April 3, 2017

Meet Lawrence Fung of SiliconBeach.Dental in West Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Fung.

Lawrence, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Post dental school, I joined the US Navy to serve as a dentist overseas in Japan. On a trip back home to visit family and friends, I had my first experience with Uber. I was amazed at how the experience was so different from a traditional taxi, yet provided the same transportation service. From that first Uber ride, I developed a fascination with the way certain industries can be completely disrupted.

For the next two years, I was obsessed with Silicon Valley startups. I read countless books and blogs, but “The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands” by Dr. Eric Topol, M.D., really stood out to me.

What struck me most was how Dr. Topol recognized that health care had been delivered the wrong way for so many years. He saw the need to focus more on empowering the patient; use technology to make high quality care more accessible; and have a willingness to do things differently. I applied these, and many other lessons to the development of SiliconBeach.Dental. The core mission at SBD is to look at how dentistry can be done differently, with the hope to do it better.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been a few obstacles. In the initial design phase, it was difficult to find people who understood the direction I wanted to go in. I had a few diagrams, a slide deck, some words and scribbles on a sheet of paper. The search for like-minded professionals was challenging.

Then, due to various issues, the office was delayed by 4 months and I was lucky to not lose any of my carefully selected staff. It takes a certain type of individual to see potential, and to take a risk. I am blessed with my team at SBD.

The last challenge was myself. I had to find the courage to take that first step into the unknown, armed with nothing but a plan, and without any guarantee of success.

SiliconBeach.Dental – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a Silicon Beach inspired dental office. We embrace technology, and pride ourselves on thinking differently than a traditional dental practice. One of our major goals is to decrease barriers faced by individuals seeking to achieve better oral health care.

We also placed a major emphasis on design. The physical design of the space was important, but design for the patient experience was paramount. For example, most dental offices are designed to be operationally efficient for the doctor and staff. At SBD, our office design and operations focus on patient convenience and comfort. Our dental office does not look, smell, or sound like a traditional dental office.

We make it simple to book appointments online. Patients can submit all necessary personal and insurance information securely online prior to the appointment. There is no wasted time filling out forms in-office, and we can give patients an accurate estimation of treatment costs. Pre-appointment efficiency frees more time to spend with our patients. This gives us the opportunity to listen to our patients, and use a team approach to oral health care.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment in my career continues to be when I hear a patient comment that they are excited to come back into the office. I believe we have successfully created a fun and different environment that empowers our patients, and takes fear away from dental appointments.

Contact Info: