How to Build a Dental Practice That Doesn’t Need You in Every Room
August 20, 2026
What if the best way to grow a dental practice is to stop building it around the dentist? In this episode of Made Locally, host Rahul Jaswa sits down with Chaz Vittitow, founder of The Local Dentist and The Dental Jumpstart, to explore how to build a practice around people, culture, and a patient experience that can thrive without the founder doing everything. From generating early momentum through word of mouth to hiring the right team and creating a sustainable business beyond his own reputation, Chaz shares what it really takes to turn a successful practice into a business built to last.
What if the biggest threat to a successful business is when it becomes too dependent on its founder? In this episode of Made Locally, host Rahul Jaswa sits down with Chaz Vittitow, founder of The Local Dentist and The Dental Jumpstart, to explore what it really takes to build a practice that can grow beyond the person at the center of it.
Chaz shares how he built momentum from the very beginning, growing from just two chairs to a fully booked seven-operatory practice through reputation, word of mouth, and a strong focus on creating an exceptional patient experience. Rather than relying on traditional marketing alone, he explains how relationships and delivering consistently for patients helped create the kind of local reputation that compounds over time.
The conversation then moves beyond growth into one of the biggest challenges for founder-led businesses: letting go. Chaz explains why finding and developing the right people is essential to implementing a business playbook, and why keeping people who aren't aligned with the vision can quietly hold an organization back.
Ultimately, this episode is about understanding that the right people, culture, and leadership systems are what really allow a successful company to keep growing.
What You'll Learn:
- Why a business shouldn't depend entirely on its founder
- How Chaz built early momentum through reputation and word of mouth
- Why patient experience can become one of your strongest marketing channels
- Why finding the right people matters as much as having the right playbook
- The leadership challenge of hiring, developing, and letting go of employees
- How to build a brand that customers trust beyond the personality of the founder
- Why sustainable growth requires people who can implement the vision
- How entrepreneurial success changes when you shift from doing everything yourself to leading others
- The difference between creating a successful practice and creating a business that can last
Dr. Charles “Chaz” Vittitow is a dentist, entrepreneur, speaker, and coach, and the founder of The Local Dentist in Bellingham, Washington, and The Dental Jumpstart, where he helps dentists build more profitable, sustainable practices with greater freedom and less dependence on traditional insurance models. A former U.S. Navy Dental Corps officer, Chaz combines hands-on practice experience with a practical, no-nonsense approach to leadership, business growth, and lifestyle design.
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