’Walk the Talk’ is a popular catch phrase used in business and beyond, but for some, having an inner drive to put actions to words is built in. For those few, it’s about walking the walk and never talking. Dr. Michael Tran is one of those people. When speaking to him recently he admitted that looking up from what he is doing now often makes him feel a little surprised. Michael’s story has a lot of interesting chapters, and he’s had to persevere through some tough challenges along the way. That perseverance has resulted in a young, yet well-rounded beyond his years, dentist building a legacy in the dental field with a wealth of knowledge and a whole new perspective on the industry.
An Insatiable Desire to Learn Fuels Everything
Dr. Tran always knew he wanted to be in the medical field because it was a great fit for the servant nature and heart for helping others he was born with. When he learned that he had the best chance to own his own practice if he chose dental versus other medical field options, he decided to give it a shot. At first there was a lot of uncertainty starting something new, but after attending just a few classes Michael was fascinated by the complexity and science behind the amazing services and technologies that dentists are able to provide for patients now. He was immediately hooked, and when he gets an interest in something that he wants to know everything about, everything is what he’ll eventually know about it. Having a reputation for never accepting the status quo and just doing the basic requirements, he looked into how he could become exposed to more advanced information and education in his chosen field. He discovered there was a program close to where he grew up in Sugar Land, Texas. He soon applied for the program at Houston’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD), where he was accepted.
This is when the story went from being about a student in dental school who took a thorough and meticulous approach to everything, to that student being recognized as a budding industry leader. During his studies at AEGD, he was awarded the Critical Thinking award for his class. Throughout the semester the program’s professor asked tough questions and made note of every time a question was answered correctly. In admiration of Michael’s commitment to his studies and knowing the information, the professor even went on to call the honor the ‘Smartest Resident’ award. His peers also recognized his leadership by making him President of the school’s student organization. This is a real world example of where ‘knowing your stuff’ resulted in an individual naturally falling into and embracing leadership roles.
When Dental Student Became Teacher
After getting brushed up on the ‘book smart’ side of dental, Michael knew that the next level would be to understand the clinical side of the practice inside out. Early on he realized that although there are amazing services and technologies that are available to dentists and patients today, it would be his knowledge of them, and how he used them to create the most advanced, comfortable experiences possible for his patients that would pave the way for industry leadership. He decided to take a one week course with Hiossen AIC. By being exposed to Michael, this is when it became clear to the other students and even faculty that Michael isn’t sitting at home watching the latest Netflix series when he isn’t in class. His natural surgical abilities, including his ability to understand procedures, plan, and perform them, resulted in the school asking him to become a part of the faculty. Michael is well below the average age of the other Hiossen AIC faculty members, and most are specialized doctors in advanced medicine versus a general practice dentist. He is a true anomaly and living example of how hard work and a commitment to being the most knowledgeable in your field can be a great path to success. The Hiossen surgical courses are now taught, live-recorded and televised in Dr. Tran’s FLOSS Dental offices, and he often teaches them.
A Litte Preparation Defied All Odds
This portion of the article hits rewind to a time when Dr. Michael Tran was just getting started with a FLOSS Dental office of his own. Like every other great story this one has a pivot, or turning point, and the FLOSS Dental story does, too. When Michael got to a point where he felt he had learned enough to properly care for patients, he started to knock on every door he hoped it would take to open his own practice. He had many doors slammed in his face along the way, and quickly learned it would be a challenge to secure funding with only educational experience listed as his background on his resume. But his approach to life and desire that lies beneath his eyes was seen by Dr. Clint Herzog when they first met. When there seemed to be no opportunity for someone with Michael’s lack of real world experience, his putting in overtime every day up until that point was about to pay off. Dr. Herzog found a failed practice in Magnolia, Texas and an opportunity was made. Dr. Tran breathed new energy and life into the practice and another strongly performing unit in the FLOSS Dental portfolio was born and quickly built up.
Street Cred With Many ‘Streets’
At FLOSS Dental they now think of adding practices to the company’s portfolio of locations as the real world lab under the company’s microscope just growing larger and larger. Put another way, how great is your ‘street cred’ really, if you are only operating on one ‘block’. By having multiple FLOSS locations and increasing the territory of the brand, Dr. Tran’s perspective on what gives patients the best experience is expanding and becoming more diverse with each new location. By having access to more and more patients, Michael is able to get more feedback in the field than any one-unit dental practice is ever able to get. Admittedly, some days this amount of feedback can be overwhelming, but Dr. Tran wouldn’t have it any other way. He thinks of the overall FLOSS Dental mission as carefully growing a large, work-together family. Coming from a large, close-knit family at home, he knows it all comes with growing pains. Michael says this is what makes it all fun. And speaking of street cred, at this point the number of great, talented people that make up the FLOSS family would be a force to reckon with in any friendly competition if you ever got them all in one place.
About FLOSS Dental:
FLOSS Dental is the fastest growing retail dental brand with headquarters in Houston, Texas. Their success is underpinned by the brand’s promise to always provide A New Experience in Dental. With almost a dozen units operating in north Texas and beyond, the company has been making consistent investments in growing the brand nationwide. New FLOSS locations are currently being developed in Georgia, Ohio, and the US Virgin Islands. For information on Floss Dental visit flossdental.com, and FLOSS franchising visit flossfranchise.com.
