Lessons - How a Celebrity Dentist Built a Multi-Million Dollar Brand | Dr. Jon Marashi - Celebrity Dentist & Entrepreneur

Summary

Success Story Podcast: Lessons from Dr. Jon Marashi on Building a Multi-Million Dollar Dental Brand

Episode: Lessons - How a Celebrity Dentist Built a Multi-Million Dollar Brand | Dr. Jon Marashi - Celebrity Dentist & Entrepreneur
Host: Scott D. Clary
Release Date: July 10, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Success Story Podcast, host Scott D. Clary sits down with Dr. Jon Marashi, a renowned celebrity dentist and successful entrepreneur who has built a multi-million dollar dental brand. Dr. Marashi shares his expertise on cosmetic dentistry, emphasizing the importance of quality, ethical practices, and the pitfalls of shortcuts in the dental industry. This conversation is a treasure trove for aspiring dentists, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in the intersection of healthcare and business.

Choosing the Right Cosmetic Dentist

Dr. Marashi begins by discussing critical factors individuals should consider when selecting a cosmetic dentist. He stresses the significance of asking the right questions and insisting on real before-and-after examples to gauge a dentist's proficiency and aesthetic sense.

"Ask them to show you before and after samples of their work, because there's actually smile libraries you can purchase of before and after." [01:49]

According to Dr. Marashi, it's essential to ensure that the examples presented by the dentist reflect similar starting conditions to the patient's needs. He warns against generic smile libraries that do not correspond to individual cases, as this can lead to unsatisfactory results.

"If you see enough of that, you're going to have a good sense of this person's design and abilities and aesthetic and determine if it's right for you." [02:00]

The Proper Process for Veneers

A significant portion of the discussion centers around veneers—a popular cosmetic dental procedure. Dr. Marashi explains what veneers should entail and highlights common mistakes that can lead to poor outcomes.

"A veneer, by definition, is just a covering. It goes on the front of the tooth and is thicker than what it originally was." [02:56]

He emphasizes that proper veneer application should involve minimal to no shaving of the natural tooth structure. However, he notes that many dentists, due to inadequate training, excessively grind down teeth, mistakenly treating veneers preparation similarly to crown preparation.

"A crown is where the tooth gets whacked down to like 50% of the size. So they put a covering on it. But if your front tooth didn't need that, why on earth would you want them whacked down to nothing?" [04:50]

Dr. Marashi introduces his approach to "revision dentistry," where he corrects the damages caused by previous poor veneer applications. He utilizes advanced technology, such as lasers, to remove improperly applied veneers without further harming the tooth structure.

"I have a laser that can remove these things and then I can bond a new set of veneers on that are smaller, thinner, yet stronger." [06:22]

Risks and Dangers of Poor Dentistry Practices

The conversation delves into the dangers associated with substandard dental procedures, particularly those performed by inadequately trained professionals. Dr. Marashi shares a cautionary tale about a wealthy individual, Jeff, who sought affordable veneers abroad. The procedure went disastrously wrong, resulting in severe dental damage and a risky return journey to the United States.

"Jeff went to Columbia. They knocked him out and something went horribly wrong. He woke up with no teeth and had to go back to fix the mess." [07:00]

This story underscores the risks of medical tourism and the importance of trusting qualified professionals over cheaper, yet potentially harmful, alternatives.

The Perils of Medical Tourism

Dr. Marashi extends the discussion to the broader scope of medical tourism, highlighting numerous horror stories where patients face life-threatening complications due to poorly regulated practices abroad. He warns that while there are competent dentists worldwide, the allure of lower costs can lead to compromising on quality and safety.

"It's a cautionary tale that sometimes you get what you pay for." [08:32]

He advocates for undergoing elective procedures within one's home country, where accredited anesthesiologists and higher standards of care provide a safer environment for such treatments.

Managing Patient Expectations and Quality Control

A critical aspect of Dr. Marashi's success is his ability to manage patient expectations effectively. He discusses the challenges of dealing with patients who have unrealistic demands, often stemming from prior unsatisfactory experiences with other dentists.

"Some folks have unreasonable expectations. No matter how good you are, you're not going to be able to deliver because their expectations simply aren't possible." [11:00]

Dr. Marashi explains that over time, he has developed the skill to identify and decline cases where he cannot meet the patient's desired outcomes. This approach not only preserves his professional integrity but also protects the patient's wellbeing.

