Are you building your practice for insurance or for your purpose?

From a bank-robbing employer to a ground up dream build, Dr. Brian of ThreeTwoThree Dentistry has earned every pivot.

Author

Ashley Joves
April 14, 2026

Dr. Brian Edwards on bank robbers, biofilm, and why 80% done by someone else is 100% freaking awesome.

"If you're not sharing your story with the world, you're being selfish."

That's a quote from this week's guest, Dr. Brian of ThreeTwoThree Dentistry in Newhall, CA. And after hearing his journey, we think you'll agree he's earned the right to say it.

Most startup stories start with a lease signing and a business plan.

Dr. Brian's started with the police.

His very first practice ended when his employer locked him out of the office and ran when the cops showed up. The same man was later arrested as the "rolled sleeve bandit" for robbing banks in broad daylight while calling in prescriptions under Brian's DEA license to fund a drug habit.

So yeah. He's had quite a journey.

But here's what makes Dr. Brian's story so Making Of: he didn't quit. He pivoted. Over and over again. And what he's built on the other side of all of it is something genuinely worth paying attention to.

What you'll learn in this episode:

  • The Pivot Mindset: How Dr. Brian turned a career full of setbacks including bad partners, embezzlement, COVID, and insurance chaos into a master class in resilience.

  • Going Out of Network His Way: Why he dropped insurance contracts, simplified every fee, and built a membership model so simple patients can wrap their head around it in one conversation.

  • The ThreeTwoThree Philosophy: How gum pocket measurements of 3-2-3 became the entire brand and why prevention-first hygiene is actually more profitable, not less.

  • GBT & Salivary Diagnostics: The tools that transformed his hygiene department, reduced team burnout, and made patients take real ownership of their health.

  • Buy Back Your Time in Real Life: How Dan Martell's philosophy finally gave Dr. Brian permission to stop doing everything himself and what happened to his health when he did.

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON

The "Making Of" Moment

There was a line in this episode that hit differently:

"More practices, more employees, more patients — it never gave happiness to me."

Dr. Brian said that after 10 years of chasing volume, going out of network, losing a third of his patients overnight, and coming out just as profitable on the other side. Sometimes the path to more is actually doing less but doing it with intention.

He's now four years into city permit battles, oak tree preservation orders, and hillside access drama and he just got fire department approval to break ground on a 4,000 sq ft dream build with a CE event space on top.

If that's not a pivot story, we don't know what is.

P.S. Dr. Brian asked the community a question we'd love your input on: if you've built from the ground up, what's your best advice on cabinetry, ops layout, and equipment decisions? Hit reply and let us know and we'll share the best responses in next week's edition!

Stay gritty, The Making Of Team

Connect with Dr. Brian:

📖 Books mentioned:

Until next week, Your TMO Crew

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts—it helps other dentists find us and fuels this mission we believe in so deeply.

The Making Of has partnered with Net32, the dental marketplace that lets you compare vendors, brands, and pricing in one place. → Net32: www.net32.com/TheMakingOf