June 6, 2025 • 38 mins
The disconnect between oral health and overall wellness represents one of modern healthcare's most significant blind spots. In this riveting conversation, Dr Kelly Blodgett takes us beyond traditional dentistry into the revolutionary world of biological dental care where your mouth isn't treated as a separate entity from your body.
Dr Blodgett shares the pivotal moments that transformed his practice from conventional dentistry to a biological approach—including the striking case of a patient whose energy dramatically improved immediately after root canal removal, and his own father's development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the drainage pathway of four infected root canal-treated teeth. These experiences catalysed his mission to help patients understand the profound connections between oral health and systemic wellbeing.
What sets Blodgett Dental Care apart isn't just clinical excellence but a fundamental shift in patient communication. Rather than telling patients what they "need," Dr Blodgett begins with a revolutionary question: "What are your goals for your oral health and whole body health?" This patient-centered framework creates partnership rather than hierarchy, replacing mystery with transparency through advanced diagnostic technologies that allow patients to truly see and understand their oral conditions.
The results speak volumes—wheelchair-bound patients walking independently after treatment, dramatic energy improvements, and renewed hope for those previously dismissed by conventional practitioners. Dr Blodgett's practice demonstrates that when dentistry addresses the biological impact of dental materials, infection, and energetic disruptions, transformative healing becomes possible.
Looking ahead, Dr Blodgett discusses his forthcoming book "Feel Whole Again," which champions the value of patients' subjective experiences and intuition in healthcare. His message resonates beyond dentistry, challenging all healthcare providers to listen deeply to patients and recognize the profound intelligence of the human body.
Whether you're struggling with unexplained health issues possibly connected to oral health, seeking a more holistic approach to dental care, or simply curious about biological dentistry's principles, this conversation offers illuminating insights into how we might reimagine healthcare from the perspective of interconnected bodily systems rather than isolated symptoms.
📇 Guest Contact & Social Links (for episode bio)
- Name: Dr. Kelly J. Blodgett, DMD, NMD, IBDM
- Clinic: Blodgett Dental Care
- Instagram: @blodgettdentalcare
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kelly-j-blodgett-dmd-nmd-a92ab85/
- Email: info@bdcpdx.com
- Book (Coming Soon): Feel Whole Again — Launching October 2025
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:03):
Welcome back to Voices in Health and
Wellness.
This is the podcast where wefeature practitioners and clinic
leaders who are challenging thenorm, adapting to a rapidly
changing environment anddelivering results in powerful
new ways.
Today's guest is one of thoserare clinicians who not only
delivers incredible patientoutcomes, but also educates,
advocates and leads by example.
So I'm really delighted todayto be joined by Dr Kelly
(00:24):
Blodgett, a pioneer in the fieldof biological and integrative
dentistry.
He's the founder of BlodgettDental Care in Portland, oregon,
where the focus isn't just onfixing teeth but understanding
on how oral health impacts theentire body and mind.
He's known globally for histransparency in clinical care,
deep patient trust and aneducational approach that's
redefining what dental wellnesscan look like.
(00:46):
So, kelly, thank you very muchfor your time and joining us on
the show this afternoon.
Dr Kelly Blodgett (00:51):
Thank you, Andrew.
I appreciate it.
This will be a lot of fun.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:54):
I hope so.
So maybe we can kick off and wecan start from the top.
Could you tell us a little bitabout your role, your clinic and
how it's sort of come to be?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (01:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I actually bought thepractice back in 2001 from a guy
I'd known for years, just thetiming was right, you know, so I
bought it.
It was a very traditionalpractice, you know solid,
foundational dentistry, and partof my life story is that I was
(01:25):
called to reverse the negativestereotype of dentistry, kind of
through my own spiritualjourney.
And so after I bought thepractice, I started looking for
ways to shift how peopleexperience their dental care,
and that really started off witha lot of technological stuff
which meant, from a businessperspective, you know, how do
you shift how people experiencetheir dental care?
And that really started offwith a lot of technological
(01:45):
stuff which meant, from abusiness perspective, you know,
how do you, how do you invest inthese things?
For me that meant more debtbecause you know I didn't have
the cash laying around to buy it.
So I had to develop a businessplan in terms of how do I
implement these strategies,these, these new clinical
protocols so probably about 15,.
(02:08):
My first 15 years in practicewas really stepping into the
field of dental technologylasers, single visit, crowns,
things like that, making patientcare more efficient and more
comfortable, arguably, ifsomebody only has to get numb
once instead of twice for aprocedure.
That's kind of nice.
And then the past decade I'vespent more time and energy
(02:32):
focusing on the biological sideof dentistry, which went more
investment in education andtechnologies, things like that.
So I've been practicing now 26years and I got to say I mean
I'm having more fun and seeingsignificantly healthier patients
(02:52):
because of all the technologiesand biology practices that
we're now implementing, which issuper exciting and fun.
It's neat to see people finally, you know, having extremely
positive experiences in an oralhealthcare setting.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:09):
Amazing.
So was there a turning pointthat pushed you towards
biological dentistryspecifically?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (03:15):
Yeah, there were two patients specifically.
One was a woman who called myoffice and her story was you
know, I have two root canals andever since I had these root
canals done, my health hasgotten worse.
And I am positive that they arenegatively impacting my health.
(03:37):
And I've seen five otherdentists and nobody's going to
nobody will take them out.
Would you guys be open totaking out my root canals?
And I was like, well gosh,nobody had ever asked me that
before.
And after we met with her andtalked about the pros and cons
advantages, disadvantages shedecided to have them taken out.
(03:57):
And it was probably thepost-surgery visit two weeks
later where it really hit me,and it hit my team, that we had
done something that wasmassively helpful for her health
.
I mean, when she first came in,she just looked unhealthy.
I mean, her coloring washorrible, she had no energy.
(04:19):
She came back two weeks laterand was, just, you know,
exploding with energy and shefelt so great and she even said,
you know, it was the momentthat the last root came out.
She could tell a shift in herenergy immediately.
And it was one of those thingsthat somebody says where I'm
like, wow, you know how manytimes have I maybe heard
(04:40):
somebody say you know, I feltdifferent since I had this
dental procedure and I reallydidn't understand what their
body was trying to tell me.
So that was kind of a pivotalshifting point.
And the second scenario was thatmy own father had four root
canal treated teeth and he hadbeen seeing my brother for a
(05:02):
number of years and when mybrother moved out of state he
started seeing me.
And when I did his 3D cone beamscan I noticed all four of his
left-sided molars that were rootcanal were all abscessed.
And I'm like geez, you know,even from a traditional dental
standpoint this doesn't lookvery good.
And he kind of hemmed and hawedand said well, you know, let me
(05:23):
think about taking them out.
I'm kind of concerned that Iwouldn't be able to chew.
I mean, that's a practicalconcern.
Well, within six months hedeveloped non-hodgkin's lymphoma
of the left cervical chain ofhis neck, which is what drains
that space of his head.
So I'm like this is not good,dad you know.
So I asked him if I could gowith him to his oncologist visit
, took the cone beam with me,shared it with the oncologist
(05:48):
and the oncologist was likethose teeth have to come out.
That's most likely the cause ofwhy he has this cancer, and it
was at that point that I'm likeman.
It's time for me to reinvest,relearn, keep growing and that's
been probably a decade ago nowand it's I just keep learning.
(06:10):
I mean, every month I'm offsomewhere else learning.
Right now I'm in a biologicalbone grafting residency out of
Tufts University in Boston andit's exciting.
