Since its founding in 2014, Smile Advantage has had a simple purpose: help dental practices build stronger relationships with patients by making care easier to understand and easier to access.
But Smile Advantage didn’t begin as a software company, or even as a business plan.
It began inside two dental practices.
Where It Started
Dr. Jeffrey Sindelar and Dr. Matthew Kraner began implementing an in-house membership model within their own offices as a way to simplify care for patients and reduce reliance on traditional insurance. The approach worked, not just financially, but relationally. Patients understood their care, teams could communicate clearly, and practices regained predictability.
Colleagues noticed.
What started as conversations among peers quickly spread through local study clubs and dental events around the St. Louis area. Other dentists began asking how they were doing it, and Jeff and Matt started informally teaching the process.
That exposure became the foundation of Smile Advantage.
Originally, the effort was simply consulting, helping other practices replicate what had worked in their own offices. But as demand grew, they realized the limitation: repeating the process manually would never scale.
They saw the opportunity for something larger, a way to spread the model beyond their own practices and into the broader industry, but they needed a system to support it.
Before the Platform
Before formally working together, Jeff and Matt had already known Ryan Corby through his boutique marketing agency, which provided marketing support for their individual practices.
Ryan had been working in marketing automation since 2010 and in the dental industry since 2013. Through that relationship, the founders saw firsthand his ability to understand patient communication, operational workflows, and growth systems, not just marketing tactics.
Those early collaborations sparked the idea of bringing Ryan into the Smile Advantage effort long-term.
The 2019 Turning Point
In 2019, Jeff and Matt officially brought Ryan in to support Smile Advantage’s client marketing efforts.
At the time, Smile Advantage didn’t yet have a true platform. The company was experimenting with an early vendor-backed white-label processing solution to help practices manage memberships more efficiently.
But expanding the white-labeled version proved limiting.
As Ryan spent time working alongside the founders and inside their practices, his role evolved beyond marketing. He became the interpreter between clinical vision and system design, structuring what Jeff and Matt knew worked in real life into repeatable workflows and product requirements.
Following an engagement period, the founders invited Ryan to become an equity partner.
Ryan then proposed building the system from the ground up.
He recruited long-time friend and full-stack developer Ben Leivian, and together they began rebuilding the platform, designed around real dental workflows rather than adapted financial tools.
Jeff and Matt brought the proven practice model. Ryan translated it into product architecture. Ben engineered it into a modern platform.
That decision became the inflection point for the company.
Bridging Dentistry and Technology
Ryan’s leadership grew from operating between two worlds: relationships and systems.
By working closely with the founders and forming deep partnerships across dental organizations, he understood how practices actually function. At the same time, his background in automation allowed those realities to become scalable technology.
Instead of forcing practices to adapt to software, Smile Advantage built software around practices.
Ryan’s passion for learning and company building also led him to become deeply involved in Arizona’s software founder community, where Smile Advantage has now relocated its headquarters, reflecting its evolution into a technology-driven platform company.
Today, Dr. Jeffrey Sindelar and Dr. Matthew Kraner have formally appointed Ryan Corby as Chief Executive Officer.
While the title is new, the leadership has been in place for years.
“Matt and I have decided to formally appoint Ryan as the CEO of Smile Advantage. He is our tireless leader and well deserving of the title that he earns day in and day out.”
Looking Ahead
Smile Advantage has matured from a local consulting effort into a national platform supporting practices across the country.
The CEO appointment formalizes responsibility for strategy, product direction, partnerships, and long-term vision as the company continues expanding its impact.
The mission remains unchanged:
Help practices deliver accessible care while building predictable, lasting patient relationships.
