Episode 79: In 2019, a 22-year-old flew from Dublin to Texas to take three of Scott's courses back-to-back, so eager to learn he came back a second time just to finish the one he missed. Eight years later, that same dentist has built Truly Dental into Europe's largest full arch implant group, 15 locations across Ireland and the UK, on pace to cross $100 million in annual revenue. Now he's setting his sights on the U.S., and he says he can do it cheaper, and just as good.
In this episode, Scott sits down with Mo Shirin to unpack exactly how. Truly manufactures its own implants and prosthetics in-house, down to the submicron level, cutting out the markup baked into nearly every implant sold in the U.S. Mo explains that the actual manufacturing cost of an implant is under 10 cents, yet dentists are routinely charged $200-$250 a piece. Some of his early U.S. patients were flying to Ireland after being quoted 600% more at home for the same procedure, and Truly was still making a healthy margin at a fraction of that price.
This isn't a race to the bottom. Mo walks through how vertical integration, owning the lab, the manufacturing, and the training, lets Truly deliver full arch care at a dramatically lower cost without cutting corners on quality, and why he believes that combination is what will let Truly compete directly with, and outperform, U.S. incumbents once they officially enter the market.
In this episode:
- How Mo went from Scott's seminar room at 22 to founder of Europe's largest full arch group
- Why Truly manufactures its own implants and prosthetics, and how that cuts cost without cutting quality
- The real manufacturing cost of an implant versus what dentists are typically charged
- Why U.S. patients were flying to Ireland and paying less, even after travel
- How Truly scaled from a single Dublin practice to 15 locations across Ireland and the UK
- The pivot from general dentistry to full arch implants, and why it changed everything financially
- Mo's plan, and reasoning, for entering the U.S. market to compete directly with incumbents
- Mo's philosophy on ego, mentorship, and betting on yourself before you feel ready
What is The Dental CEO Podcast?
Welcome to the Dental CEO® Podcast — where Dr. Scott Leune applies proven business strategies from leading entrepreneurs and CEOs to the complexities of dental practice ownership.
In each episode, Dr. Leune dives into candid conversations with leaders from industries far beyond the operatory, uncovering strategies, struggles, and breakthroughs that align with the challenges dentists face every day.
From scaling operations to maximizing profitability, these discussions reveal the financial frameworks and operational insights that empower dentists to lead with precision, manage with efficiency, and achieve sustainable growth as the CEO of their practice.