I mean it's just exciting asmore and more people are
becoming aware of theconnectedness of health and, go
figure, they're starting toactually think and realize their
(06:32):
mouth is connected to theirbody.
So it's an exciting time to befocusing on this.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:38):
Amazing.
So how do you explain yourmodel of care to a patient who's
only ever experiencedtraditional dental care?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (06:45):
model of care to a patient who's only ever
experienced traditional dentalcare.
Yeah, I try to put it verysimply.
I would say that mosthealthcare and this would be
inclusive of traditionaldentistry is very symptoms
driven.
We're looking at oh there's ahole in the tooth, let's drill
it and fill it.
You know there's someinflammation in the gums, you
know we'll just scrape away thetartar and call it good.
(07:06):
And rarely are we askingquestions about like tell me
about your stress levels, tellme about your diet, tell me
about your family history,things like this.
Um so, in comparison, insteadof being symptomatically driven,
I would say that biological andholistic approaches to oral
health is more systems driven,looking at whole health.
(07:28):
You know, like yourgastrointestinal system, your
nervous system, even yourmindset.
You know what you tell yourselfabout your own health and your
body's ability to be healthy.
That's the primarydifferentiator, in my opinion,
and most people who want topursue optimal health really
(07:48):
understand that perspective.
Dr Andrew Greenland (07:51):
Got it?
And what shifts are you seeingin the dental field in general?
I mean, especially as I guessmore patients are seeking out
the more wellness-orientatedcare?
What are you noticing?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (08:03):
Yeah, good question.
I would say that I think, likedental materials and root canals
are becoming something that youknow, thankfully, there's a lot
of mainstream, big social mediapeople who are, you know,
finally saying gosh, maybe theseroot canals aren't so great,
(08:27):
you know, and it's not to saythat every root canal is the
worst thing in the world.
I mean, there are appropriatetimes for it, of course, but you
can't kill a tooth and leave adead, infected organ sitting in
living bone and not have yourbody respond to it.
So I think the word throughsocial media, through podcasts,
(08:48):
like what you're doing which Iapplaud that you, that you're
doing this is so helpful tospread the word.
People are becoming aware andthey're starting to think more
critically.
I think, you know, going throughthe COVID experience as a
global experience was a greattime for people to start
thinking about how can Ioptimize my own body health and
(09:12):
energetic health so that I'mbest prepared when things like
you know, scary viruses andstuff like that come around.
Um, yeah, the word's justgetting out, uh, and there are
more things to come.
I mean, as I mentioned, I'mdoing this, doing this bone
health and bone graftingcontinuum right now.
That's something that whichreally has not yet hit the main
(09:34):
social media stage, but it willbe.
Certainly it's going to be abig part of my social media
communication over the next year.
But yeah, people are becomingmore aware, which is it's great.
I mean, people come to me andthey're like I want help and
it's like that's so much easierto help somebody who is ready
(09:54):
for it and prepared for itemotionally and physically than
when we see something and say,hey, I see a problem, but
they're not yet aware.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:02):
So so are people coming to?
I guess people are coming toyou more informed, or are they
more confused than before,because with all the information
and have you out there.
Dr Kelly Blodgett (10:14):
Definitely more informed Part of what has.
From a business standpoint, oneof the most valuable changes I
made in my practice seven and ahalf years ago is I hired a
woman named Heidi who is anexcellent communicator, and I
created a position which I callmy new patient coordinator.
(10:38):
So her primary role is tocommunicate via phone and email
with people who are seeking ourpractice and, honestly, I mean
we probably give more people thenames of other practices that
can be helpful because they'recalling from around the world,
you know.
So if they're in the UK, youknow, I know probably three good
(11:00):
practices there where I can saywell, we've had people go to
these practices and had greatexperiences.
Most of the people who comethrough my front door as a new
patient, they've alreadylistened to, you know, a dozen
podcasts I've been on, they'veread through my website.
They've, you know, justgathered so much information and
(11:21):
they've allowed themselves toacknowledge that what they feel
intuitively has value for them.
So, yeah, I mean people who are, generally speaking, people who
come to us are ready to moveforward with getting healthier.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:39):
Very cool.
You sound like you're verytechnologically focused.
You've talked about a lot ofkit that you have.
How is it sort of changing theway that you diagnose and
educate patients with the kitthat you have?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (11:51):
Yeah, well, I would say I mean gosh.
The extent of technologicalintegration done over the last
25 years is crazy.
Last 25 years is crazy.
What it what it allows for usto do, both from a patient
communication and education sideand a treatment side.
(12:12):
It allows for much greaterwhat's the word I'm looking for
Like integration of the patient,so like to take a step back.
One of the things we changedfive years ago was we stopped
doing all clinical care one daya week and we made it
exclusively a day for newpatients.
(12:34):
So every Monday in my practiceis a new patient day.
That's all we do on Mondays,and we extended the amount of
time of each one of thoseexperiences to two hours so that
we have plenty of time.
There's no compressed timearound having that initial
conversation, of learning theirstory.
(12:56):
What is it that they'veexperienced, what are their
goals, what do they hope to feellike in a year or two years or
five years or whatever and as itrelates to gathering clinical
data three-dimensional cone beam, ct scans, full patient
photography with, you know, dslrcameras, so that they can see
(13:20):
exactly what I see we're kind oferasing the experience of
mystery that most peopleexperience when they go to a
dentist, you know, a dentisttells them oh, you got a cavity
and a crack in a tooth and youneed a filling and a crown.
And they have no context for it, they can't see it, they don't
understand it, they're justgoing by trusting the dentist,
(13:42):
whereas we, we integrate thepatient into the experience.
They become knowledgeable andinformed.
So those kinds of technologiesthat make things more visible, I
think, have really helpedpatients feel comfortable with
what they're saying yes to doingOn the treatment side.
(14:05):
Because of the fact that I canprint teeth, I can mill teeth, I
can, you know, use surgicalguides, so I'm not guessing
where I'm putting implants whenI'm replacing teeth.
I can, you know, reallyrejuvenate a mouth in one visit,
you know, with a patient who'sworking with a dental
(14:26):
anesthesiologist.
They can take a nap, they canwake up, their oral health is
revived.
And it's pretty magical when weactually take control of not
doing just a tooth or two butremoving all sources of
infection and energeticdisruption.
We see people who like,literally, they might be coming
(14:47):
in in a wheelchair because theycan't walk, you know their,
their body's so fatigued and thenext day they walk in on their
own two feet for their post-opvisit.
Um, it's pretty magical, butthat's admittedly it has taken a
ridiculous amount of time andenergy and money, um, to stick
with it.
You know I'm pretty geeky aboutthis stuff, I guess, but it's a
(15:09):
ton of fun.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:11):
Sounds amazing.
What do you think, what do youwish more of your peers could
understand about patienteducation?
Perhaps you know those in thetraditional dental sector
because obviously you're moreenlightened, you have a much
more integrated, holisticapproach.
But what do you, what would youwish more of your peers could
understand?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (15:27):
I think.
Thank you, that is a greatquestion.
I wish that they understood thedifference between telling
somebody something and askingthem something.
So what that looks like.
In the communication style thatI built in my practices, we
(15:49):
start with the question you know, what are your goals for your
dental health, your oral healthand your whole body health?
What would you like to see bedifferent in the future than it
is today?
And so when somebody canclarify for us these are the
things that I want to experienceand these are the dental things
(16:09):
I'd like done, then we aremerely facilitating the
solutions to the issues they'realready saying they want to
change.
The reality is that mosthealthcare practices they
address communication from theperspective of we are the
(16:29):
experts, you are not.
