Podcasts about dso

A $400,000 B2B card payment sounds simple until a processor flags it, the finance team cannot reconcile it, and the invoice sits open while DSO creeps up. That gap between delivering product and collecting cash is where B2B payments either become a growth engine or a constant operational headache.I sits down with Thomas Cecil, Co-Founder of PAYRA, to unpack how modern accounts receivable automation actually works when you have real scale like thousands of invoices per month and customers paying by card, ACH, wire, or check. We talk through PAYRA's approach to the invoice-to-cash cycle, why deep ERP integrations matter more than glossy dashboards, and how automated payment reconciliation into the general ledger eliminates the manual posting that blocks adoption. Thomas also explains the practical details finance teams care about, like handling surcharging and posting to multiple GL entries without breaking the books.We also zoom out to where B2B payments is headed: partnering with ISOs instead of trying to replace them, using AI agents to pull invoice metadata from legacy ERPs with limited APIs, and the growing opportunity in cross-border receivables. Thomas shares why stablecoins may reduce correspondent banking friction and why workflows and value-added services are becoming the real business model behind payments.

Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!

Welcome to the third episode of Group Dentistry Now & Black Talon Security's Dental Cyber Watch Live. As dental groups rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many are spending on tools no one uses and feeding patient data into platforms no one controls. The result is wasted budget, hidden liability, and growing security exposure. In this episode of Dental Cyber Watch Live, Bill Neumann (CEO, Group Dentistry Now) sat down with Gary Salman (Co-founder and CEO, Black Talon Security) and Matthew McGaw (founder, DSO Compass; co-founder, Relay) to unpack the promise and peril of AI in dentistry. The clear message for DSOs of every size: AI is transformative, but only when paired with governance, training, and due diligence. Here are the key takeaways. Shadow AI: The Risk You Can't See Shadow AI is the unmonitored use of large language models — ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude — by employees without policy, oversight, or controls. Staff turn to these tools to work faster. The problem is that no one is watching what data goes in. Salman described the scope at a recent DSO event with roughly 20 leaders, representing practices from 10 to 200-plus locations. Most reported a mix of LLMs already in use across their teams. Few had standard operating procedures governing what could be entered. Fewer still had any technology to monitor that activity. The exposure is real. Information uploaded to a free model may be anonymized, but it can resurface when others ask similar questions. "When the product's free, you're the product. They're not doing you a favor." — Gary Salman, Black Talon Security For an organization handling protected health information, that is a compliance event waiting to happen. The fix doesn't require shutting AI down — it requires structure: enable privacy settings so platforms don't train on your data, write SOPs that define what can and cannot be entered, and train staff on why it matters. The AI Graveyard: Paying for Tools No One Uses The "AI graveyard" is where promising technology goes to die. It's the software a DSO bought with enthusiasm, then abandoned because of poor implementation, failed training, low adoption, or clunky integration — while the subscription keeps billing. McGaw pointed to two familiar culprits: "shiny object syndrome" and the "Hawaiian shirt guy effect," where a charismatic salesperson wins the room and the product never fits the problem. Neumann offered a grounded example. Some automations at Group Dentistry Now worked well. Others proved clunky and were better handled manually. A buried tool isn't just a wasted subscription. It drains training hours, erodes staff confidence in future rollouts, and makes the next investment harder to champion. The escape route is unglamorous but reliable: plan, implement, and train before you scale. Roll out to a small group, confirm adoption, refine the workflow, then expand. Design Backward, Build Forward The smartest framing of the conversation came from a concept Salman credited to Andy Farina of Destination DSO: design backward, build forward. Understand the problem you're solving first, then align products to it — never the reverse. Most purchasing runs backward. A leader sees an exciting tool, then invents a reason to need it. McGaw captured the trap: "Sometimes the problem that they think they have to solve isn't always the problem that is really the problem." Salman's advice for separating substance from hype was blunt: "Stay away from the shiny penny and buy the gold." Before any AI purchase, leaders should define the problem, set clear criteria for success, evaluate fit against those criteria, and only then buy. Vendor Due Diligence — and Who's Really Liable Many DSO leaders misunderstand a critical point: under HIPAA, breach liability sits with the healthcare entity — the DSO — not the software or technology provider. Assuming the vendor carries that risk is a dangerous shortcut. That makes cyber due diligence non-negotiable. Before signing with any AI vendor, ask: How do they access, store, and share data? Who, specifically, has access to it? What security measures protect it? Salman's larger point: security should be the first question in any technology evaluation, not the last. Too often it's raised only after the contract is signed and the data is already flowing. Building AI Securely The throughline of the discussion was AI governance, risk, and compliance treated as a foundation, not an afterthought. For organizations handling patient data, that distinction separates innovation from exposure. Leaders should expect real safeguards from any tool touching PHI: scrubbing confidential data like dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and patient health information on upload; annotating sources so answers can be traced; flagging possible hallucinations; and hashing files to protect their integrity. Pair those safeguards with disciplined implementation, and today's investment doesn't become tomorrow's graveyard occupant. Protecting What You've Built AI is a genuine opportunity for DSOs willing to pair ambition with discipline. The risk isn't the technology — it's deploying it without control. Three steps to start now: Audit current AI usage to learn which tools your team uses and what data flows into them. Establish AI governance and SOPs before the next tool goes live. Make vendor security due diligence standard, with security as the opening question. Is your DSO adopting AI faster than it can secure it? Get these fundamentals in place, and AI stops being a liability waiting to surface — and becomes the advantage it promised to be for your practice and your patients. Get the MAX Surgical Specialty Management Case Study: https://dso.pub/4v8OwfP  

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The Deadcast tells the dramatic story of when the Hells Angels put ex-Grateful Dead Records president Ron Rakow on trial for walking away from the Dead with $225,000 he believed the band owed him.Guests: Ron Rakow, Steve Brown, Terry Haggerty, John Scher, David Lemeiux See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Part two of Kiera's conversation with Howard Farran on the Dentaltown podcast. As a business owner, the greatest gift you can give yourself is to get systems in place so you are not dependent on core people. This second part of Kiera's conversation with Howard is about determining your weaknesses as a practice, building systems to fix those weaknesses, and letting your practice hum regardless of who's sitting in the seats. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:02) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and quick heads up, today's episode is a special repost from a podcast I joined as a guest. It is a great conversation for practice owners who want to progress without carrying everything. I cannot wait for you to hear it. Let's dive right in.   speaker-0 (00:16) And you know, I was doing a million dollars in the eighties, a million dollar practice, and I went to two and and I I thought I actually think I had a higher treatment plan acceptance rate than my buddies on just measuring the same day. My clothes is always like, you don't want to come back. I mean, we could you know, I'm when I'm doing the hygiene check, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna leave. The hygienist gonna Denise Missy, they'll numb me up.   speaker-1 (00:21) They're like eight million now there, Howard.   speaker-0 (00:44) And and then and then move her to room eight and we'll we'll we'll knock this out in 30 minutes because you don't want to drive all way from work and then kid and school. You just pulled your kid out of school, now you want to do it twice. It I just always s insisted on just the same day because if we do this because from my perspective, if we do this filling a day, it's two fifty. If you walk out that door, half of you never come back until it hurts, and then it's a twenty five hundred dollar root connected crown.   speaker-1 (00:50) Amen.   speaker-0 (01:12) It's only one tenth the price to do the filling. I got a room. The hygienist can numb you up. And then I always hit the hygienist on the show and said, You should have numbed her up before I got here and I could be doing it right now. And she laughed and she said, but that's illegal. I said, I'm not a lawyer. I'm a dentist. Let's get this done. But just by really leaning on same day. And I really think that was a huge part of our success.   speaker-1 (01:37) Well, and Howard, I think what you said is like going back to the COVID crank, I think so many business businesses right now have lost that like customer service and let's make it easy. Like, as you said, one of our core values in Dental A Team is ease. And I'm always like, How can you make it easy for everybody? Because that's what people want. Like you said, like no one wants to take time off for the dentist. I'm switching dentists right now and they're like, So you're gonna come in for a hour appointment and then we'll bring you back in like three months for your hygienist. And I told my assistant, I was like, just call them back. I was like, tell them no, no, no, like   Make it easy. I don't want to come back. And so I think when offices take on the mentality, I have grown practices 10, 20, $30,000 a month just by same day treatment. Like just get it done. Let's train our team. Like, let's be quick. Let's have that quick turnaround time. Now, of course, doctors, you've got to be like Howard can get that done and he can rock it out and he's great. If you're a dentist that is not quite that quick, like we do not want to scale back all your patients. So maybe you do like add, add on an extra filling that's already in the quad that you're getting numb.   Like, where can we do it? Can we add that fluoride in today? Can we add in this thing? Can we take the scan today? Because you're right, no patient wants to take time off of work to come to the dentist. So like let's just rock it out, make them a raving fan because we went above and beyond to make them happy.   speaker-0 (02:49) And and and it also is a good variance counterbalance to no shows and cancellations. You know, she said yes, and then your next patient didn't show up as opposed to reschedule this one a week from now and then then this doesn't show up. But hey, I want to ask you, I'm gonna hold your feet to the fire on this. True. Would you rather build a dental office on rock star employees or rock star systems?   speaker-1 (03:16) ⁓ this one is I think the this it's ⁓ it's interesting because I think that there's space for both. However, Rockstar employees can walk out that door and then you are left. And I say that this to me is where as a business owner, you're shackled and you're always going to feel scared. You're gonna feel scared to hold accountability, you're gonna feel scared to ask people to do their job because you're so afraid of them leaving. Whereas if you have systems, I'm not here to say be a jerk, like that's not what we're here for, but it becomes so much easier to just   plug and play. And then also for team members, they tend to stay longer because they understand they've got clear systems. And people get really weird on systems, Howard. And I think they feel like systems are so hard. And it's like, I'd rather just bring someone in who knows what they're doing. And I'm like, but make that repeatable. So if they're out and I make my rock stars go on vacation for a week. I'm like, absolutely. And people are like, no, no, no. I don't want them to leave. And I'm like, you need them to leave because you need to see where it breaks down and you need to build systems. But I will say as a business owner, the greatest gift you can give yourself   is to get systems in place where you are not dependent on those core people. Like I want great team members that love my patience and do what they have, but I want it to be a repeatable process that every time, no matter if I've got Susie, Sarah, Jenny, Mike, John, anybody, we're giving the exact same experience. Like I look at Chick-fil-A and it's the same amazing experience. Every time I walk in there, they say the same thing and none of us are annoyed by that. And teams are super happy and thriving. I interviewed a guy who's a big wig in Chick-fil-A and I was   Fascinated by the culture. I was like, tell me more about this. And he's like, we have systems. We have buddy systems. We have it built on systems. That is the core to great success. And it's the core to like less stress in your business. Like obsessively, I am so obsessed about simple systems. I've been called the Dr. Seuss of systems. Make it so simple that anyone can do it. And then hire amazing talent that treats your patients with the great culture that you want.   speaker-0 (05:08) Yeah, and if the systems are so good, they don't even have to have dental experience. I mean, I the best receptionist I had was the the teller at Chase Bank next to me and I absolutely said her, I said, You are so dang good. You're always happy, always you remember my name. I said, What do I have to do to get you to work for me? And she she told me and she's been here for you know, over a decade. just the same things.   speaker-1 (05:36) Howard, I want to highlight, I hope dentists listen to you. ⁓ there are not a lot of dentists that are scrap like you. And that's something I love about you. And this is just like a little, it's not intentional, like boost your ego, but like please take it. Like it's a good boost. You are so scrap, right? It's like, let's just get that done. Like again, like let's do same-day treatment. My best employee in the company was my next door neighbor. I knocked on her door. She like took care of my plants when I traveled. She's like, those things are gonna die. I was like, the fact that someone as a neighbor just watered my plants to be nice to me.   She's been amazing. She's been with me five years, best incredible EA I've ever had. You ask the bank teller. We look for great talent. You build on systems. And I just hope the dentists realize like, just saying yes and GSDing, like, let's just get it done. That is something that I think so many people have like lost that art. And truly, that's what impresses me with your podcast, with who you are. And I just hope that people here, you don't have to go for perfect. You don't have to find this perfect person. You just gotta be scrappy and gritty.   And your practice will grow and you'll have great team members with you. Like it's not actually hard. And I think we make it hard, but just hearing your examples, I hope people listen as a dentist, this is what makes successful dentists in dental offices and great team culture as well. That is the core vote values that he's got. And it is why he's so successful. And I hope dentists can learn from that.   speaker-0 (06:53) Well, thank you. And I got did I ever tell you a story about the third hygienist they hired? I I already had my two full time hygienists, everything was great. And ⁓ this ⁓ young girl walked in, just graduated straight out of hygiene school, and I could hear someone giggling up front and they said I was busy, you know, she wanted to talk to me and then she just took it upon herself just to just to walk through the office and I I er and anyway, long story short, I finally got done. I broke, I met her.   speaker-1 (06:57) Tell me, I'm ready.   speaker-0 (07:20) And had no opening for hygiene, and she was so into the office, and she's asking all the right. I can just feel her energy, she's like sucking out my soul. And I and the first thought I said is she's from Alwatukee, she lives in Alwatuki. Do you want to compete against this girl for the next 40 years? Or you know you want her on your team, you don't have room for her on their team, but she ain't gonna end up across the street. I hired her and told everybody we'll just have to figure it out because this is a rock star personality.   I mean, you know, she just walking through like she owned the place and probably probably one of the top two or three, her and Jan, probably the best employees I ever had. I mean, unbelievable. ⁓ how do you get the dentist to stop being the limit to his own growth? I mean, it's it seems like I don't know about dental school curriculums, and it seems like shooting yourself in the foot has got to be the first and the last course they teach you there. How do you get the dentist to quit being the ceiling to their own practice?   speaker-1 (08:21) Think it's a I actually want to just like shout out a lot of the dentists. I feel that the new generation of dentists coming through actually are very prone and open to understanding business and recognizing there's so many books out there that talk about like CEOs and owners of businesses are the bottleneck to their success. And so I just want to say, like, I think a lot are starting to recognize that, but I think that there's still a lot that don't. And I I usually help people say, like,   When the pain is bad enough is usually when people change. Or you can recognize that you need to get yourself out of the weeds. You need to become the CEO of your business. You need to be working at the highest level of your ⁓ license. And everybody in your practice needs to be doing the same. And if you're not, like I do a delegation exercise. I just did it with our doctors on Tuesday. I was like, write down everything that you're working on right now, everything on your to-do list, everything there. And then I want you to go back through it and I want you to literally look at that and like only things that you can do. And like, please don't like   Boost your ego, but what are the things that only you could do? And I had a group of 50 doctors the other night and they were like, really, it's like vision, culture, and profitability. Like everything else can be someone else can do. And so when doctors recognize like that is your sweet spot and no one else is doing that, you need to have other people in there. Like you're welcome to hold it all yourself. But there's also another path where you can elevate people around you. You do great dentistry and you own the visionary and the CEO seat. Be obsessive in there.   But I think so many of them want to just do everything. I'm like, that's great, but you're gonna run right into burnout really quickly. So it's a helping them realize, go look at your to-do list. Honestly, of that, who can you delegate this to? Who can do it better than you? And who's gonna be somebody that's gonna light up and be excited about it and get yourself continually moving towards that CEO seat? I think so many dentists don't realize that they are a CEO of a multi-million dollar business. And I think, like, look at Jeff Bezos, look at some of these really prominent people.   That are great CEOs. What are they doing all day long? They are not answering emails. They're not responding to these things. Like they're not doing any of that. They've got teams around them that are incredible at that. How can you get yourself closer to that? Because that is where the practice flourishes. But if you're sitting there doing every single thing, you're stopping it constantly. It's truly a bottleneck. ⁓ and I think that's when people are ready for it, when people actually recognize that, there's there's two types of dentists. There's the one who calls when they're absolutely burnout, exhausted, and they can't see like past like one foot in front of them.   There's the other dentist that realizes I don't want to be that. I've seen too many dentists like that. And I want you to coach me into how to become like not there. And I say, like, life's so much easier. I have a dentist hired us two months before he started his practice. As a brand new practice owner, this year he should be clearing 2.5 million. And I'm like, why? Because he recognized, get out of the way, have these other people do it, train my team. I'm going to bottleneck this. I don't want to be burnt out. I want to be present for my kids.   Teach me how to be the CEO of my practice and empower my team. And so I'm like, again, it's choose your hard. Which path do you want to live? It's all in Wonderland. There's both, there's paths. It's just what path do you want to go on? And also what mentors and what people be the CEO of your practice. Do not be the operator that's doing it all.   speaker-0 (11:35) You know, I always call a great idea is I always call them a giraffe. I'll never forget when I took my kids ⁓ to a ⁓ Serengeti and the guide was so funny, he would he would all of a sudden he'd stop. Well he stopped for a reason. He's giving us a guide and and it was one of these long tour to trucks where you'd stand up in the middle and you look out, and after about five minutes, we just said, What? What? And he's like, It's right in front of you and we're just like, Well, we're looking all around, my boy, everybody's gonna find it.   And he says, Are you kidding me? Look at that tree. Look at to the left of that tree. And it was a giraffe standing right next to the tree. Totally camouflage. And that that's what I mean when I say, you know, they can't see the giraffe. And here's a missing giraffe for 40 years. Remember the great Jennifer D. St. George? She's still out there. I love her to death. And she had this lecture on schedule. It's called Rocks, Sand and Water. She goes, You gotta schedule your rocks first. Do all your rocks. And then she'd fill up a glass with rocks.   And then she say, Then you can do your sand. And she'd pour like a half glass of sand on top of the rocks and you still didn't have a full. And then she'd say, and then the water, then she'd take like a full bottle water and pour it in the sand and and it was still full. And I already know when you talked about block scheduling, I already know that at least fifty to a hundred and fifty percent of the dentists said, ⁓ I don't care if I do a root canal in the morning or night. I they they don't understand block scheduling.   They don't understand rock, standing water. They haven't for 40 years. Jennifer lectured for 40 years and and I still don't think anybody saw the giraffe. Can you just slow down and talk about you just made the example about how all you did was change the scheduling and you got the it up. So show that giraffe. What what does that giraffe look like?   speaker-1 (13:23) Well, thank you, Howard, because I do love giraffes. I do have freckles and have I've definitely been like and have a very long neck and I'm very tall. So I do love giraffes in and of itself. So thank you. Like let's just talk about it. ⁓ but I I agree. It's so I don't know. I think as a team member, you just get obsessed with making puzzles. And like for me, I'm like, how can I maximize and squeeze more juice out of your lemon tree? Like, let's just do it. It's gonna be a great time. ⁓ and so what I love to do is.   Like, let's just go through and build you a perfect day. And I love to build my rocks. And I used to do like high production. And then I learned it was even more fun if I put a dollar amount on those high production blocks. Because as a team member, like, hi, Kiera, I'm Kiera. I sit up front. I am now looking for puzzle pieces that are coming through my puzzle. And instead of just filling your day with a bunch of water, aka no production, I'm actually able to like fill you full.   Make sure I've got you up to production and then I move on to my next day. And then as I have my little water that comes through, I just fill in the gaps. And you, doctor, are so happy. And I did this with an office and the doctor was like used to making five, seven thousand dollars a day max. We got him to a twelve thousand dollar day and he walked out the door at four o'clock. And normally he was there till 536. And he's like, Here, how'd you do it? And I was like, Because we actually put in blocks, we actually scheduled it of what's the most efficient way to use your time.   And it's playing seduco in a schedule is how you really do it. It's like perfect. Where is the doctor? And then where does doctor need to be for hygiene exams? What does my hygienist need to be producing? How much period do I have? How many new patients do I have? Let's block those so I can get those people in on our schedule. Make sure my hygienists are up to goal every single day. So, like, what are they supposed to be producing? Usually three times their pay is typical. And then on the doctor side, doctors, what do we want to be producing for the year? What do we need to be producing per day? Let's build in those dollar amounts.   That is going to make you feel so easy to get through to get to exams where you're not running behind. And now let's figure this out. And when we go through, and I look to see how much procedures cost, how much like on average, how many new patients we need, how many SRPs we need, how many perio maintenance we need. And then you take those pieces, those are your rocks, and I'm gonna go build a schedule to where it actually flows really, really well. And then from there, I'm gonna duplicate that over every single week.   And what's crazy about it is when you do this, people realize they're gonna be walking out with $10 to $12,000 days, getting out on time. We're doing the easy stuff in the afternoon, the harder stuff in the morning or whatever you like to work. I don't care. And when people see how much they can produce with minimal effort, no extra patience and no extra time, like usually that's how it builds. You're able to, like you said, see the draft, but it's crazy because you're a happier dentist, you're not running behind all day long, and you're actually profitable. We hold those blocks, I usually say for 24 hours as team members.   And me as a treatment coordinator, I am scanning my canvas, I'm scanning my own scheduled treatment to find something of that dollar amount or that rock to fill in my blocks. And I'm not gonna put multiples in there. We're gonna make sure if you only have one root canal system, we're not putting two next to each other. If you have one implant system, I'm not doing two back to back. Like you just have it to where the day flows and 85% of your days will be great. And the other like, you know, 15% are like, shoot, we couldn't get anybody in it. We just fill it with whatever we can, get you up to that, put emergencies in there.   But that's how you do it. And it's so, it's so satisfying. I've got an office that they lost two doctors. So I've only got two doctors. We are producing as much as they were on four doctors with better blocks, better scheduling. And it's just incredible to see how much more efficient you can be with your time without more patience, more effort. And it's very, very fun and fulfilling. And when people follow it, they're shocked at how much their practice grows without any, like hardly any extra effort.   speaker-0 (17:07) Tell me, tell me this. Why do my DSO buddies, who have hundreds of office locations, tell me that that when someone calls their office, they can convert 70 to 80% of the people on the phone to getting their butt physically measured in the chair? And that in private practice, it routinely shows up at about 42%. How can Heartland   close seventy to eighty percent of the callers as measured by you called on the phone and now your butt is sitting in a chair in private practice forty two percent. What do you think explains that the most?   speaker-1 (17:44) I think Howard, it's they're obsessive about numbers. I have an office that works for Aspen and I've just watched like they are obsessive about KPIs and tracking and measuring. And I feel like in private practice, we don't track and measure nearly as much as they do. Like they've got metrics, they've got numbers, they're looking at it. And so what they do in Heartland and corporate, they're smart businesses. They look to see where is our leaky hole and how are we going to fix it. So I know what they're doing is they're watching their call conversions.   They're talking to their offices and they're setting this of like your goal is 75%. And this is the training and the verbiage. And we're going to track this and we're going to measure it because what we track and measure improves. And I like tell me a private practice out there that's like, we know our call percentage rate. None of them could probably tell us, but you ask a DSO and you better believe they're going to know all their metrics. And that's where I love like so many offices are obsessed about systems and what system do I put into place and how do I grow my practice? And I'm like,   Number one, let's figure out where you want to go and what's your vision. I call that why. And then E is earnings and profitability. Like based on those two things, based on where you want to go and what the profitability and our our numbers are, then you determine the systems. And then we look at those metrics of the profitability and our KPIs and the metrics, and you put systems into place for that. So these DSOs are so good at tracking and measuring. And like I've got a practice doing 29 million. And what we do is we have a scorecard. They know.   We just hit the most important things that are going to drive the needle forward and we watch those numbers like a hawk and that's all we coach and focus on. You coach and focus on those items, your practice will grow. But I promise you it's because they're tracking, measuring, and training to that and having metrics of what they need to hit. They're not better than us. They're just better at measuring and then improving those numbers.   speaker-0 (19:24) Well, they they say that just by weighing yourself at the same time every day will start bringing your weight down just because you're focusing on it. Totally. And things like that. ⁓ I want you to do the same thing to treatment plan. Why do you think most patients are saying no? And what's the draft that one of my homies could listen to right now that could help him increase his treatment plan acceptance rate?   speaker-1 (19:46) I think the no is just surface level. And what you gotta hear is what they're not saying. And I also would say a lot of people, they're like, it's about money. And I'm like, again, you're looking for reasons and you're gonna continue to find that. So for me, my mantra, and this is a great thing for the homies out there, my mantra is everybody says yes to me and everybody loves me. Like, no joke, I say that every time I'm going into a treatment plan. Why am I sitting here thinking about my gosh, they can't afford it or they can't do this? You're creating more of that.   Rather than going in with a confidence, they're buying your confidence. Like hands down, I can I can close a fifty thousand dollar case same day. Let's swipe a credit card, like let's buy a boat. But it's confidence. And I'm walking in there of like, we're doing this, we're doing it now. My job is just to figure out how you're paying for it. And so when we look at that case acceptance, I've coached an office and we've added, I've got five locations. All I do is train their treatment coordinators. I just rep them. We are constantly going through reps. We add   One to two million annually amongst those five offices just by focusing on it. And I'm like, it's 80% psychology. What are you thinking about? You walk in there, everybody loves me, everybody says yes to me, and let's make this happen. And I do it in a way where I love them. I give them like a warm virtual hug, like I'm not actually hugging. I want them to feel so comfortable, so confident. But then I also say, like, watch out. How are you using words? Words are free, Howard. Like, I'm not going to lead with, do you want to get this done? No, I'm going to assume they want to get this done.   Hey Howard, let's get that treatment done. So I'm gonna schedule you. Doctor is really busy. So I'm gonna do Monday or Wednesday, which works best for you. ⁓ Kiera, I want to talk about fees. Howard, absolutely, I'm gonna talk about fees. Let's just make sure we get this time locked in. I've got Monday or Wednesday, which do you prefer? We schedule you on Wednesday. You're already halfway there for me. I've got you scheduled. Perfect. So treatment's gonna be this amount. This is what the total will be. This is what our insurance estimates are, this is what our total will be when I see you on Wednesday. What questions do you have for me? Howard then asked me. I'm not gonna say I'm like, so do you want to talk about money? Do you want to get scheduled?   Like, why? Why am I bringing this up? Like, let them come up with it. Give them the time. Have the things. Don't bombard them, but be so confident. If I've got a great dentist that I know has great dentistry, they diagnose my job is to close and let's have that type of attitude. Walk in their doctors, don't be like, I don't know if they want to do this. Like, what if they can't afford? No, be the freaking clinician that's like amazing and like they all love you. They say yes to you. Diagnose them. Stop scrimping on them. Like morally, that is your job is to tell me what's going on.   Your job is to diagnose for me and then I get to make the decision from there. But truly it's eighty percent psychology. What are you thinking about? What's your mantra? And then twenty percent is skill, but get that confidence because they're buying your confidence, they're not buying dentistry.   speaker-0 (22:18) Then I want you to pontificate on ⁓ this. ⁓ I watch this in my own eyes. ⁓ every American I know that's as old as me, ⁓ or by the time they die, has bought one new car in their lifetime. Am I right? You know any do you know anybody that lived to be 80 that never bought a new car? Yeah, yeah. And right now the average new car is 50,000.   speaker-1 (22:41) They all do it.   speaker-0 (22:45) And I would say ninety-five percent of all the dentists go to retirement and they never sold one case for the price of a new car, which would be fifty thousand dollars a day. And then I watched Clear Choice, my favorite DSO, because they rolled out a hundred locations, and the only thing they sell is fifty thousand dollar two arcs all on fours, twenty-five thousand dollars an arch. They rolled into Phoenix and all the world surgeons and paradox, like, I don't know, I don't know if I like this.   And they start doing all these infomercials. Remember, remember, orthodontists have always been ahead of general dentists in advertising. All the orthodontists were advertising before 10% of the flipping general dentists were. And when the general dentists finally got to like two or three percent, the orthodontists were at five. And now all my two million dollar dental orthodontist offices on up are spending eight percent on marketing. Here's clear choice.   You go through the channels, they got all these 30 minute infomercials and and all this stuff like that. No, I never I never had heard of an all on four until I heard it on a clear choice deal. And then all my paces were coming in saying, Do you do all on four? I'm like, what are you even talking about? Then then they tell me, and then because I I would have called it a you know, four implant. You know, I didn't think of four, say whatever. And and then the next thing you knew.   Every oral surgeon and peridonist in the valley of Arizona was doing more cases because they were selling it to so many people that our pace that we were benefiting from it. So I just want to hold your feet to fire. How come ClearChoice with a hundred locations? Don't tell me it's demographics. They're in the hundred biggest cities in America. And and in each one of those cities, 95% of the dentists will retire without selling a single $50,000 case. And ClearChoice is doing it in their backyard.   Every single day of the week. Explain that to me.   speaker-1 (24:42) gosh. I I don't disagree with you. And I think there's I I ⁓ to me it's kind of like the four minute mile, right? Like so many people did not think that they could do it. And then once the four minute mile broke, it was like, my gosh, now all these people can do it. I still cannot run a four minute mile mark. Like I'm still working on that, Howard. So I get it. There's like limitations still. But I think a lot of dentists I watch, a lot of them get weird. Like they get uncomfortable. They feel like, well, do they really need it? Should I really offer this? Like   They get into this weird space in their head rather than just like, why don't I just offer it? Like I have a dentist who literally presents $250,000 treatment plans consistently. And they do all like full cosmetic. I have another doctor. It's 75 per arch, 75k per arch, and they're closing them consistently. And I think there's a space of like, why are we not doing this? And like you said, clear choice is doing it in their backyard. I think there's a   My background's marriage and family therapy as well. So I studied that when I was in college. And so I love the psychology of it. And I think so many people are truly afraid of rejection. And so they're like, I'm just not going to offer it. And they like justify it in their brain of why, like, I don't need to do that. Like other people can do that. Like, I want to make sure I'm taking care of my patients. And they live in this world that's their own reality. And I think that we all create our own reality. And clear choice is like, no, there are patients out there that do this. My client that does 250,000 consistently.   My other client who does 150,000 consistently, that's just their level of comfort, right? And so, how can dentists get to a higher level of comfort? I think one, be confident in your clinical skills. If you know you're the best dentist out there and you can do this, like for me, I feel like that's my moral obligation to make sure that patients are getting the best dentistry because they don't know if Howard or John or Sarah or Tom is a better dentist than you. So if you aren't confident that you are a dang good dentist,   Your job is to make sure that those patients know that. The second thing is get more confident presenting larger cases. and I tell all the offices I coach on these large cases, like please drop the mindset of a large case. I think we psych ourselves out by being like, ⁓ it's like a $30,000. Like, no, it's just a case. There's no big, there's no small. It's just a case. And I'm going to present what this patient needs and I'm going to present it to them. And I'm going to believe that they want this and I'm doing the best thing. And then we get to decide from there. And our job is to make this to where it's easy. We follow up.   There are so many people that want to do this, but I think people hold themselves back and they live in lies that they choose to tell themselves, but they believe are truth. But they're only the truth to you because there's other people doing it just like the four-minute mile, and you can too. So I think it's a matter of why not? And so when dentists are nervous about this, the way I usually am able to break it is like going from a $5,000 treatment plan to a $50,000 treatment might feel a little scary.   And so I'm like, perfect. Let's just diagnose one more thing or let's present one treatment that we normally wouldn't. And let's start to like build that confidence for you. And whether they choose to say yes or no, you just got to work on your presenting, like presenting skills. It's not like they're not saying yes or no to you. It's just how are we presenting it? How are we using the words? Are we assuming the yes? Are we assuming that they want to do it? There's so many ways that you can present treatment better. Like it's an art, it's not a skill. But I think people choose like Howard, they   They just want to live in this world and they believe that that's the world. And so I'm like, until you choose to get uncomfortable, it's like we've got a little thermometer in our world and in our world. Like if I say that I am comfortable at 75 degrees, if the temperature goes up to 78, I'm like, this is out of control. Get it back to 75. If it drops down to 70, I'm like, it feels uncomfortable. So how can we take it to where I can get comfortable getting out of my 75 degrees and move me to the next level of whatever that is, to where that becomes my new norm. And then I move myself up to the new norm.   There are people doing 35, 75, 150,000. And I don't say that for you to like belittle yourself, but to see that's possible. Other people are doing it. Believe in yourself. If you're the best dentist, be confident in that. And then truly, please, for the love of everything, I am a patient. No hygienist offers me fluoride Howard. No dentist offers me emphasizaline. I would say yes to both of you, but you are selfish. And I'm saying this with like love and respect. You are selfish by not giving me the chance to say yes or no to you.   And I would say give more people the opportunity to say yes to you, offer it, get better at it, check to see why they're saying no to you, refine that and keep offering. I love my offices that set it a 35% case acceptance because I know that they're presenting 50, 2000, like they're sending 10,000, 15,000, $50,000 cases consistently because they know that the more things that they say yes to with great dentistry and great confidence, the more people will say yes to them. But like get out of your own way.   nudge it up a little bit more, get uncomfortable, but truly do great dentistry, offer to patients and stop like holding back and assuming that they don't want to do it because more patients want to than you believe that they do.   speaker-0 (29:37) And you know, a lot of dentists don't like the blood and guts. They don't want to place implants. They don't want to play certain modes. I get it. But you know what? I know a handful of dentists, at ⁓ five at least. I think the sixth one might have retired, but one of the reasons they're probably so big, they didn't they didn't like blood and guts either. But they would always tell ladies, they go, Well, I'll tell you what, before you go back to your twenty fifth wedding ⁓ school high school anniversary or or whatever, I mean tell you what, you always remember   For 50 grand, the price of a new car, what we do here is we take everything out, every filling and crown comes out, we put it all back in in the most beautiful portion. You'll leave with a Hollywood movie star smile. I know it's a lot of money, it's 50 grand, but you gotta think about that. And he and they both tell me they say, Well, you know, if you say that 10 times a month, yes, someone always always says it. And they go, Really? I'd have a movie star smile, and I'd say,   Absolut flipping Lutley, man. We take all that old crap out and veneers, inlays, onlays. I mean, when you're done, you'll look like a movie star. And and and I got a a a couple that is in not so rich areas of town like Tempe and Chandler Mesa. And they say that they have to say that about 10 times ⁓ to get one or two to do it. And in North Scottsdale Paradise Valley, ⁓ boulder area, ⁓ they they they say it's about a one in three close rate. If they just say it right like,   Be because when when someone gets a new car, what do they do? They drive around, they show it to everybody, you know, they just they they just love it. So I we're over an hour and we try to keep it under hour. So I wanna ask you one question. But first you said your background's a marriage advice and I just wanna tell you the best marriage advice you can have. Just like you're saying, it's all in your attitude. You don't you know, you start every day. When you wake up, the first thing you do is you tell your wife, I love you. Not you again. And ⁓   speaker-1 (31:35) I agree.   speaker-0 (31:35) If you if if you just drop the U again and it's so last question. What are ⁓ the one or two KPIs that ⁓ you think every dentist should be reviewing every single week? And what should they stop tracking? That's my final question.   speaker-1 (31:49) Hmm, this is a great one. ⁓ KPIs for dentists to be tracking specifically. ⁓ I really feel like the things that are gonna move you forward on a weekly basis are we've talked a lot about them. Your case acceptance is gonna drive you fast, like forward the best. Like track that, look at that, review it, get really good with that. And then I also really like to look at my hygiene. How is my hygiene doing? What's my what are they producing?   And then if you wanna add a third, like look at your schedule maximization and optimization. Like those are gonna be like really big, like heavy hitters for you constantly. And then I'm gonna throw in one on a monthly basis because I'm really big on I prefer weekly, but I get most aren't obsessive with me. I call it like my mind and my money. So every morning I meditate and I look at my money. So that's like my mantra of how I do it. But if you wanna do it at least monthly, you've gotta be looking at your overhead and your PNL and like what you're producing, what you're collecting, and what you're spending. ⁓   Just if you look at it alone, you're gonna get better. So it's like weighing ourselves. Now things for them to stop tracking. Gosh, there's like to me, I actually feel like really I don't want to say everything, like keep tracking, but I actually think people over track on a lot of things that don't move the needle forward. Like we want to track on, I don't know, I just see people like, well, we're gonna track on this and this and this. And like it's just like it feels like it's such a smorgasborg of items. But I'm like, what really is gonna move your practice forward?   Production collections, new patients, case acceptance, our scheduling optimization or overhead. Like those things and like sure you can look at like dollar amount per patient if you want, like so our marketing ROI. But like that's like really the core. And the more you can simplify it down, the easier it is for you. Cause like you can get lost in data, like buried in it, and actually not be able to execute on what really is gonna move you forward. And I'm like, I've got offices and I'm just a broken record. I say profit and production, profit and production, and that ties to collections. If you focus on that, your practice will grow.   So those would be the things that I'd end with.   speaker-0 (33:42) Garrett, you are a gift to dentistry. Thank you so much for all that you do for dentistry and thank you so much for coming back on the show. You gotta promise you'll come back again before the dirt nap. Gonna come back on again.   speaker-1 (33:52) I will.   I will. Don't take a dirt nap anytime soon, Howard. The world needs you and I'm grateful to be a part of it. So thank you.   speaker-0 (34:00) ⁓ thanks for all you do. It was an honor to podcast you.   speaker-1 (34:03) Likewise, thank you so much.   The Dental A Team (34:05) And that wraps up today's guest interview. If you liked this style of episode, let us know and we'll be sure to share more of them. For more resources, events, next steps, head on over to TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening. We'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.  

