In the world of dentistry, many practice owners fall into the same trap: do more, see more patients, hustle harder. The dream of running a thriving practice turns into a hamster wheel — full schedules, packed days, and no time to breathe.
Dr. Sully Sullivan knows that reality all too well.
When Sully graduated from dental school in 2015, he joined his father’s solo practice. At first, it seemed like the ideal setup — mentorship, a steady patient base, and the security of family. But it didn’t take long for the cracks to show. His dad wasn’t ready to step back, and Sully was ready to step forward. They faced the tough challenge of growing a practice where only one dentist had ever worked.
Sully got connected with the right mentors and the right ideas. Through high-level CE and relationships with thought leaders like Dr. Tarun “T-Bone” Agarwal, he saw a different path — not one of volume and burnout, but one of leverage and intention.
Rather than growing by adding patients, he grew by adding value per patient. Dental implants. Adult aligners. Endo. Sleep apnea treatment. His patient base stayed the same, but revenue and results exploded.
“Implants changed my career,” Sully shared. “It was the one thing I didn’t realize would be so life-changing — for me and the patient.”
Before stepping into the dental world, Stacy spent 10 years with Jenny Craig, where she sold emotional transformation, not just weight loss. She quickly realized the same principles applied in the dental implant world.
“Both decisions are emotional,” she explains. “They’re coming in ashamed, embarrassed, scared… and unsure if they’re even worthy of change. You don’t sell by showing them scans—you connect by understanding their story.”
Even with high-level procedures under his belt, Sully realized a truth most dentists never do: being too successful at everything can become a bottleneck. He had built a business reliant on himself. The only way to grow further was to step out of the chair.
“Dentists think, if I’m not doing the dentistry, I’m giving money away. But actually, if I replace myself and shift to doing higher-value work — full-arch instead of single-unit, for example — I grow.”
With that mindset, Sully and his team grew from one doctor to six. He built a system that worked without him, allowing him to drop his kids off at school, take time off, and focus on the kind of dentistry he wanted to do.
That experience planted the seed for 3D Dentists, a mastermind-driven CE and coaching program that helps other dentists do the same. From air mattresses in T-Bone’s living room to a full-blown national movement, the program helps burned-out dentists shift from dental jobs to dental businesses.
“Most of the docs we work with are successful,” he says. “But they’re tired. They’re still doing dental school-level work, running around all day, and wondering why they’re so unfulfilled.”
The 3D Dentists mastermind helps them slow down, recalibrate, and build the vision of the practice they actually want. The community, accountability, and structure of the program stand out in a sea of digital-only, cookie-cutter CE.
Unlike typical consultants, Sully and T-Bone are still in the trenches. Their program begins with a visit to Sully’s practice in Tennessee, where dentists see their workflows in real time. No Instagram filters — just the raw, real business of running a team, seeing patients, and managing operations.
“You’ve got to find someone whose results you want,” Sully explains. “Not just someone with a platform — someone who lives what they teach.”
Your past success could be what’s holding you back. If you’re a dentist who’s built something solid but wants more time, freedom, and fulfillment, it may be time to stop doing more… and start doing different.
Because building a practice that runs without you isn’t just possible. It’s happening, and Sully is proof.
🎧 Listen to the full podcast episode with Dr. Sully Sullivan and Chayden Young now.
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