816: The 5 Most Important Questions in 2025 – Dr. Jim McKee

If you want to enjoy dentistry, there are five questions you need to answer this year — and every year! To help you sustain a thriving practice, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Jim McKee, founder of Chicago Study Club, to share the five most important questions he wished he knew to answer early in his career. To learn how you can set a positive tone for your practice before the new year, listen to Episode 816 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Dr. McKee:

• Send Dr. McKee an email: jim@mckeedds.com 
• Join Dr. McKee on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.mckee.104
• Register for Dr. McKee’s TMD Online course: https://courses.phelandentalseminars.com/tmd-pds
• Register for Dr. McKee’s Advanced Occlusion workshop: https://campus.speareducation.com/workshops/advanced-occlusion/details/syllabus
• Register for Dr. McKee’s occlusion seminar: https://campus.speareducation.com/seminars/demystifying-occlusion-1/details/syllabus
• Learn about Chicago Study Club: https://chicagostudyclub.com

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
• Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
• See the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/event
• Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
• Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Episode Resources:

• Watch the video version of Episode 816: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos

Main Takeaways:

• Answer these five questions to set the tone for your practice.
• Figure out the rooms and layout you need for your practice’s space.
• Think about how many team members you need and what to pay them.
• Go to study clubs. It is a more efficient CE experience than meetings alone.
• Know the cost to run your business so you know how much to charge patients.
• Have a strategy for getting patients — your ideal patients — through your doors.
• Consider the skill sets you want and need in order to attract above-the-line patients.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:16 The genesis of the five questions.

3:56 How am I going to design my physical plant, and how much space do I need?

14:42 How many staff members do I need to hire, and how much should I pay them?

23:29 What are you going to do, and how are you going to get trained to do it?

29:33 How much are you going to charge?

35:16 How am I going to get patients to come in the door?

39:16 Below-the-line and above-the-line patients, explained.

43:36 How am I going to get patients to come in the door? Continued.

52:47 Final thoughts.

55:42 About Dr. McKee’s future courses and Chicago Study Club.

Dr. Jim McKee Bio:

Dr. Jim McKee is a member of the Spear Resident Faculty. He has maintained a private practice since 1984 in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he treats a wide variety of cases with a focus on predictable restorative dentistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry and former president of the American Equilibration Society. He has lectured both nationally and internationally for over 25 years and directs several study clubs. Dr. McKee graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1980 and earned his dental degree from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1984.