We have another Practice Growth Deep Dive for you! In this episode, Steve Jensen talks with Dr. Kartik Antani about the journey from dental school to ownership, what it takes to scale (and when it can be smarter to scale back), and how strong systems and mentorship drive both performance and well-being. Dr. Antani also shares how sleep dentistry and medical billing fit into a modern general practice, plus his vision for more connected, tech-enabled dental and medical care.Listen in to hear about:Building your support systemEarly-career advice: DSO vs private vs ownershipScaling practices: What people do not talk about enoughWhat actually drives practice performanceClinical focus in Dr. Antani's practiceSleep apnea workflow and medical billing…and so much more!Resources MentionedSleep Apnea Resources:Transform Dental Sleep by Jason Tierney: https://www.amazon.com/Transform-Dental-Sleep-Step-Step/dp/B0C524116R.AADSM: https://www.aadsm.org/Email Dr. Antani: kantani@gmail.comBusiness Books:Built to Sell by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without-ebook/dp/B004IYISQWThe Automatic Customer by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Customer-Creating-Subscription-Business-ebook/dp/B00LFYXDNQThe Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Selling-Your-Business-Strategies-ebook/dp/B08NTSFMJLSmall Giants by Bo Burlingham: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Giants-Companies-Instead-10th-Anniversary/dp/014310960XTraction by Gino Wickman: https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone: https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/0470627603See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.

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Part one of Kiera's conversation with Howard Farran on the Dentaltown podcast. They discuss how many details a dentist should know about their business, what about the COVID-19 pandemic still haunts practices, the AI of dentistry and the human care of patients, hidden gaps draining profitability, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today we are sharing a guest interview I did on another podcast. And it was too valuable not to bring you guys here.   this episode, you're gonna hear this host lead the conversation and then I'll wrap us up at the end. I cannot wait. It was truly one of my most   episodes and I truly hope you enjoy.   The Dental A Team (00:17) It's just a huge honor for me today to bring back Kiera Dent. How are you doing, Kiera? my gosh, Howard. It's so great to be back. I remember my very first podcast with you. I was actually at an office in Alabama and I went like hid in this room because I was starstruck podcasting with you. So to be able to be back on the show with you ⁓ several years later is just fun. I love what you guys are doing. I love Dentaltown. I love your posts. so it's really fun to be back. So thank you. ⁓ the honor is all mine. Just remember Kiera likes Shakira.   And Dent is just her nickname. The full name is Dental Queen Goddess. So thank you. And ⁓ she is the founder and CEO of the Dental A Team, committed to elevating dentists and their teams to their highest level through customized in-office and virtual consulting and training. Her vast experience ranges from the front office to assistant, regional manager, and dental practice owner, giving her a perspective few consultants can claim.   She and her team work with hundreds of dental practices nationwide and confidently say we don't just understand you, we are you. Among her many accomplishments, Ciara has grown a practice from 500,000 to 2.4 million in just nine months with a doctor straight out of dental school. She's coached hundreds of practices, authored numerous articles, and designed a customizable operations manual manual that serves as a roadmap for systems and team success.   Her Dental A Team podcast has amassed nearly 2 million downloads, making it one of the most impactful resources in all of dentistry. Kiera lives every day by her core values. Do the right thing, ownership, passion for excellence, ease, grit, innovator, die, and fun. Her motto says it all. There is always a solution. And my gosh, I just want to tell you the truth. And the reason I was so excited to bring you on. It seems like dentistry has turned into two groups of dentists.   There's all the old farts like me who, you know, we had, you know, we had great practices, great lives, great careers. And then you got these younger dentists that look at us and say, ⁓ man, you graduated in the good old days. You know, you didn't have five hundred thousand dollars of student loans, you didn't have DSOs, Delta hasn't given us a raise in four generations, and and and they're mad at the ADA. I think they're even mad at their mom. I I they're I think so and they're not happy. Do you have any good news?   For these dental graduates with $500,000 of student loans, or did they make the wrong decision and should have become a plumber? I mean, you know, plumbing is always a backup plan if dentistry doesn't work. So I think you're like at least in that realm. Like, you know, there's always options. But I love dentistry and I actually, ⁓ I think we're actually in the best time of dentistry. And I know that yes, there's the good old days. Then Howard, those were great days for you. But I think like, how many options do people have now? We have AI, we have these innovations, and I mean.   Your my example of a student straight out of dental school, we actually had one million. So I actually called her 2.5 because we had $2.5 million. So from student debt to practice loan debt to buying another location, all within a couple of months of us starting the practice. And so I called her 2.5 every time I walked past her. I was like, get that back straight, girl. Like we got 2.5 mil of debt on us. but to be able to grow our practice in nine months was   Absolutely incredible. And I think that that's where dentistry is amazing. There is no cap, there is no ceiling, and you have a way to truly impact and change people's lives. And I'm like, you have DSOs as options. Like there were not the times where you were getting the multiples that you get today. You also have like there are so many avenues that dentistry can afford you. but I think it's a it's a matter of what you choose to focus on, is what you're going to find more of. If you want to sit here and say, ⁓ my gosh, it's awful. We have 500,000 of debt. And I'm like, Yeah, but guess what? My husband had   Not quite the same, but we had several hundreds, thousands of dollars of debt. And he's a pharmacist. And so I understand what it's like to come out of school and have hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt on us. But guess what? He's making, you know, hundred, hundred and fifty. If we're lucky on a good day, we're capped out. It took us forever to pay back our student loans. But as dentistry, you have untapped and uncapped potential. And so for me, you get to change people's lives, you get to give them confidence, you get to help them have better health, and you're able to make people smile like.   I can't think of a better opportunity to be a part of. And I'm not just Pollyanna over here. I coach hundreds and thousands of offices. I've seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and the in between. But I'll tell you, depending upon how you choose to view this, you can either find the good or the bad. And I'd recommend like, let's find the great because it's a gold line of opportunity if you want to see it. What what do you say to dentists who say, Mm-mm, you know, I I really don't want to complain really a bit. I mean, on paper my   My practice looks perfect. I got two hygienists. I do a million dollars. I do all this, but just internally it just feels chaotic and stressful. So it looks like on paper he's doing everything right. But she says, I still feel like chaos and stress. What's what's that about? I think like welcome to being a business owner. I think that there's two sides of success. In the word success, there's literally the word suck. Like there are parts of success that are going to suck. Like that's just how it is, guys.   And so that chaos and internal turmoil, I think I there I have lots of offices where you don't have to be that way. And I think going from like operator doing all the pieces, being stressed out into like a CEO of a business. ⁓ I think sometimes dentists are such gunners doers, they're so hands-on that they have this internal chaos. But there there are paths again that don't have to be that way. But I also think this is part of the game of business that we signed up for. And I think when you get to the level like Howard.   You've seen, I've seen over our career, we've got the gunners and the doers and the like zero to two year business owners. Like it's freaking chaos. It's psycho. Like you're learning these things just like you're back in dental school. But as you mature, you start to realize that the chaos is just part of the game. And the more you're able to learn to weather it, to see it, and to not do all the pieces, elevate your team, get great people, do like hire it out. You can hire, I mean, a practice is doing a million and you got great profitability and overhead.   You can hire a lot of great people to take away a lot of your problems. And so like, let's get some of those things done. And then you actually become happier and you make more money. So that you don't have to sit in that chaos. I think that there's a part of it that will always suck. but there's also a part that can really be the successful part too, that's fulfillment and enjoyment. But you got to make the steps and take the steps to do it rather than just sit and complain about it.   Love it, love it, love it. ⁓ what do you what do you say about the ⁓ the dentist who got out of school, goes and works for a major DSO, say say he's working for Rick Workman, Heartland, and he works there two years, and you know, he you know, he's working for a guy that owns eighteen, nineteen hundred dental offices, but he can't tell you the code for a profit. Can't he'll say, like, you know, are they paying my pay right? Really? You can't check at you. I mean, it it's like   It's like they'll listen to a forty hour lecture on the difference between two different composites, but they did I mean th they worked through two years, they don't know insurance codes, they can't check out a patient, they don't know the software. I mean, I had one guy tell me, ⁓ the only thing you could tell me about the practice manager software is the brand name. He couldn't tell me and then he's asking me, you know, it what which one you know, but anyway, do you think do you think a dentist doesn't need to know all the business details?   Or do you think that's a blind spot and you can't delegate anything till you can do it and master it? I think that there's two types of owners. And I think that there's some that are really great at hiring people that they are great at hiring people, knowing it, listening to podcasts, hiring coaches, training the team, and like having somebody spot check for you. Then there's others that like they've got to know the ins and outs. But I think that like Howard, there's   To me, there's also a middle ground where I think that you can go sit with your biller for one day and just like say, like, walk me through your process. So you have a general idea and an understanding of what they do. Go watch to see how they schedule. ⁓ I think when it comes to billing, I do think the dentists have a very big blind spot. And to me, that is like as a business owner, not to know how your money comes to you. To me, that feels like a pretty big blind spot of like even just understanding that knowledge. And so   If I were to say, I don't think you need to know the ins and outs. I love like I recognize this. I was a business owner of it. I own practices. I worked with hundreds of dentists at Midwestern University's Dental College. Like, I hear what you guys are taught. Plus, I'm a team member on the other side. And so I created a billing course and an office manager course because I just want a dentist to know like, what should I be able to expect? And I think like if you want to just have a general overview so you don't get blindsided, you you can have it. I think you can quickly within like a week.   Know the bulk of like everything you need to know in a practice very simply, very easily. So that way you can delegate. That way you can have it. You're not gonna be perfect. but I think just having a general awareness. And then I love to give doctors just a quick checklist, like once a month, go spot check, go grab an EOB. Even if you don't know what the heck that EOB is, go ask your front office for it, check it. And just the more you learn that language, just like the language of business, I think it doesn't need to be an overnight sensation.   But I do think the more you're aware of it, I don't think you have to do every single role though to be a successful practice owner. And I mean, shoot, if Heartland can do it, I think it's a good example. But I think who are you? And are you a hands-on tactical person? Are you somebody who's really good at hiring people, t trusting other people, getting the checklist and spot checking? I think you can do it either way. But my recommendation is like just like one week, go like sit in every seat of your practice and get a general awareness and educate yourself on the things that you don't know. I'm really big on money, understanding at least how insurance works. And then also how do we like   present cases, what are kind of the flow that way those big zones that really impact your financials, you can you can be aware of. So those courses, those online CE courses, your website is The Dental A Team. The Dental A Team. Now I think the A Team, you need that guy with the Mohawk and all the bling. I mean that's who I am in my like spare time. This hair is just a facade. Like, you know, I hang out as Mr T. Mr T. Mr T, Mr T, yeah.   That's why I was thinking the A Team, but is that on your on your website, the th those courses? Yeah, they are. So we have an online library, it's all C E. We've got downloadable checklists, we've got operations manual. You got it. That's exactly right. And Howard, in real time, I'll have our marketing team actually put together a code. If you guys put in Dentaltown, since you're listening, we'll make sure that you guys get a coupon code for that as well. Well, since it's my compass podcast IRS that you just put Fabio.   you want Fabio? Okay. well in that case. So ⁓ so is I also see you have a ⁓ Summit twenty twenty six is live on Friday, April twenty fourth. Grab your ticket. Where's where's that show gonna be? Is it Reno where you are? You know, that's actually virtual, Howard, and it's one of our like favorite comebacks constantly. And the reason I do it virtual, people have been asking me for years, like, why don't you do it in person, Kiera? And what I found is   Because it's so like again as a team member, I really struggle to get my team ramped up, amped up, and have it be financially affordable. So what I found is if we can have it virtual in your practice with your full team, you guys are able to get this boost and surge of energy and have a good time. So it's for leadership teams, it's for doctors. ⁓ we've been doing it for six years strong and we tend to have hundreds of offices. You get your whole office there, you have a good time.   But yeah, it's virtual and it's C E and it's a great time. ⁓ I attend a lot of Tony Robbins, a lot of Brendan Bouchard, Rachel Hollis. So we've learned how to do people have told me the online experience is so fun. ⁓ we just get continual people coming back year after year after year. So yeah, come join us. It'd be a great time. I love Tony Robbins because ⁓ you know, my boys they wrestled year round from age five to fifteen.   Yeah. Made our garage. I got two real wrestling mats from the manufacturer in Pennsylvania delivered by an AJ Miller. So I never ever parked in my garage ever. And we would we were listening to that Tony Robbins 30 day, 30 day personal power. Yep. And then I and then I bought my first laptop when I went to MBA school. And so I took notes on it. And then when I was done, I I ⁓ closed down Saturday and I went to a studio Saturday, Sunday, and I ranted out my notes.   And I said, this has got to be 30 hours because I mean it's still Tony Robbins 30 day personal power. And that was the 30-day dental MBA. ⁓ and it worked out to be about thirty hours. But I'm telling you, the pandemic changed everything. That was when ⁓ online CE at Dentaltown just went through the roof and it hasn't come back and dental meetings haven't come back. Cause why do I need to fly to Chicago to listen to you if I got a Zoom call or   or streaming video or this event. I mean, I mean, just think of the plane ticket, the hotel, the sitting and attending. If you're in Phoenix, you know, just to get to New York is a five hour flight. I mean, why I I gotta fly five hours each way when I could see you on YouTube or a podcast or or whatever. But I wanna but I want to go back to that pandemic because that pandemic, I really think the reason you can really do this so successfully today is because of that pandemic. That's why we realize   I don't have to be in the flesh to learn knowledge. And and like I I I feel fine talking to you. I me too. The only thing I regret is teaching my mother how to do that. I got her FaceTime and all that kind of stuff. And because she calls to tell me about ever every one of her exciting things is junk mail she has. She's eighty seven and she believes every piece of junk mail. I love it. She's always free freaking out on her junk mail. But but I want to talk about the pan the dark side of the pandemic.   And that is a lot of people think about 20% of the hygienists left to practice. Before, you know, when I got out of school, your labor was supposed to be twenty percent, your overhead was supposed to be fifty percent. And by the time it was it didn't even take 10 or 20 years, and and due to insurance, I think not keeping up, ⁓ overhead went to basically two thirds. It went to about sixty-five percent and labor went to about twenty five, sometimes twenty-seven percent.   I'm hearing thirty percent labor all the time. And I mean I mean I'm talking about serious dudes who know the business of dentistry. And I don't I don't want to get my buddy Rick Kirstram out of me. He owns a hundred comfort dentals and he said he can't he said he's got the mean and lean where labor is twenty. He says he's got mean and leans with labor at twenty-eight, twenty-eight and a half. So so the the pandemic is ⁓ it that was five years ago. Why do you think it   seriously impacted labor cost of the pandemic. I do, Howard. And I think I think we kind of have this perfect storm, right? Like I think we've got multiple waves coming at us that have impacted. I think the pandemic pushed out those that were like, you know, I'm done. Like, like I'm good. I'm at the end of my career. I don't really want to do that. ⁓ a lot of hygienists are female and I think a lot of them realize they did not need two incomes anymore. And so it's like, you know, I want to be with my kids. I want to be home.   And then hygiene schools don't pump out a lot of hygienists and it's usually like a two year span. So yes, I have actually seen like hygiene is it really did, and then it clicked up. So the cost of hygienist has gone up astronomically. I mean, I think the highest I've seen of a hygienist being paid was 85 an hour. And to me, I was like, at that point, that was up in ⁓ it was up in Washington, up by Bellevue, Mount Vernon, that area. And I literally saw the the posting for 85 plus a a bonus, and I was like,   Screw that at that point. Like in all respect to hygienists, I'm gonna hire a dentist for that cost. Like I truly will. And that's not being disrespectful. It's just like a dentist is a more multifaceted. I understand they are not great hygienists, but if I have to and I'm gonna be putting this number up, like we've got to get to a space where it does work. So yes, I do. However, there are more hygienists coming onto the market. I still know that this is one of the hardest things, but ⁓ I have a practice that's out in Maui, rough life, huh, Howard? I get to fly to Maui to go do work, like.   You know, shout out to that office. ⁓ but what we found is we were able to find a way to get the hygienist to be paid exponentially higher by doing assisted hygiene. And so I think I'm seeing people innovate. I think I'm watching them create. I think I'm seeing people do some more outsourced costs in the front office. And so they're able to then offset the costs of the clinical team. ⁓ I think that people are just getting innovative and creative. And what I want to highlight is while this feels annoying, this is also business. And if we don't innovate and if we don't continue to evolve,   We actually decay and decline as an as an organization and as an industry. And so I know it's annoying and I absolutely empathize. And you're right. Like for me on our payroll, we're at 30%. Like I've had that as our metric for our clients for the last five years because payroll costs have gone up. But I'm like, but just because they've gone up, like let's look at several other industries. I mean, we're not here to like love on or hate on McDonald's, but I'm like, they have kiosks. They figured it out.   I checked in at a hotel in downtown San Francisco. There was no person there when I checked in. It was literally a person on Zoom just like this. I clicked in, they said hello to me. They took my information, but they didn't have to have a physical body in the office. And I think with AI and technology, dentistry is going to evolve, but I think the art and the care of patients does not need to evolve. And so, like, let's put our dollars where that matters and let's be able to look and innovate in other ways that keep our costs low. ⁓ I still think dentistry, I mean, why is there a one percent default rate on loans? Like,   Banks are still lending. We had the first down year of DSOs last year and the first uptick of private practice last year. And so when I look at these things, like it is still a great business to be in, even though labor costs, like, guys, again, it's just another flavor of business. So like let's figure out how to innovate. Let's figure out how to do it. And like, yes, I'm gonna pay for great people. I see team members as assets, not liabilities. And I'm gonna cut and chop on other areas that I can, but I'm also gonna be smart with my labor costs and make sure each person hitting their KPIs, they've got numbers that they're driving.   We are running this as an efficient business while like loving and taking care of our patients at the same time. I'm glad you mentioned bank loans because it's less than one percent default rate. Yes. All the defaults have the same thing in common. They all had their license taken away. Right. Always. And and if it's for drugs or alcohol, they now treat that as a medical disease. And the dentists still say, Screw you, I'm not gonna quit doing biking. And then they run south of the border. And that's why whenever you find a dentist down there that looks like me.   They're running for free Vicada. They they they said I'm not peeing any. So unless you, you know, do something just horrible. I mean, and you know, you have you have to get your it licensed in your way. But I w I wanna tell you about you know, there's just so many other things that you can focus on besides labor, like increasing their productivity. ⁓ I know dental offices. you can get a full if you pay a dentist in the Philippines five dollars an hour.   You get the best dentists in the Philippines. And I and there's dental offices that with Zoom and things like that are doing all their insurance and their claims and all that stuff. I mean, ⁓ so the with with with ⁓ with the internet, I mean you can literally have someone ⁓ be at the front desk ⁓ on a on a kiosk that's actually a dentist from the Philippines from five dollars an hour who when he's not busy can be calling your insurance companies all that. I I want to ask you another thing that's really hot on Dentaltown.   today. Everybody keeps talking about these dental insurance EFTs versus virtual credit cards. but basically everybody's reporting that major dental companies like even Delta are gonna stop sending paper checks and you gotta do it all electronic. And I guess that that electronic could be free, but it could be you know it could be another three and a half or three percent credit card fee on all your claims. Or what or what are your thoughts on all that? I'm hard on that   I have and I'm a hard no on the credit cards. Like, why? Why are you doing that? EFTs are so fast. Like there's absolutely no reason to be paying this. Explain to my home. A lot of them don't even know what a EFT. Mo I I bet 80% of the the dentists listen don't even know what we're talking about. Will you explain it? Will you explain it like I just graduated from dental school eight minutes ago? Of course. Well, I think that this is also where going back a little bit where you said, like, do dentists need to know the business? To me.   You don't even have to know that much, but I want to just challenge you that if you're getting a three, three and a half percent cut on your payments for quote unquote ease, that's a real big hit. And I would just challenge you to think about like for what and why. And so coming in, there's different ways the insurances are going to pay you. So they're gonna pay you via paper check, they're gonna pay you via EFT, which is a electronic fund transfer, or they've got this new thing where they're gonna pay you via credit card. And like honestly, to me, the credit card is so scammy.   And I've talked to so many people and like educate me, like, why would anybody do this? Like, I cannot comprehend. Like, I'm already taking a cut on insurance as is. Like, thank you for my marketing fee to be an insurance. Like, that's how I view that that write-off. Like, I know you hate it, but you're also gonna, you're either gonna have to do that, or you're gonna have to pay for marketing to bring in fee for service patients. So, like, again, let's just think about that. But I'm like, so I've already got a cut there, but I'm then gonna take another hit in addition to that for a credit card ease.   So as we're talking about that electronic fund transfers, they deposit straight into your bank account. The reason that some offices don't care for electronic fund transfers is because like trying to match it up is a like it kind of dumps and chunks into your bank account. So all you need to do is help your team members. Like there's ways that you can have it where it automatically emails your team when that comes through. So then they can go online and they can find out what the EFT was, so then they can balance and like enter it in.   I do think dentistry software is so dated because what happens is when we get paid from the insurance company, we get either like it's called an EOB, it's an explanation of benefits, and it's like batch checks. So when they dump this money to you, Delta's gonna give me like 20 grand. But like, who do I allocate that 20 grand to of all these patients? So that's I think where some people have like, well, electronic funds are so annoying and this and that. But I'm like, they're very quick, they're very fast, they're a lot safer than paper checks. Paper checks people do get embezzled on.   That I literally see no reason. Like, I don't care if you get it like one day sooner with a credit card, you are paying a huge hefty fee on that unnecessarily when electronic fund transfers are pretty much just as fast. Like maybe a like smidgey of a delay. But to me, that's a that's a very worthwhile smidgey of a delay. Because you're getting your payments so much faster. And as long as you're staying on top of it, you should still be able to maintain a 98% collections rate, even if you do checks or if you do electronic fund transfers. It just is so.   So dumb. I've yet to see a reason. But to me, I'm like insurances are so smart because it's just another way for them to take a chip out of what they're paying you and to have it come back to them. So again, think of the motive as to why they're offering. These people are not dumb. Those insurance companies, if you've ever gone to a business who's the biggest building in the entire city, it's your insurance companies. They're not dumb businesses. And I think we need to be smarter business owners that out think that. They always but Delta always says, we're   Yeah, so is Rolex Watch. Rolex Watch is a non profit. And and some of the CEOs of some of the anyway, we won't go there. But ⁓ yeah, ⁓ so what other ⁓ besides you know, when when someone tells me about their overhead, I tell them, look, I can't call the government and have my tax rate lowered. I can't call the nuclear power plant SRP or APS and tell them to lower my electric bill. I mean, something I i if the hygienists can   Wants a dollar an hour and if I say no, I'll give you 75 cents and she can go get a dollar across the street. I mean the market sets many, many prices. So the only way to fight that back is to ⁓ increase your productivity. You know, I mean if if if you have a dollar in labor and they do a dollar in dentistry, your overhead is a hundred percent. But if your dollar in overhead can do two dollars in dentistry, now it's down to fifty percent. So how so ⁓ are there other   ⁓ hidden gaps that are quietly draining profitability, or has it just come down to production? Or is it both I like I'm so glad you brought this up because I think like it's so easy to sit here and say, like, dentistry's not profitable. But I'm like, go find me another business that has a one percent fell rate that usually can run twenty to thirty percent profit margins if you run a business right. And this is not just Kiera sitting here fluff. This is like I got real clients running at these margins consistently. They've got large practices, small practices.   And so when I look at this and I'm like, okay, how do we make this more efficient? A lot of people want to go to the first thing of like, let's cut insurances. And I'm like, yay, pop the confetti, but be real smart. Because again, you're gonna then increase marketing fees, you're gonna lose a lot of your patient base. Like, let's just think through the ramifications. And so there's lots of different ways that we can increase productivity and not have to go for the cut. So I look at three levers that I found that can increase a practice. So one is we can increase our production. We're talking net production, not gross, like please feed your family, not your ego. So that's number one.   Number two is what's your collection percentage? Cause half the time doctors feel like they're broke and they don't have money, but your money's sitting in AR, which is your aging reports or your accounts receivable. We're not collecting the money and we don't have a good billing process. We got to get our collections up to 98%. And then the third thing is like we cut costs. And so looking at that, a lot of people want to go to just cut costs. I'm like, but in dentistry, let's break it down. If I want to add 10 grand more to my practice.   I love to help teams. Most offices are working four days a week. So if we're wanting to add 10 grand to a practice, working four days a week, let's do 10,000 and we're working 16 days a month. That's an extra six twenty-five a day. Well, how can we make six twenty-five in a dental practice? Let's think about our fluoride applications. Let's think about FMXs. Like I'm just talking, this is your lowest hanging fruit for you. Let's talk about could we add one or two fillings? Could we add like same-day dentistry, which is going to make more raving fans for our patients? There is so much ease in there.   Now, to increase our production, we can also look at our case acceptance. Doctors have so much case acceptance. And also, what are we diagnosing? I'm like, doctors, if you want to be producing 100 grand a month, the statistics are you need to be diagnosing three times that amount. And then we need to make sure our treatment coordinators are really good at diagnosing explaining treatment to them. They're not diagnosing, but they're explaining the treatment. They're presenting it in a way. We're not using insurance as our main driver. We're using it as like a coupon. And then we're really good at our follow through and our follow up.   Gotta have a right person, right seat in your treatment coordinator seat that's obsessive with hitting the right goals. And so there's like so many little ways. Like you can in I have added block scheduling, which I know is like a consultant's number one favorite thing to talk about, but like make it really make sense and easy for your team. I've added a million to a practice with no extra days, no extra work. We literally are just being more strategic with how we schedule. And so there's just so many little ways that I want dentists to realize like,   To me, I get really excited. This is where I geek out as a consultant. I geek out and I love to help that is because I'm like, how can I like squeeze more juice from the lemon you're already in? Like, let's just make more lemonade. Let's figure out ways to do it. And then let's make sure our costs are effective. So we teach your teams how to look at the business as a business. We teach each team member about their one KPI that's really going to drive it forward. We help them track. I just did this with an office manager this week and she's so lit up to look at her numbers, to look at her metrics, to see how she can do it.   And when they start to see how they can click it through, it's not you trying to push and drive more money. Like doctors, I tell everybody, every team member, you want your doctor to be so freaking profitable. Because if they're profitable and they're like they're secure, your life is so much better. So like I'm like dentists, we got to get you profitable, we to get the cash flow, we got to get you less stressed because you're gonna be a better dentist and a better business owner. But how are there's so many little easy ways where it's just low-hanging   Typically I'm able to add 10 to 30% of production in usually 90 days to an office, like very consistently with just small little reps, no real extra work. How are we doing our exams? Are we being directive in our treatment planning? Are we using like, okay, next visit I want to see you for this? And when do I want to see you back? And how much time is this going to take? Like, let's break down the barriers of treatment planning. There's so many little simple things that if you just implement, you can be very profitable very easily.   And then look at your P L. If you're not looking at your P and L every single week or month, like just being aware, getting into the language of business, that's also gonna help you too. So yes, cut. ⁓ but I found that it's always a lot easier to make sure our collections match, our production matches, and we use those little low hanging fruits. ⁓ and it's there. Like dentistry is such a magical, like, like it's a great lemon tree. You can make a lot of lemonade out of a dental practice. I want you to tell me if I'm right or wrong or or   I think I think there's two threes to double your price. Number one, if three people call your front desk, one is going to come in because they're smart and they need to they know they need to get their teeth clean. One isn't gonna come in for anything and you can hear them vaping and smoking and drinking beer and eating Cheetos on the call. But one out of three needs a little extra push. And if you train the person answering the phone, they can close that one out of three. And if they do, they doubled your practice. Then when they get in, you still got the now you got three people in chair.   One's gonna do what you say because you're a doctor and they've done their their author search and and you say they got a cavity, they're not gonna argue with you. One's not gonna do anything. In fact, in fact in fact I was like I had about a dozen patients that in the middle of my treatment plan, they asked me if they could just take a cigarette break ⁓ from my presentation and they went outside, had a cigarette, came back. They're gonna do it. But the other one in three needs some some closing skills. And so if you if you can close on the phone   You doubled your practice. You you got two butts in instead of instead of one. And if you fix your treatment plan presentation, you're gonna do two cases at one. And I think it's so funny now because the dentists have never let their hygienist or assistant, let alone receptionist, do any diagnosing treatment plan. But now AI, Pearl, and Overjet diagnosing all the cavities. So you wouldn't let your hygienist while she's in there for an hour.   Diagnose and treatment plan and sell the dentistry, the assistant while they're taking FMX, they they can't point out, yeah, see, that's a cavity, you don't need a filling and a root now. yeah, they couldn't do it because they were humans. But now Pearl and Overjeck can do it all day long and you're good with that. I mean, so so what how do you how do you double the close rate from one out of three to two out of three on the phone? How do you double the treatment plan acceptance rate from one to two out of three? Yeah. Do you do you agree those are possible goals?   Absolutely, Howard. I think again, this is the low hanging fruit that people are like, but that feels so hard. And I'm like, choose your hard. Like, is it harder to spend a little time with a front office and train them how to do this? Is it a little like, or is it harder to be cash flow negative? Like you choose what's your hard to me? Absolutely. Let's go after that. And I agree with you. Like teaching a team to preheat an oven, I call it what would doctor do. And so like, let's train our hygienist.   Like I tell all hygienists, doctor should be the second opinion, not the first opinion. And you got Pearl and you got Overjet. And so just spending a little bit of time with your team. So what we typically do for case acceptance, like let's go hit that one quick and then we'll talk about scheduling. Is I'm really big on let's get the whole team where we're talking the same language. So we recommend, like, what would doctor do? I recommend you run this over the course of six weeks, is typically how long it takes, anywhere from six weeks to maybe three months.   but we're gonna sit there and we're literally going to go through. We're gonna pull up an FMX. We're gonna do it one day over lunch. Hygienists, doctors, and if you want front office and dental assistance, rock on. But really, I want my like people that are seeing the bulk of my patients with doctor and hygiene. We're gonna look there and I want all of our hygienists to start like if we have an FMX up there and the interaurals, what is doctor going to recommend and how is doctor gonna talk about it? We're not just gonna sit here and have a nice little chit-chat. We're each gonna write it down because I wanna make sure every hygienist starts to get very, very comfortable. And the goal that I tell all hygienists is   Your goal should be at the end of this, what would doctor do training over six weeks? And if doctors are really consistent with it, I'm like six weeks of training to be able to double your practice and increase your case acceptance to me is a very good use of my time. So if I can do that, doctors and hygienists, you should be able to have 95% accuracy with your doctors at the end of this. And they do it. So hygienists get really lit up and they get very excited about it because now they're able to preheat the oven. They're able to talk to patients about it, use Pearl, use Overjet.   And then doctors, when they tee it up to you, and I say like hygienist, you've got to be the ones who first like introduce it, talk about it with the doctor as soon as they come in, but be real quick. So we introduce the patient, we compliment the patient on something, we recap the treatment that's discussed and we say something personal. Hygienist, you do that, your doctor exams will be much shorter for you and doctors will love it because it's very quick. If we can get that dialed in, and then doctors, you have a very like confirm the treatment.   then recommend exactly what needs to happen. And then we take that same baton up to the front office and front office, we schedule first. We then present the treatment. We use insurance secondary. I'm never leading with insurance. You do these little items which seem like, ⁓ no, that's like very quick, easy things. You're going to rapidly be able to help those ones. And then I do a two two two follow-up. So if they did not close for me and I'm going to go through it and I'm going to work through and I'm going to track all the people that didn't say yes to me and all the people that did say yes to me.   I'm gonna look for patterns. What are people saying yes? Like those are easy ones. Those are the gimme's. Those are the easy patients that Howard said. I'm looking for the people that say no and what's my pattern in there? And how do I change my verbiage? Because treatment planning is 80% psychology, 20% skill. So like what are you thinking? How are we presenting it? What are the words we're saying? One or two little changes usually will close that. What are the patterns and how can I get that number up higher? And I follow up with them in two days, two weeks, two months to make sure that they don't follow off.   People are like, Kiera, you really make your treatment coordinator do that? And like, yeah, I was your treatment coordinator that closed $50,000 same day. And this is exactly what I did. This is how I've trained co offices across the nation to do it. You just have these simple little things that help them out. And then you flip over to our scheduling. Like, I think scheduling's easy, Howard. I genuinely do. I'm like, half of it is just be nice. Like you got the COVID crank, and so many people are so grumpy and so like.   Annoyed when they pick up the phone, then I'm like, you can already leap your ahead by just being nice and being excited to welcome a patient. Then take like charge of that conversation. So let's take the ownership of that conversation. If someone's Do you take my insurance? I'm going to quickly redirect and say, my gosh, how did you hear about us? I'm going to answer that, but I want to find out how did they hear about us? If it's our Google reviews, if it's a referral, if it's somewhere else, I want to like say, my gosh, you're so lucky to be here.   We love our patients. We love our reviews. I can't wait for you to be a great raving fan too. let's talk about this. I can everything can be overcome. Please do not let being out of network stop people. It's a thousand dollar coupon and we're turning people away over that. No, no, no. We are better than that. And if we are the best dentist, they need to be coming to us. We need to win these patients over, make them feel so loved. Let's get them scheduled. Let's make this a great experience for them. Let's make them feel so excited. I did it with PT called like six offices.   And the office I chose, like so many people were annoyed I was calling. Can I put you on hold? Can I do this? And I was like, no one really wants my business. If you're just nice and you take control of that conversation, you can easily turn and transform your practice. So hopefully that was like not too much. I like I love these things. I love training treatment planning. I love training how to like take control of a phone call. I love helping teams overcome those little simple objections because it's very, very simple things.   that make massive leaps and bounds of change. And it's a great way to double your practice very easily, like you said.   The Dental A Team (36:13) All right, Dental A Team listeners, that was the guest interview that I absolutely loved. And I hope that if there was one idea that stood out to you, don't just agree with it, but actually go implement it this week. And if you need help setting this up in your practice or you need help just navigating or need a friend, head on over to TheDentalATeam.com and I'll be able to help you guys out. Click on the book of call or any way that we can support and serve you. That's what we're here for. That's what we're obsessed with. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