"I tell them, I hear what you're saying, but I can't help you because I won't be able to give you the outcome you're looking for." [11:55]

He shares anecdotes about patients seeking extreme veneers, such as overly large and white teeth, which fall outside his aesthetic philosophy of "quiet luxury." By setting clear boundaries, Dr. Marashi maintains the quality and reputation of his practice.

Diversifying Dental Services

While primarily focused on veneers, Dr. Marashi acknowledges the diversity within cosmetic dentistry. He mentions colleagues who successfully cater to niche markets, such as dental jewelry, though these services are not part of his practice.

"There's a buddy of mine who does grills and diamond stuff in the teeth, and they charge a fortune for it." [12:23]

This highlights the varied avenues in cosmetic dentistry, each requiring different skill sets and catering to different client preferences.

Conclusion

Dr. Jon Marashi's expertise and ethical approach to cosmetic dentistry have been instrumental in building his multi-million dollar brand. By prioritizing quality, patient safety, and realistic expectations, he sets a high standard in the dental industry. His insights offer valuable lessons for professionals aiming to excel in their fields through dedication, continuous learning, and unwavering commitment to excellence.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Due Diligence in Choosing a Dentist: Always interview potential dentists, inquire about their aesthetic philosophy, and request genuine before-and-after samples relevant to your case.

2. Proper Veneer Application: Veneers should enhance the natural tooth without significant alteration. Excessive grinding can lead to irreversible damage, necessitating revision procedures.

3. Risks of Medical Tourism: Seeking cheaper dental procedures abroad can result in severe complications. It's safer to undergo elective procedures within countries that uphold stringent healthcare standards.

4. Managing Expectations: Successful dental practice involves setting realistic expectations and sometimes declining cases that fall outside one's expertise or aesthetic approach.

5. Ethical Practice: Maintaining high standards and ethical practices not only safeguards patient health but also builds a reputable and profitable business.

Dr. Marashi’s story is a testament to how expertise, ethical standards, and patient-centric approaches can create a thriving, respected brand in the competitive field of cosmetic dentistry.

Transcript

[A]

In this lessons episode, learn how to choose the right cosmetic dentist by asking the right questions and demanding real before and after examples. Learn why subtle, well designed veneers should preserve your natural teeth, not shave them down to stubs. Learn how to avoid the risks of medical tourism and the importance of trusting a qualified professional over shortcuts that can lead to irreversible damage. When you think about the work that you do, I'm sure you see a lot of bad work because I see a lot of veneers that blind me. But if somebody is just looking for your advice on how to craft the perfect smile per se, what is your advice to them? What should they be thinking about if they want to get some work done?

[B]

You know everyone when it comes to aesthetics. Right. It's subjective in nature. And the niche that I've carved out in cosmetic dentistry has been the quiet luxury of smiles. Yeah. You know, doing things that are tasteful and look appropriate and not flashy. And some people want that other look and no judgment, you know, they want those big white choppers. But there's a lot of folks that unfortunately get an unintended result.

[A]

I think that's what I'm trying to avoid for people. Yeah.

[B]

So, you know, my advice is, look, if you're out and, and you're looking to have cosmetic dentistry done and I can't take care of everyone, it's just one of me. There's a lot of fantastic dentists everywhere. You know, some of the questions you should be thinking about are, you know, is you're going to interview your dentist. You know, ask them what do they think, what, what's their aesthetic, what's their opinion on it? But more importantly, ask them to show you before and after samples of their work, because there's actually smile libraries you can purchase of before and after.

[A]

So that's not, it's not even their work.

[B]

Yeah. It just shows examples of what cosmetic dentistry could be. So you don't say, show me examples of your work where the starting point is similar to my condition and the end point is something similar that you think would look good for me. And if someone has done enough of this, they'll have an extensive library to show you. Like, hey, look, here's what I did for this person. Here's where they started. You can see the similarities, and here's where I was able to get them. And if you see enough of that, you're going to have a good sense of this person's design and abilities and aesthetic and determine if it's right. For you, if you keep seeing cases where you're like, I don't like that one, I don't like that one. I don't like that one. And they're all. Only answer is, well, we'll make yours different. You know, you might be rolling the.

[A]

Dice a little bit.

