I Love Great Marketing

It’s the only reason I watch the Super Bowl.

Recently, I listened to a replay of a webinar given by a defrocked dentist who has built a sizable following in the Dental Sleep Medicine space entirely through excellent marketing. He’s now promoting a two-day workweek.

From a marketing standpoint, it was masterful.
From a professional standpoint, it was troubling.

I kept thinking to myself:  I hope a Sleep Physician never hears this, it’ll ruin Oral Appliance Therapy it for everyone!

It was a vivid example of how great marketing can overshadow ethically questionable positioning.

Jeffrey Epstein would have understood this well. He, too, was a master of self-marketing.

Even if the specific tactics being promoted aren’t overtly unethical, the motivation used to recruit dentists is unmistakable:
Make more money. Work less.

Powerful motivators.
Who wouldn’t be tempted—especially if your neck and back ache and your retirement account feels anemic?

Two days a week sounds enticing.

And because the marketing is done so well, it has ensnared many well-meaning, ethical dentists who genuinely want to help patients.

But this is where the Epstein analogy becomes relevant.

Reputation Travels Through Association

Anyone who has been publicly linked to Jeffrey Epstein—regardless of intent or wrongdoing—has been smeared by association.

Dentistry has suffered a similar reputational problem.

Among physicians—the very professionals DSM practices rely on for referrals—dentistry is too often viewed as money-driven rather than medically driven. Fair or not, that perception exists.

And when DSM education and marketing are framed primarily as a lifestyle or revenue play, it reinforces the worst stereotypes physicians already hold.

If you were a physician watching the same marketing, you might draw the same conclusion.

The Danger of Being “In It for the Money”

History is full of respected professionals whose reputations were damaged not by their actions, but by who they were seen with:

They weren’t accused of crimes.
They were damaged by association.

In Dental Sleep Medicine, the same rule applies.

Align yourself with people who promote DSM primarily as a money machine, and you risk being tarred with the same paint:
“In it for the money.”

In a referral-based discipline, that label is lethal.

Money Matters — Motive Matters More

Let me be clear: I believe strongly that if there’s no money, there’s no business.

But I also believe that if you’re doing something just for the money, you’re in the wrong business.

Marketing is not morally neutral.
It communicates values—whether you intend it to or not.

And in DSM and TMJ practice, your marketing doesn’t just attract patients.
It signals your judgment, priorities, and professionalism to physicians, referrers, and peers.

Choose Marketing That Elevates the Profession

Great marketing isn’t the problem.

Marketing that erodes trust is.

Watch the Super Bowl.
Enjoy the game, the food, the companionship, and the commercials.

But learn this lesson well from Ecclesiastes:

“A good name is better than good perfume.”

If you can clearly and consistently refute the idea that dentists only care about money and appliances won’t cause TMJ problems, you won’t need to chase referrals.

They’ll come to you.

There are ethical ways to make money in dentistry.
And there are ethical ways to market.

If you’re looking to grow your practice in a way that strengthens—not undermines—your reputation and the profession, I’ve had the privilege of working with several, ethical marketing experts to help mutual clients create websites and campaigns that reflect sound judgment, clinical integrity, and long-term trust.

If this aligns with how you want to practice and be perceived, I’d be glad to talk.

Michael