How To Build A Team That Actually Fits Your Culture In this episode Ashley and Collin sit down for a quick but packed conversation on one of the most important and most overlooked parts of building a dental practice. Hiring. Ashley has spent eight years building the culture at Smile and Co. and she shares everything she has learned along the way. From personality tests to working interviews, from the questions she asks that nobody else does, to the exact words she uses when it is time to let someone go.What You'll Hear In This Episode:Define The Avatar Of Each Position Before you post a single job listing know exactly who you are looking for in that specific role. Not just skills. Energy, personality, and how they will show up for your patients every single day. Ashley shares why she has hired from Starbucks and restaurants and why it works.Hire For Where You Want To Go Ashley learned this the hard way. She once passed on her office manager Judy because she was out of budget. She hired someone cheaper with almost no experience. That person lasted a week. Judy started the day after they opened. The lesson? Do not let salary deter you from hiring the right fit. They will be worth their weight in gold.The Enneagram Test If you are not using personality assessments in your hiring process start now. Ashley's personal favorite is the Enneagram. It will tell you more about a person than any resume ever could. Get started here: enneagraminstitute.comThe First Two Positions Every Startup Doc Needs A dental assistant who knows the basics and a front office admin with experience. Ashley breaks down why for your very first hires experience matters more than you might think and why cross-trained employees are worth their weight in gold.The Unconventional Interview Questions What is the last book you read? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Ashley shares the questions she asks that nobody else does and why getting candidates disarmed and real tells her everything she needs to know.Green Flags And Red Flags During A Working Interview Ashley watches everything. Curiosity. How they treat the space. Whether they pick something up off the floor without being asked. The small moments always tell the biggest story.How To Compete With DSOs You cannot out-benefit a DSO so stop trying. Lead with culture. The right people will choose you because of how it feels to work with you, not because of the signing bonus.How To Fire Fast And Clean Firing never gets easier but it does get cleaner. Ashley shares the exact words she uses, why you always need a witness, why you never give a laundry list of reasons, and why doing it fast is actually the kindest thing you can do for everyone involved.Always Have An Ad Out For every position. At all times. The best people are not always looking but they are always findable. Ashley shares how she has found some of her best hires through social media, Facebook groups, restaurants, and her own patient base.Resources Mentioned: Enneagram Test: enneagraminstitute.comConnect with Ashley: Instagram: @ashleyjovesddsThank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8 — Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - themakingofadental@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

We are about halfway through 2026 already. In this DSO Declassified, Bill Neumann runs through what to expect at the upcoming ADSO Summit where GDN will host the Emerging Dental Groups to Watch awards. Bill also looks back at the events that have already happened this year and what the rest of year has instore for the DSO and dental group industry. Takeaways include: The Emerging Dental Groups to Watch awards at the ADSO The rise of the intimate, invite-only DSO events What to expect for the rest of the year To learn about all of the important DSO events in the industry make sure you visit: https://www.groupdentistrynow.com/events/list/  

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Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!