[B]

So.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You know, just by. Or if you have a friend that, you know, you like their treatment that they receive, then, you know, that might be a good starting point. You know, better than picking a name out of a hat.

[A]

I see these examples of veneers where they shave the tooth down to nothing.

[B]

It's not supposed to happen.

[A]

Well, can you explain what's happening in those cases versus what it should be?

[B]

Okay, so let's start with what a veneer should be. A veneer, once again, by definition, is just a covering. That's it. And it goes on the front of the tooth. Now, if you think about it, if your tooth is already in the correct position and you put a covering on it, it's thicker than what it originally was with me. And you can only increase the thickness so much before it doesn't look right. So if your tooth was smaller or normal size and you bump the thickness just a smidge, chances are you won't notice. Which means when the veneer go. Goes on, you don't need to do any drilling because it's additive in nature. Or if the tooth has kind of a weird shape and you can't get the thing to fit on it, maybe you got to modify the surface a little bit so the thing can lock on properly. Because there's a geometric shape that's required. But generally speaking, if that's required, the amount of modification. And when I say modification, this is what the layperson would. Would call like shaving or tooth grinding is a half millimeter or less. Realize how tiny a half millimeter is. It's almost imperceptible. So that's how it's supposed to be done. How it ends up being done a lot of the time is by dentists that haven't had appropriate training because there's not a lot of really great training out there. And it's very quick and easy to whack a tooth down because they say, oh, just let the lab guy worry about it. And that's more of like a crown preparation, not a veneer preparation. A crown is where the tooth gets whacked down to like 50% of the size. So they put a covering on it. But the reason why that's being done is because there was some major structural durability issue of the tooth, that they had to basically grind away the broken down parts to cover the thing and make it durable again. But if your front tooth or your front teeth didn't need that, why on earth would you want them whacked down to nothing? And then there you might be working with a dental laboratory where the technician is not as well trained. They don't even know what the client looks like and they just. And on the model the teeth might look really good, but it's like seeing a dress in a window. And then the woman tries on, said, no, this doesn't fit me very well. So it's rampant in our profession to a fault. And you know, truth be told, I rarely meet a dentist that purposely is trying to do a crummy job. But if you don't have the training, then, you know, you don't even know that you're not doing a good job right. You just think like, oh, this is okay. So half of what I do these days is revision dentistry where someone went somewhere else and they got that unintended result. Now I'm the fix it guy.

[A]

You can't, if your teeth are shaved down, you can't fit right well, you.

[B]

Can'T make the tooth grow back. You're right, that's a one way street. But what I can do is get rid of the crazy horse teeth. Remove them. They actually I have a laser and the energy from the laser goes through the porcelain and it debonds it and it falls right off before they had to drill it off. And in drilling off the porcelain, they drill off more of the tooth unintentionally. And then the shaved down tooth got even smaller. Like, how crazy is that? So I have a laser that can remove these things and then I can bond a new set of veneers on that are smaller, thinner, yet stronger. So at least the tooth looks normal again.

[A]

I understand. So what's happening when people get that little like shave down nub thing going on compared to what you do? If you put on veneers, you could take off the veneers and they could still have fully functional teeth.

[B]

If you have done a no prep design, meaning no surface alteration, you just bonded the veneers on it, I 100% correct. The veneer can be removed, the surface can be repolished and it's like going back to square one.

[A]

Do you see a lot of this with medical tourism people trying to get cheaper veneers in all these different countries?

[B]

Oh yeah. I had this guy that this guy named Jeff, he went to Columbia. And the funny thing is, is Jeff is really rich already. He just got bad advice and he flew down there. And the crazy thing is, is they knock him out. They have an anesthesiologist while they're doing the procedure, and something went horribly wrong. And he woke up in the hospital with no teeth. They shaved them all down, and they couldn't finish the procedure. And he's like, well, I can't leave the country without teeth. So he recovered for a couple days and went back and they put him under again to finish the thing. I mean, he could have died. And he got back up to the States, and the guy lives down in South Orange county. And half the teeth broke because they weren't engineered properly and they weren't bonded properly, and his teeth were shaved down. It was a mess. And long story short, he got referred to me, and he's telling me the story, and I'm just, like, as shocked as you are. I mean, I thought I had heard it all. I was like, oh, my God. So it was a full revision case. I mean, I had to remove all the porcelains and rebuild the bite and get him the aesthetics, and everything is fine now. But, you know, there's a lot of folks who. Who travel because, once again, the stuff is expensive. And that's not to say that if you go abroad somewhere that just because you practice dentistry in a foreign country, that you're a lousy provider. Of course, I think what it is, it's a cautionary tale that sometimes you get what you pay for.

