Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Toftely.
Hi Jesse, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in rural Minnesota, I was always the kid who needed to know how things worked. I had a deep fascination with medicine and healthcare, but I also had this massive passion for working with my hands, specifically fixing up and restoring classic cars. There is something incredibly rewarding about taking something worn down, understanding its mechanics, and meticulously rebuilding it to work perfectly again. When it came time to choose a career, I realized dentistry was the ultimate intersection of both worlds. It’s medicine, absolutely, but it’s also high-level artistry and micro-engineering. You are working with your hands every single day to fix, restore, and improve lives.
That drive took me out to California, where I earned my dental degree at Western University of Health Sciences. Dental school is a notorious whirlwind of intense clinical training and endless hours, but even back then, the vision for my future practice was starting to brew. I knew early on that I didn’t want to run a sterile, assembly-line clinic where patients felt like a chart number. I wanted to create something completely different, a relaxing, spa-like atmosphere where the stress of a typical dental visit completely melts away the moment you walk through the door.
But graduating was just step one. I wanted to push my clinical skills to the absolute limit before opening my own doors, so I took on a post-doctoral Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency through NYU Langone. That residency year was a massive turning point. It threw me right into the deep end of complex clinical cases, full-mouth restorations, and advanced oral surgery. It forced me to refine my technical skills under pressure and cemented my philosophy on what patient care should be: comprehensive, precise, and entirely focused on the whole person.
With that advanced training under my belt, it was time to build. Choosing to plant our roots and open Brush Dental Studio right here in St. Bonifacius was the easiest decision my family and I ever made. This community is a beautiful place to grow, and our family feels deeply tied to the whole local area, whether we’re out on the lakes, camping at Carver Park, or cheering on our three kids at youth hockey and soccer games. I wanted to build a practice that mirrored the warmth and tight-knit relationships of the region, while offering a soothing, elevated experience that changes how people view going to the dentist.
Getting to where we are today has been an incredible, humbling ride. It grew from a late-night dream into reality through a lot of hard work, constant continuing education, and the immense support of my family, especially my wife, Shannon, who has been my absolute rock and partner in building this life and business.
Today, Brush Dental Studio is exactly what I always hoped it would be. We’ve combined top-tier clinical technology with aromatherapy, warm amenities, and a peaceful, calming environment. Whether I’m adjusting a complex crown or restoring a smile, it’s that same love for precision and problem-solving that I had working on cars, just with a much bigger impact on someone’s day. We don’t just look at teeth; we care for the people attached to them, and we feel incredibly lucky to keep our community smiling every single day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth, straight line, but I don’t think any journey worth taking ever is.
The biggest hurdle was the unconventional route we decided to take. In this industry, the standard, safer path for a new dentist is to buy out an existing practice or lease a standard commercial retail space. Instead, we decided to build a brand-new building from the ground up right here in St. Bonifacius and start completely from scratch. We opened our doors with exactly zero patients—or four, if you count my wife and three kids.
Shifting gears from the clinical side of dentistry to the massive world of commercial development and entrepreneurship was a huge trial by fire. Dental school and my residency through did a phenomenal job preparing me to handle complex oral surgeries and intricate full-mouth restorations, but they don’t exactly teach you how to act as a general contractor or a business strategist. Suddenly, I was navigating land acquisition, architectural blueprints, commercial permits, and the daunting financial risk that comes with funding a ground-up build with absolutely no guaranteed patient base on day one.
The physical construction brought its own unique set of stresses because I was determined to design a relaxing, spa-like atmosphere rather than a traditional, sterile clinic. We couldn’t just use a cookie-cutter dental office floor plan. We obsessed over every single detail to completely change the typical patient experience, which meant solving logistical headaches like advanced soundproofing to mask clinical sounds, sourcing specialized equipment that integrated seamlessly into a calming design, and dealing with the inevitable delays of a custom construction project.