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Owners, this one's for you. Especially those who don't want to have to care about the business side of being a practice owner. Kiera's here to prove that staying clinical while still leading the practice is simpler than you think. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team Listeners. This is Kiera and I am excited to podcast with you guys. Today is such a great day and I hope you're having an amazing day. I love hanging out with you guys. The podcast is such a happy space for me when I get to podcast and have this day. You guys let me go into creative Kiera zone where I get to speak from my heart. I get to speak from honesty. I get to speak from experiences. I get to   laugh with you cry from you meet so many of you in real life and I just feel so honored and excited that This is my real life. And so thank you for being a part of the podcast family. Thank you for Listening and sharing and leaving reviews. I read those reviews. I'm so grateful for you guys and Please share this podcast any episode that you've had you guys can always head on over to our website TheDentalATeam.com click on podcasts and I kid you not you should search any topic and it's all there so   Just wanted you guys, any issue, anything, I try hard to be a great resource for doctors and for teams. And to just remind you that life is so good. I think that the glass is half full and that doesn't mean it's always easy, but I do believe that it's worth it. So today I wanted to kind of dig into like what happens when you buy a dental practice and you are an owner.   but you really just love to do dentistry and not the business side of it. Like done, done, done, done, done. Anybody out there, anybody, please raise your hand in real life. If that's you, if you know somebody that this is the case, be sure to send this podcast to them because I think that this is so real and I think it happens. And I see people in like, Kiera, I wanted to be a dentist because I wanted to just be a dentist. I didn't want to do the business of it. And I'm like, amazing, let's chat about it. So I think that it's, you want to open your own practice because you want to decide how to treat patients and you could do it better than that.   DSO or the other dentist that you were working for but then you get into and you're like, wow, this is a lot harder than I thought. And so what do we do when you don't want to run the business? Like, what do we do then? So because the answer is you don't get to abdicate and it doesn't mean that you get to say, I'm not doing this anymore and someone else can do this. Guess what? You're still an owner. Just like if you have a kid and you're like, I don't want to be a parent anymore. Well, guess what? That's part of it. But that doesn't mean you have to do it all. And   So I just want to help you get some good clarity. We did this in our Dr. Mastermind that we call it Think Tank Tuesday. And people come together on the first Tuesday of the month and it's very fun. And I think that this is just a space for you of ⁓ how can we help you? Because I want you to be thriving and happy in your practice and not dreading. And there's ways that you can do it. Like you can have your cake and eat it too. So let's make a way for that to be real. So ⁓ I think that it's where there's great dentists who feel frustrated, they feel overwhelmed.   They feel stuck because they don't want to deal with the business side and they don't want to take that on. And this is me. I created a consulting company, but I didn't want to know about the numbers. And I was like, numbers are not my jam. And now if you've heard me for any length of time, you know, numbers love me and I love numbers, right? We're going to be really good at making sure that you get obsessed with that. Just like I love being a business owner. And, ⁓ this is something that it's a, do I have to, or do I get to, ⁓ my gym trainer?   I like a lot of her posts and she often posts about, it something where like I have to go to the gym or I get to go to the gym? And it's crazy how just sometimes even that little bit of a mindset shift can help us realize like I have to run a business or I get to run a business. ⁓ Both are real and both are available. But hey, let's break it down because I think that this is something of like, what happens if you only want to be in the operator and like, what are some solutions for that?   And then what happens of your practice if you maybe are not right person, right seat for that. And then three things that help you to be able to stay clinical and also lead the practice because it might be simpler than you think it is. And your job description might actually be a lot easier than maybe what you're piling on yourself because I think sometimes people feel running a business means they have to do it all. I know I fell into that trap. I know I've been guilty of that before. Like, hey, I'm the business owner. I have to do this when guess what? That's not necessarily true. So what happens is   We did this as an exercise for our dentist the other night and I had them write down everything on their to-do list. And then I had them go back through and I said, okay, what things really are things actually only you should do. And it was crazy because I had quite a few of them like talk. Like I tell them our think tank is like, pretend we're in the living room with me and we're just all hanging out. We're sharing our best ideas. Like there's no team members that are allowed to be there. Teams is not cause I don't want you there. I just want your doctors to be able to speak openly and honestly and to be able to get the support from other owners in the room and.   It was crazy because the doctors were like really the only thing like even dentistry, you could have somebody else do. Right. Um, but in this scenario, you're like, but I love to do the dentistry. I don't want to have to do the rest. The only thing really you have to do as an owner, you got to set the vision, know the profitability and drive the culture. Like that really is your role. Now, as I said, those three things, you might be like, yeah, right. Do you see my whole to-do list over here? Like you want me to ship you? Yeah. Send me a picture of it. I'd actually love to see it.   I'll help you out. So please, by all means, be a pen pal for me and I will happily look at your to-do list and help you see it differently. Sometimes you're just in the weeds, but other times what happens is a lot of things on there you don't have to do and maybe you're not the best person. But like I said, of the things I listed off, that's really what an owner needs to do. And if that didn't light you up, guess what? You can actually hire somebody who wants to do that. So, but if it did light you up, then great. You can be a doctor, a dentist, and then those are the three things really you need to do.   Yes, you do need to know the numbers. You are a business owner. You don't just get a pick and choose. I'm like, I don't want to care about the numbers, Kiera. I don't want to look at it. Well, guess what? Tough luck. You did sign up for a business and your job is to make sure it's profitable. We don't want to have our teams go out of jobs. Like you have a responsibility to your patients and to your team. And that is part of it, but it doesn't mean you have to be the manager. You don't have to do the one-on-ones. You don't have to like order the supplies. None of that falls on your list. But I think sometimes we think it does, but you've got to make sure that you have to have like,   very clear priorities, very clear direction, and you are leading and guiding. So what happens with that is as a leader, you've got to set the vision and the direction of where we're going. And if you don't have that, then you're going to have constant interruptions and confusion and like, what are we working on? And Dr. you're annoyed because it's just a firefighting rather than a proactive preventative. So if you can work through this and figure out where we headed, what's the direction? And then next step is accountability and org charts. Who does what?   In our team, we just did this nice little shakeup of all of our team members. And it's wild. I thought it was right here. I was going to show you. So it's not, I usually have a carry. We have our accountability chart and I have like, open it up like a legend, like, okay, I have this task. Is this really a me task or who does it belong to in their job descriptions? And we talked about it because dentists are like, but I'm so afraid of like asking team members to do these things. That's why I don't delegate. And I'm so grateful for our doctors.   having trust and vulnerability in our mastermind. ⁓ And we talked about it and it's like, but as team members, if that's part of my job, let's make sure it's realistic for me. Let's make sure I have a clear job description. And then let's make sure my KPIs report that. So when you get this clear, like, doctors, yes, this is the annoying part. And this is where I love consulting and helping offices. Like let's help you get the vision, like where we had in the next 10 years and get your whole team rowing towards that vision. Then we're gonna make sure we've got correct accountability charts. Like who does what? And sometimes having a consultant come in to say like,   No, no, no. Like this is your job. This is what you get to do. I had some team members trying to push responsibility and I was like, no, no, no. This is what we get to do. and after that, from there, then from there, it becomes easy. Like doctors, this is your job. Now, sometimes I think doctors might have a little bit of an ego and not want to let go. And someone like, can do it better, faster, easier, true, but choose your hard. What is that? What is the piece that you need to do? And like, let's choose our hard.   So as soon as owners set the direction, then what's gonna happen from there is teams are gonna feel so much more fulfilled. They're gonna feel like they gotta know where they're going. They know what their job is. They know how to win. And doctors, you don't have to feel guilty, because then what you do is you just pull open the legend, the accountability chart. Like, okay, I have an issue with all of my emails and like responding to the lab. Who can do that? And can we set it up for that? And then doctors, you can be CC'd on it.   ⁓ but that doesn't mean you have to do it. So you can still be aware of it and know everything going on, but then you can go to dentistry and other people are helping you out. But doctors, got to make sure you don't undercut. that's number one. Number two is we want to make sure that like the team is leading, but make sure that they have the authority to do so. So doctors, if your job is to set the vision. ⁓ and I talk about leadership having two different sides, there's a visionary, then there's the execution piece. And if you want to have somebody who's the execution person for you.   You've got to give them the authority to do so and you got to get out of their way. So if you're like, I really just want to do clinical dentistry. I get it. I got to do the vision and I need to watch my numbers. Then great. You've got to empower and let your office manager do their job. you've got to make sure that they're confident and competent. They've got the skills, the resources, the coach around them to be able to do it because you've got it. Like for you to step back into just clinical into your, to a CEO row, you got to empower your team correctly. So.   When a manager is trying to lead, so many of them are like, but our doctor like is stopping us and they're not responding back to us. Doctors, that's your fastest, easiest way to undercut your office manager and to be stuck in doing everything and running this business. Do you know that your OM should be doing 99 % of everything that you're probably doing and they want to and they're great at it they're amazing at it and they're follow through and that's just what they're like bred to do. they're a great office manager, if they're not, then maybe it's not a right person, right seat. Managers, that's what you should be doing. So if we have that, then we're to want to make sure that great like   So if that's what's happening, doctors, you gotta delegate with clarity and authority so that way there's not this hesitation and it's all coming back to you and it's all falling on you. So hey, get this accountability chart. This is the person who's doing it. Empower them, train them, teach them. It doesn't mean I just hand it over to them. You can like work with your OM every single week and like if there's decisions that they made that you didn't agree with, let's talk about that. If you want them to check things out, like I train a lot of people and before they send anything out, I'm like, send it to me. I wanna prove off on that.   And we're good to go from there. Like that's what's needed, but you got to like get it to where things can start to move off your plate. And I think as owners, sometimes I myself hold onto it for ego. And if I let all these people do it, then what's my need? ⁓ one of the doctors, he was like, the literary realized like, I don't even need to be in the practice and they can do everything without me. No, that can feel scary for some people that can feel like, my gosh, am I still needed? Am I still wanted? And the answer is yes. But what we need is we need you to be the lighthouse.   and then we need you to do great dentistry. But that's really it in ownership. But if you don't love that, then find somebody who can be the lighthouse and you'd be the doer. Some people actually are better COOs, if you will, rather than being clinical dentists. Like they love to do the business side. They love to run all the systems. They love to build it. Then get yourself out of clinical dentistry. But if you're the one who's like, obsess about being a dentist and I wanna just do the clinical, great, you need a strong operator next to you and that's usually your OM. And OMs you need to be able to be.   follow through, say the fastest, easiest way to have a doctor not trust you is to break trust in the sense of I'm gonna get this to you and I don't get it to you. So own your word, own your results and execute consistently. And doctors like, thank you, Kiera, like clap it up, like, yes, yes, yes, like it's true because you wanna make sure that what you delegate and what you ask this team member to do, it reports back to you rather than you needing to chase it, hunt it. Be proactive OMS, be like perfect, here's my end of week, here's all the things that have been done, here's where we sit.   Do know how much your doctor's gonna love you? Like that's what lets them be free to be these amazing clinicians and not have to own it. So you've got to be able to delegate and have the authority, give them the authority, trust them, empower them and have the meetings and whatever you need to where you can feel like you can trust them to do the job well. If they're not doing things right, give them the honest feedback. I've got a new personal assistant while Shelby's out on maternity leave. Shout out to the baby. We're so happy for her.   I had to just tell her like, don't like this. I want you to do it this way. And team members, when your doctor's doing it that way, you've got to have this trust and vulnerability relationship where you can say these things without taking it. I am so grateful for Marisa because I get to tell her like, that's not how I want this. I want it like this. This is how I need it. She's my right hand on so many things. I can tell Britt the same thing. I can even say, Britt, I don't want to say this to you because I know that I'm people pleasing. Me even calling it out, Britt's like, no, I'm no BS Britt. Just tell me straight. Like, what do you need from me? What do you want?   That's usually what people need. when you can have a relationship where you're that fluid with your OM and OMS with your doctors, this is how you're going to be able to grow. And this is how you're going to build the trust to be able to delegate, to abdicate, not abdicate, delegate and release these tasks to other team members. And then OMS, your job is to grow and make sure your team is doing what they're supposed to. They're hitting their KPIs consistently. We're having our meetings. People are falling through. Our patients are getting the great patient experience. OMS, that's your job.   Your job is to make all this vision amazing. Check all the boxes, take care of your doctor. Does not necessarily mean a personal assistant, but it does mean we're checking all the boxes. We're running the team. So our doctor can be an amazing clinician. Give us the vision, go to great dentistry and we take care of the rest. That is how a doctor OM relationship should look. So from there, we want it to be where you guys really truly are able to do that. And if you guys are able to do those two things, so right, what were they? Number one, I want you to be able to have a clear direction and a clear vision.   And then number two is we need to use that accountability chart, delegate and give authority so that way people can do it. And then after that, how do we fix this? what are some quick fixes that we can also do? Is number one in the accountability chart, define your role as the owner. What are the decisions only you can make? What are you gonna own versus what are you gonna delegate? And then set the expectations with the team. I'm obsessed with this because this is going to help and it's ownership as a role.   not a title, okay? So doctors, I'm gonna own this, OM's gonna own this, treatment coordinator's gonna own this, biller's gonna own this, dental assistants are gonna own this. It means own. We hit the results. not like, we innovate, we figure it out. That's what ownership means. It does not just mean I have the title of this. Then after that, we build the leadership structure that's going to support us. So we've got doctor, we got OM, and we've got our leadership team. Depending upon the size of it, it might be two people on your leadership team, it might be three people, it might be four, it might be like 15, whatever it is.   and have clear responsibilities and we have regular meetings. I recommend meetings once a week and then I recommend quarterlys. I'm obsessed with traction. You guys know that we run a Dental A Team's version of it that is very much ⁓ a mix of a few items that I'm obsessed with and I love it. Run our weekly meetings, run our quarterly meetings. Like this is what you need to do to be successful because when you have a strong leadership structure and doctors, this is where you got to do it. Like as an owner, you do the clinical dentistry, you set the vision.   and you go to the leadership meeting, you are part of it, you gotta set the vision, but you typically don't walk out with many to-dos. You don't, that's what your team should be doing. And if you're taking on to-do after to-do after to-do, we're not following that accountability chart. So we've got to have strong leadership. And then what we're gonna do from there is we're gonna have a simple like CEO rhythm. So for me, that's check-ins weekly with my O-N, it's weekly or monthly reviewing the financials, and then like I said, quarterly planning.   Like as a CEO, you've got to watch these things. You got to check the KPIs. You got to work with your OM. Like that's part of business ownership. It's like, you don't need more time. You just need consistency. And realistically, this is your two hours a week of CEO time. So if you get it done, you can do this. I usually recommend during clinical time. So two hours during my clinical time, I focus on the business. I work with my OM. I check the financials. And then we do have a longer quarterly meeting. Most of the time it's anywhere from four to eight hours for a quarterly meeting.   This is how you're going to be able to build control. Consistency builds control. It's a great thing for it. So while you're doing this, do you see how we've just taken all the busy minutiae off of you? You can still be this great clinician. You can still be this amazing dentist. You can still love dentistry and you can still run a successful business, but you don't have to do all the pieces of it. You can really have your cake and eat it too, but you've got to be consistent. You got to be willing to let go. You got to be willing to put in the work to get the accountability and the vision and the meeting set up and   Clear expectations with your OM. Those are the weekly meetings. Like if things aren't going the way you want it, have the conversations, fix the pieces. You and your OM need to be in lockstep, like tight, tight, tight with each other. And if you don't have that relationship, you gotta build it. And you can start having the honest conversations. Read Five Dysfunctions of a Team together, like by Patrick Lanziani. Read things together where you guys are building. Read traction, read rocket fuel, like.   figure out what you two are both supposed to be doing, but you've got to have this lockstep where you trust them implicitly. And if you don't, you need a different OM. And OMs, that's no bash on you. It just means, or you guys have to figure out what broke the trust and how do we get that trust back? This means that you are not like stepping away. You're just stepping up into the role that you're meant to be. So you don't have to do every single thing in the practice, but you do have to lead. And if you don't want to do that,   You can't abdicate this to your OEM. Like you can't, you're the boss. Like you are, whether you want it or not. Or you hire another CEO to run your business for you. But I want you to see that you can be truly the CEO of your practice. You can empower your team and you can be a great clinician. You don't have to do it all. So this is something where truly, this is what we help with. We build leadership teams. We help doctors get into the CEO seat. But I want to say, because there's a client who sent me an email today and they're like, I just feel stuck. Like we've been consulting and   I appreciate these, I really do. I want you to know though, while that is true, you are stuck as a leader, you have to own that. So, and this is a mix, got a couple emails that came in. Doctors have to be willing to have the hard conversations. If you're not willing to tell your team what you need and you're willing to keep taking it on and on and on, that's a choice. But there's also a choice where you have the uncomfortable conversations with your team. You have the uncomfortable conversations with your coach and say, this is what I need from you.   My gym trainer, I love her, but we're going on this two month journey together. And I said, what do I need from you? I need you to text me for accountability check-ins. I need us to have them preset. And I need it to be where you give me at least like one or two food examples per week. So that way I don't have to try and think of those. That's all I need from you to be successful. But me, I have to be willing to say that. I have to be willing to tell my team what I need. I have to be willing to build the org chart. I have to be willing to look at the numbers. I have to be willing to do the work to get from where I am today to where I ultimately want to be.   but it's not that far away. It's actually quite easy. So if you want help with that, you want to chat about it, reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. But I want to make sure that you're ready for it because as a coach, my job is to guide you, to lead you, to tell you what you need to do. But ultimately I'm not the one who does it. That's you. So if you're like, yeah, I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to do this. I'm ready to tell what I need. I want to be the CEO of my practice. I don't want to continue on this path, but you have to actually let go. You have to like have the vision. You've got to lead your team.   and you got to execute on it and you got to trust your OEM to do it. And if you don't have an OEM that you can trust, you've got to hire another one. Like black and white, this is what's got to happen. You got to be willing to make those choices. We don't get six packs overnight. We get them from consistently, consistency. We get them from doing the work. We get them from making the hard decisions and being disciplined. That's how we get it. And that's the same thing for your practice. You can be the doctor who's just clinical, but you've got to make sure that you set your practice up for success. So reach out. I'd love to help you. Hello at thedentalanteam.com.   And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.  

Good people don't turn into problem employees. A pattern turns them.Day 3 of The Flow Protocol, our 30-day series inside The Irreplaceable Practice. Today: group flow, the state behind the best days your whole team has ever had.In this episode:What group flow is, and why your team has already felt it.The 10 triggers that drop a team into flow, and the backwards version almost every practice runs by accident.What happens when you fix them: more referrals, easier case acceptance, record months, and less stress.This isn't a people problem. It's a pattern problem. Nobody builds it on purpose. It grows on its own when the conditions are wrong. Fix the conditions and the team driving you crazy becomes the best you have ever had. That's the one thing no DSO can buy.Press play for Day 3 and count how many of the 10 you recognize.

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Steve Bilt, CEO and co-founder of Smile Brands, joins Stewart Gandolf to discuss why team alignment has become essential for scaling multi-location healthcare organizations. Drawing from 25 years of DSO leadership, Steve shares practical lessons on execution, culture, technology adoption, M&A discipline, and building enterprise value.

Standing out as a dental practice is easier than you might think — and thank goodness for that! Kiera gives three steps to find what makes you and your practice unique even when you feel like you're as vanilla as can be. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you're having an amazing day. I am so excited to podcast with you. I get so giddy when I know it's podcasting day and I literally can't sleep at night. I get so excited for the next day and I just really want to make sure that what I'm delivering for you and all the different podcasts are exactly what you need because I do believe that my job in this world is to positively impact the world of dentistry and give you quick tactical tips that are going to change your life, change your practice and make you   Remember why you chose dentistry. Dentistry should be fun, you guys. Owning a practice should be fun. And I know that it's not always going to be fun. I've accepted as a business owner, there's highs and lows, and that's just the flavor of business ownership that we sign up for. And so today I wanted to just give some quick tactical tips because I feel like so many of us are trying to figure out how can we stand out as dental practices without it being just about cost. There's so much more because we talk about marketing and you guys know my Achilles heel is marketing. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.   ⁓ But it's really truly how can you be your own brand, your own fragrance, your own style, and yet still attract the patients that you want. And I think it's actually easier than you might think because we help practices all the time stand out for who you want. And what I found is the number one most important thing when you're looking at your practice is be true to who you are. I remember I was reading the book Traction.   by Gina Wickman, guys know, shout out. I'm a big proponent of that book. do a lot of Dental A Team's version of traction. We have traction within Dental A Team. And, I remember at end of the book, they were talking about how, like, know thyself and be free as a visionary. And, ⁓ if that's who you are or you're an integrator, like know thyself and be free. And I think when it comes to your own practice, know thyself and be free and make sure it's what people want. And then make sure you're talking to those people. I think about, have some friends that are.   are very into nature and them getting on the podcast, I'm probably not going to attract the same type of people that I attract. I want people that are driven, growth minded, entrepreneurs, people that are seeking that next level, people that want to have fun in life. That's who Kirita is and that's my style. That's my brand. And I remember when I started Dental A Team, I had some people tell me that, Kirita, there's absolutely no way you're going to be able to impact everybody across the nation and that's not going to work for you as a consultant. And I am so grateful and thankful that I stuck true to my gut.   I struck two to who Kiera Dent is. And while at the same time I can say true to Kiera, I need to also know what the market's asking for. If I'm just here to talk kumbaya with you, I'm probably going to attract a different crowd. But the people who want to be with Kiera, who want to be a part of Dental A Team, it's crazy. At the masterminds, I look at our doctors and our office managers and they are very similar to who I am and who I am on the podcast. So if that resonates with you, come be a part of our community.   you can reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com or go to our website, book a call. I'd love to chat with you. And I do still vet a lot of the people coming into our company. And, ⁓ I want to make sure that you're a good match for us. And so I think when I'm looking at what can you do to stand out within your own practice and how can you compete? It's who are you and what makes you different. And if you don't know, go read your reviews, go read the Google reviews, go read to see. And if you read dental, interviews, they always talk about that. They're fun, that they're positive, that they changed my life, that they make dentistry so simple.   That is Kiera Dent to the core. wanted to be the Dr. Seuss of systems. I wanted to make doctors and teams have easy profitability without it being hard. And so when I look at the reviews, that is true core to Kiera. So I want you to say who's true core to you. ⁓ And a good way to do this is to go back to what your core actually is. So go back to what the core values are. Why did you even start the company? When I go back and I look at Kiera Dent, like what were my three core fundamentals? You can ask Tiff this was the beginning of day one. Like it was fun, do the right thing and ease.   from the beginning of time, it's always been what I've said. I said, if we're not having fun, I don't wanna do this. Like truly, it's a hobby for me, it's a good time. And now we've created into an incredible business. Do the right thing always. Like do the right thing for the customer, do the right thing for our team, do the right thing for our clients. Like that is what I want you to do. And I'm not gonna sit here and give you a rules of do the right thing. Like as a core individual, you need to have that to your core. To me, it's a, we over deliver. We always come to the table. Like I want you just to do the right thing. And that needs to be a moral compass for you.   And then ease, I don't need people who make it clunky hard, all the different pieces, I need you to make it easy. And that's been my model since the beginning of time, I wanted everything to be easy, do the right thing and fun. That's Kiera's core, that's who I am. And so for you to go back and it's core values versus aspirational values. And so I really want you to look at what are the core of your company? And is that fulfilling?   I remember there's dental office I opened, me and the doctor, her core was very edgy. would say edgy is probably one of our core values of that company. We were listening to Drake at six in the morning. Like that was our core and we wanted it to be this edgy vibe. were in downtown Denver. That's what we did and it attracted the right type of people. Now my parents, if they walked into that dental practice, there is absolutely no way in their right mind that they would want to stay there. But a lot of people in downtown Denver, we knew our avatar, we knew who we wanted. So we were going to attract that. So I really want you just to think of like,   How can you stand out? How can you make sure that this practice feels like home to you? So step one is go back to your core of why did you even start this business? And let's make sure that that's really incorporated in everything you do. Number two, I want you to really make sure that who you are fundamentally is what you're branding and what you're speaking to. ⁓ And then make sure the third thing is you look to see what do patients really want and what are they valuing? So.   I think so many practices, the reason you get lost in the mix is because you've just got standard marketing across the board. says like, we care about our patients. We have the exact same services listed. We've got generic online presence. There's nothing that identifies or differentiates you. There's a practice in California that I really love. And she said like, we love ⁓ changing the way people feel about going to the dentist. And I have another dentist who their tagline is to be the community, the, like the dentist that the community chooses.   ⁓ And I have another office that's like to change the way people feel about going to the dentist. And another one is to just be your foodie dentist. Those people, you guys, I didn't even pull up my notes. didn't look at it before I got on the podcast. Those are ones that I can just rift, repeat, remember because they stand out to me. They're not just generic marketing. And so for you, what is it that makes you stand out? I've got a doctor and he called it, ⁓ I think it's called Empower Dentistry.   ⁓ and I love that because his whole model is like empowering patients to be confident about their health, to be confident about their decision-making and really spend a lot of time educating his patients. So for you, like, what is that one thing for Kiera? You guys, I'm the Dr. Seuss of dentistry. I have a good time. have a lot of fun. I am not your standard consulting company. We do things very different at Dental A Team. I want people, we get the same type of results, if not better.   But we do it in Kiera Dent's way. We do it in a fun way. We do it in a way that makes team members happy. Our job is to light people up. Life's my passion, dentistry is my platform. That's Kiera Dent. And if that doesn't resonate you, then you're not gonna be listening to the podcast. But if it does resonate with you and you're like, yeah, I wanna have the best life and I wanna have team that's lit up and I wanna do it in an easy way, not a hard way. You guys, I'm not cookie cutter. If you want standard scripts on how we do X, Y, we have them, but that's not gonna be where I'm going to lead from. We're gonna lead from what's your vision and your practice to what did the numbers tell us? Then we're gonna implement systems based on that information.   That's how we operate. Most people are like, Hey, you want systems? Fantastic. Here are your systems. And I'm like, no, why am I coming in and giving teams more work? Like nobody wants that. What we want is what's the vision of the practice? What are the numbers tell us? Let's put systems into place that way. Again, it's all boiling it down to that ease, that simplicity that's going to guarantee results. So what is your clear differentiator? What's your clear identifier? And so when we have it, like, I don't want to be Chick-fil-A McDonald's.   like competing across the board. I want something that's going to make you resonate. I've got holistic dentists and it's like full comprehensive health for their patients is what they want them to have total wellness of health. And you might say like, but Kiera, I'm just like, like, I just do dentistry. I just want to do dentistry and I'm very vanilla. Like there is nothing that stands out about me. I do bread and butter dentistry. It's very simple. Well, I'll say vanilla is very great ice cream that a lot of people like.   How can we make your vanilla ice cream better than the next person's vanilla ice cream? So I just wanna highlight that no matter what you do, there is something that's your special sauce. There is something special and unique about you and your practice that's going to drive and resonate with other people. There's billions of people on the planet. You don't need all of them. You just need your core crew of people that want to come to you as a practice. So I would say, what is it of, how are you going to make sure people stand out to you?   and looking back at your core values, looking back to why, what makes you, you go look at the reviews and make sure does that speak? And if it does, amazing, keep doing more of that. And if it doesn't, let's change that and revamp it a little bit so that way you do feel like it's home. I have had so many offices try to be something they're not, they're like, well, Kiera, everyone says I need to be on social media and I don't like it. Then don't do it. Like you can be at home, you can be there, you can still like.   I am the silent dentist. Like don't like social media. Great. You're going to probably find people that don't like social media. So let's do flyers and mailers and other things that could attract people in. ⁓ Or find a team member that really is great at it so you don't have to do it. For me, you've got to show up a couple of times. That's part of being a business owner and I don't love it, but I'm going to be true to Kiera. You're going to be true to you. Be true to you because the thing is I want you to just feel like you're at home. When I get on the podcast, I get to just be Kiera.   This is Kiera unfiltered. It's funny when people get on our practice assessment calls or like wanting to work with us calls and we're assessing to see, are you a good fit for us and are we a good fit for you? I'm sitting in my studio. Like what you guys see is where I work every single day. The microphone, I don't usually talk to people on a microphone, but I will pull it on over so people can see it. Like I'm just Kiera. This is who you get. I'm real raw. Someone asked me a very personal question on a sales call the other day and I was like, you know what?   I am so grateful that you feel so comfortable to be able to ask me those questions. I'm Kiera. This is who I am. I always want people to feel like I'm just Kiera Dent from the block. Like I'm your next door neighbor. I'm the person who's not here to judge you. I'm here to give you a hand up. I'm not here to slap your hand, tell you you should have known that because you're a dentist. That's what I want people to feel. So I think it's a what's your core. And then also the second piece is what do you want people to feel when they come to your practice? Because that's going to help them laser in with you way more than anything else.   So looking at those core values, how do you want them to feel? For me, it is a no judgment zone in Dental A Team. Our whole team knows this. You like nobody should ever, like I will not hire people that are snooty tooty attitudey. Like I'm just not here for that. That's not our culture. That's not our brand. That's not who we are. Our brand and our style is very much a come as you are, we love you we're gonna take you to your goal, your vision. I'm not here for everybody to get to the DSO world. I want you to live your best life. Your practice should serve you your needs in your life, not the other way around. But I will tell you,   I did not have that refined on day one of opening this company. That has come over time of what do I want dentists to feel? What are people saying? What is it that sets me apart from other people? And I do believe that your practice and how you stand out is not a one and done check it off the box. My core, one and done. And as long as I don't deviate from that, I'm probably gonna be pretty solid. The second thing is who we are and our fundamentals, those have not changed. But how I talk to people, what I want people to feel when they come to our company.   That's morphed and evolved. It's always been a no judgment zone, but I think it's become more and more and I market that more and more and I want people to just feel safe. I want people to feel seen. I want people to feel heard. I realize as business owners, myself included, as I morphed and evolved, gosh, that's something I wanted. You could start to listen in to what your patients say. Why do they choose you? And you might even have people that you trust a lot. I have asked certain people like, why did you choose Dental A Team over somebody else? 95 % of the time it's because we don't judge. We aren't cookie cutter.   and we actually have been there, done that and do it successfully and we bring the team along. Those are typically the reasons people choose our company over someone else. And I always get energy, always. So I care, we love your energy. And I'm like, great. So they like a good time. They want somebody who's fun. That's my core value. So yeah, like we're getting it. But listen to why people are choosing you. Maybe it's the Google reviews. Maybe it's because you are the holistic dentist in your area. Maybe it's because all their friends and family trust you. Listen to that and brand with that.   People will tell you if you will listen why they choose you, why you're the best in their opinion. And if that's your favorite patient, do more of that. That's how you're going to stand out. Again, you're not going for the billing and you're going for your niche community of people that want to come to you. ⁓ I know I've got a pediatric dentist. He's so popular, like one of the top of the top of the top and he's just himself and he shares his real life. Some of you may be like, that's not me. Again.   You've got to do your differentiator based on who you are. If you're not loud and outlandish, don't be that online because they're going to come in and be like, it was a bait and switch. Like, wow, this person's dead in the water when I show up. Or if you're like dead in the water, but you're super outlandish in the practice, they might feel like, wow, that's very different. You need to have it where you guys are synced in. People feel like they can understand. People feel like they're on the same page with you. It feels the same. Like that's what branding is. This is how you differentiate is what our presence is online is who we are in person.   And so I would just say, take an exercise today. Go through and figure out what on earth do we need to do to stand out in our crowd? Number one, what's our core value? What do we stand for? Who's the core? What is the core of who we are? Number two, what do we people to feel? Read our reviews, how do we want them to feel? And then number three, how can I do more of that and has it evolved over time? Those would be like quick, simple three steps, but make sure online presence matches in-person presence. In-person presence matches online presence. Our online presence is fun.   There's dots, there's confetti, there's smiling, laughing people. That's not just pictures. When you're in an office, you're laughing your freaking head off. It's hilarious. We're having a good time because teams don't want to do hard. Teams don't want to have a non-fun. Why do I make the podcast? Yes, for a lot of value for you, but also for you to have your teams experience this before they even work with us. How can you test drive the car without test driving the car? Well, here's a great way to do it. How can people test drive your practice without doing it?   How can they say, my gosh, of all the dentists out there, I wanna work with you. And then I'm gonna say this, and I know this is annoying and I'm sorry, but this is another piece that you're gonna stand out and it's through your Google reviews. You've gotta be kicking it over there. If you need, talk to Swell. Swell.co, I think is their website. Tell them Dental A Team sent you, get the best deal. Zeke and I have known each other for eight years and he has never changed the pricing on the people I refer to him, which thank you, Zeke. Shout out to you. Swell is the best one I've ever met. I know there's a ton of them out there. I have like vetted all of them. Best of the best of the best.   So if you want a great one, like you've got to also be the best. And so I just did this with a team the other day ⁓ and I had all of them go leave reviews. I had all of them practice asking for reviews. And I taught them like, you can be the best dentist, but if you're not the best marketed dentist online, no one's gonna find you. And imagine me with my picket fence out there, like picketing, like save the teeth. If you're the best dentist in the best dental office, you have a moral obligation to save those teeth. People only have 28.   Some might have 32, but most of us only have 28. And we only have one shot at that. And I believe that people deserve the best of the best. So you also have an obligation to get those reviews up, to ask your patients to leave your reviews, but that's gonna tell you how you stand out. Please also make sure you have fun. Do things that light you up. Marketing is like, my gosh, it's my least favorite thing to do. But I realized, Kiera being Kiera and just showcasing that is marketing.   And I can have a truckload of fun with you guys on here. I can have a great time on the podcast. I can share all my wildest things. I can talk to you about whatever I want to talk to you about. And you can get to know Kiera, real Kiera. You can get to know Kiera Dent from the block. And that's where I realized like, this is fun for me. Now me going and making dumb social reels. Sorry, all you that love it. I'm not trying to diss on you at all. That's not a diss. I just absolutely loathe it. Like I would rather sit here and talk to you and give you like tactical tips than I would like making up a funny meme.   I'm a freaking hilarious human, but I don't like staged humor and I don't have a great marketer next to me and it just feels hard. That's not something that I'm like, yay, marketing day. Now if I had a marketer who lived next door to me and they're like, hey, I got seven ideas for you, let's roll. I would freaking love it. But make sure it's something that you jive and enjoy. And if you don't love it and then people are gonna feel it. Now, that doesn't mean it's uncomfortable. You gotta get out of your comfort zone. But if you absolutely loathe something, you guys like, I...   You have a marketer who did this and I felt like an idiot. I'm not good at remembering how to say things and being on script. Like I feel so dumb and so uncomfortable that I'd rather sit there and have you rift with me, like ask me questions like top, top dental softwares, top AI softwares, top practices, how they perform. What are the top five things that the most elite leaders do? I would rather do that. It's the same thing. I can still create reels, but they're conversations and topics that I know you guys want to hear. And I know you're going to have a good time hearing.   and I know I can give you amazing value without you ever working with me. That's Kiera Dent's MO. So what's your MO? What drives you? And if you need a minute, go take like two hours at a Starbucks, figure out what your core values are. What do you want people to feel when they come to your practice? And then look to see what is the core? What are the things that light you up? Again, maybe that you're not perfect at. I love to give tactical practical. And like I said, that morphed over time. What do I people to feel has morphed over time. So maybe do a revamp. See how can we stand out a little bit stronger?   and then ride it guys. Trust it, own it, embrace it, because the more confident you are in it, people are buying your confidence, they're not buying you. The reason people come to Dental A Team is because when I got on the podcast, you guys, I've been there, I've done it, I've seen it all, like you probably can't tell me something. I would love somebody to challenge me, bring me something I haven't ever heard before. But I have so much confidence that no matter which practice you are, where you're at, I know ways to turn your life around and your practice around and do it very quickly and easily.   I'm that confident. That's what you're buying. You're buying my 10 years of being on the freaking road going into 500 plus offices. That's why people sign up with Dental 18 plus they love our energy. Yeah, I'm a good time. So let's do it fun and let's share all that experience. Why are people signing up with you? What is the confidence you have? Are you the best at doing those fillings? Are you the best at doing those crowns? Highlight that, get excited about it. People are buying your confidence and the more confident you can be through your reviews, through your online presence, the more they're going to spy you. It's not their dentistry they're buying.   It's the confidence in you and your team. And if you can remember that, you will stand out of a crowd all day long. So I feel like I usually can do a quick wrap for you and like, here's the five things for you to take. Today, it's not, it's a rift. It's a, here are the ways that I see people stand out. Here are the ways that I've been able to stand out. Here's the ways that we've been able to change things for you. But I really feel like standing out is not about doing more. It's about doing the right thing that lights you up consistently. Getting on the podcast, do you know how many episodes I've recorded?   Do know how many times I pushed play over here and said, all right, let's go? Consistency can out deliver flash in the pan. I have been doing this for seven years now. Seven years we've been talking together. Seven years we've been hanging out. Almost 10 years I've been traveling to offices. That's consistency guys. And doing consistency, doing the right things consistently. It's not about doing more.   I didn't ratchet up our podcast amount, doing the same amount since the beginning of time, and that's still a lot. ⁓ But I think for you to stay consistent, speak your truth, people will come to you, I promise you. Don't think it's about doing more. Don't think it's about that. Just being aligned so where people can feel your true authenticity and your genuine love, people will buy that all day long. We're in a world inundated with noise and starving for wisdom.   Be that different voice, whatever yours is. And if we can help you in any way, if I can be your cheerleader, if our team can like help you see the goodness in you, because sometimes it's hard to see the goodness in you. We do this with offices, we help them out. I've got a doctor right now in California and we're helping her see like how she's fantastic to drive more patients to her practice. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Be proud of yourself. There are people that need you specifically. Not everybody wants you, not everybody wants Dental A Team, but the people who really do that resonate.   They're going to find me and my voice. why I ask you guys to share because you're listening. Please share with other people just like you because odds are if you like me, your friends are going to like me and we're going to be able to help them change the world of dentistry. Same thing. If your patients like you, odds are they've got friends and family that are going to love you as well. Ask them. Don't be afraid to get the reviews from them. And for all of you, I'm asking you today, if you love the podcast, leave us a Google review. Go leave me a review share because I need more people like you listening to this podcast.   I am on a mission to impact every single dental practice out there and to positively impact them and to change the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And I can't do that alone. I need you to share. So share and ask your patients to do the same, but it's very hard for you to ask somebody when you haven't done it yourself. So if you've never left a Google review or it's been a while, go leave Dental A Team at Google review. We'll put it in the show notes. It's very easy for you. ⁓ and the second thing I would ask is share us with somebody, share the podcast with somebody today, share this episode with somebody shared in a Facebook group.   because you're gonna get more confidence and have your team do the same thing. You can have them listen to this episode, share with people, leave a review. I had an office, 10 people left me a review that day because they were having a hard time and feeling disingenuous asking for reviews. Get people comfortable, get people confident and they'll do it more often, same thing with you. And I'm a very easy person. Leave me a great review. You love the podcast, you're clearly giving your time to me. So leave a review, say how much you love it and then feel confident asking somebody and ask somebody today because more people need your dentistry.   More people need you to change their lives. It's your moral obligation to show up, do the right thing, have fun and do it with ease. Did you like those core values? That was a nice wrap for all of you. Thanks for listening. I adore you. I'm here to serve you on any level I can. Reach out, join us at an event, come to our mastermind, whatever it is, do something today. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team podcast.  