I'm going to tell you what youneed, which I can't stand that
phrase because you know I got totell you.
I mean people will argue withme on this, but people don't
need teeth, you know.
I mean I have patients withdentures and they're really nice
people and they live a goodlife.
So I mean you can.
(16:49):
You can function in lifewithout a set of teeth.
Obviously it's ideal to keepthem, you know, if you can.
But the difference betweentelling and asking is so the
energetic difference of that isso different.
So what we are trying to embodyat my practice is being on an
even level with our patients.
(17:10):
My brand promise for ourpractice is human beings,
helping human beings.
We are no different than anyother person coming in here.
We have obviously some veryunique and specified knowledge
and experience in dental healththat's biologically based, but
I'm not an expert in that humanbeing.
They're the expert inthemselves, and so I wish that
(17:33):
healthcare providers overallcould appreciate the value of
asking for the goals thatsomebody wants to achieve and
then helping them achieve that,rather than being forceful.
Dr Andrew Greenland (17:48):
That's a good answer.
What's the most misunderstoodpart of your work in biological
dentistry?
Do you think?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (18:03):
do you think, oh man, well, mostly it's from.
It's from, uh, other dentalproviders who have yet to
understand that all that stuffthey learned their first two
years of dental school biology,biochemistry, microbiology,
physics that that all of thatactually matters.
You know, um, when we leaveinfected teeth and living
jawbone, your immune system willunderstand that and it will
(18:27):
have an impact on a person'shealth.
To think otherwise is, in myopinion, just crazy.
But you know, there arerecognized um, there are
recognized expert bodies.
You know American DentalAssociation, the American
Association of Endodontists,where they're still clinging to
(18:48):
the idea that putting mercury ina person's mouth can be healthy
or that leaving infected teethin a person's head is safe, and
they'll use the phrasing that islike well, the people who say
that root canals aren't healthy.
You know that science has beendiscredited.
(19:11):
They're not saying that, it'snot true, they're just saying
that we, as the authority issaying that we don't lend, we
don't give credence to that, andI think it's unfortunate.
But I think that over time,when we look at how change
occurs, we understand that, dueto the psycho-emotional issues
(19:33):
of all human beings, most peoplewant to resist change until so
many people have gotten movingthat then we go.
Oh well, of course we alreadyknew that, you know.
So I don't.
I wish I could say that in thenext five to 10 years, a more
biologically minded approach tooral health would really, you
(19:57):
know, everybody get on board.
Sadly, I don't imagine it'llhappen in my in my professional
career, but I I'm hopeful that,um, I I've seen today, compared
to 10 years ago when I startedon this journey, more and more
dentists starting to show up,more and more dentists
(20:17):
pingingists, pinging me on mysocial media accounts to say,
hey, I see what you're doingthere.
I'm kind of curious, wherecould I start reading books and
learning about this?
So I mean, I think that'shopeful.
I mean, the day that dentalschools start actually
recognizing how important abiologically-minded approach to
(20:37):
oral health care is important, Ithink that'll be really cool.
And a couple of well, at leastTufts University in Boston is
starting to offer somebiologically-based classes.
So I mean that's forwardprogress.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:52):
It's forward progress, but I guess
there is still a block.
What do you think the block is?
Why are they so behind?
Why is there such reluctance tointroduce this into education?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (21:01):
Well, my belief is and, keeping in mind
my educational background was inpsychology I originally thought
I wanted to be a psychologist,so I spent a lot of time
learning about communication andhow the mind works and how our
personality styles impact ourthinking.
I think that and I rememberthis 20 plus years ago, when I
(21:25):
was first out doing lecturesabout lasers and why
technologies could be anadvantage to clinical care what
I would run into is dentists whowould say well, if I bring in
something new, aren't some of mypatients going to feel like,
well, I wasn't doing it rightbefore then?
And I'm like, well, no, I mean,I think this is my belief.
(21:48):
You know I'm not basing this onanything else except for my
belief.
My belief is that most humanbeings who come to healthcare
providers, they trust that youare in a continuous state of
growth and progress and theyunderstand that next year you
might do something a littledifferently than you did this
year because you're growing andlearning.
(22:09):
That's what I think peopleperceive about healthcare
providers.
But most dentists I mean,that's my arena, right?
Most dentists share a commonpersonality trait they're
introverted.
They like to have a very setyou know, strict set of rules.
They want to be an expert andrecognized as an expert in that
(22:32):
set of rules.
So when you change the rules,that can be quite disruptive to
how they feel about and perceivethemselves professionally.
So it's it's.
It's hard when the people thatare being admitted into these
dental programs are alreadyhardwired to be resistant to
(22:53):
change.
That makes change challenging.
So if that's why progress is soslow, I understand.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:03):
So what's going really well for you in
your practice right now?
Is there anything you'reparticularly proud of lately?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (23:09):
Oh man, yeah, I would say the first thing I'm
most excited about is theextent of health shifts that we
are observing for people I was,you know, using the example
earlier of a woman who was in awheelchair, I actually just saw
her yesterday for her three-weekpost-surgery visit.
(23:32):
They live down in Houston,texas, so it's a, you know, a
couple thousand mile flight toget back here to see us.
She could not walk from herfront door to her mailbox and
back.
That's how sick she was.
The day after her surgery shewent out and walked for three
hours in a mall setting with herfamily and when I saw her
(23:56):
yesterday she's like I stillcan't believe it, like I don't
use a walker, I'm not in awheelchair, so it's these health
shifts that are almostinstantaneous that is so
exciting.
The other thing I'm so excitedabout right now is this maxi
residency program that I've beenin for the past six months.
That's been based out ofFrankfurt, germany, with
(24:19):
Professor Sharam Ghanati andhe's been doing most of his
teaching at Tufts University inBoston.
I've been learning with about30 other dentists from around
the world.
We've gotten together fourtimes in the past six months and
we're looking at the science ofbone health, bone around root
(24:40):
canal, treated teeth and thebone quality in areas where
people have had their teethextracted, particularly wisdom
teeth, and we're looking at howwell, first of all, how
unhealthy the bone is in theseareas and how much disease it's
causing systemically and howwe're able to help those people
(25:02):
to heal and hopefully, you know,in the future avoid so many
systemic health illnesses.
I'm really excited about wherethat's going across the
profession.
So those couple of things Ithink are top of mind.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:17):
Brilliant.
On the flip side, what's beenfrustrating or challenges that
you're trying to navigate at themoment in your practice?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (25:26):
Oh man, probably trying to find an
associate dentist who wants tocome in and partner with me.
Admittedly, you know, I'm doingthis stuff 24-7.
I don't stop.
(25:49):
I mean, it's how I'm wired.
You know, I've only been home,I think, three weekends this
year so far, because I'm alwaysout at classes and you know,
teaching classes and takingclasses and whatever, and I'd
love to have a partner you knowlike, bring in an associate who
I can grow and they can becomepart of it so that we can help
more people, because when I'mgone the practice stops right.
(26:14):
So that's probably my I woulddare say not necessarily a
frustration, it's more of a hopethat, sooner than my, I would
dare say, not necessarily afrustration, it's more of a hope
, uh, that sooner than later,I'll find somebody who's really
inspired to join me in whatwe're doing here at Blodgett
Dental Care.
Um, yeah, that's that'sprobably my thought on that, you
know.
Moreover, the profession andwhat we're doing, it's I'm
(26:36):
really inspired.
I have probably one of the bestteams in the world.
My team is just amazing.
They're so committed.
They'll stay here as many hoursas it takes to get a person
healed.
It's super cool.
