The Local Dentist: Growing to $3M in Revenue and Going Private Pay with Oryx’s SaaS and AI Features

The Challenge

Opening and Growing a Dentistry Practice in a Saturated Market

When the U.S. Navy sent Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMD, to Washington state, he knew it was his forever home. After being discharged after years as a military dentist and attending the Kois Center for advanced training, Dr. Vittitow—or Dr. Chaz, as patients call him—also knew that he wanted to open his own practice with a very specific, personal focus: oral-systemic health and especially airway health. He’d seen veterans struggle with sleep apnea, leading to greater health complications. In fact, Dr. Chaz’s own grandfather lived with the condition and eventually suffered a stroke.

When a search to acquire an existing office failed to turn up the right fit for his long-term vision, Dr. Chaz took the leap to found his own practice in Bellingham, WA: The Local Dentist. He knew how important the right tools—including dental practice management software (DPMS)—would be to growing his business in a competitive local market and enabling the holistic, high-quality approach to oral-systemic health he wanted to pursue.

Streamlining Clinical and Business Operations with Oryx’s All-In-One DPMS

At first, Dr. Chaz received advice to use the software he knew best, Dentrix, to reduce the learning curve for his new office. But then he saw Oryx’s DPMS in action, and he knew it was the one for him.

“I had a vision of what I wanted my practice to be, with physician referrals for airway health and a strong periodontal program. I needed to be able to do a really thorough exam but stay streamlined at the same time. Oryx had the clinical features I wanted and was super user-friendly, plus the team offers customer support and one-on-one training.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

From the day The Local Dentist opened its doors, the practice ran on Oryx. Dr. Chaz especially appreciated the all-in-one nature of the platform, with features for both the clinical and admin sides of the business.

Keeping the Practice’s Growth Trajectory Steady With Software

“A lot of times with software, you end up adding on widgets to do more things. That increases costs and becomes tricky to work with. With Oryx, everything is built in.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

Oryx offered Dr. Chaz everything he needed, including the ability to:

• Customize clinical exam workflows and reports to grow clinical and patient relationships: Nothing is too niche for Oryx’s platform. For a practice focused on oral-systemic health, Dr. Chaz was able to customize exams for specific issues such as TMJ, sleep apnea, and more. He could also share reports of those exams with patients, who brought them to their physicians and other medical providers, a big reason he grew such a steady stream of referrals from physicians.
• Schedule appointments painlessly to develop a positive local reputation: With Oryx’s online scheduling tools and integration with Mango Voice, patients could easily book into Dr. Chaz’s practice, an attractive differentiator in a crowded local market, and one that grew the practice’s reputation as easy to work with.
• Measure growth and success to ensure ongoing success: Customizable practice management dashboards allow Dr. Chaz and his team to track key metrics, such as case acceptance and hygiene occupancy, and to identify bottlenecks and keep things on track if numbers begin to waver.

“Whatever you’re doing, whether it’s a dental procedure or building a fence in your yard, the right tools make everything faster and better. You need the right tools to run a more relationship-driven, profitable business. Oryx is that tool.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

Reducing Chairside Friction and Unlocking Productivity

Dr. Chaz’s sentiment is echoed by Kolbi Clemenson, a restorative hygienist with The Local Dentist, who appreciates Oryx’s modern, cloud-native approach.

“The older system I used before coming to The Local Dentist would waste time. In perio, you had to start from scratch every single visit which took 10 to 15 minutes out of each hour-long appointment. With Oryx, it’s easy to port information over. I save at least 10 to 15 minutes per appointment using the system.”

Kolbi ClemensonRestorative Hygienist, The Local Dentist

With a quarter of the exam’s total time back, Kolbi is able to connect with the patient, discuss treatment options, and then actually complete those treatments, all within the same one-hour block. She also appreciates Oryx’s integration with X-rays and other imaging.

“The mouth is a dark cave to most people. But when patients can see what I’m seeing, then they can understand why I’m recommending things that I do.”

Kolbi ClemensonRestorative Hygienist, The Local Dentist

With Oryx, The Local Dentist was off to a strong start when doors opened in 2023. The practice welcomed, on average, 65 new patients a month and made $1.1M in the first year of business alone.

Turbocharging the Front Office Team With AI Features

When Oryx debuted AI administrative features in 2025, Dr. Chaz was quick to adopt them.

“AI has not replaced any employees. Instead, it’s increased their ability to focus on patient care, because they’re not getting absorbed by menial tasks.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

AI Features Speed Communication and Productivity Between Clinical and Front Office Team Members

Thanks to AI, the clinical team works seamlessly with the front office team. Before walking patients from the exam room to the front, hygienists send forward all the information needed for a smooth checkout, such as the insurance billing code. When patients arrive, everything is there for them: any applicable invoices, appointment rebooking, and more.

“With all of our practice’s growth, maintaining patients is much easier in Oryx. The software includes everything we need to know about them, such as when forms are due, tasks, and next steps. I can see everything.”

Callie SmithOffice Manager, The Local Dentist

Several of the key benefits the administrative team appreciate include:

1. Starting the Day Right with an AI-Powered Morning Huddle

Each morning, the team looks at the AI-generated list of action items. Callie and her team can easily see how many patients need exams, need to fill out new medical forms, or are behind on payment. Once action items are completed, Oryx’s AI automatically removes the item from the huddle list.

2. Tracking Benchmarks Continuously with AI-Enabled KPI Reporting

As an ambitious, fast-growing dental practice, The Local Dentist sets and records progress toward benchmarks for the entire team. The team checks them each month. With AI-enabled reporting, it’s easy for Callie to assess monthly, individualized KPIs, such as:

• Hygiene production
• The percentage of the practice utilizing perio
• The number of patients seen in a month
• And more

“I used to go through every single appointment and look at every single progress note until I figured this out. This feature has definitely saved me a lot of time.”

Callie SmithOffice Manager, The Local Dentist

3. Keeping Clear Patient Records with Mango Voice AI Integration

As a dual Mango-Oryx customer, The Local Dentist has access to advanced voice AI features inside of Oryx’s DPMS via Oryx’s integration with Mango. The practice uses Mango’s AI voice receptionist to triage calls and to provide an AI-powered call summary for all answered calls. These summaries are automatically appended to patients’ files as progress notes. This ensures that everyone, from the front office team to clinicians, understands the full scope of a patient’s interaction with the practice and their clinical concerns or needs.

Growing Steadily and Sustainably with Oryx

Since opening his doors, Dr. Chaz’s practice has built a stellar reputation and grown to four hygienists and six administrative team members. In 2026, The Local Dentist also brought on a new associate, the practice’s first full-time dentist outside of Dr. Chaz, which brought the team to a total of 17.

With Oryx, the practice has been able to:

• Operate 4 days a week for 6 hours a day, allowing the team to spend more time on work-life balance
• Increase hygiene production by 30 to 40%
• Maintain hygiene occupancy at 92% or higher every month
• Nearly triple revenue in three years, from $1.1M in 2023 to a projected $3M in 2026

“Success comes down to four things: commitment, courage, capability, and confidence. It’s like riding a bike as a kid. You know the outcome you want: be able to go out and play. Eventually, you need to hop on, learn, and start building the skills. Starting a dental practice is similar: commit to a vision, have the courage to pursue it, build capability through action, and grow your confidence as that action yields results.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

Dr. Chaz’s commitment, courage, capability, and confidence have taken him far in just a few short years. With an efficient, well-run practice, he’s been able to launch The Dental Jumpstart, a podcast and video series about creating success for dental offices of all shapes and sizes. He’s also been able to shift from an insurance-heavy practice to fee-for-service: a move that reflects the value he brings to patients, and their willingness to pay out of pocket.

And for Dr. Chaz’s own practice, Oryx helped him get started, from the jump, with the right software for success.

“To free yourself of the restrictions of insurance networks, you have to create a lot of value. Oryx has helped us create a lot of value.”

Charles “Chaz” Vittitow, DMDOwner, The Local Dentist

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Oryx’s clinical exam support custom features like TMJ assessments?

Absolutely. Oryx’s customizable clinical exam allows practices to incorporate TMJ assessments directly into their existing workflow, document findings consistently, and create reports that can be shared with patients and other healthcare providers. Practices can tailor the exam to their clinical approach, making it easier to deliver comprehensive, oral-systemic care without adding another disconnected tool.

How can Oryx help dental practices become fee-for-service?

We help dentists go above and beyond, adding value to the patient experience. No matter how a practice operates, Oryx is ideally positioned to work with insurance networks or operate on private pay. Our suite of RCM products and AI-enabled billing features help dentists ensure every procedure gets paid for, whatever the source.

How does AI help the front office team?

Your front office team is like a smile: it’s the first thing a patient notices when they visit the office. The more time they can spend interacting with patients and building relationships, the more value the practice adds to their life. Oryx’s AI features help remove busywork from the front office team, giving them time back to focus on what really matters, the patient.

See What Built-in AI Could Do for Your Practice

Oryx was founded by dentists, for the future of dentistry. We’ve been chairside ourselves, and we know the challenges and joys of operating a dental practice. Explore Oryx’s AI features to see what powered Dr. Chaz and The Local Dentist’s results, or book your AI demo to watch the all-in-one platform in action.