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Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!  

The Deadcast uncovers the secrets of Steal Your Face, the Dead's 1976 live album with a checkered reputation, dramatic backstory, & sonic experimentation by Phil Lesh & Owsley Stanley. Guests: Ron Rakow, Al Teller, John Scher, Ned Lagin, David Lemeiux See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dentists often keep operating beliefs long after the market, technology, and patient expectations have changed. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with recurring guest Dr. Tom Hedge, practicing dentist and educator, to unpack myths dentists still believe — from selling to DSOs and misunderstanding recap/valuation, to overestimating the cost and complexity of modern technology, imaging, magnification, and hygiene staffing. You'll learn how to rethink “rules of thumb,” evaluate DSO offers more clearly, adopt practical tech that improves diagnosis and case acceptance, and use education and community to stay adaptable. Listen to Episode 1052 of The Best Practices Show!Main Takeaways:Dentists often assume what worked ten years ago will keep working, even when costs, fees, and alternatives have changed.DSO deals can break down when recapitalization happens and cheap money is no longer cheap, shrinking what DSOs can “skim” between dentist pay and profitability.A “second bite of the apple” payout is not guaranteed, and dentists can lose value if the DSO is not financially strong when the holdback comes due.Technology prices and workflows have changed dramatically, and many tools (cameras, scanners, digital X-rays) now deliver faster diagnosis and better patient understanding.Patient imaging can be created quickly using AI tools, which can help patients visualize outcomes and move forward without high-pressure selling.Magnification and hands-free lighting can simplify clinical work, reduce operatory clutter, and improve the patient experience compared to traditional overhead lights.Investing in continuing education moves dentists from “not knowing what you don't know” to confident clinical decision-making, but learning never stops.Snippets:00:00 Welcome And Setup02:04 Why Myths Persist02:38 Rethinking Fees03:42 DSO Big Check Myth05:31 Recap And EBITDA08:19 Independent Dentistry Future09:39 Tech Costs Myth12:59 Hands Free Operatory Tech13:50 AI Smile Imaging Fast15:58 Magnification Lighting Simplified17:33 Hygiene Crisis Reframed19:27 Education And Community20:35 SmileSource Exchange Invite22:09 Final Takeaways GoodbyeGuest Bio/Guest Resources:Dr. Tom Hedge is widely known as one of the top-notch cosmetic dentists in the United States. He received his Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he majored in biology and chemistry. While studying at the Ohio State University College of Dentistry, he conducted research resulting in the publication of seven abstracts and one paper, which received numerous awards at the state and national levels. After graduating from dental school, he completed a general practice residency at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. This advanced education included training in anesthesia, pediatrics, emergency medicine, geriatrics, TMJ treatment, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, prosthetics, and implantology.Dr. Hedge is nationally recognized not only for excellence in clinical programs, but for sound business practices that make full use of the newest technologies in dentistry. He is an alumnus of the renowned Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, as well as the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education. Dr. Hedge is a frequent contributor to dental publications, as well as professional development magazines.Resources mentioned in the episode:Smile Source Exchange: https://smilesource.com/exchangeMore Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaUpcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.comSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

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Tiff and Nikki continue the topic of your practice's vision by discussing how to turn it into something your entire team believes in. They discuss believing in your own vision first, communicating it to your team, establishing consistency and repetition so everyone remembers it, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I'm so excited to be here with you guys today. You know I say that every single time because I truly love what we do. I love what Dental A Team stands for and I love the podcast. and set out a long time ago to really, really, really just provide so much amazing, incredible information for the dental world and beyond. We have listeners on here who are not a part of the dental world. We serve all kinds of business owners and ⁓ healthcare providers and all kinds of people. So it's just really cool. And I want you guys to know how special you are.   And today I have with me a super special guest, someone you guys have not heard from before. I get the amazing privilege of bringing Ms. Nikki Mack onto the stage with us here today in our little podcast universe. Nikki, welcome. How are you today?   Nikki Mack (00:31) Okay.   I'm so good, I'm so excited to finally get to be a part of it. I'm on the other side now, long time listener, first time participator. ⁓   The Dental A Team (00:53) Yeah.   I love that you have been a long time listener. So thank you for that. And for those of you who have not yet met Nikki, you probably were not at our in-person event in February, which means you should get your tail over there next time so that you can meet all of us in person. And very specifically, Miss Nikki Mack here. She has joined our team. She is new to Dental A Team is what we like to say, but she has been in consulting in the DSO world in the   you know, general practitioner role, the family practice role, like all over the place. She's been, she has so much experience. She's been all over the block. We'll call her Nikki from the block from now on. I've got your nickname, Nikki. Yeah, there you go. Carol come up with a new one. But Nikki's, Nikki has been with our team for a few months now. We are just so, so happy to have you, Nikki, a wealth of knowledge. Your clients are already seeing massive results. They are.   Nikki Mack (01:36) love it.   The Dental A Team (01:49) loving you and you connect so easily. So everyone just give Nikki a huge shout out and come meet her at our next in-person event in September here in Phoenix. So Nikki, welcome and gosh tell me I'll do an icebreaker for you for the world here. I know, I didn't prep you for this. Yep, unscripted, that happens. That's how my brain works. So let's talk   Nikki Mack (02:03) Yeah.   Ooh, okay, unscripted. Love it.   The Dental A Team (02:16) Let's talk dental, we won't get too crazy. Tell us your favorite position within the dental world. It doesn't have to be within the practice, it can be outside. What's your favorite position you've ever held?   Nikki Mack (02:28) that I've ever held. ⁓ This is probably gonna come as a surprise or not. ⁓ Marketing, like doing the like B2B marketing and stuff. ⁓ I just, I love being able to get out and connect with lots of practices and being able to represent my team. You know, when I go out like on behalf of a doctor, it's super exciting. Cause like I love the office I'm in. I love the team I work with and the doctor I work for and getting to be the person that   The Dental A Team (02:35) I'll ask them.   Nikki Mack (02:56) like shares our office with the world. ⁓ It's just, it's so fun. So, and you get to meet new people, yeah.   The Dental A Team (03:01) That's really cool.   Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you thrive meeting new people so I could see that for sure. That's awesome. What kind of practice did you do B2B marketing for?   Nikki Mack (03:06) Hahaha.   So that was my time with ⁓ pediatrics and orthodontics. Yep, the most. So yeah, fun events and things like that.   The Dental A Team (03:16) Awesome. I figured. Yeah, that's so cool. Yeah,   yeah, we have a lot of pediatric practices and a few ortho actually. So I know the team will be picking your brain because marketing for pediatrics is a massive space to ⁓ unfold, we shall say. Awesome. Very cool.   Nikki Mack (03:33) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (03:36) Well, today, you guys, we really wanted to chat with you some about your vision and communicating your vision. So we walked you through quite a few times. And if you haven't heard them go back through and listen. If you haven't worked with your consultant yet to get your vision out, go call your consultant. We've worked through kind of how to get your vision, how to get there. And I think you guys might remember, I think it was Dana and I, or Christie and I, really chatting about how like your vision, your mission, your reason for being here isn't necessarily.   what is scripted on your wall that says bringing great smiles to our community. Like, yeah, we're bringing great smiles to our community, but what does that great smile mean? How are we actually impacting the people? And today we wanted to chat. I wanted to pick Nikki's brain here on how to communicate that across to your team. So your team actually believes it. And I think more than anything, Nikki, it's really how do dentists and how do you coach your doctors on   expressing their vision in a way that the team not only believes it, because I think there's a difference in like believing it, I can believe that that's your vision, like cool, yep, that's your vision. And me as a team member living it and breathing it, it's a massive difference. So believing it and standing behind it. And with your experience, the things that you've done and the coaching you do now,   How do you help doctors to really, practice owners to really take that vision and create it to be something that a team can move forward with?   Nikki Mack (05:07) Well, and I think a big part of it really stems from that leadership piece and having a team that values you and believes in you as a leader. And then the vision just supports that. But you kind of hit on it. You have to believe it too. If I'm the doctor or the practice owner and I'm unclear on my vision, how can I expect my team to understand it or follow it? Now you'll always have those employees that just value you and will lead wherever you go. Right. doc, we're going to be, I want it. But   The Dental A Team (05:35) Yeah.   Nikki Mack (05:36) Some need to know why we're going there. They'll do what you need, but why are we doing it? So my first step with a team or a doctor is usually what really is your vision? Not what you think your vision is. Let's talk about what is your vision and how do we use that to get ourselves where we want to be? How do we use that to support our goals?   The Dental A Team (05:56) I love that I actually are making me think of something that I heard the other day on is on a Mel Robbins was actually her book, the left them theory. So some of you guys may have heard this or read it. And she talks about, I'm going to botch the first name, but one of the Toyota brothers has the theory of five wise and ask it was forced like she is in context. I'm sure he is in context of when you're bothered by something or you have like a miscommunication or an upset in life, asking yourself like, why does this bother me but   As you're speaking, Nikki, I'm actually thinking it's so hard to dig to your root. why I think is for me, my quote unquote, why are my vision is it feels like it's my purpose. And I think we spend our entire lives seeking our purpose. And we're like, why am I, we've read the purpose driven, you know, books and all these things. And we're constantly looking for it, but realistically it's getting under the surface layers of your thoughts.   because there's so much wrapped around what you think it should be, how you think it should be perceived, how you think it should be ⁓ communicated to anyone. And so I wonder even like that five why theory is, you know, why do I want to change smiles in my community? Well, because, okay, why is that important to me? Well, because and really taking it so deep. I feel like when you feel that emotional tug, and then you speak from that emotion,   that's your why. And the people around you, I mean, I guess if they're the right people, right, if they're the wrong people on the right bus, they're probably not going to feel the emotional tug to it as well, you know, right alongside with you. But when you do finally get to that emotional tug why, I feel like people can't help but be like, yeah, let's do that. Like that sounds freaking amazing. And it might not be specifically my why, but I want to support you in it because I'm so excited.   by your excitement for what you're about to step into the world to do.   Nikki Mack (07:57) Yep, I think excitement is the key word there. You have to be excited about your why and your team has to as well. It's some of the doctors I still think about, you all these years later that I worked for, it's their why and how excited they were to fulfill that purpose, right? And we get to, you know, change the face of dentistry, right? All these people that hate going to the dentist and then they get to come to our office and now they have a different outlook. Like those whys that drive you.   they inspire your team. And that's that kind of key to leadership. You have to understand that piece and be super clear because that's what drives your team, I think, at their core too. Especially to your point, when it's the right people, you're aligned and you guys are just rowing that boat forward, right?   The Dental A Team (08:39) Yeah.   Yeah, and then allows   them the space your team to search for their own. So I know when Kiera got really clear on her why and the vision for this company, it was like, I can live that. And then I saw, this is how mine actually like follow suit or attaches to Kiera's and the company's why how I serve a purpose in this company based on what I want to do in the world.   how I want to show up and how I want to impact the world, I can see how my purpose is served within the company, why as well.   Nikki Mack (09:22) Exactly. Yep. And that I think too, when you're working at a team, because if you're a doctor or a practice owner and you're growing or you're just leveling up, it's challenging sometimes. And it's that drive and that why that helps keep both you and your team motivated to push towards that end result. That's why we see a patient through lunch. That's why we start a same day for someone who really needs it. It's why we do those things. And that makes it to where   the goal makes sense. It's not just spinning our wheels. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (09:52) Yeah.   Yeah,   and ⁓ working through lunch makes me think of, ⁓ you know, one, we've all done that, right, the freaking root canal that has to go through lunch every single time. But when you're attached to how we're here to serve and show up for our patients, working through lunch is a lot less daunting. I know there are some days that I'm like, heck yeah, let's do it. Let's go. Let's go. Let's help this person. And there are other days that I was like, ⁓ another lunch hour. Like, what the heck, but like, I still got lunch. I just took lunch after.   Nikki Mack (09:58) Hahaha   Ha   The Dental A Team (10:22) lunch or before lunch, like we still worked it out, but there were some days that it was like inspiring to help this person. And then there were other days that it was like, I kind of forgot our reason and our purpose. And it was more like it was being forced on me. And those were different seasons of practice and different seasons of, of life there within. But I agree. That's my point there. And I think once you have that, then you're literally, you're speaking it. And, and I think   Nikki Mack (10:45) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (10:51) Something that we often miss is the repetition that's needed in life for everything. needs to be repeated. We have to build systems. People, I think, think life can be so mundane and it's like routines suck. Like you shouldn't have like all of your life shouldn't be a routine. Like no, actually consistency is human nature. We want to be consistent. We want the routines. And when we're not repeating things, they get lost and they get forgotten.   Nikki Mack (10:57) Yes.   The Dental A Team (11:20) And I think Nikki, something I've noticed in coaching is that we'll key in on it. Doctors are like, heck yeah, let's do it. And then six months later, they're just in the mundane and they're like, I'm working through lunch again, this sucks. So how do you help your doctors and your teams to stay in their why in that vision?   Nikki Mack (11:41) Well, and it's funny you mentioned how you do get to that point where you're like, why are we doing this? You have to revisit it. So I think the same way that we talk about doctors and practice owners being clear with themselves before they hit the team, you also have to revisit it as a team. So one of the things I've suggested in my coaching before is like about quarterly or at least twice a year in our team meetings, we're readdressing that why and our mission, our values.   so that the team is clear. Because the day-to-day in a dental office is a whirlwind, right? And talk about routine and repetition. Sometimes it can be a grind, and that's a good thing, but you have to be able to circle back. And ⁓ what is that expression, slow down to speed up? We have to take a step back, and what is that vision? Why are we doing this? And is what we're doing aligning with our values, right? Working through lunch to help a patient, amazing. Love it, always wanna do it.   The Dental A Team (12:16) Yeah.   Yeah.   Nikki Mack (12:40) working through lunch just as a routine, because we're not scheduling well, that probably doesn't align with our vision and we need to kind of revisit it. So it's okay to evaluate our systems and our processes and how does this align with our vision and does it get us where we want to go? So I usually recommend absolutely quarterly is like my dream as your consultant, but at least a couple of times a year, how does this fit? Where are we at? Because you're going to have team change too, right? People are going to change positions. We might grow and get new team members.   And so we have to make sure that everybody's kind of on that same page and approaching it from the same place, I think is what keeps us ⁓ consistent and in that, you know, good mindset, that good position.   The Dental A Team (13:22) Yeah, and something you said sparked a thought. said, is this an alignment? like working through lunch to help somebody is an alignment. Working through lunch just because it's a routine, it may not be an alignment. And I think you keyed in on something really special there of really looking at what are we doing that is serving ROI and what are we doing that is pulling us away from ROI or just.   opposing our why because it's so easy in dentistry to get so like keyed in on just what's not working. So like let's just complain bucket and we're always working through lunch. Well, why does it suck? It sucks because it's not in alignment with what we said we wanted to do. That's why it sucks. If we said we are an office that works through lunch every single time, great.   we can be upset about it, but that we are in alignment with, this is what I'm choosing to do. But when that's not an alignment, that's where we get those upsets and that like rubbing raw situation. so Nikki, even like going through as often as you can, love the quarterly, love, I mean, do you guys want to talk about it every week? Please talk about it all the time. And Nikki is, yeah, it's like, bring those examples. What did we do this week? What did we do this quarter?   Nikki Mack (14:31) We're in.   The Dental A Team (14:41) that served our why, how did we help people? And when you start from there, you're inspired again. So we wanna talk about communicating your vision to your team so they believe it. Like what is your vision and how are we serving it? And how is that serving us as humans and serving our community I think is huge.   Nikki Mack (15:02) Yeah, 100%. It's how I think it establishes for you that baseline. You know, like we said, because we can always bring it back to our vision is what we're doing in alignment, is what we're doing supporting it, is what we're doing helping move it forward. And it's a way to not only grow, but hold ourselves accountable to, you know, the choices and decisions we're making, the systems we use, how do we reevaluate those and make sure that they make sense for the practice, the patients, you know, the team.   It's that mission, it's that values that we talk about that are gonna steer that ship, I think, yeah.   The Dental A Team (15:37) I think so too. And you keyed in again on like something massive is really how we choose to consult, how our company consults. Because what you just said is really looking at the systems, the protocols, the procedures, the things that we are doing every day, are they serving us and our mission and our vision and where we are going? And the reason Dental A Team doesn't pop into your team and into your practice with this massive cookbook that says A to Z, this is how you should do things.   is because you are an individual practice with an individual mission that's serving a different purpose than the guy down the street. And if we gave you and the guy down the street the same recipe book, it's not guaranteed to work. Are some things going to stick and some things going to work? Absolutely, 100 % hands down. Do we do the same systems and similar systems with each practice? 100 % hands down. But the autonomy in it is how does this system   serve you and what you said there Nikki is how are they how how are the systems and things that we're doing every day how are they pushing us forward it's exactly how we consult and you keying in on that is huge because your teams your practices Nikki are getting something really special from you because I know you lead with their why I've watched you do it I get to watch it on recap so I've watched your recap from your in-office visit you just had in Vegas it's   It just looked freaking incredible. And I know you know him as a human. You know his why. And everything that you did with that team served that and taught them to go back and see, OK, is this working to progress towards what our goals are for our vision and our practice goals, or is it detracting us?   Nikki Mack (17:27) Yeah, it's honestly, it's one of the things I love the best about being a part of Dental A Team is that we truly understand that every practice is different. And a lot of people say that because we know it, right? But I've worked in the dental sphere in a few different like worlds and specialties and, you know, like ownership profiles and everyone is so different. And that's not even counting demographics, right? You know, where we are, are we urban or we rural? Is it saturated? Is it not?   The Dental A Team (17:51) Yeah.   Nikki Mack (17:56) And I think that's why there's just no blanket answer that fixes things. And Dental A Team does such a good job of getting to that why. And why do you want to get to a place? And here's how I can help you get there that stays true to you and your practice and your identity. For me, that's kind of the most fun part is if we know where we're going, then perfect. I've got some tools to put in your toolbox and help get us there, but it's got to feel like you. I can't do it for you or tell you how to be perfect.   I'm here to help you get there and make it work. And I think that's why teams get on board. We're not asking them to just do a cookie cutter situation. The doctor's involved, the team's involved, and it feels like you. It feels authentic. It's something that you can present. Circling back to my marketing thing, right? It's something your team can be proud of and sharing that with the world, whether it's the patients in their chair or the oral surgeon down the street or whatever that looks like.   The Dental A Team (18:43) Yeah.   Nikki Mack (18:54) That's why it's so important. It truly shapes every decision that you make in your practice. And I love getting to kind of help that discovery and then finding out those next steps. That's so important and empowering. I love it.   The Dental A Team (19:09) Yeah, I completely agree. You circle back to the marketing and I, I love that kind of marketing too. I really do. I love the beat. I love marketing. You can listen to a couple podcasts ago. ⁓ I love the marketing, but this is why because to me, the marketing is that relationship build and that like speaking of the vision because when you believe in a practice, you believe in what we're doing. You want people   to know, you want to talk about it, you want to invite them to the practice, you want to invite them to invite their friends and family members to the practice and leave great reviews and you want to do all of these things and when you think about it, if you're bought into it, you're like, yes, I want to serve this mission too in this vision, you're showing up different every day because now I'm showing up as the person, okay, wait, back up, like I said when we first started, right?   I said, know, I told you, before we got on here, told you, Kiera, prior to knowing me in person, personally, she stalked me on Facebook and she saw, wow, she's super fun. She's always on Facebook Live. She's doing Beachbody coaching. And I did, and I loved it. I loved it because I loved the energy and I loved the people. And obviously it like forced me to work out. Kiera thought she was hiring this like,   heck yeah, let's go cheerleader who is just 100 % on all the time. But what she didn't realize is I'm secretly like, not even secretly, I'm a very, I'm a Taurus through and through, like I'm the bull sleeping in the pasture as often as I can. So I'm super efficient so that I can have a ton of time to just do nothing if I want to do nothing. So what happens is here, right, I become Tiffanie that's podcasting.   I become Tiffanie who's showing up as your consultant. I become Tiffanie who's on stage. Just like we all show up a little bit differently in the space of life that we're living in. And it's putting on a show, but not with that negative connotation that that sounds like. Like, no, I'm here because I want to change lives. But when it's just, know, Tiff on the couch, like I am a much calmer, chiller person, not as much energy as being exerted. And it makes me   It makes me think of this because even at the dental practice when I was in office, when I showed up as a check-in, I was the check-in person and I was the first person you saw. I was like, hey, how's it going? Let's chat about your kids. Let's do this. Let's do that. And it invigorated me. It gave me energy in life to be able to do those things because I believed in what we were doing. And the moments that that vision got lost, that we weren't talking about it, or that life got stressful, the practice was stressful, the bills were stressful, the   ⁓ refinancings were they were stressful. Those are the times that I didn't know how to show up like that life was hard. I was getting depressed and I was like, what the heck and it all ties back to that significance piece of having a purpose and when I know the why of the of the person that I'm dedicating my life work to, it gives me a sense of purpose, if that makes sense.   Nikki Mack (22:19) Nope, total sense, because it helps you show up. We talk a lot in dental about being on stage, right? You know, kind of turning that game face on, but it's so true because we are dealing with all kinds of things behind the scenes, right? Like you said, it could be crazy schedules, a clearing house, you know, gets hacked and nobody can get paid for months. And there's always some chaos, but the patients don't know that. And each patient that comes in, this is their first interaction with you.   The Dental A Team (22:25) Yes.   Mm.   Nikki Mack (22:46) And sometimes it can be so hard as a team member to just keep turning it on and showing up at 100. And it sounds crazy. I know someone is listening to this, like, I know she's not about to say what she's about to say, but I am because in those tough moments, knowing why you're doing it, it's like a power reserve. And it's how you're able to kind of like take that deep breath. Okay.   And we turn our game face on and we go back to it, know, my God, Mrs. Smith, we haven't seen you in so long. We're so excited you're here. How was your vacation? It's whatever that looks like as showing up as a team member. That's where that well comes from. That's that reserve. And it sounds crazy, but we've seen it. And successful practices, their doctors are clear about their vision and their team has bought in and they support it. It's their vision too, right?   It means a lot. It's a lot of people overlook it. I do think it's one of those like, I'll get to it. But first I have to get, you know, this implant scheduling down, but it's just as important as those pieces. Cause it's going to help your practice run successfully, even through the rough times, the tougher times. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (23:47) Yeah. Yeah.   I totally agree. I love it. Thank you. So I think this is titled how to communicate your why or your vision to your team. And I think Nikki, the how is one figure out what your vision is, what is what is the reason that you're here, and then just do it and do it frequently. Don't be afraid, especially when you dig into that like more personal emotional why. Even if even if this popped in my head.   I have so many doctors that they're like, well, my why is like to provide generational wealth for my family. Cool. Why? Dig one more past that because the the providing for people who you're not sure can provide for themselves. That is inspiring. Right. So a team might not get on board with like, I want to create a life where my kids never have to work. Like, okay, no, that's weird. But why?   So really attached to that personal. I wanted to say that because I do have a lot of doctors that are like, I'm trying to create generational wealth as you should. I think that's phenomenal. Let's go a little bit deeper and figure out why is that important to you? Maybe you didn't grow up with parents who seem to care. Maybe you had to work really hard and you your team's going to get behind those pieces. So dig one further. Do that five why. What's one deeper and then communicate with your team. It's incredibly vulnerable.   Nikki Mack (25:05) Great.   The Dental A Team (25:24) And it can be very scary, especially when you're like, I wanna create healthy smiles in the neighborhood, in the community. Like going from that to like, I wanna help save people from poverty, drastic, very vulnerable. But Nikki, I think just do it, right? Just Nike, just do it.   Nikki Mack (25:36) Right.   Yeah, just do it.   And honestly, I would challenge doctors and practice owners to find out your team's why. Why are they showing up for you every day, right? It may not be exactly the same as yours, but I guarantee you it aligns, right? And it feeds into it. And that might help even shape your why as well. Like everyone's is gonna contribute to that greater cause basically. Yeah, just do it.   The Dental A Team (25:53) Yeah.   Yeah.   I agree. Simon Sinek   says just do it. Simon Sinek says to ask the ask your best friend or best friends. So like the three people closest to you. Why do they? Why do they have you in their life? And when they say something like, well, I don't know, like, you're fine. Like, no, but like, why me dig deeper? Do that five why thing again? Like, okay, but like, why me? And eventually, it's going to turn from   what you do for them. You always answer the phone when I need you. Like it's gonna turn to you make me feel like I'm important. You make me feel. So it's gonna turn from the things that you do for people, you continue digging, to that friend is gonna say, you know what, I don't know. It's just when I'm around you, I'm really happy and inspired and I want to do more in life. And he says that helps key you in on what you bring to the world.   so that you can see what your purpose is. So I think if you do that similar thing, Nikki, with the team, like why do you choose to work here, right? And get them to dig to that deeper space, it does start to bubble up and you start to see the impact that you're already making on the world and does that align? Does that feel good? Does that feel like inspiring to you? Because that's probably your why and your vision.   Nikki Mack (27:26) Yeah, I love that. That's so great. Even in a personal life, I agree. I'm gonna take that home.   The Dental A Team (27:32) Simon Sinek, I tell you that guy, he's got some good stuff, always. Awesome. Well, Nikki, this was super fun. Thank you so much for being here. First podcast down the hatch, you did it. We're here. Good, good, you did awesome. Thank you. And listeners, you know this is her first, go leave her a five star review.   Nikki Mack (27:35) Always a gem, always a gem. Yeah.   It was so fun. Check. Yeah. Loved it. It was a good time.   The Dental A Team (27:55) But really, let us know what you think. Let us know how this went for you. ⁓ Action items, go dig for your vision, go dig for your why. Ask your team, I love that. Ask your team why they choose to work with you. Ask your friends why they're your friend. And then communicate often. You guys, if you're just communicating this, do it every week for the first quarter and then move on to the next quarter. And if you feel like, gosh, we lost it in between, do it more frequently. This is something that you just need to talk about all the time.   Go do the things. Nikki, thank you so much. ⁓ And podcast listeners, you know, go leave us a five-star review. Let us know how you are going to apply these things to your life. And then reach out to us, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com, for any and everything. We're here to help. Thank you, and we'll catch you next time. Bye.

