patients in a small two-chair practice in Keene, New Hampshire in 2018, Dr. Norris built Montshire Pediatric Dentistry alongside his co-founder Dr. Colin Boswell. Today, Montshire serves a predominantly Medicaid population (60%) while maintaining profitability and has achieved a 90% reduction in sedation dentistry cases. The practice has transformed treatment paradigms, converting plans that often cost thousands of dollars into medical management approaches at a fraction of the cost.

Dr. Norris is a recognized advocate for minimally invasive dentistry and healthcare policy reform. He has challenged the profession’s focus on increasing operating room capacity, demonstrating that the solution to the childhood caries crisis is “less surgery, not more.” His work bridges clinical innovation and public health impact, proving that evidence-based minimally invasive care can be delivered profitably to underserved populations.

Dr. Norris is on a mission to help one million children across the United States by 2032 and to fundamentally change the face of dentistry through evidence-based, compassionate, minimally invasive approaches.

Earn 1.5 continuing dental education credits with this course