By Salwa Choucair<\/p>\n
Finding the right balance between work and family life has always been the ultimate goal for Scott and Cassandra Leune, owners of Breakaway Practice, a national company headquartered in San Antonio, offering a variety of business services to dentists including seminars, practice management, an affiliate program and a partnership.<\/p>\n
The perfect balance, however, may have been found when the two met while dancing in San Antonio. Scott was just beginning his first year of dental school at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. Cassandra, who was attending St. Mary\u2019s University, decided to become a dental hygienist and transferred to the Health Science Center.<\/p>\n
Together, they studied, dreamed and began preparing and planning for their future as partners both in life and in business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we wanted our own practice,\u201d said Cassandra, 34, \u201cand we knew that we wanted it to look different.\u201d Within a year of graduating in 2005 with a D.D.S. for Scott and a bachelor\u2019s degree in dental hygiene for Cassandra, they opened their first dental practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first office was very unique,\u201d said Scott, 37. \u201cIt was equipped differently, designed differently, but more importantly, we created a patient experience like no one had seen before. We had different ways of answering the phones; we had different scheduling procedures; and it was just the two of us. She was the hygienist and I was the dentist.\u201d<\/p>\n
When their office became highly successful, they realized the balance they were seeking was sorely missing. They needed help and more systematic approaches to assist in their growth. Within two\u00a0years, they established Breakaway Practice which now embodies the balance they had been seeking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were only able to do this because we did it together,\u201d Scott said. \u201cSince we worked together, we could help improve each other in a healthy way. A dentist is supposed to have one practice, one day, and here we are managing 300, and it started with the foundation of keeping each other within the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Breakaway continues to find success, the Leunes have found many ways to give back to their community and to the university where it all began. For instance, they give a portion of their company\u2019s seminar income every year to the dental school, and they hire local students interested in healthcare careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cProviding donations to the School of Dentistry is significant,\u201d Scott said. \u201cEven a small amount becomes the culture of the alumni, and this makes a huge impact on the dental school and people connected to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In giving back financially or through volunteering, the Leunes point to how essential each act becomes in finding the right balance for living a good life. Maybe, just maybe, they are on to something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scott Leune, D.D.S., and Cassandra Leune, B.S.D.H., both Class of 2005, strive to find a healthy balance between their national company and their growing family. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"magazine":[23],"issue-year":[19],"featured-story":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","magazine-salute","issue-year-19"],"yoast_head":"\n