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The Co-Founders of Pearl Street Dental Partners, David Meese, CEO & Dr. Robby Jennings, Chief Clinical Officer discuss: Their 27-year partnership  Choosing culturally aligned partners Their deep strategic partnership with Ivoclar Much more To learn more about Pearl Street Dental Partners visit https://www.pearlstreetdentalpartners.com/ Thank you to Ivoclar for sponsoring this podcast. To learn more about Ivoclar Learning Pathways visit: https://dso.pub/4dD237R Subscribe to our channel for more episodes and stay updated on the latest DSO news, insights, and events! If you like our podcast, please give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on iTunes https://apple.co/2Nejsfa and a Thumbs Up on YouTube.

Send us Fan MailDr. Eric Roman is the founder of Dental Associate Growth and the joyFULL Growth platform, a dental coaching and systems company purpose-built for dental groups and DSOs. Over a 15-year career, Dr. Roman has built and exited two dental groups, hired and developed hundreds of associate dentists, and coached more than $1 billion in annual dental revenue. In the last 18 months of intensive associate coaching, his team analyzed more than 10,000 real dentist-patient interactions using AI measurement tools and worked directly with more than 200 providers across the country. His research consistently reveals the same counterintuitive finding: Associate performance problems are not clinical. They are behavioral, systemic, and entirely solvable. He speaks and consults nationally in the group dentistry and DSO space with a reputation for naming clearly what most people in the industry are only thinking privately.✨Connect with Dr. Roman: Website: https://drericjroman.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drericjroman/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drericjroman/

Growing a DSO to 100+ locations usually means trading local soul for corporate efficiency. It doesn't have to. In this episode of Ignite, Ashley Petrochenko, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing sits down with Britney Long, EVP of Marketing at GPS Dental to break down how her team built the marketing infrastructure behind more than 100 dental practices while still keeping every brand local and patient-focused. From AI search and patient retention to tech stack decisions and lifecycle marketing, Britney shares the systems, lessons, and strategies helping GPS Dental scale nationwide growth without creating a "cookie cutter" experience. You'll walk away with: How to decide what to centralize vs. keep local across a multi-location portfolio The first marketing hire that changed how GPS understood patient experience Why AI search optimization is now the foundation, not the bonus How to stop losing patients you already paid to acquire If you're building or scaling a multi-location healthcare brand and trying to grow while keeping the patient experience local and personal, this is the episode to listen to next.. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Britney- https://www.linkedin.com/in/britney-long-marketing/ How to Build a Full-Funnel Healthcare Marketing Strategy - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-full-funnel-marketing-strategy/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ What is a Patient Journey? Examples to Grow Your Practice  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/what-is-a-patient-journey-grow-your-practice/ DSO Marketing: Branded House vs. House of Brands  - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/dso-marketing-branded-house-vs-house-of-brands/

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Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!  

Welcome to Dentist Money Two Cents, a look at the latest financial and economic news from the past week.
 On this episode of Dentist Money's Two Cents, Matt and Rabih break down rising inflation concerns and what shifting interest rate expectations could mean for the economy. They also discuss the world's top-ranked dental schools, the growing cost of dental education, and whether DSO activity could ramp back up in 2026 despite higher interest rates and increasing scrutiny in the dental industry. Book a free consultation with a CFP® advisor who only works with dentists. Get an objective financial assessment and learn how Dentist Advisors can help you live your rich life.

The Deadcast concludes its extended 2-part tribute to Bobby Weir, ranging into the evolution of his songwriting, stage persona, guitar playing, and unexpected career beyond the Grateful Dead.Guests: Bobby Weir, David Lemieux, Jeff Chimenti, Scott Metzger, Don Was, Gary Lambert, Tim Stevens, Tony Italiano, William Keats, Bretty PauleySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Brannon Moncrief of McLerran & Associates to unpack the current state of dental practice transitions, valuations, and DSO affiliation. Brannon explains the key differences between doctor-to-doctor sales and DSO deals, including when a smaller practice may be better suited for a private buyer and when a larger, multi-provider practice may benefit from exploring the DSO route. They also discuss why younger dentists are selling earlier than previous generations, how inflation and staffing pressures are impacting EBITDA, and what sellers need to understand about cash at close, deal structure, platform opportunities, strategic buyers, and recap potential. Brannon also emphasizes the importance of having the right sell-side advisor to avoid bad actors, protect long-term outcomes, and make sure the deal aligns with the doctor's personal and professional goals. Be sure to check out the full episode from the Dentalpreneur Podcast! EPISODE RESOURCES https://dentaltransitions.com https://www.truedentalsuccess.com Dental Success Network Subscribe to The Dentalpreneur Podcast

"It's not just a transaction."Connect With Our SponsorsGreyFinch - https://greyfinch.com/jillallen/A-Dec - https://www.a-dec.com/orthodonticsSmileSuite - https://getsmilesuite.com/ Summary In this episode of Hey Docs!, Jill sits down with Doug Copple to discuss the evolving landscape of orthodontic partnerships, highlighting trends in the transition market, the structure of partnerships, the buy-in process, and the financial and tax implications involved. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the dynamics of partnerships and the necessity for both parties to act like owners to ensure a successful collaboration. Jill and Doug also go over the complexities of family practice transactions and the importance of aligning treatment philosophies. They also delve into the financing aspects of partnership buy-ins, emphasizing the need for clear communication and understanding between partners to ensure successful collaborations. Connect With Our Guest Bentson Copple Patterson & Associates - https://bcp-advisors.com/ Takeaways Doug has been in the orthodontic industry since 2004.The DSO market has significantly impacted orthodontic practices.Partnerships are becoming more common among younger doctors.Partnership deals can take years to form and require careful planning.The buy-in process typically involves an association period before ownership is transferred.Financial modeling is crucial for understanding partnership dynamics.Both parties must be comfortable with the financial outcomes to avoid resentment. Doctors should consider tax implications in family practice transactions.Effective communication with CPAs is crucial for financial planning.Partnerships require clear agreements on decision-making authority.Understanding treatment philosophies is essential for successful partnerships.Financial transparency is key to avoiding conflicts in partnerships.Chapters 00:00 Introduction02:01 Doug's Background and Firm05:08 Why Partnerships Are Rising09:10 How Partnerships Are Structured14:13 Buy In Timeline and Profit Split22:39 Modeling the Deal on Paper25:45 Tax and Entity Structure Basics27:39 Family Transactions Tax Traps31:17 CPA Communication Gaps32:29 Partnership Control Rules35:40 Discretionary Spending Fights38:34 Treatment Philosophy Clashes41:15 Financing and Real Estate In The Deal46:15 Contact Info Episode Credits:  Hosted by Jill AllenProduced by Jordann KillionAudio Engineering by Garrett LuceroAre you ready to start a practice of your own? Do you need a fresh set of eyes or some advice in your existing practice?Reach out to me- www.practiceresults.com.    If you like what we are doing here on Hey Docs! and want to hear more of this awesome content, give us a 5-star Rating on your preferred listening platform and subscribe to our show so you never miss an episode.    New episodes drop every Thursday!   

In this episode, Dr. Reza Ardalan sits down with Dr. Mark Skimming, the Glasgow-based founder of Pain-Free Dentistry Group and the name that comes up more than any other when other guests on the show are asked about mentoring, coaching, or the business side of dentistry. Dr. Skimming has built a 14-practice independent group across Scotland, fully self-funded, with no bank loans and no private equity, on the back of a systems-first philosophy he learned the hard way. Most conversations about practice growth focus on the clinical or the financial. This one focuses on the operational glue that makes a multi-site group actually work. If you've ever felt like your best clinical work doesn't always translate into a great patient experience, or if you've thought about scaling beyond one location and weren't sure where to start, this is the conversation worth your hour. In this Episode How to think about the 20/80 split between clinical quality and patient experience, and where most dentists are overinvesting Why Dr. Skimming opened a "squat" practice in 2009 instead of buying in, and what the early disaster years taught him about systems The partnership model that turns A-player associates into shareholders across an entire group, not just one practice How a 14-practice independent group runs without bank loans or private equity, and what "anti-DSO" actually means in operation What goes into a 52-point document on ideal behavior, and how it changed the way Pain-Free Dentistry Group hires and promotes Why coachability matters more than clinical skill or business sense when Dr. Skimming evaluates a future partner How EOS, 90-day goals, and knowing your own Kolbe profile compensate for a founder's weaknesses The reading list that shaped a multi-site group: Traction, Radical Candor, Tribal Leadership, and Dan Sullivan's strategic-coach work What to look for when auditing your own patient journey for the friction points you've stopped noticing Why Spot On Business Mastery exists, and what kind of dentist actually benefits from coaching at this stage Dr. Mark Skimming is the founder of Pain-Free Dentistry Group, a 14-practice group based in Scotland with its flagship at Dentistry On The Square in Glasgow. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2005, spent his early career in NHS dentistry, and opened his first private practice in 2009 before stepping out of clinical work to focus on group leadership. Dr. Skimming was named Best Young Dentist (Scotland) at the 2012 Dentistry Awards, authored Painlessly Sell Your Dental Practice, and co-runs Spot On Business Mastery, a coaching program for dentists, alongside Andy McDougall. Find the group on Instagram at @painfreedentistrygroup and on X at @PFDgroup.

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Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!

Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!

Could your team be disillusioned without you knowing? Most practice owners would swear the answer is no, right up until the recall numbers slip, the chairs sit empty, and another employee walks out the door. In this episode, Dr. Dave reveals what's quietly draining the moat around your practice, why no bonus, retreat, or values poster can fix it, and what actually does. He explains the one thing every DSO can match, the one thing they can never copy, and why most independent practices will never attempt to build it. If your Monday doesn't match your mission statement, this is the wake-up call you didn't know you needed.

The Grateful Deadcast returns for its 13th season, beginning with a 2-part tribute to the great Bobby Weir, mixing interviews with archival audio to tell the story of how a teenage Atherton folkie found his singular jazz-informed musical voice (dropping a few water balloons en route).Guests: Bobby Weir, David Lemieux, David Nelson, Gary Lambert, Rhoney Stanley, Graeme BooneSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Mental Gymnastics, Dr. JD Barton sits down with Ilka Juk, who represented Canada and Hungary as an elite gymnast and went on to compete collegiately at LIU and Iowa.Ilka looks back on the abusive coaching she experienced in Canada, her struggles with OCD, how she knew it was time to walk away from elite gymnastics, and how her career has shaped the coach she is today.Thank you to our monthly Patreon supporters: Lee B, Cookiemaster, Happy Girl, Erica S, Semflam, Amy C, Maria L, Becca S, Cathleen R, Faith, Kerry M, Derek H, Sharon B, Randee B, MSU, Kimberly G, Lela M, Mara L, Jenna A, Alex M,, Kelsey, Lidia, Maria P, Alicia O, Cristina K, Bethany J, Diane J, Kentiemac, Marni S, Betny T, Emily C, Cathy D, Lisa T, Libby C, Thiago, Taryn M, Dana B, Jamie S, Chuck C, Je_GL, Kaitlin, Susan P, Mallory D, LFC_Hokie, Ella, Debbie, Kay, Diane J, Julie B,, Austin K, Jane, Sarah, Amy, Stephen S, Johanna T, Alison S, Kristina T, Abigail W, Ola S, Jennifer K, Kate M, Claudia, Erin L, Sarah A, Thomas B, Kihika N, Beth C, Amy, Renee PM, Ryan V, Brandon H, Tyler, Hayley B, Ben S, Kate, Danielle, ALittleUnderRotated, Dana C, Grace, Pat G , Lexi G, Laura N, Kathy, Katie A, Ruby B,, Róisín, Megan J, Emily D, Britton, Ry Shep, Reyna G, William A, MB, Jackson G, Stella, Ulo F, Noah C, Melissa H, Alexis, William M, Trish, Susie, Leslie G, Catherine B, Karlin, Laura L, Katy S, J'nia G, Kathy M, Kathy S, Okcaro, Caroline P, JD B, Cookiecutter, Ailish D, Wil D, Caroline M, kcmojojojo, Sammy S, Fabio B, Kerry H, Ricardo A, Brandon, Leah D, Margaret G, Molly, Marco B, ClemsonTigersFan, Lisa B, DSO, Sarah M, Abigail M, Grace M, Laura A, Justin D, Paola, Kendrick C, Rich A, Ty T, Nicholas S, Becky E, Annsley M, Tere, Melody M, Stacey, Erica H, Kathy, Teressa, Angela C, Bridgett C, Ashley D, Whitney J, Erika B, & JuJu!

Join dental entrepreneurs George Hariri, Matt Guarino, and Matt Ford as they break down the realities of running their national DSO, Shared Practices Group. They tackle the triumphs and tribulations of scaling a business, answer your burning questions (submit yours at bdppod.com), and delve into life's other adventures - from health and parenting to sports and politics. It's business, banter, and everything in between. Tune in and join the BDP community today!

Re-releasing a DAT listener favorite! Kiera is joined by Brad from Kleer to talk about the perks of membership plans over dental insurance, why a membership plan can create consistent revenue for your practice during uncertain times, and how to even start putting together such a plan. Kleer, by the way, helps roll out membership plans effectively and successfully to uninsured patients Kiera and Brad also touch on why patients may be hesitant to sign up for a membership plan and dental practice resistance, and how to overcome each. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today we are bringing you something so special. I am so excited because this is one of our most popular episodes from the archives. Whether you're hearing this for the first time or catching it again, I am so excited because it's jam packed with a ton of takeaways that you can start using right now in your practice. We have released thousands, literally thousands of episodes. And I wanted to start bringing a few of these amazing episodes back for you. So I hope you enjoy. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time.   on the Dental A Team podcast.   speaker-0 (00:32) And you guys, I am so excited to welcome back one of my dear friends, someone that I just respect. I respect their company a ton. And right now, I think it's super relevant for everybody out there because we all know dental insurance is not the greatest. It's shifting. It's changing. It's unpredictable times. So I'm so jazzed to be bringing on Brad. He's with Kleer. Brad, how are you today? How are you, Kiera? I'm doing really well, thanks. So. ⁓   speaker-1 (00:53) Good night, how are   speaker-0 (00:57) Brad, I said real quickly, Kleer. didn't give any thing behind it. People who have listened to the podcast have definitely heard me talk before about Kleer for membership programs. So just for those who don't know, let's just have you kind of share what Kleer is, how they can connect with you. And then we're going to dive into it. always like, I hate at the end where it was like, and by the way, if you want to hang out with Brad, so I'm just going to give you guys Brad's info, what Kleer is about, and we're going to dive into how to like really make a predictable income.   in unpredictable times. get ready, but Brad, how can people connect with you? What is Kleer all about? Let's just give our listeners a little bit of background on you guys.   speaker-1 (01:33) Yeah, so Kleer got started in 2018. And so this is now our fourth year in dentistry and having our software available. And basically what we do is we work with dentists and office managers to help implement and stand up and easily manage their own membership plans, something that's scalable that ⁓ can be successful for their practices.   Like, should I go for membership plans as well? ⁓ Or do you feel like most of the airplanes kind of knows that?   speaker-0 (02:05) Like let's just at least I mean if you haven't heard of membership plans guys now is the time to get on board with membership plans because I just did a podcast the other day where we were talking about how tis the season for dropping insurance plans like it is becoming rampant people are realizing with inflation what insurance plans are reimbursing that it's really not sustainable and so a lot of people are shifting dropping insurance plans and I think membership plans are the number one way to go which is why I wanted Kleer to get on the podcast today to talk to you guys about it   as a great solution to a problem that if you're not experiencing it, you will be experiencing it. I don't think it's a matter of if, it's a matter of when your practice will experience it. So yeah, dive into membership plans just so people understand if you haven't heard of a membership plan yet.   speaker-1 (02:50) Yeah, so membership plans are basically like an alternate coverage options for your primarily uninsured patients. Because like real quick background research is a lot of our data shows us that uninsured patients, they come in less frequently, and they accept a lot less treatment compared to their insured counterparts. So what can we do to provide some type of coverage option that doesn't have the red tape and restrictions that insurance traditional insurance has?   And this is where with membership plans, these practices can create their own care plans and offer them directly to the patients at a monthly or annual subscription. So like what's included with the membership plan, we see that pricing is anywhere typically between like say $260 a year all the way up to like $380 a year. It can go higher or lower, but what the patient's paying for when they're paying for that 260 to 380,   they are getting access to their hygiene and preventative care. And in addition to that, they'll get say a 10, 20 % discount off other procedures. So like I said, the practices have full autonomy. There's no more third party that's really meddling with that relationship and dictating the fees and the treatment protocol. Practices are in full control. They offer a dressing to the patient. So it's a really good patient retention tool.   Patients appreciate the benefits that they're now receiving directly from the practice. And we actually see that the membership plan patients are more profitable than the other patients that still remain without coverage. And like over the past two years, like Carrie, you know that a lot of practices have been implementing membership plans, but the pandemic has really acted as like a catalyst during that time because   a lot of practices and practice owners who are very cognizant of their patients want some type of coverage option, some type of alternate that they can offer to their patients, whether they're going through financial hardships, they refer load, whatever it is. ⁓ But yeah, that's essentially what membership plans 101, if you will. That's what they are. We help practices automate processes with our platform.   and make sure that it's easy to manage and implement and be successful.   speaker-0 (05:14) Which I love and Brad, it's funny because for those of you who heard my and Brad's podcast, gosh, it's probably been over a year now. Um, but we talked about me as a fee for service patient and we literally did, like, I was a case study because I wasn't going to sign up for my six month cleaning. Um, because like I work with hundreds of dentists for me to get a cleaning. It's pretty simple to do. I'm on the road often. I really do. Like offices are super nice to me. I can get a cleaning at any practice I go to.   But Brad, we like it was a case study where I signed up for the membership program at my dental practice and I literally scheduled my six month cleaning because it was quote unquote free. And so I am a literally a walking in testament that membership plans do work even for somebody who's been in the dental field. And I think I'm pretty savvy when it comes to what people are doing. But just, mean, they got me and it made sense. And something I feel people don't realize is one, a lot of offices right now   I've been seeing and Brad, I'm curious from your guys's research, which is why I love Kleer. guys research things so much. So you're very data driven from the research rather than just feelings. And I've been seeing from a lot of our practices that the topics are, how can we drop insurance plans? And I'm always like, the first question I ask is, okay, perfect. Do you have a membership plan in place? Because as soon as you drop this insurance, I don't think practices realize that patient becomes a free agent. They are no longer tied to you.   They're going to go somewhere with insurance or if you can get them on a membership plan, they're no longer a free agent patient. They're now tied to you in some way. But guys, like if I'm a fee for service patient, I am literally a free agent walking around and I can go to whatever practice I want to go to. I'm going to choose an office based on location, their responsiveness to me, their cleanliness, if I like their dentist or not, how their billing is, but I'm not tied to that practice. And so without these membership plans, I think a lot of practices don't realize   that you can drop insurance plans and get patients to stay and retain and even become higher paying patients than they were before by implementing a membership plan. So that's what I've seen. I'm sure you guys have data on it. Anything that you guys have found Brad in conjunction with that or things you guys have seen on your side.   speaker-1 (07:28) Yeah, it's pretty funny. And I touched on how the pandemic has acted as this catalyst. But now the dust has kind of settled after two years. People are understanding how to adapt and how to behave when it comes to COVID-19. But what's really interesting is there's all different types of reasons why practices are implementing these membership plans. Because every practice is different and their priorities are different. So one that you mentioned that's a huge one right now is that they want   membership plans in place when they're planning on dropping one, a couple, or several PPO's because they want to leverage the membership plan as a patient retention tool. But we're seeing other reasons too. It's like, I mean, you said so yourself, you were a case study. We're seeing that more and more. Like you heard it throughout the past like six months, the great resignation. It's been, they've been talking about it since like September, October of 2021, but   We're seeing that there are more people that are starting small businesses. There are more people that are retiring from their jobs earlier than anticipated. And there's more gig economy workers out there now that we're seeing these larger tech companies like Uber, ⁓ Lyft, whatnot, all these gig economy jobs are in place. And we're slowly seeing that the amount of uninsured when it comes to dental benefits in the marketplace or in the United States.   it's growing more and more, what almost feels like day after day. ⁓ So you definitely want to make sure that like when it comes to your retirees, a lot of them have primarily had some type of dental coverage their whole lives and they'll be looking for it as soon as they retire and lose it. So you want something in place for them, for yourself, someone that's a younger business owner, perhaps a millennial, ⁓ those are the types of people that are used to monthly subscriptions.   So you want something in place for them, like who doesn't want coverage? So millennials fit the bill. And then lastly, like you said, a lot of practices are starting to really overcome that fear of dropping insurances because we know it's kind of been this necessary evil, if you will, but a lot of practices, they've wanted to do it. They've been a bit hesitant, but now you're seeing a lot of them are.   starting to do that and they're being pretty methodical with their approach. I guess long story short with dropping the PPOs, you definitely just want to make sure no matter what you're going to lose patients, but what can we do to mitigate that number? And that's where a lot of practices have them in place.   speaker-0 (10:09) Right, I think it's something that is not hard to set up. You guys make it very easy to do it. You manage it. Because I think so many practices get scared of that, like, ugh, how am going to manage this? And that's honestly why I love you guys as a company. I think you guys have amazing values. guys, I've helped with your team so they know dental. They're super innovative. You guys are very, cognitive of learning the dental lingo, understanding the ledgers and how to make it make sense and set it up in a simple, easy way.   But Brad, there's something else that membership plans are starting to get a lot of accolades for, and that is creating consistent revenue in inconsistent times, which honestly I've watched a lot of my offices, like they go up and down and they're riding these waves of, ⁓ like in January, was cancellation after cancellation after cancellation because of the Omnicron variant. I was guilty of that. got it too. Like it was just, it was crazy. so people had like,   January's it just tanked when in traditional times that wasn't the case. I know September historically is called suck timber It's not a great month. It tends to just be harder But yeah, I know membership plans are really getting like I said these accolades for creating more consistent revenue And that's something I know you guys have been working on So can you kind of touch and explain how a membership plan can create this consistent revenue? When to me I'm like Brad, it's like 200 bucks a month like not even a month like a year   How can I create some consistent revenue when I'm used to producing five, 12, $20,000 a day? How can this actually create some consistent revenue for me?   speaker-1 (11:41) Yeah, well, there's all types of businesses, whether it is health care or not, deal with ebbs and flows, or they deal with some type of seasonality. So if you just think of ourselves as consumers, I have about probably six different subscriptions, maybe more. And a lot of those business executives know exactly what they're doing. They understand that.   You know what? It's better to just have this recurring revenue, whether they're charging me month over month or year over year. They know that I am a loyal consumer to their brand and we'll just use like Netflix as an example. That's why so many different businesses, if you go out there and you're on the Internet or you're just walking from store to store as a shopper, like everywhere now is offering some type of membership loyalty program, rewards program, you name it. It's almost harder to find a business that's not doing it.   And basically like why not dentistry? And right now that's what the membership plans are doing. You're getting all of these patients to subscribe to practice where month over month, year over year, you know that you have this predictable revenue stream coming into your practices doors and into your bank account. So no matter what, like God forbid there's another ⁓ variant that shuts things down, I doubt it happens, but.   I think the real thing right now is you're starting to see, it's very topical, it's inflation. A lot of people are dealing with financial hardships. You're seeing that all these borrowing rates and interest rates are going to increase. So like, what can the practices do to offer something that seems very empathetic to your patients? You know they don't have coverage. Let's create these care plans and offer it to them. And at the same time,   If you see that some of your patients are starting to scale back or push out patient visits because they might be having a tough month financially, this is where no matter what, with having a bunch, whether it's dozens, whether it's hundreds, thousands, whatever, of patients on your membership plan is a better business model for your practice.   speaker-0 (13:52) Mm-hmm. think it's a something that I didn't realize until I created a membership if you will I used to do when we first started the consulting company. I was a one Visit and I would bill you after I traveled to your practice and I would send you to the penny the travel and I was almost going broke like complete transparency because it was such like I was always delayed on my revenue coming through and   I had a lot of smarter people than myself say, Kiera, you really should switch out to where they just pay monthly, like figure out what your costs are, have them pay monthly. It's easier for the client. They're not getting hit with these huge costs right away. And it's going to be much easier for them. And I will say as a business, it became so much easier for me, like good months, bad months, high months, low months. It's a more consistent revenue stream. And so I think for practices, I had an office and they're a really like adorable office. It's a husband and wife.   duo there, Volt Dentist, and the husband was all pro a membership fee. He was like, this is gonna be great. We're gonna be able to, it's going to be awesome for our patients. It's gonna create consistent revenue for us. And the wife was adamant. This is so much work, probably because she knew she was going to have to set it up. Husband's like, this will be great. Wife's like, I don't wanna do this. They ended up setting it up. And it was crazy because last year she told me, she's like, Kiera, it's crazy how much money is actually coming off of these membership plans month over month over month.   and we're able to have more retention of our patients. So that's ⁓ a testimonial of a practice that saw the benefits of it. A lot of practices will set these up in separate bank accounts. So it also can become, if you're not needing that cash, a lot of offices were using it to rebuild their stashes of ⁓ emergency funds and rainy day funds and practice growth funds because the membership fees were doing that. So again, I mean,   What? How much is Netflix, Brad? You've got that subscription. Do you even know how much your subscription is?   speaker-1 (15:49) I think like $12.99 or something.   speaker-0 (15:51) Right, I don't even know and that's what I think so cool is because it's 200 to 350 375 They're very low monthly fees that people forget about them It's really not that much and they're still coming to the dentist So I think that that's a very smart logical plan and truth be told like for me as a small business owner for Millennials, I know my sisters my brothers. They don't want to go spend two three hundred dollars to go to the dentist But if it was only fifteen dollars a month   they get their two quote unquote free cleanings, which are actually free on a membership plan. It's not dependent on a insurance plan. Why would they not do it? So it's really, I think, taking the, like there's no reason not to do it. It's just, it makes logical sense. And I think you guys are eliminating a lot of the objections through this that's going to retain patients coming to your practice every six months on a much more consistent basis. So I'm all for, I think offices should do it.   ⁓ But Brad, I know people are always hesitant. So what are some of the objections you guys get as to why, like, patients don't want to sign up for it or why offices might not want to implement this? Because I hear like, it's just too much work. But honestly, you guys make it very easy. So like, that's eliminated. But what are some of the objections you guys hear so we can help the listeners realize like, this is a true awesome, like, it's not a necessary evil. It's a necessary goodness.   Like there's no evil to it. feels so good. What are some of the objections you hear the concerns offices have that we can mitigate for them?   speaker-1 (17:18) really good question. on the patient, I'll answer the patient question first, just because it was the first one that you brought up. But believe it or not, the biggest pushback that we see from patients has nothing to do with like their actual experience once they sign up for the membership plan. A lot of it are patients giving the office feedback that they're looking for the catch because they think that the offer is too good to be true. So that is like always, not always.   but we hear it consistently from some of our practices. They're like, our patients see it as such a good deal that they feel like that they're gonna get the short end of the sticks somehow. But I think like everything that we're looking at in our economy, it's just like, it's all value driven and it's all consumer experience. So like best user experience possible. And if we're just like comparing a membership plan to traditional insurance or a traditional discount plan,   whatever it may be, there are restrictions, there's maximums, there's waiting periods, a lot of red tape for these patients. And that is what the membership plans are essentially removing. mean, who knows what their patients need more than the actual practitioners and the actual front office teams within these dental practices? No one. mean, they know what's best for their patients. And that's the beauty about the membership plan.   the patient, they need four crowns, whatever it may be, they can say, hey, is this possible? The doctor can say, of course, like there's no waiting periods. We can get this as soon as you are ready to get this done. So that's really where that seamless process for the patient and that better experience for the patient comes into play. And they perceive more value in your practice as well. So that is the patient question is it's too good to be true.   But we do, our success team and support team do help practices overcome that objection. But on the dentist side or on the office manager side, there's some resistance with maybe some high-end or fee-for-service practices that look at the membership plan and say, like, I don't want to cannibalize my cash-paying patients. Like, they're supposed to be paying me 100 % out of pocket. They're supposed to be my most profitable patients.   et cetera, et cetera, why would I want to give them a discount through the membership plan? And there's several reasons why. I mean, the biggest glaring ⁓ solution for that is that we see that the membership plan patients are generating twice as much revenue. So that's hygiene revenue, treatment acceptance revenue, and then overall production. They're generating twice as much, and that's extremely consistent across all of our customers. So that is first and foremost,   ⁓ Another reason why is because you definitely want to build the patient loyalty like what you mentioned earlier that you were a free agent, you definitely want to make sure that you're retaining those patients. And like if you go and check out, say like, I hate to mention names, like names here, but if you go to Delta Dental's website, and you see their homepage, they're actually proactively marketing to individuals, small business owners, retirees. So the last thing you want   are those fee for service patients to go and look for individual insurance plans where you're probably getting the worst reimbursement possible.   speaker-0 (20:49) That was a politically nice way to say that.   speaker-1 (20:56) And then the last thing is a lot of the practices, like I get it. Like you think that the members that these uninsured patients are coming in consistently, but honestly our data and what we've seen from our prospects, like it just is very consistent where the average uninsured patient really does come in once every two years and they accept 50 to 75 % less treatment than insured counterparts. And on top of that,   a lot of practices, they'll just give out like these arbitrary discounts to cash paying patients, 5%, 10%, 15%, we've seen up to 20%. So based upon the data we've been collecting, the fee that they collect ultimately from the average uninsured patient is lower than the membership plan patients. you know, I understand it seems very counterintuitive of, you know, this patient might pay me a hundred percent out of pocket.   And if I give them the membership plan, I'm giving them a 10 % discount, I'm losing that money. But you kind of just have to trust the process and a lot of the data that we've been putting out there is it's extremely consistent and it shows that you will ultimately double your revenue and your patients will have the best experience possible and see more value in your practice with the membership.   speaker-0 (22:15) Well, and I love Brad one of reasons I love our podcast is one. just like you I like your company but the second one is I feel like I really get to be a walking testimonial for membership plans like in my practice that I ran that we were doing 365 a month like it was insanity in a five-up practice Guys, I like close the bulk of my cases with membership plans because there was no waiting period There was no deductible there was there was nothing I really could just give these patients an amazing discount and like you said Brad   A lot of patients or practices are terrified to give these discounts, but myself, I'm literally a walking advertisement of what it's like to be in a practice and offer a membership plan. But then on the patient side, remember, so the practice that I was going to, I didn't love their membership model. was like, you could join like silver gold or platinum or whatever. And I thought I'm not going to have much work done. Honestly, if I need work done, I work with hundreds of dentists. Well, it turns out I had a filling chip and it was driving me nuts and it was   Just bothering me and I wasn't going on the road for a week. So I thought, well, I'll just like go to the practice. So they were upgrading me to a higher membership fee, but I literally didn't pay out of pocket for the filling. I upgraded my membership to get a discount on my treatment. like just that mindset, I'm a fee for service patient. I'm a, and again, I hope offices are really gathering fee for service. Patients are not loyal to you. Yes, they like you, but just think of them as free agents. They can go anywhere at any time.   If you are too far away or they don't like your front desk or the way it was scheduled, they didn't like there's nothing that tethers them to you at all. So with this membership plan, they're going to come in for two cleanings. So two opportunities for exams, better patient care, most likely you'll probably diagnose something on them. You give them a discount for me seeing that filling at what 350 I think was the filling. Maybe it was 500. I just was like,   shocked. been a long time since I paid for dentistry. Thank you to everyone who's given me free dentistry my whole life. Like, whoa! ⁓ But the fact that I got a 10 % discount on my filling, even though that's $35 on 350, I did the filling same day. Whereas if there's no decay, just smooth it, I don't really need this filling fixed, I could probably get by. But because I had a discount, because I had a loyalty program, if you will, I did the treatment. So   Kiera Dent, who I think is one of the strongest dental advocates out there, knows their ploy, knows what they're doing, knows the membership plans, knows all these things. I talked to Brad, I know Claire, I've worked with you guys for so long, and even myself, with that small discount, I did more treatment, I didn't go on the road, it was convenient, and I was tethered to my practice. So I really feel that offices, again, like I said earlier, this isn't an if, it's a when, and I think for us in our consulting company,   We have a checkbox of making sure our practices have membership programs in their practices. That like, I don't care if you're fee for service. I don't care if you're a DSO. I don't care if you are corporate. I don't care if you are a solo practice because membership fees, I am such a believer in them. I'm a believer that it's better for the patient. I don't believe that dental insurance serves the patient. I think it serves somebody else. Whereas membership fees, really do believe in membership plans serve the patient. There's no deductible. There's no waiting period. Like,   It's so cheap to get those fillings or those cleanings done. We had unlimited x-rays. thought that that just sounded better. And honestly, nobody ever took advantage of us. And then we did like, you could do 10 or 20 % off of treatment. So it really, to me, I like, I people to dump their insurance plans on their own, like canceling when it was open enrollment in November, because the membership plan just makes sense if you explain it to patients. So Brad, I just love that you guys do.   this. I love that Kleer is such an easy path for getting a membership plan because I think sometimes it can feel daunting of how do I do this? How do I track it? How do I make sure I'm compliant for my state? You guys also have like brochures and flyers and so much information for the patients that I feel you guys are a plug and play solution for membership plans that for practices who want to get started, which all of you like to me, if you're a Dental A Team listener, it's not an option. Like just do it. Just sign up for a membership.   Plan program. So Brad, how does it work? So let's say I'm in office, I've listened to the podcast and I've said, okay, you've convinced me, I'm gonna take my fee for service practice and I'm gonna turn it into a membership. I feel like you're stabbing me in the heart, but I don't want my patients being free agents. I heard Kiera, I'm gonna try this. How do people even start? What is the process to start a membership program?   speaker-1 (26:50) Yeah, so I mean, the first thing that they can do is they can visit our website that just Kleer it's Kleer.com ⁓ or they can shoot me an email. It's just Brad@Kleer.com And the first step is just sitting through a demo that typically takes about like 30 minutes. And that's just where someone walks you through all the intricacies of the software, our success team, all the processes that we have in place to make sure they're successful.   And then as soon as they've seen the demonstration and they want to move forward, there's really just two calls. The first is our onboarding, what we call the fee consultation. That's where we help design the plan. So we configure the plans. We set the pricing, ⁓ set the fee schedule, all that good stuff. And then the next call is really the training call. And then they're ready to launch. So it's funny. We talked to a lot of prospects and they think that it's going to be a burden.   to get this going, I mean, that's essentially why you're outsourcing it. A lot of teams, we understand they might be struggling with turnover, but at least with Kleer, this is providing some type of consistency, some type of rock, regardless of new employees or losing employees. ⁓ But as soon as they're up and running, ⁓ it's honestly just, it depends on the team's availability. ⁓ And then we can get them going, we'll launch your plans.   We have some move within a week ⁓ of after the demo. And then once they're launched, patients can sign up and they're ready to go. It's that easy.   speaker-0 (28:27) That's awesome because I will just put it out there. I was an office manager. I was a front office. I listened to a lot of content and I heard a lot of great ideas and there is a difference between like knowledge and execution and execution will trump knowledge every single day of the week. So you can sit here and hear this, but getting it executed, implemented and utilized I think is the biggest piece. So I'll just pose a question. Like we've talked about this quite a bit on the podcast and I'm going to say choose your heart.   or choose your own adventure here, but I think choose your heart is a smarter one. Is it harder for you to constantly call insurances and get an insurance breakdown? Like just tell me how much time that actually takes versus calling Kleer and having a 30 minute demo and having it signed up and getting your patients to transfer away from insurance plans. To me, like if I could give up and never have to call another insurance verification program ever again in my life, I would switch to a membership plan immediately because on membership plans,   You don't have breakdowns. You don't have to go and figure out what the insurance is estimated to pay. You don't have to fight claims. You literally sign them up. They pay you monthly or in full and you give them a discount. And it is that simple. So I would just say, I love Kleer. think you guys, there are cheaper membership programs out there. However, I think you guys have the best customer success and the best patient experience as far as the portal goes and making it easy.   that I like, yeah, you guys can go find a cheaper membership program. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I hear it from a lot of clients like, but Claire was so expensive. And I'm like, you're right. But the patient experience is top notch. And that's what your patients are going to complain about. If it's not top notch and it's not easy for them, they're going to drop the membership program because it's not easy. Like think of the apps that you just give up because they're just dumb and junky and you can't handle it. Like I'm ready to dump TD Ameritrade as my investing company. I'm so sick of their freaking app.   Like if you ask me one more time to transfer and have to give you all my information, like I'm quitting Vanguard is like leaps and bounds better. So just thinking of the two differences. So Brad, I am just grateful for you guys. And I truly am like petitioning you guys, like get your dang memberships in play. Insurance droppings happening. Inflation is going up. You've got to find a way to retain these patients. And I think membership plans are the solution plus residual income in uncertain times. So Brad, super jazz guys reach out Brad again. How do they get in touch if they want to talk to you?   speaker-1 (30:46) If they want to reach out to me, just shoot me an email. It's Brad@Kleer.com and I will get back to you ASAP.   Kiera Dent (30:55) I hope you all loved today's episode as much as I did. It is crazy to think that this many episodes have been released since we started the Dental A Team Podcast. And I started looking to say, my goodness, our listeners need to be reminded of some of the things they may have learned a year ago or two years ago or five years ago, because so many things in our practices weren't relevant back then when we heard them, but they are relevant today. And I would be doing you a huge disservice if I didn't re-release some of these episodes for you to remember, to refine.   to optimize and really truly if you ever need a topic or you're like, my gosh, I wonder if the Dental A Team has anything like this, go onto our website, TheDentalATeam.com, click on our podcast tab and you can literally search any topic. So whether it's overhead or hiring or firing or team morale or engagement or case acceptance or hygiene or associate onboarding or whatever it is, we have so many episodes for you. And so I am going to intentionally be   re-releasing some of the top best episodes for you, pulling back some of the ones that I needed to remember, some of the things that I feel for you to really, really relearn right now and to re-remember, or if it's the first time, welcome. I'm so happy you're listening to it, but I hope you truly enjoyed today's episode. I hope that you share this with somebody. I hope that you go and implement today because we only have one day. We only get today. And so making today the best that it possibly can be. If we can help you in any way, shape or form, reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com.   And as always, thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

