The Mutzelburg brothers: two of a kind

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Kurt is a savvy businessman. Paul is an adventurer and pilot. Yet the Mutzelburg brothers successfully work together as dentists, complementing each other’s skills and personalities. By Frank Leggett

Drs Kurt and Paul Mutzelburg followed two different career paths before ending up working together at Jorgensen Mutzelburg Dental (JM Dental) at Brisbane’s Everton Park. 

In 2007, Kurt started JM Dental with university colleague, Tim Jorgensen, while Paul had joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot in 2000. When he decided to study dentistry at the University of Sydney, the army sponsored him. After graduating in 2013, he was obliged to stay with the army for five years. He was posted to Brisbane, where JM Dental was just down the road. It was as if the brothers were ultimately destined to work together and in June 2014, Paul started part-time at JM Dental.

Kurt Mutzelburg

“When I was growing up, my Dad’s main advice was to do something where you can be your own boss. So, after graduating, I wanted to open my own clinic as soon as possible. I worked for a few years in private and public practice then, with Tim, set up JM Dental from scratch in 2007. We opened our doors a week after my twin daughters were born. 

“Paul has always been a bit of a dark horse. He was a pilot in the air force and travelled a lot. I often visited him and talked about dentistry and the clinic. I don’t know if I’m responsible for getting him into dentistry but I certainly never discouraged him. When he graduated, I was quietly hoping we would work together. The army could have posted him anywhere but he was transferred to Brisbane, close to our practice. The business was doing well and I knew there was a good chance of Paul eventually joining our team.

“Paul has been working with us at JM Dental for about 10 years. He left the army but splits his time between us and them where he continues to perform dentistry for the Australian Defence Force. Dentistry is a close-working environment so having my brother here is great because we know each other so well. There’s a level of trust between us that’s always deeper than between friends or workmates. 

“We often work together on patients as Paul completed conscious sedation training through the Australian Defence Force. He’s a wonderful dentist who looks after all his patients well. We have a lot of phobic patients and his sedation skills make treatment possible in the first place.

“Paul and I bring different skills to the practice. His willingness to embrace sedation has allowed us to expand our services and client base. There’s little disagreement between us; we know how each other works. We’re both patient-centric and all-caring.

“It’s fair to say that as a co-founder and co-owner of JM Dental, I’m more of a businessman whereas Paul the pilot is more of an adventurer. I’m happy to embrace that role. Even though I would like to be more adventurous, the insurance company would be against it.

“Working with Tim and my brother has been a wonderful and successful experience. I would advise any siblings considering it to go for it. Of course, do your business planning in advance and consider all the outcomes. While business partners can sometimes fall out, the relationship between Paul and I has grown stronger. We live close to each other, all our kids went to the same school, and having my brother as a trusted business confidant has been a fantastic experience.”

Paul Mutzelburg

“I was a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force, then got picked up by the Australian Army and studied dentistry under their sponsorship. I also spent time with the [Army] Aboriginal Community Assistance Program in Cape York through my relationship with the army. When I was posted to Brisbane after graduating in 2013, Kurt took me under his wing.

“I’ve been working at JM Dental for around 10 years now. I still work as a dentist on the Brisbane army base, Gallipoli Barracks, but I’m not uniformed anymore. I’ve also given up flying—it’s the dentistry that keeps me busy.

“After I graduated, I hoped I would work with Kurt but couldn’t guarantee it due to my commitment to the army. The whole reason I embraced dentistry as a career was because of Kurt’s interest. When I was working full-time on the base, I started doing weekends and late nights at JM Dental. It was an excellent way to improve my skills as Kurt and Tim were experienced dentists and great mentors. I’m now an associate at JM.

“I knew there would be no conflict between Kurt and myself in a working environment. We’ve always got on well and share a lot of the same interests. We both keep bees, for a start. Kurt and Tim are exceptional dentists who have done further study to offer a full range of dental services. There was no need for me to study implants so instead, I learnt conscious sedation to complement their skills. I know how Kurt operates and can preempt how he functions which is good for keeping sedated patients consistently comfortable. There are differences in how we do things. Kurt and Tim went through UQ whereas I’m a Sydney uni graduate. Kurt and I often discuss cases together so we can bounce different ideas off each other. It works out really well. 

“The best thing about working with Kurt is that we both trust each other. We can openly seek support and help whenever it’s needed. When I’m sedating Kurt’s patients, I know this will result in the best patient outcomes. The only downside is that I get to hear all his jokes twice—once at work then on the group chat at home.

“Kurt is definitely more business-minded than me. He’s savvy and smart in that regard and I’m happy for him to shoulder that responsibility. Working with a sibling is the best business scenario provided you trust each other and can communicate well.”