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:51):
What's the challenge in finding this person
, then what's the block?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (26:58):
Good question One the perception of Portland,
oregon, during COVID.
I don't know if this stuffreached the UK, but our city was
on the news all the time.
It's kind of a polarizing city.
It's very left wing and mypractice isn't about one wing
(27:19):
all the time.
It's kind of a polarizing city.
It's very left wing, you know,and my practice isn't about one
wing or the other.
We're just about health andlove and wellness.
But a lot of people who aretruth seekers, you know they
have a negative perception ofthe city.
I've had a number of dentistscome and they shadow me for a
couple days or for a whole weekand they love it, but they're
(27:41):
like I just don't know if Icould see living in Portland.
The other thing is just whatI'm observing actually is a lot
of young people, collegestudents, dental students.
They're really inspired by whatI'm doing.
So maybe in three to five yearsthere'll be a crop of people
(28:01):
who are coming out of schoolunderstanding they're saddled
with crazy amounts of debt.
My goal would be to help themcome into a space where they can
have the best of both worlds.
They can make a good living,they can pay off their debts,
they can also be doing the veryhighest level of biologically
based dental care and still makea great living.
(28:23):
It's absolutely possible.
Dr Andrew Greenland (28:26):
Got it.
Are there any challenges fromthe operational side of your
practice that you kind of battlewith?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (28:33):
Well, not anymore.
So for the first 20 years of mypractice, you know I was kind
of wearing a lot of hats.
You know I would come in on oneSunday a month and I'd pay all
the bills and you know I was theteam manager and just wearing
all these hats.
My wife came into my practice alittle over four years ago and
(28:57):
she has an incredible skill setthat is so different than mine.
She is very operationallydriven.
So in the past four years she'shelped our business really get
set on checklists and protocolsso that my team members can step
in they know what's expected.
(29:17):
They literally will have achecklist and and and.
So we've objectified a lot moreso that systems run more
smoothly and, frankly, like I'mthen left to get to do the
things I love doing, which ispatient care.
So I'd say, systems wise.
Now that's pretty much thething.
(29:39):
The other challenge I would sayand this is a very real thing
right now is that because thephrases biological dentistry,
holistic dentistry have becomeat this point it's almost
meaningless, because so manydentists they see it oh, there's
this opportunity to start usinga phrase that somebody else is
(30:02):
using and they start callingthemselves biological or
holistic or whatever, yet theydon't really change anything
about their practice style, butthey're using it for their
google seo.
Yeah, that's probably afrustration because you know
people oftentimes they take theinformation they glean for me
and then they go to dr joeblow's practice who says they're
(30:22):
biological and they're likestill recommending root canals.
So that's kind of a challenge.
Um, because there's so manypractices using these phrases
right now.
I will say this on an upside.
You know I'm an eternaloptimist so I can't help but see
the upsides of things that youknow there are people like Domei
(30:43):
Nischwitz out of Germany who'sdoing a lot of work right now
trying to create a globalstandard for biological
dentistry, and you know I lovethat guy, he's a good friend and
I really applaud and supportwhat he's doing.
You know there are many of uswho are helping him do that.
So I think there's some promisethere.
(31:04):
But yeah, currently that's kindof a frustration because you
know I used to be the only guypeople would find when they were
searching for a biological orholistic dentist in my area, and
now you know dozens of dentistsare using those phrases.
So that's, that's a littletricky.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:19):
I understand.
Are there any metrics that youtrack in your business to kind
of get a sense or a gauge of howthings are going that you
particularly focus on?
Or your wife, obviously withthe operational hat on?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (31:32):
Yeah, she absolutely, julie does.
Yeah, I just got my email fromher yesterday.
She always pings me and shepings our CFO and she pings our
practice manager about themetrics.
So, like, how many new patientsdid we see this month, which
for us is almost consistentbecause we, you know, every
month we see seven new patientsevery Monday.
(31:55):
It's like clockwork.
And then the question is howmany of those people said yes to
care?
And then, from a businessstandpoint, like what was our
total production and collectionson the month, things like that
I'm happy to say.
You know, may of this year wasbetter than May of 2024 and 24
(32:16):
was better than 23.
And we have a smaller team thanwe've ever had.
You know.
It's like those are greatmetrics to track.
I'm not inspired to track thatstuff myself, so I'm grateful
that my wife is.
She's hardwired to look atthose things, which has helped
us be more, more profitable,frankly, yeah, it's.
It's cool that that she's onthe team helping us track those
(32:39):
things.
Dr Andrew Greenland (32:40):
Right, and where would you like the
practice to go in the next sixto 12 months?
I know you're on a sort of longterm quest to find an associate
, but do you have any other sortof goals for the practice in
general?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (32:51):
associate, but do you have any other sort
of goals for the practice ingeneral?
Yeah, right now I would saywe've kind of ramped up to a
level where I have this one.
In my opinion, it's the perfectbalance of I'm doing the exact
kind of clinical care that Ilove doing and that I know is
beneficial to people's health,and I have the flexibility to
(33:11):
travel and go, do talks and takeclasses.
So what we're really focusingon right now in terms of
continuing to grow over the next12 months is those single visit
care days.
So my ideal Tuesdays andWednesdays, which are my major
(33:34):
clinical care days my favoriteday is I just see one patient we
work with an anesthesiologist,they take a nap, they wake up,
it's done and they start healing.
So probably to do.
Usually I'm doing one of those aweek.
I think in the next 12 months,if I can get to where I'm doing,
that's the only thing I doTuesday and Wednesday For me,
(33:56):
even though it's incrediblyintense and takes many hours to
do like, I'm wired for that andI find it relaxing.
I literally make a checklistfor everything that I'm doing
the night before so we knowexactly what we're doing.
It just feels like listening toa symphony.
It's all just beautifullyorchestrated.
(34:16):
I've got the right people onthe team.
So doing more of that andwatching people's lives change
for the better is what we wantto continue growing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (34:26):
Brilliant.
And if you could remove onebottleneck or solve one
challenge instantly, what wouldthat be?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (34:34):
Oh man, that's a great question.
If we could make an eight-dayweek, that'd be great.
Golly, that's a great question.
Um, well, I think the onebottleneck that I have right now
(34:57):
, um, is that I'm, I'm, I'm fiveweeks away from completing my
first book.
I'm currently in a three and ahalf month revisions phase.
So, like outside of all thesocial media writing that I do,
outside of all the clinical carethat I do, outside of all the
lecturing I do, I've beenwriting a book for the past year
(35:19):
, um, which, like I haven't hada day off just to relax in a
long time.
So that's probably the onebottleneck that I'm looking
forward to having completed.
Uh, because it has.
I mean, I've loved it.
It's been a real learningexperience, but you can imagine
it takes so much time.
(35:39):
So I'm looking forward to tokind of having that one past me
and having a little more opentime for my wife and family.
Dr Andrew Greenland (35:51):
Do you want to give it a free plug on here?
I mean, you never know, theremight be somebody on here that
would be interested.
What's it going to be called?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (35:56):
Yeah, thank you.
The book is called Feel WholeAgain and the focus of the book
is looking at the subjectiveside of healthcare experiences.
Looking at the subjective sideof healthcare experiences what I
mean by that is how people feeland what their intuitive senses
are sharing with us ashealthcare providers, and why
(36:19):
there's value in listening towhat people feel and what they
think about their own health.
So it deep dives into bothnegative emotions and positive
emotions and why it's importantto recognize each of those
emotions.
So the book will be out inprint in probably late September
(36:43):
.
I plan to do a book launch eventhere in Portland Saturday
October 25th and I'm reallyexcited to get it in the hands
of people.