Do you ever feel like you have a laundry list of reasons why you can't ever take a break from your practice? Kiera is here to say, if that's how you're feeling, it's time to step away. In this episode, listeners get to take a breather. Kiera talks about the two parts of success (the "suck" part and the success part), and what you can do to hit a mental restart. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and I hope today is such a great day for you. I hope that you're loving your life. I hope that you are enjoying it. And if you're not, today's podcast might be for you. Today is about when leadership gets heavy, how CEOs navigate the seasons you can't step away from. And this actually was a little bit of a self-medication for myself because when I ⁓ was actually getting ready to podcast the last time, I had a little bit of a breakdown.   And I just realized I was going at a pace that I wasn't able to sustain. And I felt very trapped. I felt like what happens as a CEO when you literally feel like you can't step away? Like you're in it. You bought the practice, you're in debt. I was actually just reading a book. It was a total fantasy book. And it was ⁓ about this little veterinarian who opened his practice to kind of prove a point to his parents, but also because he loved his craft and loved his work. And then he starts dating this girl and   she's on the other coast and long story short, they're like flying back and forth coast to coast. And he doesn't have money because he's got the practice. He's got the debt. He's got a team ⁓ and he wants to see his girlfriend. And so he's picking up ER shifts and moonlighting and so much so that he literally like drags his body into oblivion and gets so sick. And what was really crazy in the book is I feel like as I was reading it, I told Jason, I was like, this is my doctor's, this is me.   So many of us feel this way, right? You've got the debt, you've got this, you have a laundry list of reasons why you feel like you can't step away. And I will say like, if that's you, then it's time for you to step away. And I think in ownership, there are seasons where it's hard. And so today I kind of wanted to address like, what do you do and what are some tactical things when you're in this boat? And if you're in that boat today, hi, I'm Kiera. I'd love to be friends. Reach out, just even as a friend, if it's a pen pal, if you want to talk, if you want me give you tactical advice on your practice, reach out, I will happily help you.   If you're not in that boat, hi, I'm Kiera and I'm either preparing you or speaking to your future you because all of us will go through that. And I don't think it's a one and done. It's an ever flowing. It's an ebbing and flowing. And so there are seasons and ownership where it's freaking hard and it doesn't mean you're failing. It doesn't mean your practice is broken. It just means that we're growing and it's stretching our leadership. I remember thinking, I've talked about this on the podcast before. It's like throwback OG status or talk about like penguins, molting or snakes like sloughing off their skin.   And what happens is we actually grow bigger than what we're capable of. We grow bigger than what our skin is. grow, like our practice outgrows the leadership style that we are. There's a book called like, what got you here won't get you to where you want to go. And it's the same principle of like, we have to grow. And if you go back to being a child, growing pains don't feel good. I don't know if you guys remember like your legs hurt and your body hurts and like.   you, my little nephews and nieces, they wake up in the middle of the night with like leg aches because they're growing. Like it's painful. And I think we forget. And then as adults, we don't realize that like you get to go through it again. When you go through growth of leadership or your practice grows and you got to evolve into the next version of yourself to sustain that. And that's not comfortable either. you guys know, some of you been listening for a while. You know, I went to Antarctica, slight flex. ⁓ and it was amazing. It was honestly one of the most life-changing trips I've ever been on.   it was a place where I felt like I was navigating the most beautiful, serene scenery where no one's there and knowing that I could die. Like people die there. Like the Antarctic has nothing. It's freezing cold there. ⁓ I thought it would be covered in snow and it wasn't felt kind of like Utah-esque in the winter. ⁓ but like it was, I mean, that water is cold and you can see penguins like swimming through the water. It's so clean. It's so crisp. Nothing has touched that part of the world. It's very, very incredible. but I remember when I was there,   I was watching penguins and they were actually in molting season and they told us all like, don't get close to the penguins, just let them be. And they were like, they're in so much pain. And what these penguins were having to do is they sat there and like, you literally could see the like anger, sadness, pain in these little penguins. And they were sitting there. Cause what they have to do is they have to molt off all their feathers because their feathers are not the ones that they have on. They're not waterproof. And so they would actually drown when going into the water. So they have to molt all of those off.   get their like slippery ones and then they can go into the water and they just sit there and you see feathers flying everywhere. But I think like that image of a penguin is how I think a lot of CEOs feel and how a lot of office managers feel when we're going through this and we're being stretched and it's just annoying and you feel like, ⁓ I wanted this practice. I wanted this business, but I didn't want this. Well, I just want to remind you that success has two parts to it. There's suck and there's the success part. You can't have both sides of the coin without it. The word literally says it. And I think we sometimes forget, I think   For myself, I sometimes feel like I've already been through this. I should have to go through it again. But there's a call to a higher level. There's a call for us to be stronger leaders. And so what do you freaking do when it's hard and you feel like you can't escape? So I think that people believe that as you grow and evolve and get bigger and bigger, it gets easier. And I don't believe it actually does. Traction had a very strong quote at the end of it. And I'm not going to quote it exactly. I'll paraphrase it. But the book Traction by Gina Wickman, you guys know I'm obsessed with that model. I'm obsessed with running on EOS. I love helping practices.   be Dental A Team's version of it. We don't do true EOS. We do Dental A Team's version because I like to mix two things that I think actually work better for dental practices. But what I found is he said at the end, like a lot of people think getting bigger practices and bigger businesses actually equate to more profit and less headache and it doesn't. I remember him talking about like a $10 million practice versus $100 million practice. They both made the same amount of money, but there were way more headaches in the $100 million versus the $10 million. And   That has resonated with me for years. Now, if you're trying to sell to a DSO where you're trying to get multiples, of course you need to get it to a larger number. But if you're trying to do it for the long haul, sometimes having it smaller is actually easier. But again, this is your vision, your dream. For me, could I say small make my life easier? Theoretically, but my goal is to impact every single dental practice in this world to possibly reach you, influence you, work with you if it feels right. But my goal is to have the largest impact in dentistry I possibly can.   That's not going to be me playing small and I recognize that, but that also means that I can't sit here and complain because that's the choice I made. I can be frustrated and I can be annoyed and I can feel those feels, but I'm not allowed to sit here and have that. At least that's my opinion. So because I believe that it gets bigger and I'm called to swim in deeper water. And I also believe that I get stronger by carrying it. And you start to realize like, this is just part of business. And I'm sure it's how parents feel when you got one baby and it's so scary and then you get two and then you get three and then you get four. And it's like, yep, this is just how babies are. It's the same thing with business ownership. So   I think that when we feel pressure, it's often a sign of expansion, not failure. And so just a couple of things of tips and ideas of what to do. Number one, I will say, just go on a vacation if you can. I know sometimes it doesn't feel like it's the right thing to do. It feels very counterproductive. Myself, I was very much in the throes of it. Like I said, Dental A Team is going through such a fun ⁓ evolution. Like it is fun for me to sit as a visionary and to see where our team and our company are going and just to be freaking lit up.   with the clients we're serving and the team that we're building and like all of this is moving in motion. And then when I come into the weeds, I'm like, wow, this is really fun. This is a lot. And I think that it can get very heavy sometimes. And I was sitting in therapy and I was like, I just don't know what to do. And she's like, Kirit, it's just a season where it's hard and we accept it we just get through every day of whatever we can. We know this isn't forever. You've got a good perspective on that. And she's like, and if you can take a vacation. So I took a week off to Iceland.   And ⁓ it was great. was freezing cold. The Northern Lights were truly one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in my entire life. Like truly top five. And I have traveled to a lot of really cool places in my life. I've seen a lot of really amazing things. Seeing the Northern Lights dance across the sky when it's freezing cold and you are able to visibly see with your naked eye green and pink. I didn't have a strong to see some of the other colors, but I was able to see a very light pink and also bright vibrant green.   To see that whimsically like dance across the sky is amazing. So going on vacation can be such a relief, but you have to actually truly check out. So when I go on vacations and this has been Kiera's style, so take it if it's beneficial for you or not. And I think every team member should also do the same thing. ⁓ I delete Slack, I delete email, and I actually don't buy service international. Now you might have family, you might have friends that you got to, let them know.   But if there's a way I completely check out I become a very much princess passenger My husband has all the maps on his phone. He does all the things The only thing I have on my phone is I have Kindle and I have quite a few books that I tend to read Depending upon how stressed I've been I often try to curate a trip for me a lot of just like I need to bring it down So we actually stayed at a retreat in a lodge. It was very cold. So it was very cozy I watched a lot of trash TV like love is blind Lincoln lawyer, you name it like I had a decent amount of that   And it is truly just to bring my cortisol levels down, to bring that adrenaline down and to re-regulate my nervous system and to just chill. We went to a Blue Lagoon Retreat Spa. It was so lovely. I take as many naps as I want. Like it is a genuine disconnect. No team members, no clients, nothing. And I don't turn my phone back on. I have my team. They have a whole thing prepared for me. So when I get back, it's like, here are all the updates, here are all the things.   but they know unless it's like literally an emergency, which we've already gone through. Like if there's something, here's all the contact people for X, Y, Z. Like there truly shouldn't be anything that you need to contact me for. And if there is great, we're gonna fix it when I get back. I'm gone for a week. But I think you just being able to disconnect to check out, it's one of the greatest gifts. I had a client that I recommended they do this and they did, and they said, Kiera, we'll never like be the same. It was the best thing we ever did for ourselves because you genuinely go from high pressure,   down to like calm. And I've had it where I've gone other times and I like just say like, I'll just like check in on a few things. Well, when you're checking in, you're still like, there's this umbilical cord almost where you're still tethered to your practice and you can't ever fully like calm. So I will say like that is just one like off the wall tip for you if you can do it. And for me, I try to schedule a week trip at least once a quarter where I'm completely just disconnected. I don't always get that at least two per year.   ⁓ But I think it's also very important for me to do it. I also try to take like Fridays as just CEO mental days where I am disconnected, not there. Sometimes I need to do CEO laundry where I just got to catch up on a bunch of things. But if I can disconnect, not be in Slack, I show up as a better leader. And I think that these are subtle ways to get through the hard. ⁓ I also think when we look at hard, we often think of it as wrong. And so it's like, what's broken, what's wrong, how do I do this? And like growth is pressure. So more patience, more complexity, more team.   more leadership, more revenue, more decisions, like more, a bigger practice, more responsibility. Like it's just what it is, more opportunities, more legalities. Like it just is. And so pressure means that their practice is stretching into the next version. And so I just want you to know, I have coached and our team has coached hundreds of offices that have been going through this. Like this is what we go through. when you see it,   The practice isn't no, I tell people a lot of times I'm on the other side of the river. I've actually gone from where you are to where you want to be. And we know how to navigate as a guide across that river and do it in the least painful way, but it's still like, it's going to be painful. I've got a doctor and they're a startup and they're like, this sucks and it's hard. And like nothing feels right. And I'm on the verge of bankruptcy. And I'm like, guess what? You are a business owner. This is real life, but they're profitable. And even $500 a profit or a thousand dollars of profit doesn't feel great. Most off most businesses are not profitable for like three to four years when they first start out. And yet.   you are being profitable. So I also think like, don't see it as hard, see it as growth and also celebrate the freaking wins as you get them. I believe what we focus on we get and we attract more of. If I'm constantly saying like, they say race car drivers, like they're not looking at the next turn because they're gonna wreck. It's like they've got to look down the line and if you don't, you will literally wreck and hit it. And so I think for us, like if I'm constantly saying, I'm gonna go bankrupt or this is so hard or my team is terrible, you create more of it. literally.   turn your brain on to say, need more of this and I'm gonna look for it, I'm going to find it. Versus the other one of like, my team is doing great, we've got these good things, like there's momentum, I've got great patients, our cases are closing. And you're not lying to yourself, but we're celebrating those little wins and we're stringing more of those together. You're going to create more of that. And I think it can be so easy. As a consultant, I am literally wired to look for everything wrong. And I have to find it and figure out like, what's wrong is always available and so is what's right.   Both are gonna give me different outcomes and both are gonna give me different experiences. Which one do you choose to do more of? So I think like when you look at it, when I'm looking at this, is this a breakdown or is it a gross signal? What's going so well versus what's going so wrong? Maybe incorporating a gratitude journal, maybe having some like quiet times. It's not just like problem after problem after problem, maybe setting up meetings so like our problems get pinned to only once a week so you can handle it easier. That would be that.   Another tip when things like feel like you can't step away is like laser in on what you can actually focus on. I, it's funny, I'm looking around and if you're watching the video, you can see I have currently six, I used to have seven of those giant sticky pads sitting in my office on the other side of this camera. I have one of like our leadership structure. I've got one of an entire plan. I've got one of a future vision. I've got one of a CEO mantra. I've got one of Dental A Team's visions, my goals. And then I've got my like,   legit priorities and I've got four of them and I have them listed in order. And I think when things feel so chaotic, sometimes like bringing that leadership focus and scope in is like everything feels urgent and you try to fix it all. And honestly, if you've read the book, Essentialism, it has all the arrows and like you literally are spinning freaking top versus like what is number one priority? And I need to do that because if I try to do everything, this is how CEOs burnout. ⁓ And instead, like we need to train ourselves that there's bubbling pots constantly.   What's the biggest bubbling pot that's gonna move me forward the fastest and that's where I focus. And so it's like, what are the one or two things that protect operational like our practice stability right now and everything else is temporarily perfect. Temporarily perfect. Temporarily imperfect is perfect. And I want you to just have it like for me, there's so many things. If you want me to laundry list it all the way out, great. But I know that like, what are the one or two things right now that I need to go take care of and handle and everything else gets to be temporarily imperfect, which is perfect.   So when I have offices that do this, an example is they're trying to go and it's like, we need to hire an associate. We need to fix our hygiene department. We need to work on our scheduling. We need to fix our guarantees. We need to fix our case acceptance. We need to fix this. It can get exciting and overwhelming. And this is what I love of helping people get like an annual vision and a quarterly vision because it cuts the noise out. So when we focus in and we're like, okay, of all those things, what things need to happen now to get us to where we ultimately want to go? And if you know where your vision is of where you ultimately want to go,   It becomes so much easier for you to then filter through. And to me, that's a great filtering process. And I hope you actually like have this in place. And if not great, we're amazing at it. Reach out. I'd love to help you get there. You've got to have a vision. You got to figure out what's most important this quarter to get us there. You want to hire the associate, want to fix hygiene. You want to do all these things. But guess what? Us trying to do all those things is what causes the chaos, the burnout, the feeling like we're shackled to our companies and we can't leave versus recognizing. And this is like an ego dip, but it's freeing is not all that's going to get fixed today.   And these are the one or two things. My CEO mantra, would you guys like to hear it? Like, let me just help you guys out with this. Because I think it's really, really, really beneficial. My CEO mantra says saying no equals happiness. I started saying no a lot more and I realized like, wow, I am exponentially happier. The second one I have is I have more power than I think own it. I think a lot of times we feel like everybody else has the power and you are just kind of beholden to them. And this is not an ego power trip. It's more like, no.   I can make these decisions. can have some hard conversations. There is more power that I own rather than my team owning it or people are going to quit on me. Those are all what I've said, it might happen, but you have a lot more power than you think you do. ⁓ I said, don't be afraid of losing people. I've had some team changes and I remember I was so afraid, literally terrified. I'm squeezing my hands thinking back. was a ⁓ fractional team player and I was just super, super, super anxious about it.   And I sat on it and it was two days of pure health and then it was over. And I think a lot of times hard decisions of team members or decisions, usually it's like maybe two days of pain with a lot more freedom. So don't forget that. I said, focus on one thing a day, the rest works itself out. So every day I just pick one thing, this is my one thing I'm gonna work on and the rest truly does work itself out. ⁓ I said, I need to have two people in every position that knows it so that way I'm never feeling like trapped.   or beholden and I need to have systems written down. have like, pick your number and focus and cut fat regularly. So assess it, figure out like, where am I off to make sure that I'm keeping myself level headed and then take 10 minutes, like the calm or meditate whenever things are hard. So just a reminder, like I'm allowed to take a 10 minute timeout at any time. I know you feel like you got patience there, but if things feel like they're just bubbling and over you, that's kind of my CEO mantra. Like, hey, Kiera, when things are hard and it's literally like,   It's up here. I just read it to you. can see my eyes up there. I have them. And as other things come up, like I said, like take vacations regularly, showing up as my best self is the best thing I can do for my team. Those are a few other CEO mantras that maybe can help you out. And then I think the last one is like, when we look at it, we kind of like get rid of this emotional, like highs and lows for consistency. like, it's really easy as a CEO to want to like, whoo.   like whiplash and I've done this to my team a lot and when I'm in it, it's like you're trying to figure it out. You're trying to get there and you're trying to just like force the movement. So we got new rules, new priorities, new frustrations and instability is when it like is what teams feel. They don't feel the pressure. And so your job as a CEO and as an OM, as leaders of the practices to make sure that you're driving the stability. Like they know that there's problems. Like you don't need to be fearless. We just need to have predictability and sometimes slowing the innovations or the changes or the evolution.   I called my team out and I was like, Hey guys, we are been in a shaking snow globe. Every role is different. We've got people going out maternally. We've got new people coming in. We're growing. The company is really like a three month old company, even though we're in business for almost 10 years. And that's such a shift. And when I had that aha moment and we're like, cool, no new initiatives roll out. Let's just get everybody really, really, really solid in their new job descriptions. Cause like we had it where poor Shelbi was like being an EA and a marketer and a sales and like   every single position and we've had to untangle that ball of yarn and Britt was doing the same thing and Tip was doing the same thing and I was doing the same thing. So you got to like hire new people and have new people in there. Well, sometimes just recognizing that. So it's like, stop rolling new initiatives. We were trying to change our operating system and change this and change that. And finally we're like, whoa, this is the chaos. Our team needs to feel stable. They need to feel like they can move forward with stability and consistency rather than feeling like.   Holy cow, I don't know how to use anything here. And so I think when we help offices, so I'm thinking of an office right now and we were going through a pretty radical leadership shift change. We didn't do anything else. I've had a coach tell me you make one major like personnel change per quarter, whether it's in or out. If you get more than that, it feels chaotic. And so when you can actually like go through that chaotic quarter and instead of having it, it's like we keep as much as we can the same. So meetings stay the same so people can count on that.   our expectations are the same. So we've got our KPIs, everybody, if you just hit your one number, we're good. And then like communication style. So you as a CEO, I realize that I'm here to show up, like gotta start setting like, these are foundational pieces, these are core pieces, these are things that are true to our company that our team can count on. And then there will be more seasons of growth. But I think like staying focused, production stronger because we cut out the noise. I think essentialism is a really, really, really great book. Or the one thing, another great book.   I think during those times where you feel like leadership is hard and I'm trapped is because you got so much going on, which is not wrong. It's there. Like we're going through a pressure cooker. We're trying to get to the other side. But I think when you can minimize, less is more. Like I said, pick one thing every day and realize the rest works out. This is when stability comes and what teams can trust when pressure's rising. It's also what you can count on as a CEO and an OM. We got to have that stability. And I actually think that's what I love about being a consultant is we're able to provide that stability.   while you're going through the changes and having someone constant. Like I have leaned on my coaches more through these growth periods than I have, gosh, probably in the last like five years and to have them just stabilize me, steady me so that way I can show up as a steady leader. And that's why I love what we do for our coaching is we coach doctors and team members because doctors, need a different type of coaching than teams do. You need to, we get you as a business owner, like being a freaking CEO versus a manager, two different worlds. How do we help you? This is why we have in-person mastermind. So you realize you're not alone.   One of my favorite comments at our last mastermind, we have in-person masterminds that we do and they're amazing. I literally had a client have ruptured eardrums and like begged her auntie to give her a sign up so she could come. I'm like that much love for these is far beyond what I imagined them to be. ⁓ But I remember at one of the masterminds, someone raised their hand and they said, Kiera, it's so great to realize all these other offices here are dealing with the same thing I am. I realized, I thought I was alone. And I think that this is the pressure cooker.   We think we're the only one there. We feel like we can't reach out to anybody. This is you need a community around you too, to reach out to friends. I have a dear friend and I call him and I was like, this frigging sucks and it's hard. And like, I just feel like I can't get through it. As you heard, I talked to my therapist. I have friends that I go to. I have really, really, really trusted mentors who have gone through what I've gone through that can guide me through. I don't just do this alone when it's hard. I have my husband and I also have myself. And I think sometimes the noise I need to center in too much is too crazy.   Therapy is literally there for me to help regulate my emotions and make sure like I stay as a human being very centered. What do need to do for meditations? How do I keep my mind sharp? That's what my therapist job is. So to talk about the business, it's not to give me any business advice. Like that's not her world. Her job is literally to give me mental stamina and sanity to come through. My gym trainer literally make my body freaking strong and like make sure I stay like healthy and eating well as I go through this. My business coach. I have one business coach and she helps with a lot of like the number. Like that's her only lane and that's what I use her for.   I have a traction coach who actually helps us quarterly and he's helping me with our leadership team transitions and evolution because he's been there and he does this in multi-million dollar businesses much larger than ours and can see the foresight. That's it. That's all the noise. It's the only people that get to talk to me during these times. And then I have a financial advisor if I'm needing to make any of those decisions financially. Each person has their lane and like I lean on my business coach probably the hardest of all because I'm like, all right, work through this with me, work this one out with me, help me with my team on this, work with my team on that.   That one's the one I use the absolute most. Like that is the tool that's used the most, but I use the other ones for different pieces. And I think when you look at this, like it can be hard, but I think it's hard when we do it alone versus when we do it. And we realize like, it doesn't have to be this forever. as a couple things, number one, go on a vacation if you can. ⁓ Number two, change it. It's not broken. It's just like, we're growing and it's evolving. Number three, stabilize your practice as much as you can. Four,   make sure that we are reducing the noise and reducing our focus. So that way we're really focused on this one or two. then number five, think is what number I'm on. I think is where I'm at. Number five is the CEO mantra and having it pick one thing, realize that like saying no to more and stabilizing is going to create a lot of happiness. These things like these hard seasons don't define great CEOs. And what I found is CEOs and OMS that are going through it. I'm like, you asked for this, you were bored and now you're annoyed because you're having to mull and you're having to grow and it's annoying.   But like you ultimately wanted this and your soul was craving this. So like, let's also celebrate that. ⁓ I also think like how you lead through this sets the tone for your team. And I think for you as a leader and a CEO, for you to take care of yourself, there's some days it's okay to call a timeout. It's okay to take a 10 minute calm timeout. I've really found love with Taoism. It's not religion. It's more of just mindsets and flow. A lot of people love the calm app, whatever it is for you, but have a space for you to just call timeout, allow your brain to calm down.   For me, I shut off at five o'clock and I go home. I don't care if there's other stuff that goes on. Guess what? It's going to work itself out and it forces me to work during the day rather than at home. I go for a walk as soon as I'm done. I change up my energy. I change up my rhythm. You might be driving home. So that changes it up for you. Have like a start and stop. Do things that inspire you. Make sure I'm working out three times a week and eating really healthy because I know that's going to sustain my energy. think for this is I know we're not looking for easy, but we're trying to have it where we're building for being sustainable. And I think for you like   Realizing that if it's harder now, you're not off track. Maybe there are some ways, and I do think having a coach, guide that can give you quote unquote the shortcuts or help you even like clear the fog and navigate forward is what we're obsessed with doing. ⁓ Most practices will go through these stretches and they go through them multiple times. ⁓ And I think it's like, you don't need less growth. You need stronger structure to support it. And I'm watching offices that have been killing it. And now they're going to the next layer and it's like, that's hard again. So it's going to be.   but I also believe as souls, like happiness equals progress. That's why we crave it. That's why we want to do it. When we're on the other side of what we forget, just like moms keep having babies cause they forget how hard labor was and they're like, yeah, like let's have another one. Same thing with businesses. Yeah, let's grow it again. Let's involve it. because we have this goal and this drive, I believe to serve more, to love more, to experience more, to have more fulfillment. That doesn't mean your practice has to be larger. It can, if that's your dream. It can also be more intentional, but I believe that like,   This is what you were called to do. And if this is something we can help you with, if you still feel stuck, like I said, I've got my core people. And if we can be one of those core people that can be cutting out the noise, driving you, driving your team, helping you get the stability as you go through it, don't do this alone. You don't have to. And you don't, it's like not necessary. And so reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Like I said, we will be able to help you have levels of confidence. And we've done this through every single phase of growth. Like I said, from startups, clear to multi-million, multi-locations. ⁓ And there's different.   different systems, different leadership, different pieces needed for every stage of growth, just like with children. And I think for you to just remember you're doing better than you think you are, give yourself the time out. It's okay to call it sick one day. It's not okay to call it sick every day or to not see patients cause you're overwhelmed. We've got to re-regulate. You do still need to show up as a boss, as a dentist, as a CEO. And you need to be the leader of your practice. And I'd love to help you guys. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com or go on to our website, TheDentalATeam.com book a call, no pressure, just clarity, giving you a map, giving you guidance, giving you   I think just resources when it can feel noisy. And I want you to know that leadership is not proven on our easy days. It's truly revealed on the hard days. Who you show up as when it's hard is like really your leadership at a core and it's an evolution. So I want you to give yourself a freaking high five. I want you to look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you love yourself, that you're doing really, really well, that you're really proud of yourself. And then you're going to go make it a great day. And we do one thing as we move through these hard seasons and reach out if we can help you.   ⁓ The future of your practice is being built right now, whether you like it or not. And I want you to remember that and who you are and how you show up is going to make all the difference. And so if we can help you reach out, and as always, I'm so grateful for you. I'm grateful for every one of you listening. And I hope that you know that and I hope that you feel that. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

