About Us

Dr. Rick Steedle graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame and achieved his Doctorate in Dental Medicine and Master’s degree in Education with honors from the University of Pennsylvania.  He received his Master’s Degree in Orthodontics at The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill where he had the great fortune to learn from their outstanding faculty & residents which included the principle authors of Contemporary Orthodontics - Dr. William Proffit, Dr. Henry Fields, & Dr. David Sarver.

During the next twenty years, he and Dr. Bruce McLain built a successful three-office orthodontic practice with a staff of more than 25 employees, becoming one of the largest and most efficiently run orthodontic practices in the United States.

In 2005, Dr. Steedle joined the part-time faculty at the Department of Orthodontics, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.  Since then, he has developed a three-year curriculum in Practice Management for the residents, which includes more than 100 hours of instruction and a 600-page manual.  UNC now has one of the most comprehensive Practice Management residency courses in the country.

In 2011, he took over an older orthodontic practice, which had not changed its mode of operation since the 1970’s.  He applied the principles he teaches to rapidly modernize the office, streamline the systems, and build a staff team, doubling the annual production of the practice in only three and a half years.

He also speaks internationally on Practice Leadership and Management and has published several articles on the subject.

Dr. Steedle developed the SuccessNotStress.org website in 2020 to make his content  readily available to a wider audience.

 J. Richard Steedle, DMD, MSEd., MS

Adjunct Professor

Department of Orthodontics, Adams School of Dentistry

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

[email protected]