Utah Founder Reinvention How A Provo Dental Lab Owner Rebuilt From One Employee And Pioneered Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Smile Design
Featuring Mark Willes, Dental Lab & Cosmetic Smile Design (Provo, UT).
Mark Willes is a Provo, Utah native and dental lab owner with nearly 30 years inside the dental industry as a dental lab technician, cosmetic process innovator, and educator. Mark Willes got into the dental lab business through his older brother and rose quickly by attending continuing education programs side by side with dentists, learning to sell and execute cosmetic dentistry at the highest level. Mark Willes co-developed a minimally invasive smile-design protocol with a dentist out of Nashville, Tennessee — a process that preserved natural enamel, attracted celebrities and dental-phobic patients, and ultimately changed the practice of thousands of dentists across the country. Mark Willes lectured for dental study clubs, ran programs for dental organizations, and traveled the U.S. teaching the technique. After roughly 12 years inside the company, Mark Willes was invited to leave the business he helped scale. Mark Willes started over from one employee, sleeping on the floor and working 18 to 20 hour days, and rebuilt a loyal team that has largely stayed with him since the rebuild. Mark Willes is deeply involved with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry's Give Back A Smile program, helping survivors of abuse get full smile makeovers. Mark Willes is currently writing a book titled Take Off The Gloves on reinvention, comfort, and the cost of real growth.
Filmed at Bad Bet Productions, Sandy, Utah.
Episode Summary
On this episode of Utah Business Spotlight, host Peter Anthony sits with Mark Willes — a Provo, Utah native, dental lab owner, and aesthetic process innovator with nearly 30 years inside the dental industry. Mark Willes built a category-defining minimally invasive cosmetic dentistry process, lectured to dentists across the country, helped reshape how millions of smiles get designed, then got forced out of the company he helped build. Mark Willes started over from one employee — and grew it again.
Mark Willes walks Peter Anthony through how cosmetic dentistry boomed in the 80s and 90s and why so many dentists were grinding off all of a patient's natural enamel just to make a smile look pretty. Mark Willes explains the structural problem — enamel is the only substance in the human body that does not regenerate. Working with a dentist out of Nashville, Tennessee, Mark Willes spent years refining a minimally invasive smile-design protocol that preserved natural tooth structure, attracted country-music celebrities and dental-phobic patients, and ultimately changed the cosmetic dental practice of thousands of dentists worldwide.
The conversation moves into the part most founders avoid — Mark Willes was invited out of the company he helped scale. Mark Willes describes the identity hit, the questioning, and the decision to start again from one employee. Peter Anthony shares his own parallel story of being pushed out of a salon he owned 80 percent of. Mark Willes rebuilt by sleeping on the floor, working 18 to 20 hour days, and earning back loyalty from a team that stayed for the long arc — most of his current employees have been with him since the rebuild.
Peter Anthony and Mark Willes go deep on technology and craft. CAD/CAM, 3D printing, and computer-generated restorations now make up at least 50 percent of the lab's work. Mark Willes explains that the technology levels the basic playing field — but the human touch is what separates a great restoration from a generic milled crown. Mark Willes uses the technology as the building block, then refines every piece by hand. Peter Anthony connects it to AI inside marketing — the tools accelerate the floor, the artist's intuition still owns the ceiling.
The episode closes with the wisdom that anchors Mark Willes' upcoming book, Take Off The Gloves — a metaphor born from his grandfather on an Idaho farm. Comfort is the enemy of growth. The most successful entrepreneurs make themselves uncomfortable on purpose, take the gloves off in hard conversations, and force the next reinvention before the market forces it for them. Utah Business Spotlight is produced by INCubator Marketing Agency and filmed in Sandy, Utah.
Key Moments
00:00 Reinvention Gets Personal Fast · 00:50 Why Reinvention Never Really Stops · 02:02 Mark Willes And 30 Years In Dentistry · 03:24 How A Better Smile Changes A Life · 04:13 Confidence, Dignity, And Give Back A Smile · 06:07 The Shift To Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Dentistry · 07:22 Natural Smile Design And Celebrity Demand · 09:05 Millions Of Smiles And A Quiet Legacy · 09:30 Building A Business Then Getting Forced Out · 12:24 Starting Over From One Employee · 14:57 Success Demands Sacrifice, Patience, Consistency · 16:45 Why Loyal Teams Matter More Than Talent Alone
Notable Quotes
"It's difficult when you've put everything into one road, and you lose that. You start back at zero — and you have to start over." — undefined
"People see the success. They never see the sacrifice." — undefined
"The only thing you can do with gloves on is pee your pants." — undefined
"Comfort is the enemy of growth. Growth happens through resistance." — undefined
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mark Willes?
Mark Willes is a Provo, Utah native and dental lab owner with nearly 30 years in the dental industry. Mark Willes is a cosmetic process innovator who helped develop a minimally invasive smile-design protocol used by thousands of dentists, and is currently writing a book on reinvention titled Take Off The Gloves.
What is minimally invasive cosmetic dentistry?
Minimally invasive cosmetic dentistry preserves a patient's natural enamel — the only substance in the human body that does not regenerate — instead of grinding teeth down to make a smile look pretty. Mark Willes co-developed a process and the supporting materials with a dentist out of Nashville, Tennessee that delivered subtle, natural-looking results without removing healthy tooth structure.
What is the Give Back A Smile program?
Give Back A Smile is a 25+ year program run by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Mark Willes has been deeply involved — the program provides full smile makeovers and interview coaching to survivors of abuse, restoring confidence and dignity through cosmetic dental work.
What is Mark Willes' book Take Off The Gloves about?
Take Off The Gloves is Mark Willes' upcoming book on reinvention, comfort, and the cost of real growth. The title comes from his grandfather on an Idaho farm — a metaphor about how impossible it is to get meaningful work done while you are trying to stay comfortable.
How is AI and 3D printing changing the dental lab industry?
Mark Willes says CAD/CAM, milling, and 3D printing now make up at least 50 percent of the lab's business and is growing every year. The technology levels the basic playing field for crowns and restorations, but the highest-quality work still requires hand refinement on top of computer-generated building blocks — the human touch is where craft still wins.
About INCubator Marketing Agency
INCubator Marketing Agency is Utah's first AI-integrated marketing infrastructure team, headquartered in Sandy, Utah and serving small businesses, founders, and operators across Utah County, Salt Lake County, and the wider Wasatch Front.
Every engagement is built around the INCubator Method: seven core marketing systems — authority web design, local SEO, CRM and pipeline, marketing automation, AI voice receptionists, video content, and conversion-focused funnels — installed together as one accountable infrastructure so every dollar compounds month over month.
The agency was founded by Peter Anthony Wynn (Founder & Marketing Strategist) with Marc Olsen (Partner & Automation Expert) and Chelsie Wynn. INCubator operates Utah Business Spotlight, a long-form Utah small business podcast filmed at Bad Bet Productions in Sandy, Utah, and hosts Tuesday Night at the INCubator — a weekly marketing training and networking event for Utah business owners.
Contact: team@incubatormarketingagency.com · +1 385-386-6988 · Office hours Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time.