It's my experience inhealthcare is that people come
in and they say I feel like andwhatever.
You know.
They fill in the blank, whichis what I tell my team.
(37:04):
You better write down everyword that they say, because
there's so much value in whatthey feel like.
But most people just go okay,well, that's nice, but what I'm
seeing here is this and that andthe other thing, like when
somebody says I feel like myroot canal is impacting my
health negatively.
Yeah, well, I don't seeanything on the x-ray, it's
probably fine.
There's a massive disconnect inour being able to serve that
(37:27):
human being well when wedisregard what their intuition
and feelings are telling us.
So that's what I hope is thatit becomes a roadmap for
patients and healthcareproviders alike to recognize the
value of what our emotions aretelling us.
Dr Andrew Greenland (37:46):
Kelly, this has been fantastic.
Thank you so much for being soopen and insightful.
I know our audience will takeaway a lot from your perspective
, your philosophy, your workethic.
Thank you so much for being soopen and insightful.
I know our audience will takeaway a lot from your perspective
, your philosophy, your workethic.
Thank you so much for your timethis afternoon.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you, Andrew.
Thank you.
Welcome back to Voices in Health and
Wellness.
This is the podcast where wefeature practitioners and clinic
leaders who are challenging thenorm, adapting to a rapidly
changing environment anddelivering results in powerful
new ways.
Today's guest is one of thoserare clinicians who not only
delivers incredible patientoutcomes, but also educates,
advocates and leads by example.
So I'm really delighted todayto be joined by Dr Kelly
(00:24):
Blodgett, a pioneer in the fieldof biological and integrative
dentistry.
He's the founder of BlodgettDental Care in Portland, oregon,
where the focus isn't just onfixing teeth but understanding
on how oral health impacts theentire body and mind.
He's known globally for histransparency in clinical care,
deep patient trust and aneducational approach that's
redefining what dental wellnesscan look like.
(00:46):
So, kelly, thank you very muchfor your time and joining us on
the show this afternoon.
Dr Kelly Blodgett (00:51):
Thank you, Andrew.
I appreciate it.
This will be a lot of fun.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:54):
I hope so.
So maybe we can kick off and wecan start from the top.
Could you tell us a little bitabout your role, your clinic and
how it's sort of come to be?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (01:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I actually bought thepractice back in 2001 from a guy
I'd known for years, just thetiming was right, you know, so I
bought it.
It was a very traditionalpractice, you know solid,
foundational dentistry, and partof my life story is that I was
(01:25):
called to reverse the negativestereotype of dentistry, kind of
through my own spiritualjourney.
And so after I bought thepractice, I started looking for
ways to shift how peopleexperience their dental care,
and that really started off witha lot of technological stuff
which meant, from a businessperspective, you know, how do
you shift how people experiencetheir dental care?
And that really started offwith a lot of technological
(01:45):
stuff which meant, from abusiness perspective, you know,
how do you, how do you invest inthese things?
For me that meant more debtbecause you know I didn't have
the cash laying around to buy it.
So I had to develop a businessplan in terms of how do I
implement these strategies,these, these new clinical
protocols so probably about 15,.
(02:08):
My first 15 years in practicewas really stepping into the
field of dental technologylasers, single visit, crowns,
things like that, making patientcare more efficient and more
comfortable, arguably, ifsomebody only has to get numb
once instead of twice for aprocedure.
That's kind of nice.
And then the past decade I'vespent more time and energy
(02:32):
focusing on the biological sideof dentistry, which went more
investment in education andtechnologies, things like that.
So I've been practicing now 26years and I got to say I mean
I'm having more fun and seeingsignificantly healthier patients
(02:52):
because of all the technologiesand biology practices that
we're now implementing, which issuper exciting and fun.
It's neat to see people finally, you know, having extremely
positive experiences in an oralhealthcare setting.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:09):
Amazing.
So was there a turning pointthat pushed you towards
biological dentistryspecifically?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (03:15):
Yeah, there were two patients specifically.
One was a woman who called myoffice and her story was you
know, I have two root canals andever since I had these root
canals done, my health hasgotten worse.
And I am positive that they arenegatively impacting my health.
(03:37):
And I've seen five otherdentists and nobody's going to
nobody will take them out.
Would you guys be open totaking out my root canals?
And I was like, well gosh,nobody had ever asked me that
before.
And after we met with her andtalked about the pros and cons
advantages, disadvantages shedecided to have them taken out.
(03:57):
And it was probably thepost-surgery visit two weeks
later where it really hit me,and it hit my team, that we had
done something that wasmassively helpful for her health
.
I mean, when she first came in,she just looked unhealthy.
I mean, her coloring washorrible, she had no energy.
(04:19):
She came back two weeks laterand was, just, you know,
exploding with energy and shefelt so great and she even said,
you know, it was the momentthat the last root came out.
She could tell a shift in herenergy immediately.
And it was one of those thingsthat somebody says where I'm
like, wow, you know how manytimes have I maybe heard
(04:40):
somebody say you know, I feltdifferent since I had this
dental procedure and I reallydidn't understand what their
body was trying to tell me.
So that was kind of a pivotalshifting point.
And the second scenario was thatmy own father had four root
canal treated teeth and he hadbeen seeing my brother for a
(05:02):
number of years and when mybrother moved out of state he
started seeing me.
And when I did his 3D cone beamscan I noticed all four of his
left-sided molars that were rootcanal were all abscessed.
And I'm like geez, you know,even from a traditional dental
standpoint this doesn't lookvery good.
And he kind of hemmed and hawedand said well, you know, let me
(05:23):
think about taking them out.
I'm kind of concerned that Iwouldn't be able to chew.
I mean, that's a practicalconcern.
Well, within six months hedeveloped non-hodgkin's lymphoma
of the left cervical chain ofhis neck, which is what drains
that space of his head.
So I'm like this is not good,dad you know.
So I asked him if I could gowith him to his oncologist visit
, took the cone beam with me,shared it with the oncologist
(05:48):
and the oncologist was likethose teeth have to come out.
That's most likely the cause ofwhy he has this cancer, and it
was at that point that I'm likeman.
It's time for me to reinvest,relearn, keep growing and that's
been probably a decade ago nowand it's I just keep learning.
(06:10):
I mean, every month I'm offsomewhere else learning.
Right now I'm in a biologicalbone grafting residency out of
Tufts University in Boston andit's exciting.
I mean it's just exciting asmore and more people are
becoming aware of theconnectedness of health and, go
figure, they're starting toactually think and realize their
(06:32):
mouth is connected to theirbody.
So it's an exciting time to befocusing on this.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:38):
Amazing.
So how do you explain yourmodel of care to a patient who's
only ever experiencedtraditional dental care?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (06:45):
model of care to a patient who's only ever
experienced traditional dentalcare.
Yeah, I try to put it verysimply.
I would say that mosthealthcare and this would be
inclusive of traditionaldentistry is very symptoms
driven.
We're looking at oh there's ahole in the tooth, let's drill
it and fill it.
You know there's someinflammation in the gums, you
know we'll just scrape away thetartar and call it good.
(07:06):
And rarely are we askingquestions about like tell me
about your stress levels, tellme about your diet, tell me
about your family history,things like this.
Um so, in comparison, insteadof being symptomatically driven,
I would say that biological andholistic approaches to oral
health is more systems driven,looking at whole health.
(07:28):
You know, like yourgastrointestinal system, your
nervous system, even yourmindset.
You know what you tell yourselfabout your own health and your
body's ability to be healthy.
That's the primarydifferentiator, in my opinion,
and most people who want topursue optimal health really
(07:48):
understand that perspective.