Brannon Moncrief is the Principal and CEO of McLerran and Associates, where he helps  multiple surgeons buy and sell their practices every year. Join us as Brannon shares insights  from more than 25 years in buying and selling dental practices, including how to prepare for the  inevitability of selling your business, considerations for selling to DSOs, and the status of the  dental market in 2026 in comparison to previous years. Brannon shares what is trickiest to  navigate about the transactions he deals with and offers valuable advice for practice owners  pursuing DSO affiliations, from early planning to knowing your options, finding the right partner,  creating a competitive environment, and more. Join us for an incredibly informative conversation  about the complexities of selling your dental practice and how to get the best deal possible.  Key Points From This Episode: • Brannon's background in the financial side of dentistry.  • The story of how he purchased McLerran and Associates 15 years ago and grew the  business. • Why selling your business is one of the inevitabilities of life and how to prepare for this.  • Common reasons an OMF surgeon might decide to sell to a DSO. • The status of the dental market in 2026.  • How DSO deals are typically structured: equity, structure, and more. • The trickiest thing Brannon and his colleagues deal with on a day-to-day basis. • Advice for practice owners pursuing DSO affiliations. • The importance of creating perspective and optionality for the right partner. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Brannon Moncrief on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/brannon-moncrief-aa681272/ Brannon Moncrief Phone Number — 512-660-8505 Brannon Moncrief Email — brannon@dentaltransitions.com McLerran and Associates — https://dentaltransitions.com/ Everyday Oral Surgery Website — https://www.everydayoralsurgery.com/ Everyday Oral Surgery on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/everydayoralsurgery/ Everyday Oral Surgery on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/EverydayOralSurgery/ Dr. Grant Stucki Email — grantstucki@gmail.com Dr. Grant Stucki Phone — 720-441-6059 

Dear listener, it is possible to scale your practice and keep your sanity! Kiera discusses three overall pieces of advice for those who have expanded/want to expand to multi-practice ownership, including centralizing atmosphere and tactics, establishing leadership infrastructure, and keeping your communication fluid. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I wanted to dig into multi-practice management and how this can be something so fun. I know several of you have multiple practices. I had multiple offices and I just think that this is a space of like, all right, here we go. How can we make this amazing? And how can we lead, scale and stay sane? I think is a big spot because I think that when we go from one practice to two practices, I know I went.   insane and it was not fun. And so for you, I just wanted to break this down because I really think this is a popular thing. And also if you're sitting on the fence of should I grow, should I not grow, I think it's going to be a fun discussion for us today. And I just wanted to say, welcome to the Dental A Team podcast. I'm Kiera Dent and I'm so happy you're here. I love all things dentistry. I love everything that we're about. I love helping you have the best day. I love positively infusing you and your practice with goodness. I love reminding you that you are in the absolute best profession.   And this podcast is made free because you guys share, review, like, and you're able to bring in more and more listeners for us. So I just want to say thank you. And if you haven't done that today, please share this, like this, review this. That's how we're able to stay at the top of the list for more offices to be positively impacted, to grow their practices with ease, and to realize dentistry should be fun again. So with that, I want to talk about like, when we go into multi-practice ownership, it can get really freaking thrilling. So.   I want you to look at like, okay, things that we need to do are as we grow and evolve. Number one, I want you just to ask why are you doing this for ego? Are you doing it for impact? Are you doing it for fun? Are you doing it to be acquired by a DSO? Knowing your why and then putting that up on the mirror so you never miss it is going to help you tremendously. Like genuinely a hundred percent just have that why because then it gets really, really thrilling. And so for you then it's going to be, okay, great. Once we have that,   I look at like, what can we centralize? So when we brought our second practice, it was make everything very, very simple and very easy for us. Meaning I want it to be all of our software is going to be the exact same. So we have the same software, the same colors. So from practice to look like the different locations when doctors go multi offices, it actually is very easy. Also, we had billing. So we had one person who was over the billing of all the practices. What about our reporting? Can we have the same reporting? So different scorecards that are reporting the same thing.   over the location that we have at centralized so we can quickly look and see how is each location doing. And then also making sure like our handbook, our SOPs, our operations manual is the same. So we set up the operatories the same. We do the same thing for hygiene. Everything is the same. So again, think about McDonald's. Could you imagine McDonald's or Chick-fil-A or any fast food restaurant opening multi-locations if the experience isn't the same that actually gets hard. Now there can be some nuances but the core infrastructure should be very, very similar.   Then after that, you also want to make sure that you have the same culture, team culture and patient experience. So again, go back to Chick-fil-A, the employees all have about the same, the culture is the same, we have the same experience every time we go in, no matter where I'm going across the nation or the globe, it's the same experience. And so for you, how can we make sure that we've got same team culture, same patient experience? You want to make sure your leadership team is really, really solid. And then you've got to have like shared tools. So the KPI dashboards, we've got to have low   specific views. So if you're having things that are on a ⁓ software, so like if Open Dental, you've got to have it to where I can access every single practice easily or if it's in the cloud and there are pros and cons between cloud software versus none. I have found that a lot of cloud softwares are awesome for ease of access at home. I will say Dentrix Ascend is my least favorite even though know they're coming back and they're popular. What happens is like I have a practice that switched to curve and they love it.   but there's nothing that can really integrate oftentimes. So you can't get analytic reports. You can't get other things. They're not as open source for you. And so if you ever want something outside of that software, that's usually cheaper, more affordable, helps you. That tends to be an issue with the cloud-based softwares. But when we got multi-practices, it becomes much easier because then we can sink in. We can look at it. We can have centralized billing, centralized, re-care, centralized phone systems, but you can also do this with a server. So when we look at this,   I think it's really great because we have practices and when we standardize how we schedule, we standardize our software, we standardize our billing procedures, the practices actually grow 10X. So I have a location, there's five practices and when we standardize these items, I kid you not, we add about a million per practice per year. So when you go across this, five million growth and you get 10 million growth and you get 15 million growth and you get 20 million and consistently every single year we're typically adding, but it's because things are standardized, things are centralized. We're able to say, right,   All offices, this is how we're now gonna block schedule. All offices, here are your goals. All offices, the billing is processing. All offices, this is how we do new patients. And it really is able to help you. So you've got to centralize what you can across the board and then have it localized at certain levels. But then it means like each office manager does the same thing, but they're making sure team spirit and team culture is the same. Patient experience is the same of what we do as an overarching multi-location area. So that's step one.   Step two is we wanna build a leadership infrastructure. So what this is, is we've gotta make sure that we've got regional managers, office managers, department leads. Sometimes multi-office locations are gonna have a hygienist that's over all hygienists of all practices. Other times it's at the practice level. But regardless across the board, there are set standards and set processes that are going to be there for you. So I really wanna make sure that you have that. And then we also need to clarify like who has ownership of this, who's entering scorecards, who's entering KPIs.   I like it to be that each office manager is responsible for their practice. So that way their office needs to be profitable, hitting the KPIs, the metrics, all the different pieces in the organization total org. Now I understand some practices, like I've got two locations. One's a very expensive location, one's a less expensive location. But across the board, you need to have leaders at both locations, because we're really struggling with these two locations. We have a regional that's bouncing back and forth between the two, but no one owns the accountability of these practices. And as it gets larger and larger and larger,   Guess what? Capacity struggling. So now we're having to put into place office leads in both location, office scorecards in both location, office hygiene departments. So looking at this and you've got to train the leaders how to lead, not just do. So I can't just be like, okay, you do this X, Y, Z. It's gotta be, how do I grow the practice? How do I make sure everybody's engaged? How do I really get people very talented, very excited about this? Like making sure they know how to hire and fire and have the one-on-one conversations. And what do the scorecard numbers mean?   And what are we looking at? And what is a healthy practice? What isn't a healthy practice? Usually my regional is meeting with my office managers weekly to make sure that they're successful. And what I found is when we track and measure all the locations, the practices increase. So typically as we're tracking and measuring, we're then able to grow them, elevate them and make them so much stronger because we're truly leading. So you've got to make sure you've got a strong leadership infrastructure. And if you don't have that, you don't have the pieces, multi-ownership gets really hard. If you're in multi-ownership right now.   You need to start appointing these people, having KPIs that they're reporting on, helping them see like how we run leadership meetings, how we run these meetings that are very successful, what your ownership piece is, what are you responsible for, how are you winning? And I think if you think about it, imagine a DSO, they're going to come in and they're going to take over your practice. Well, you better believe that they're gonna have KPIs scorecards for every location. They're going to have leaders at every location. They're going to have regionals. They're going to train.   So if that's what a DSO is going to do, why not do that yourself of multi-locations and learn from them because they're smart. They have these systems in place. You can do this as well. And then the third step on here just to help you guys is we've got to make sure that we've got like communication that's fluid rather than it just sitting there. weekly leadership calls are non-negotiable. We're talking run them on traction style, whatever your style is.   but we review where we're at, like where are headed as an organization? What are the numbers tell us? And then what needs to get accomplished? What are the blockers? What are the issues? What are the problems? And having that. Now, some offices, depending upon how large they are, some have a regional. So like we're gonna have a board that talks about the whole organization as a whole. Other times I have it where we're talking about each practice and we run individual ones for the practice, or there's maybe a hybrid of both. I recommend the hybrid of both. I think as an organization, we need to make sure we're healthy.   And then each practice is individual time where they're having these weekly meetings. They're also having ⁓ our KPIs by location. And we also are making sure that everybody's aligned. Then in addition to that, I'm very big on quarterly calibration and quarterly meetings of where are we going for the quarter? What are the rocks, if you will, with air quotes? What are the big objectives that we're accomplishing for this department, for this practice at this time? And what needs to get done?   So it can be different. Each location might run a little bit differently. And that's where it's really great because across the board, all of us quarterly know, and then we roll that down to the full teams. So as an org wide, where are headed quarterly? As practices, where are we headed quarterly? And then also making sure quarterly we're doing some type of team bonding or engagement, because as you get larger and larger and larger, the team culture really can drift. And I know we talked about that at the beginning of like centralizing that and localizing. the OMS are responsible for patient experience and team culture.   But at the same time, you've got to make sure that quarterly, like it's an all team alignment. We send out updated handbooks or protocols across the board, but we also get them like excited. So I'm really big on your communication and your metrics need to be solid. So I'm talking weekly L10s. They usually run for an hour, hour and a half at each office. You also should probably be having department meetings every single week as well to make sure the departments are growing. And then quarterly for sure having amazing like   incredible quarterly meetings that are going to really, really help people drive to those quarterly results, the quarterly pieces and make it to where it's just fun and then do something fun. You don't need to run this as a leadership team, but it is a way for you guys to all start leveling up, have fun together. Remember why we all went into this and it's not just like the drudge of quarterlies. It is truly something fun and exciting. And I have a practice in New York. I've got eight locations over there.   And I'm not joking every three to six months, we are meeting with every single practice, setting up goals, setting up pieces, having the full teams bought in and engaged. think I meet like 250 people in about four days. And the goal is to get team alignment, to get buy-in, but we know as an organization what each of the practices need to do, but we're getting team buy-in from them. And I think when you do that, what happens is the KPIs, when we start tracking them, when we get the quarterly buy-in,   the whole organization rises up because a big pitfall that people don't realize is multi offices. You've got so many team members. You've got so many offices. You got so many places that you can actually let KPI slip profitability slip. And what happens usually in multi offices is one practice is actually draining. It's not as profitable and all the other practices are doing well, but yet all the other practices are having to take care of our draining practice. And it's how do get all the offices leveled up?   Do all offices need hygiene? Do all offices need block scheduling? Do offices need to be reporting on what we're doing for the doctors? And I think when you're able to have that and establish that, you're able to have much, much, much easier multi-practice management, how to lead it, scale it, and grow it. So when we look at it, just a quick recap is we've got to centralize across the board. So our softwares are centralized, our billing is centralized, how we do our patient experience, centralized.   Then we need to make sure we've got leaders in place. So regional managers, office managers, having that go through to where we've got that whole infrastructure, they've got their KPIs, they've got their ownership, they know. And then we also are going to make sure that we are going to have tight communication. So we're running those weekly meetings, we're running those quarterly meetings. Everything is running and driving really, really well. And this is just one of those things of like, we're not doing more. As you see, we've got directed people in their seats, having ownership. So we're able to mass scale across the board.   and make sure all the practices are humming in the right direction. Yes, sometimes personable pieces aren't as common, but you don't have to lose that because you can set that as this is part of our culture and we put in every single practice. The OMS do it, the departments do it, we have fun. I have multi-offices that compete with each other, that have fun with each other, but this is something and I really feel like if you were trying to scale, your sanity is going to be number one. When we scaled, I started working   double time and I was already working about 14 hours a day. So I know there's not 28 hours in a day. It's close. And I was literally sleeping about four hours a night and I was trying to manage all the practices, but it was because I didn't do these things. I did not put into place centralized across the board. Like didn't have it. We then hired a biller that did all the billing for it. We then had our office managers and we set up the software that were the same. We then had it to where here are the like protocols of how we set up the rooms.   but it took me so long and I was already in it rather than having this built before I did it. I did not have leaders of both. I was trying to be the leader to both locations and I was running myself ragged and it was exhausting. Like literally burnout to the nth degree, but you're just in it. And so you're like, there's no way to get out of it versus realizing like, no, we can have a regional, we can have managers, we can have scorecards, we can have KPIs. And if you have this really dialed in at location one before you open up,   Great. If you're already in the location for let's get these things into place and make sure that they're all profitable and then make sure we're weekly, monthly, quarterly team meetings, calibrating them and driving for those results using the numbers, using the culture, using the team. But this is where we're headed over the next quarter. And then we track and measure for that. I promise you, if you do this, you will be able to have multi-practices grow with ease. You will keep your sanity.   And then you're tracking and keeping tabs without having to be the doer of all of it. This is what we do. We build scalable systems for practices. We grow leadership for practices. We train you. We coach your multi practices. We train your office managers how to do it. Our consultants have managed hundreds of employees at one time. They've done this. They've done it successfully. So this is the time for you to truly jump in, call, make your life easier. So reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. This is something and if you guys want more tips on this,   send this to your regional or send this to a COO or send this to your leadership team. If you're thinking about growing a practice and you want to scale, like let's talk about it. Let's help you and your office manager know what's going to happen or get you and your regional managers or help out. do multiple, multiple, multiple multi-office locations that we consult on. So reach Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, your sanity is your gift. This is something that you owe yourself, your practice, your patients. And these are three quick, easy ways to be able to scale, sustain and grow.   and keep your sanity. So reach out if we can help you. And as always, thanks for listening. We'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

This special episode of the Very Dental Podcast flips the script, featuring Dr. Alan Mead as a guest on the Just a Couple of Dentists podcast with hosts Dr. Alex Kantor and Dr. Eric Applesies. In a wide-ranging and speculative conversation, the trio peers into the future to imagine the landscape of Dentistry in 2050. From the role of AI and robotic assistants in practice management to the potential "pendulum swing" away from DSO consolidation and back toward private practice, no stone is left unturned. The discussion also tackles the mounting burden of student debt, the evolving role of dental hygiene, and whether current technology—like high-magnification microscopy and advanced air polishing—is setting the stage for a radically different clinical experience. Join the Very Dental Facebook Group using one of these passwords: Timmerman, Paul, Bioclear, Hornbrook, Gary, McWethy, Papa Randy, Frank or Lipscomb!  The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you'd like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! We're proud to be supported by the folks at Net32! I'm a big fan of the Bioclear Method! I think you should give it a try and I've got a great offer to help you get on board! Use the exclusive Very Dental Podcast code VERYDENTAL8TON for 15% OFF your total Bioclear purchase, including Core Anterior and Posterior Four day courses, Black Triangle Certification, and all Bioclear products. Are you a practice owner who feels like the bottleneck in your own business? If you're tired of being the hardest-working person in your office, I've got something you need to hear. Dr. Paul Etchison, is hosting a virtual event that is a total game-changer. Paul is honestly one of the most brilliant minds in dental leadership today, and he's hosting the 3-Day Freedom Practice Workshop from February 19th through the 21st. He's going to show you exactly how to break through that two-million-dollar revenue ceiling while actually compressing your clinical week. It's about building a leadership team that takes ownership so you can finally step into the CEO role you deserve. Head over to DentalPracticeHeroes.com/freedom to grab your spot. And do me a favor—mention the Very Dental podcast when you sign up. It's 100% guaranteed, so you've got nothing to lose but the stress. Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you'll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code "VERYSHIP" you'll get free shipping on your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! The Wonderist Agency is basically a one stop shop for marketing your practice and your brand. From logo redesign to a full service marketing plan, the folks at Wonderist have you covered! Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/wonderist! Enova Illumination makes the very best in loupes and headlights, including their new ergonomic angled prism loupes! They also distribute loupe mounted cameras and even the amazing line of Zumax microscopes! If you want to help out the podcast while upping your magnification and headlight game, you need to head over to verydentalpodcast.com/enova to see their whole line of products! CAD-Ray offers the best service on a wide variety of digital scanners, printers, mills and even  their very own browser based design software, Clinux! CAD-Ray has been a huge supporter of the Very Dental Podcast Network and I can tell you that you'll get no better service on everything digital dentistry than the folks from CAD-Ray. Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/CADRay!

Am I too late to build real wealth in dentistry? George explains why you're on time, the “golden way,” and the best paths today: DSO equity, one mega practice, or multi-location growth.