Lead a Thriving Practice. Build Your Legacy. And Have Time to Enjoy It.

What if your next career move gave you the opportunity to lead an established orthodontic practice, make a meaningful impact in a community, and still have four days of your week outside the office?

Hess Orthodontics is seeking a Lead Orthodontist for our Winter Haven, Florida location—a unique full-time opportunity structured around a three-day clinical workweek. Dr. Michael Hess and Hess Orthodontics have spent more than 15 years building a trusted name in orthodontics, creating more than 12,000 smiles across the communities they serve.

Now, we’re looking for an exceptional orthodontist who is ready to take a leading role in the continued success and growth of our Winter Haven practice. This isn’t simply an opportunity to step into a patient schedule. It’s an opportunity to lead a practice.

An Established Foundation. Your Opportunity to Lead.

As the Lead Orthodontist in Winter Haven, you’ll have the opportunity to become the clinical and cultural leader of the practice while benefiting from the experience and support of Dr. Michael Hess and the broader Hess Orthodontics team.

You’ll step into an established practice environment with the infrastructure and resources already in place—giving you the ability to focus on what matters most: Exceptional patient care. A strong team. Practice growth. And your impact within the Winter Haven community. We aren’t looking for someone to simply maintain what’s already been built. We’re looking for a doctor who wants to help determine what comes next. Full-Time Career. We believe an exceptional career shouldn’t require sacrificing your life outside the practice.

This full-time Lead Orthodontist position is structured around three clinical days per week, creating a rare combination of significant professional opportunity and meaningful flexibility. You’ll have the ability to build relationships with patients, lead your team, grow the practice, and achieve strong earning potential—while having more time for the life you’ve built outside of orthodontics. For the right doctor, it’s an opportunity to have both career impact and quality of life.

What You’ll Lead

As the Lead Orthodontist for Winter Haven, you’ll have influence well beyond your own patient schedule.

You’ll help drive:

Clinical Excellence
Lead with clinical autonomy and establish a high standard for diagnosis, treatment planning, outcomes, and patient care.

Practice Growth
Partner with operational and business leaders to identify opportunities to expand the practice and strengthen its presence within Winter Haven and the surrounding community.

Team & Culture
Develop an engaged, accountable team and create an environment where people are excited to deliver an exceptional patient experience.

Community Relationships
Become a visible and trusted orthodontic leader in Winter Haven while developing relationships with patients, families, referring providers, schools, and the broader community.

Patient Experience
Build upon the reputation of Hess Orthodontics while continuing to elevate how patients and families experience the practice.

Future Doctor Development
As the practice grows, have the opportunity to collaborate with and mentor other doctors while helping build a strong clinical team.

Work Alongside an Established Orthodontic Leader

One of the unique advantages of this opportunity is the ability to work alongside Dr. Michael Hess and benefit from the experience, reputation, and practice foundation he has built over more than 15 years. But we’re not looking for another Dr. Hess.

We’re looking for the next leader of Winter Haven.

Someone who respects what has been built but brings their own personality, relationships, ideas, clinical expertise, and leadership style to the practice. We want you to make an impact—and eventually have patients, team members, and community partners recognize you as one of the reasons Hess Orthodontics is the practice they trust.

Lead Like an Owner—Without Doing It Alone

Hess Orthodontics is supported by Southern Orthodontic Partners, providing our doctors with experienced resources across operations, recruiting, marketing, HR, finance, technology, and other administrative functions.

That means you can concentrate on leading the practice instead of running every administrative component of the business. You bring the clinical expertise, relationships, and leadership. We put the infrastructure behind you.

Invest in What You’re Helping Build

For doctors interested in creating value beyond their clinical income, Southern Orthodontic Partners offers eligible doctors the opportunity to participate in a long-term investment and wealth-building opportunity.

We want our Lead Orthodontist thinking like an owner:

How can we grow Winter Haven?

How can we build an incredible team?

How can we deepen our relationships within the community?

How can we create an experience patients can’t stop talking about?

What can we build together over the next five or ten years?

Hess Orthodontics has already built the foundation.

Now we’re looking for the Lead Orthodontist who can help take Winter Haven into its next chapter.

If you’re ready to combine clinical autonomy, leadership, practice growth, long-term investment opportunity, and a three-day full-time schedule, we’d love to start a conversation.

What We Offer:

• Full-time position with a three-day clinical work week
• Highly competitive compensation with a per diem & production-based earning potential
• Established practice and patient base
• Long-term investment opportunity
• Attractive sign-on and/or retention incentives
• Relocation assistance, when applicable
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits
• 401(k)
• Malpractice coverage
• Continuing education and professional development
• Dedicated operational and administrative support
• Marketing and practice-growth resources
• Recruiting and team-development support
• Modern clinical technology and resources
• Mentorship and collaboration with Dr. Michael Hess
• Opportunity to become a recognized orthodontic leader within the Winter Haven community
• And many more perks...

Qualifications:  

• DDS or DMD from an accredited dental school
• Certificate from an accredited orthodontic residency program
• Current or eligible Florida licensure
• Strong clinical and interpersonal skills
• Leadership experience or demonstrated readiness to lead
• Growth-oriented and collaborative mindset
• Commitment to exceptional patient care and team development