Dr Andrew Greenland (07:51):
Got it?
And what shifts are you seeingin the dental field in general?
I mean, especially as I guessmore patients are seeking out
the more wellness-orientatedcare?
What are you noticing?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (08:03):
Yeah, good question.
I would say that I think, likedental materials and root canals
are becoming something that youknow, thankfully, there's a lot
of mainstream, big social mediapeople who are, you know,
finally saying gosh, maybe theseroot canals aren't so great,
(08:27):
you know, and it's not to saythat every root canal is the
worst thing in the world.
I mean, there are appropriatetimes for it, of course, but you
can't kill a tooth and leave adead, infected organ sitting in
living bone and not have yourbody respond to it.
So I think the word throughsocial media, through podcasts,
(08:48):
like what you're doing which Iapplaud that you, that you're
doing this is so helpful tospread the word.
People are becoming aware andthey're starting to think more
critically.
I think, you know, going throughthe COVID experience as a
global experience was a greattime for people to start
thinking about how can Ioptimize my own body health and
(09:12):
energetic health so that I'mbest prepared when things like
you know, scary viruses andstuff like that come around.
Um, yeah, the word's justgetting out, uh, and there are
more things to come.
I mean, as I mentioned, I'mdoing this, doing this bone
health and bone graftingcontinuum right now.
That's something that whichreally has not yet hit the main
(09:34):
social media stage, but it willbe.
Certainly it's going to be abig part of my social media
communication over the next year.
But yeah, people are becomingmore aware, which is it's great.
I mean, people come to me andthey're like I want help and
it's like that's so much easierto help somebody who is ready
(09:54):
for it and prepared for itemotionally and physically than
when we see something and say,hey, I see a problem, but
they're not yet aware.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:02):
So so are people coming to?
I guess people are coming toyou more informed, or are they
more confused than before,because with all the information
and have you out there.
Dr Kelly Blodgett (10:14):
Definitely more informed Part of what has.
From a business standpoint, oneof the most valuable changes I
made in my practice seven and ahalf years ago is I hired a
woman named Heidi who is anexcellent communicator, and I
created a position which I callmy new patient coordinator.
(10:38):
So her primary role is tocommunicate via phone and email
with people who are seeking ourpractice and, honestly, I mean
we probably give more people thenames of other practices that
can be helpful because they'recalling from around the world,
you know.
So if they're in the UK, youknow, I know probably three good
(11:00):
practices there where I can saywell, we've had people go to
these practices and had greatexperiences.
Most of the people who comethrough my front door as a new
patient, they've alreadylistened to, you know, a dozen
podcasts I've been on, they'veread through my website.
They've, you know, justgathered so much information and
(11:21):
they've allowed themselves toacknowledge that what they feel
intuitively has value for them.
So, yeah, I mean people who are, generally speaking, people who
come to us are ready to moveforward with getting healthier.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:39):
Very cool.
You sound like you're verytechnologically focused.
You've talked about a lot ofkit that you have.
How is it sort of changing theway that you diagnose and
educate patients with the kitthat you have?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (11:51):
Yeah, well, I would say I mean gosh.
The extent of technologicalintegration done over the last
25 years is crazy.
Last 25 years is crazy.
What it what it allows for usto do, both from a patient
communication and education sideand a treatment side.
(12:12):
It allows for much greaterwhat's the word I'm looking for
Like integration of the patient,so like to take a step back.
One of the things we changedfive years ago was we stopped
doing all clinical care one daya week and we made it
exclusively a day for newpatients.
(12:34):
So every Monday in my practiceis a new patient day.
That's all we do on Mondays,and we extended the amount of
time of each one of thoseexperiences to two hours so that
we have plenty of time.
There's no compressed timearound having that initial
conversation, of learning theirstory.
(12:56):
What is it that they'veexperienced, what are their
goals, what do they hope to feellike in a year or two years or
five years or whatever and as itrelates to gathering clinical
data three-dimensional cone beam, ct scans, full patient
photography with, you know, dslrcameras, so that they can see
(13:20):
exactly what I see we're kind oferasing the experience of
mystery that most peopleexperience when they go to a
dentist, you know, a dentisttells them oh, you got a cavity
and a crack in a tooth and youneed a filling and a crown.
And they have no context for it, they can't see it, they don't
understand it, they're justgoing by trusting the dentist,
(13:42):
whereas we, we integrate thepatient into the experience.
They become knowledgeable andinformed.
So those kinds of technologiesthat make things more visible, I
think, have really helpedpatients feel comfortable with
what they're saying yes to doingOn the treatment side.
(14:05):
Because of the fact that I canprint teeth, I can mill teeth, I
can, you know, use surgicalguides, so I'm not guessing
where I'm putting implants whenI'm replacing teeth.
I can, you know, reallyrejuvenate a mouth in one visit,
you know, with a patient who'sworking with a dental
(14:26):
anesthesiologist.
They can take a nap, they canwake up, their oral health is
revived.
And it's pretty magical when weactually take control of not
doing just a tooth or two butremoving all sources of
infection and energeticdisruption.
We see people who like,literally, they might be coming
(14:47):
in in a wheelchair because theycan't walk, you know their,
their body's so fatigued and thenext day they walk in on their
own two feet for their post-opvisit.
Um, it's pretty magical, butthat's admittedly it has taken a
ridiculous amount of time andenergy and money, um, to stick
with it.
You know I'm pretty geeky aboutthis stuff, I guess, but it's a
(15:09):
ton of fun.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:11):
Sounds amazing.
What do you think, what do youwish more of your peers could
understand about patienteducation?
Perhaps you know those in thetraditional dental sector
because obviously you're moreenlightened, you have a much
more integrated, holisticapproach.
But what do you, what would youwish more of your peers could
understand?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (15:27):
I think.
Thank you, that is a greatquestion.
I wish that they understood thedifference between telling
somebody something and askingthem something.
So what that looks like.
In the communication style thatI built in my practices, we
(15:49):
start with the question you know, what are your goals for your
dental health, your oral healthand your whole body health?
What would you like to see bedifferent in the future than it
is today?
And so when somebody canclarify for us these are the
things that I want to experienceand these are the dental things
(16:09):
I'd like done, then we aremerely facilitating the
solutions to the issues they'realready saying they want to
change.
The reality is that mosthealthcare practices they
address communication from theperspective of we are the
(16:29):
experts, you are not.
I'm going to tell you what youneed, which I can't stand that
phrase because you know I got totell you.
I mean people will argue withme on this, but people don't
need teeth, you know.
I mean I have patients withdentures and they're really nice
people and they live a goodlife.
So I mean you can.
(16:49):
You can function in lifewithout a set of teeth.
Obviously it's ideal to keepthem, you know, if you can.
But the difference betweentelling and asking is so the
energetic difference of that isso different.
So what we are trying to embodyat my practice is being on an
even level with our patients.
(17:10):
My brand promise for ourpractice is human beings,
helping human beings.
We are no different than anyother person coming in here.
We have obviously some veryunique and specified knowledge
and experience in dental healththat's biologically based, but
I'm not an expert in that humanbeing.
They're the expert inthemselves, and so I wish that
(17:33):
healthcare providers overallcould appreciate the value of
asking for the goals thatsomebody wants to achieve and
then helping them achieve that,rather than being forceful.
Dr Andrew Greenland (17:48):
That's a good answer.
What's the most misunderstoodpart of your work in biological
dentistry?
Do you think?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (18:03):
do you think, oh man, well, mostly it's from.