[A]

I think so, too. I think that. Forget teeth. Just medical tourism in general is very scary to me. I mean, you see all these horror stories about all these injections and all these plastic surgeries that go horribly wrong. And also, I mean, the anesthesia, the anesthetic part of it. There was just a case. Anesthetic is not good to go under again and again and again and again either. I think that this is not your field, but somebody just died from having an anesthetic for a full back tattoo. Oh, gosh. Yeah. Because now they're doing full anesthetic, general anesthetic for some longer tattoos.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So, I mean, if you. If you. If you don't have to go. Do you have to go under anesthetic for veneers?

[B]

No. No.

[A]

Oh, so this is, like, very strange that.

[B]

Yeah, no, it's elective in nature. I mean, like, look, you don't have to go under for a colonoscopy, but a lot of People prefer.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And obviously if you're, if you're, the point is, if you're doing something where you're going under, maybe do it in the US at least where you're a little bit safe and have a board.

[B]

Certified anesthesiologist doing it.

[A]

Yes. Not just a technician.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because the standards of care are different in different countries and that's what you have to be careful of. That's it. It's not that there's not good doctors all over the world, because there is, but you just have to make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into. Have you ever had to turn a patient away for a request that they had?

[B]

Oh, all the time. Yeah.

[A]

Why is that?

[B]

You know, what happens is you get to a certain level of proficiency in your career and then word gets out. And so you get a lot of people that want to come and see you, which is exactly what every business person wants. But sometimes as a result of it, it attracts the crazies. And in my world, the crazies are the ones who come in and they bring a folder with them and it's about this thick and it's got their records from 5, 10, 15 different dental offices and they've been to multiple dentists and had their procedures done over and over again. And as you start to listen to the story, you realize that it actually wasn't the dentist, it was the patient's expectations. And there are some folks that no matter how good you are at doing something, you're not going to be able to deliver because their expectations simply just aren't possible. They're unreasonable expectations. Now earlier in my career I didn't have the people management skills or even the experience to sniff that out. And you know, you're hungry to do the work and you do it and then you just end up getting your ass handed to you and it sucks. But now that I have more gray hair on my head, you know, I learned to read the signs and, and I've had to tell people, you know, you sit and you listen and because they've paid you for a consultation and they are there for you to tell them the truth. And that's what I have to do. And sometimes it's very difficult. And I tell them, I say listen, I hear what you're saying. And after listening to you, what I believe to be true is that I can't help you because I'm not going to be able to give you the outcome that you're looking for. And what I don't want to be is the next name on the. On the graveyard list that you're carrying with you of someone who couldn't deliver. It's not fair to you to spend that time. It's not fair to you to spend that money if I already know right away I'm not going to be able to do that. And most of the time when I'm saying that, it's because what they're asking for are like, crazy big, thick, white teeth, and that's just not my thing. I don't do that.

[A]

But it's not like I don't know what else. What do people get, like, any, like, jewelry or stuff in their teeth?

[B]

You know, I get those requests once in a blue moon. There's actually some dentists that have built very successful practices. I got a buddy of mine who does like the grills and the diamond stuff in the teeth, and they charge a fortune for it. So, you know, people don't really come to me for that sort of thing. It's more for the veneer thing and, you know, for having a beautiful white smile. But there are versions of it, you know, the chiclety teeth and the horse teeth, that. That's just not my thing. And some people want that, and they want it on steroids.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so, you know, that's where I find myself saying, hey, listen, you know, I. I don't provide that service, so. And it's funny. It's like the second you tell someone no, they want you 10 times more. And they think that. They think it's in the. And they'll beg and plead, and it's very, you know, it's very kind of them. They believe in you that much, they say, and they'll offer you any amount of money. I don't care what it costs. And you're like, look, it's not about the money, you know, it's just that I can't do this.

[A]

Thanks for tuning in. If you found this valuable, don't forget to hit that subscribe button. So you never miss an episode. And if you want to dive deeper into this conversation, check out the links in the description to watch the full episode. See you in the next one.