Description
Peyman Raissi, DDS | From Denture Clinic to Implant Surgeon
Dr. Peyman Raissi graduated dental school wanting to be a cosmetic dentist out West. Three days later, he was working in a denture practice in Nashville, the one job he swore he’d never take. In this candid conversation with Randy Alvarez, he explains how that detour became the turning point of his career and how he went from a broke new graduate to one of the most recognized full-arch and implant surgeons in the country.
Dr. Raissi tells the story of the aunt who needed dentures, the Monday-morning appointment that turned into a job offer, and the moment he watched patients walk in hopeless and walk out able to smile again. That moment pulled him into implant dentistry. With no residency to fall back on, he built his own. He put nearly every dollar he earned into continuing education, traveled to learn from the best surgeons he could find, and earned the nickname “Implant Monster” along the way.
He also talks about what the highlight reel didn’t show. Behind the Instagram following, the growing practice, the in-house lab, and the teaching schedule, he was burning out and drinking to cope, and by 2019 he was $1.4 million in debt. He describes the photo that scared him into changing, the day he quit drinking in November 2019, and why the small part of a big keynote where he talked about sobriety was what everyone wanted to discuss afterward. He’s open about seven years of therapy and why he keeps going even when life is going well.
This is an honest look at what it takes to build a dental career when nobody hands it to you, and a reminder for anyone feeling stuck that they’re closer than they think.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Graduated Friday, hired Monday
02:46 The emotional side of dentures
05:04 First implant course and the “click”
07:04 Building his own residency
09:46 Advice for young dentists: be intentional
10:12 “You are not stuck”
12:01 Behind the highlight reel: burnout and drinking
13:27 The photo that changed everything
15:23 Quitting drinking in 2019
16:44 What he’d tell his younger self
17:45 Selling to a DSO and starting over
20:50 From –$1.4 million to millionaire
22:39 The biggest mistake in full-arch dentistry
25:05 Track every failure
27:36 Don’t go all in: building a lab in phases
30:26 Competing in a crowded market
31:50 Find a mentor and get to the point
35:16 Video, branding, and your website
38:25 From Arby’s to where he is now
39:14 Psychology, therapy, and the advice that changed his path
41:41 Using AI the right way
44:53 Your brain is your worst enemy
47:45 Choose surgery or cosmetic, not both
51:18 The inaugural symposium
54:37 Closing thoughts
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