Managing that intense, high-stakes launch while trying to stay fully present as a husband and a dad to three very active kids was an exhausting balancing act. There were plenty of late nights, tight timelines, and moments of genuine stress where we wondered if all the pieces would actually fall into place. My wife, Shannon, was my absolute rock through every single construction headache and late-night strategy session, and navigating those early struggles together forced us to be incredibly intentional about our vision.
Looking back at those hurdles now, the payoff has been more rewarding than I ever could have imagined. Reading the incredible patient reviews and feedback we receive has been the ultimate validation for all those sleepless nights. When someone takes the time to write a review saying they used to dread the dentist but actually looked forward to their visit with us, or that the calming environment completely erased their anxiety, it means everything. Going from an empty piece of land and zero patients to a bustling, trusted community practice makes every single one of those early risks completely worth it!
As you know, we’re big fans of Brush Dental Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At its core, Brush Dental Studio was built to completely flip the script on what a visit to the dentist feels like. We wanted to move away from the cold, clinical, rushed environment that makes so many people anxious, and instead create an elevated, peaceful experience where patient comfort and world-class clinical care coexist perfectly.
What truly sets us apart is that we are a true one-stop-shop for comprehensive dental care. Patients don’t want the hassle of being bounced around from specialist to specialist, driving to different offices just to get a complex problem solved. We have invested heavily in the absolute highest tiers of clinical technology and advanced training so we can handle pretty much everything right here under one roof.
We specialize heavily in cosmetic dentistry and full-mouth reconstructions, including full-arch restorations. Whether someone is looking for a subtle cosmetic enhancement to boost their confidence or needs a complete, sophisticated smile rebuild from the ground up, we handle the entire process from start to finish. Having the artistic eye for aesthetics and the biomechanical mastery required to rebuild a smile is exactly where my passion for working with my hands shines the brightest.
Brand-wise, I am incredibly proud of how we have normalized luxury and relaxation in a dental setting. We are widely known for our customized comfort menu, which is completely complimentary for every single patient. We want the stress of a dental visit to completely melt away the moment you lie down, so you can tailor your experience with calming aromatherapy, soothing warm neck wraps, and even a deeply relaxing paraffin wax treatment for your hands. We also have overhead TVs so you can sit back and get lost in a show while we work. We have intentionally masked the standard clinical sights, sounds, and smells so that your time in the chair feels less like an appointment and more like a retreat.
With over 300 five-star reviews, it’s incredibly rewarding to see our patients truly value the unique experience we’ve built. If there is one thing I want your readers to know about our dental office, it is that we don’t just treat teeth; we care for the whole person. We have combined a relaxing, spa-like atmosphere with the capability to perform highly complex, life-changing dental transformations. You don’t have to choose between a comforting environment and cutting-edge clinical expertise—we built Brush Dental Studio so you could have both.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking gets a reputation for being stiff or transactional, but for me, it has always been about a shared obsession with the craft. If you want to find great mentors and build a solid professional circle, you have to actively put yourself in environments where the people you look up to go to push themselves.
For me, that means consistently attending major industry conferences and continuous education (CE) events and courses. Staying on the absolute cutting edge of clinical dentistry is non-negotiable for my practice, but the massive byproduct of prioritizing that education is the room it puts you in. When you are learning advanced full-mouth reconstruction or complex cosmetic techniques, you are surrounded by other dentists who are just as passionate, driven, and forward-thinking as you are.
What has worked best for me is simply keeping an open, collaborative mindset. I don’t look at other clinicians as competition; I look at them as colleagues. I routinely meet up with, call, and consult with other dentists to talk through complex cases, compare notes on new technology, or just bounce business ideas around.
If you are looking for a mentor, don’t just ask someone to be your mentor out of the blue. Instead, ask them for their perspective on a specific clinical challenge or business problem. Show them that you have a genuine passion for working with your hands, mastering the engineering of dentistry, and constantly improving. True mentors are almost always eager to help someone who is hungry to learn, respects the work, and is willing to put in the time to do it right. Put yourself in those educational spaces, ask smart questions, and focus on building genuine, mutual respect.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brushdentalstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brush.dental.studio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brushdentalstudio