It's from, uh, other dentalproviders who have yet to
understand that all that stuffthey learned their first two
years of dental school biology,biochemistry, microbiology,
physics that that all of thatactually matters.
You know, um, when we leaveinfected teeth and living
jawbone, your immune system willunderstand that and it will
(18:27):
have an impact on a person'shealth.
To think otherwise is, in myopinion, just crazy.
But you know, there arerecognized um, there are
recognized expert bodies.
You know American DentalAssociation, the American
Association of Endodontists,where they're still clinging to
(18:48):
the idea that putting mercury ina person's mouth can be healthy
or that leaving infected teethin a person's head is safe, and
they'll use the phrasing that islike well, the people who say
that root canals aren't healthy.
You know that science has beendiscredited.
(19:11):
They're not saying that, it'snot true, they're just saying
that we, as the authority issaying that we don't lend, we
don't give credence to that, andI think it's unfortunate.
But I think that over time,when we look at how change
occurs, we understand that, dueto the psycho-emotional issues
(19:33):
of all human beings, most peoplewant to resist change until so
many people have gotten movingthat then we go.
Oh well, of course we alreadyknew that, you know.
So I don't.
I wish I could say that in thenext five to 10 years, a more
biologically minded approach tooral health would really, you
(19:57):
know, everybody get on board.
Sadly, I don't imagine it'llhappen in my in my professional
career, but I I'm hopeful that,um, I I've seen today, compared
to 10 years ago when I startedon this journey, more and more
dentists starting to show up,more and more dentists
(20:17):
pingingists, pinging me on mysocial media accounts to say,
hey, I see what you're doingthere.
I'm kind of curious, wherecould I start reading books and
learning about this?
So I mean, I think that'shopeful.
I mean, the day that dentalschools start actually
recognizing how important abiologically-minded approach to
(20:37):
oral health care is important, Ithink that'll be really cool.
And a couple of well, at leastTufts University in Boston is
starting to offer somebiologically-based classes.
So I mean that's forwardprogress.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:52):
It's forward progress, but I guess
there is still a block.
What do you think the block is?
Why are they so behind?
Why is there such reluctance tointroduce this into education?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (21:01):
Well, my belief is and, keeping in mind
my educational background was inpsychology I originally thought
I wanted to be a psychologist,so I spent a lot of time
learning about communication andhow the mind works and how our
personality styles impact ourthinking.
I think that and I rememberthis 20 plus years ago, when I
(21:25):
was first out doing lecturesabout lasers and why
technologies could be anadvantage to clinical care what
I would run into is dentists whowould say well, if I bring in
something new, aren't some of mypatients going to feel like,
well, I wasn't doing it rightbefore then?
And I'm like, well, no, I mean,I think this is my belief.
(21:48):
You know I'm not basing this onanything else except for my
belief.
My belief is that most humanbeings who come to healthcare
providers, they trust that youare in a continuous state of
growth and progress and theyunderstand that next year you
might do something a littledifferently than you did this
year because you're growing andlearning.
(22:09):
That's what I think peopleperceive about healthcare
providers.
But most dentists I mean,that's my arena, right?
Most dentists share a commonpersonality trait they're
introverted.
They like to have a very setyou know, strict set of rules.
They want to be an expert andrecognized as an expert in that
(22:32):
set of rules.
So when you change the rules,that can be quite disruptive to
how they feel about and perceivethemselves professionally.
So it's it's.
It's hard when the people thatare being admitted into these
dental programs are alreadyhardwired to be resistant to
(22:53):
change.
That makes change challenging.
So if that's why progress is soslow, I understand.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:03):
So what's going really well for you in
your practice right now?
Is there anything you'reparticularly proud of lately?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (23:09):
Oh man, yeah, I would say the first thing I'm
most excited about is theextent of health shifts that we
are observing for people I was,you know, using the example
earlier of a woman who was in awheelchair, I actually just saw
her yesterday for her three-weekpost-surgery visit.
(23:32):
They live down in Houston,texas, so it's a, you know, a
couple thousand mile flight toget back here to see us.
She could not walk from herfront door to her mailbox and
back.
That's how sick she was.
The day after her surgery shewent out and walked for three
hours in a mall setting with herfamily and when I saw her
(23:56):
yesterday she's like I stillcan't believe it, like I don't
use a walker, I'm not in awheelchair, so it's these health
shifts that are almostinstantaneous that is so
exciting.
The other thing I'm so excitedabout right now is this maxi
residency program that I've beenin for the past six months.
That's been based out ofFrankfurt, germany, with
(24:19):
Professor Sharam Ghanati andhe's been doing most of his
teaching at Tufts University inBoston.
I've been learning with about30 other dentists from around
the world.
We've gotten together fourtimes in the past six months and
we're looking at the science ofbone health, bone around root
(24:40):
canal, treated teeth and thebone quality in areas where
people have had their teethextracted, particularly wisdom
teeth, and we're looking at howwell, first of all, how
unhealthy the bone is in theseareas and how much disease it's
causing systemically and howwe're able to help those people
(25:02):
to heal and hopefully, you know,in the future avoid so many
systemic health illnesses.
I'm really excited about wherethat's going across the
profession.
So those couple of things Ithink are top of mind.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:17):
Brilliant.
On the flip side, what's beenfrustrating or challenges that
you're trying to navigate at themoment in your practice?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (25:26):
Oh man, probably trying to find an
associate dentist who wants tocome in and partner with me.
Admittedly, you know, I'm doingthis stuff 24-7.
I don't stop.
(25:49):
I mean, it's how I'm wired.
You know, I've only been home,I think, three weekends this
year so far, because I'm alwaysout at classes and you know,
teaching classes and takingclasses and whatever, and I'd
love to have a partner you knowlike, bring in an associate who
I can grow and they can becomepart of it so that we can help
more people, because when I'mgone the practice stops right.
(26:14):
So that's probably my I woulddare say not necessarily a
frustration, it's more of a hopethat, sooner than my, I would
dare say, not necessarily afrustration, it's more of a hope
, uh, that sooner than later,I'll find somebody who's really
inspired to join me in whatwe're doing here at Blodgett
Dental Care.
Um, yeah, that's that'sprobably my thought on that, you
know.
Moreover, the profession andwhat we're doing, it's I'm
(26:36):
really inspired.
I have probably one of the bestteams in the world.
My team is just amazing.
They're so committed.
They'll stay here as many hoursas it takes to get a person
healed.
It's super cool.
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:51):
What's the challenge in finding this person
, then what's the block?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (26:58):
Good question One the perception of Portland,
oregon, during COVID.
I don't know if this stuffreached the UK, but our city was
on the news all the time.
It's kind of a polarizing city.
It's very left wing and mypractice isn't about one wing
(27:19):
all the time.
It's kind of a polarizing city.
It's very left wing, you know,and my practice isn't about one
wing or the other.
We're just about health andlove and wellness.
But a lot of people who aretruth seekers, you know they
have a negative perception ofthe city.
I've had a number of dentistscome and they shadow me for a
couple days or for a whole weekand they love it, but they're
(27:41):
like I just don't know if Icould see living in Portland.
The other thing is just whatI'm observing actually is a lot
of young people, collegestudents, dental students.
They're really inspired by whatI'm doing.
So maybe in three to five yearsthere'll be a crop of people
(28:01):
who are coming out of schoolunderstanding they're saddled
with crazy amounts of debt.
My goal would be to help themcome into a space where they can
have the best of both worlds.
They can make a good living,they can pay off their debts,
they can also be doing the veryhighest level of biologically
based dental care and still makea great living.
(28:23):
It's absolutely possible.
Dr Andrew Greenland (28:26):
Got it.
Are there any challenges fromthe operational side of your
practice that you kind of battlewith?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (28:33):
Well, not anymore.
So for the first 20 years of mypractice, you know I was kind
of wearing a lot of hats.
You know I would come in on oneSunday a month and I'd pay all
the bills and you know I was theteam manager and just wearing
all these hats.
My wife came into my practice alittle over four years ago and
(28:57):
she has an incredible skill setthat is so different than mine.
She is very operationallydriven.
So in the past four years she'shelped our business really get
set on checklists and protocolsso that my team members can step
in they know what's expected.
(29:17):
They literally will have achecklist and and and.
So we've objectified a lot moreso that systems run more
smoothly and, frankly, like I'mthen left to get to do the
things I love doing, which ispatient care.
So I'd say, systems wise.
Now that's pretty much thething.
(29:39):
The other challenge I would sayand this is a very real thing
right now is that because thephrases biological dentistry,
holistic dentistry have becomeat this point it's almost
meaningless, because so manydentists they see it oh, there's
this opportunity to start usinga phrase that somebody else is
(30:02):
using and they start callingthemselves biological or
holistic or whatever, yet theydon't really change anything
about their practice style, butthey're using it for their
google seo.
Yeah, that's probably afrustration because you know
people oftentimes they take theinformation they glean for me
and then they go to dr joeblow's practice who says they're
(30:22):
biological and they're likestill recommending root canals.
So that's kind of a challenge.
Um, because there's so manypractices using these phrases
right now.
I will say this on an upside.
You know I'm an eternaloptimist so I can't help but see
the upsides of things that youknow there are people like Domei
(30:43):
Nischwitz out of Germany who'sdoing a lot of work right now
trying to create a globalstandard for biological
dentistry, and you know I lovethat guy, he's a good friend and
I really applaud and supportwhat he's doing.
You know there are many of uswho are helping him do that.
So I think there's some promisethere.
(31:04):
But yeah, currently that's kindof a frustration because you
know I used to be the only guypeople would find when they were
searching for a biological orholistic dentist in my area, and
now you know dozens of dentistsare using those phrases.
So that's, that's a littletricky.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:19):
I understand.
Are there any metrics that youtrack in your business to kind
of get a sense or a gauge of howthings are going that you
particularly focus on?
Or your wife, obviously withthe operational hat on?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (31:32):
Yeah, she absolutely, julie does.
Yeah, I just got my email fromher yesterday.
She always pings me and shepings our CFO and she pings our
practice manager about themetrics.
So, like, how many new patientsdid we see this month, which
for us is almost consistentbecause we, you know, every
month we see seven new patientsevery Monday.
(31:55):
It's like clockwork.
And then the question is howmany of those people said yes to
care?
And then, from a businessstandpoint, like what was our
total production and collectionson the month, things like that
I'm happy to say.
You know, may of this year wasbetter than May of 2024 and 24
(32:16):
was better than 23.
And we have a smaller team thanwe've ever had.
You know.
It's like those are greatmetrics to track.
I'm not inspired to track thatstuff myself, so I'm grateful
that my wife is.
She's hardwired to look atthose things, which has helped
us be more, more profitable,frankly, yeah, it's.
It's cool that that she's onthe team helping us track those
(32:39):
things.
Dr Andrew Greenland (32:40):
Right, and where would you like the
practice to go in the next sixto 12 months?
I know you're on a sort of longterm quest to find an associate
, but do you have any other sortof goals for the practice in
general?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (32:51):
associate, but do you have any other sort
of goals for the practice ingeneral?
Yeah, right now I would saywe've kind of ramped up to a
level where I have this one.
In my opinion, it's the perfectbalance of I'm doing the exact
kind of clinical care that Ilove doing and that I know is
beneficial to people's health,and I have the flexibility to
(33:11):
travel and go, do talks and takeclasses.
So what we're really focusingon right now in terms of
continuing to grow over the next12 months is those single visit
care days.
So my ideal Tuesdays andWednesdays, which are my major
(33:34):
clinical care days my favoriteday is I just see one patient we
work with an anesthesiologist,they take a nap, they wake up,
it's done and they start healing.
So probably to do.
Usually I'm doing one of those aweek.
I think in the next 12 months,if I can get to where I'm doing,
that's the only thing I doTuesday and Wednesday For me,
(33:56):
even though it's incrediblyintense and takes many hours to
do like, I'm wired for that andI find it relaxing.
I literally make a checklistfor everything that I'm doing
the night before so we knowexactly what we're doing.
It just feels like listening toa symphony.
It's all just beautifullyorchestrated.
(34:16):
I've got the right people onthe team.
So doing more of that andwatching people's lives change
for the better is what we wantto continue growing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (34:26):
Brilliant.
And if you could remove onebottleneck or solve one
challenge instantly, what wouldthat be?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (34:34):
Oh man, that's a great question.
If we could make an eight-dayweek, that'd be great.
Golly, that's a great question.
Um, well, I think the onebottleneck that I have right now
(34:57):
, um, is that I'm, I'm, I'm fiveweeks away from completing my
first book.
I'm currently in a three and ahalf month revisions phase.
So, like outside of all thesocial media writing that I do,
outside of all the clinical carethat I do, outside of all the
lecturing I do, I've beenwriting a book for the past year
(35:19):
, um, which, like I haven't hada day off just to relax in a
long time.
So that's probably the onebottleneck that I'm looking
forward to having completed.
Uh, because it has.
I mean, I've loved it.
It's been a real learningexperience, but you can imagine
it takes so much time.
(35:39):
So I'm looking forward to tokind of having that one past me
and having a little more opentime for my wife and family.
Dr Andrew Greenland (35:51):
Do you want to give it a free plug on here?
I mean, you never know, theremight be somebody on here that
would be interested.
What's it going to be called?
Dr Kelly Blodgett (35:56):
Yeah, thank you.
The book is called Feel WholeAgain and the focus of the book
is looking at the subjectiveside of healthcare experiences.
Looking at the subjective sideof healthcare experiences what I
mean by that is how people feeland what their intuitive senses
are sharing with us ashealthcare providers, and why
(36:19):
there's value in listening towhat people feel and what they
think about their own health.
So it deep dives into bothnegative emotions and positive
emotions and why it's importantto recognize each of those
emotions.
So the book will be out inprint in probably late September
(36:43):
.
I plan to do a book launch eventhere in Portland Saturday
October 25th and I'm reallyexcited to get it in the hands
of people.
It's my experience inhealthcare is that people come
in and they say I feel like andwhatever.
You know.
They fill in the blank, whichis what I tell my team.
(37:04):
You better write down everyword that they say, because
there's so much value in whatthey feel like.
But most people just go okay,well, that's nice, but what I'm
seeing here is this and that andthe other thing, like when
somebody says I feel like myroot canal is impacting my
health negatively.
Yeah, well, I don't seeanything on the x-ray, it's
probably fine.
There's a massive disconnect inour being able to serve that
(37:27):
human being well when wedisregard what their intuition
and feelings are telling us.
So that's what I hope is thatit becomes a roadmap for
patients and healthcareproviders alike to recognize the
value of what our emotions aretelling us.
Dr Andrew Greenland (37:46):
Kelly, this has been fantastic.
Thank you so much for being soopen and insightful.
I know our audience will takeaway a lot from your perspective
, your philosophy, your workethic.
Thank you so much for being soopen and insightful.
I know our audience will takeaway a lot from your perspective
, your philosophy, your workethic.
Thank you so much for your timethis afternoon.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you, Andrew.
Thank you.
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