Unraveling Your Full Potential

For Dr. Kayleigh Temple, a successful career has always been about partnership. A decade ago, she relocated to Tyler, TX, and joined an established practice as an associate. There, she worked alongside the founder, Dr. John Adcock, who had been serving the local community since 1979.

“I bought him out after about a year and a half, and when he retired, I began looking for a new associate to partner with,” shared Dr. Temple. “I found Aly through the Academy of Periodontology job board, and we hit it off quickly. She came to shadow, and during her third year of residency we made a plan for her to join the practice."

Three years later, Dr. Aly Kennedy officially became a partner at Tyler Periodontics. With 2 doctors now leading the practice, they began looking for ways to align their vision and leadership styles, and partnering with The Leadership Thread (TLT) seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it.

“It was really fitting for the transition that we were going through at the time,” said Dr. Kennedy. “The growth part was exciting, but for us, it was also about getting some fresh ideas and becoming more aligned."

The Moonshot Program is TLT’s flagship offering for periodontists, oral surgeons, and endodontists. It offers a transformative framework that blends education, community, and an AI-driven platform designed to help specialty practices set ambitious goals and convert daily activity into sustainable growth. The program includes workshops, quarterly coaching, planning guides, and a cohort of peers wrestling with the same challenges.

“What drew me in most was that when we came to our first meeting, they knew more about us than I would've ever expected,” explained Dr. Temple. “They really did their homework and had ideas for how we could grow and benefit from the start. They made us feel very welcome.”

Building the Bigger Picture

The most immediate gains for the practice were both cultural and operational. TLT’s framework gave the doctors a structured way to bring staff members into the conversation and push past deep-rooted habits.

“We recently did a job review with our longest standing back-office assistant, and she said to us, ‘I can tell the amount of time and energy you're putting into making this a better place to work, and I'm happy. I want to come to work every day, and this is a great environment,’” shared Dr. Temple.

She recalled taking several employees to a Moonshot workshop and watching them rethink their roles: “Just their difference in mindset after the first session—they went from thinking, ‘This is the way it’s always been done’ to ‘I don’t have to be locked into this small thing, I can think bigger and I can have ideas, and we can have a forum for how to make things better together.’ Changing the thought process of your employees to where they’re thinking bigger is a really hard thing, and to see that happen was a huge ‘aha’ moment for us.”

That shift has paid off, ultimately leading to an improved scheduling system. “Our team is definitely happier at work, and we're so much more aligned than we've ever been. Everybody's on the same page now,” said Dr. Kennedy.

Elevate Your Practice Perception

Declining referrals are an unfortunate reality for many dental specialists. TLT helped Tyler Periodontics tackle their referral strategy by elevating their value in the community.

“At their urging, we brought on a strategic growth partner, which is someone who is out marketing our practice to our referral base,” said Dr. Temple. “Both of us came into the idea somewhat skeptical, but we’ve been blown away by the positive impact it’s had so far.”

“Our front desk already had good relationships with referring offices,” added Dr. Kennedy, “but having that frequent in-person connection to remind them of all the services we offer just helps encourage the referral.”

The doctors pride themselves on being great communicators who never hesitate to hop on the phone and talk through a case with another provider. “None of that has changed—but having someone in front of these offices has elevated their perception of the time and energy we’re giving them,” shared Dr. Temple.

Using AI to Rebuild the Foundation

A major reason the doctors were drawn to TLT was its promise to turn practice data into usable insights.

“They're building platforms to help us more easily write our referral letters, patient communications, and clinical notes,” said Dr. Kennedy. "They also have systems to track referrals and other metrics that we currently manage on spreadsheets. With AI, it’s much easier to analyze them. Instead of running an Excel equation, it's all just done on the Moonshot Platform."

“Now, we have a dashboard where we can look at our practice globally or as individual providers,” added Dr. Temple. “We have a robust hygiene department, so we can look at those numbers as well. It’s tracking new patients, the number of referrals, production—it's looking at all these things based on the goals TLT helped us set.”

That visibility helped the doctors set tangible goals centered around performance data. “We set bigger goals than we had planned to, and then to see that we’re meeting those goals is a great moment. It gives us much more clarity on where we’re doing well or areas we may need to work on,” explained Dr. Kennedy. “It just feels kind of limitless, and it’s empowering to feel like you've got a lot of powerful tools at your disposal.”

Don't Go It Alone

Beyond tools and tactics, the doctors appreciate how the Moonshot Program brings together shared experience and empathy in a way that’s unique from organized dentistry. And at the Annual Moonshot Meeting, specialists come together for 3 days to recharge, refocus, and sharpen their vision with guidance from industry-leading experts.

“We're both involved in the Southwest Society of Periodontists and the American Academy of Periodontics, but this just feels a little bit different because we all have the same goals in mind,” said Dr. Kennedy.

“I think we didn't realize we were missing having a group of other periodontists who were all very much struggling with the same things,” said Dr. Temple. "It's great feeling like you have this cohort of people you can bounce ideas off of. Everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, and we all collectively work together to better everyone.”

Working Smarter, Not Harder

Perhaps the most surprising result of the Moonshot Program has been paving a clearer path to work-life balance. Dr. Temple envisions a practice that runs smoothly enough that she and Dr. Kennedy can be fully present in life outside the office.

“One of the doctors we tried to recruit, I told him, you have a great practice, but you need to start thinking, ‘How do I have the same level of production and profitability and only work 3 days a week instead of 4 and a half?’” shared Dr. Temple. “For me, I want to be present for my kids and take a day off for a field trip or a vacation with my family without feeling like I’m leaving Dr. Kennedy to suffer alone, or without just totally killing production. Both of us want really strong work-life balance so that when we’re here, it’s working really well, and when one of us steps away, the other isn’t stressed. With these shared systems in place, the ball is always rolling.”

“It's not just getting more referrals, and it's not just getting more patients into your practice. It’s making more out of what you already have,” added Dr. Kennedy. “We hold each other accountable and we have conversations about the program frequently. It’s changed our entire day.”