FAB FIVE

A conversation with Dr. Nick Riccio, who runs Hinsdale Ortho with his wife and business partner, Susan Blair, is a breath of fresh air. Upbeat and grateful to be running a practice that uses orthodontics as a tool to improve their patients’ confidence.

Riccio and Blair are excited to announce to the community that they will be celebrating five years of owning the practice with a super fun patient appreciation event on June 29th (3-7pm in their office parking lot). It’s no surprise they’re hosting a carnival-theme party, complete with dunk tank and concessions, because they truly love being a part of and serving the Hinsdale community. But they aren’t resting on their laurels…

“I would say we’re never going to let ourselves reach a peak. We’ll always be striving to get better every day,” Riccio says. “This has been a journey so far, but I feel like everything is trending better and better all the time. And we’re really hitting our stride at five years, it’s really fun to be a part of!”

Riccio and Blair purchased the well-established office in 2018, and rebranded to Hinsdale Ortho in 2021, so the majority of the time they’ve been operating has been under the pandemic or undergoing some sort of transition. Upon reflection, he says, it was all about the ability to persevere.

“I don’t know if there was a dip during those times, but we got past it, and now we’re accelerating in the right direction. It’s just about being committed to getting one percent better every single day. That growth mindset relates to my practice, but also to my personal life,” he says. “Constantly learning and growing as not only an orthodontist, but also a father, husband, and human being is so important to me. We are afforded the opportunity for growth every day, so we love what we do, and where we are with our practice and lives – it’s time to celebrate!”

Riccio has created a collegial environment at Hinsdale Ortho, where his team loves coming to work every day. And following his lead, his team is motivated to keep pushing, to get better, and to move forward, just like him. After five years, he’s starting to see his base of patients grow, because they’re referring friends and family. It’s the result of doing quality work that keeps people coming back.

“Orthodontics has a recycling patient base, since treatment is complete in a couple years, and requires new patients to replenish constantly. Thankfully, we’re blooming as a practice because not only are we seeing new people come in just for us now, but we’re also seeing second and third family members return for treatment with us,” he says. “Both sources represent high praise, and signify we’re doing things right, which we don’t take for granted.”

Riccio and Blair form a great partnership. He graduated top of his class from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. She studied pediatric dentistry before they met in orthodontic residency. Their combined expertise brings a wealth of unique knowledge to how they care for patients, both young and old. In addition to her orthodontic work at Hinsdale Ortho, Dr. Blair serves as a pediatric dentist in multiple locations throughout the Chicago area.

“We’re yin and yang, for sure. We balance each other really well. That’s where our strength lies, in our cumulative excellence. After all, Susan is a dual trained and dual board-certified pediatric dentist AND orthodontist, which is super rare, and offers a special expertise for our patients they can’t get most other places. I’m a board-certified orthodontist but focus a lot of my attention on running the business like its Disney, with a world-class customer experience” Riccio says.“ I really get jazzed up about my vision and managing the practice, and especially the leadership of my team. I get the most compliments on my amazing team, hands down, it makes me so proud.”

After five years, it feels like Riccio and Blair are in a really good place, moving forward thoughtfully, striving to grow the practice with the right goals and motivation in mind while most of all, being true to themselves. After all, authenticity, which can be hard to come by these days, is one of their core values they hold dearly.

“We feel really great about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going,” he says. “We’re ready to celebrate all that with the community at our carnival, it’s going to be a really nice moment for us and our patients.”

Hinsdale Ortho is located at 105 East First Street in Hinsdale, Call 630-325-0100 to schedule, visit hinsdaleortho.com to learn more about them, and follow on facebook and Instagram @hinsdaleortho to see all the fun they’re having.