Podcast appearances and mentions of howard farran

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Philippe Salah, a PhD-trained scientist with a lifelong passion for innovation in orthodontics. Philippe co-founded Harmony, a pioneering lingual orthodontics company, in 2007, before founding DentalMonitoring in 2013 — a company he still leads as CEO and which has become a driving force in AI-powered, remote patient care. The conversation explores how DentalMonitoring supports the full patient journey, from initial observation through active treatment and all the way to retention, and what continuous remote monitoring changes about the way orthodontists practice. Philippe and Howard also dig into a question weighing on many clinicians today: how orthodontists should position themselves in an increasingly challenging and competitive market, and what role AI and remote care will play in defining who thrives.   Episode #1732 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Philippe Salah — PhD-trained scientist, co-founder of lingual orthodontics pioneer Harmony, and founder & CEO of DentalMonitoring. From AI-powered remote monitoring to managing the patient journey end-to-end — from first observation all the way through retention — Philippe shares how technology is reshaping orthodontic care and what it means for practices competing in an increasingly crowded market.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Erin Sheffield, a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has built a career breaking barriers in one of medicine's most male-dominated specialties. Beyond the operating room, she is an international speaker, educator, content creator, and advocate — the founder of The Doctor Is ALL In, a retreat helping high-achieving women doctors reconnect with their purpose and reclaim their well-being, and the host of The Resting Stitch Face podcast, where she leads candid conversations about identity, leadership, and the cost of fitting in. The conversation moves fluidly between the clinical and the personal. On the surgical side, Dr. Sheffield digs into difficult third molars and coronectomy, bone grafting, and antibiotic stewardship — practical topics every general dentist and surgeon wrestles with. On the human side, she speaks openly about navigating discrimination and harassment in her own career, and what resilience, integrity, and reclaiming your voice actually look like in practice. Howard and Dr. Sheffield also explore trauma-informed care for dentists, the role of social media in modern practice, and the intertwined challenges of imposter syndrome, authenticity, and burnout. Her central message cuts across specialties and generations: real success isn't about perfection or approval — it's about showing up fully as yourself and making room for others to do the same. Check out Dr. Sheffield's website for more info: www.Doctorisallin.com    Episode #1731 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Erin Sheffield — board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon, international speaker, educator, and founder of The Doctor Is ALL In, a retreat for women doctors. From difficult third molars, coronectomy, and bone grafting to antibiotic stewardship, trauma-informed care, and the honest realities of burnout and imposter syndrome — Dr. Sheffield brings both surgical precision and rare human insight.

In this episode, Howard Farran podcasts live from Guatemala with Dr. Tommy Murph — the Myrtle Beach–area general dentist and Dentaltown legend behind more than 50,000 posts and the longest-running threads in the community's history. Speaking from the clinic floor between patients, Tommy walks through the scale of the operation: 46 dentists from four countries, roughly 250–300 patients a day, twelve-hour days, and nearly 1,000 teeth extracted in a single day, with about 45% of them wisdom teeth. Four times a year, he and Dr. Fletcher run these trips as a hybrid of charity dentistry and hands-on continuing education, delivering 54 hours of participation credit through WeTeachExtractions.com — training dentists who graduated without ever performing an extraction to confidently handle full bony horizontal impactions. The conversation ranges well beyond Guatemala. Tommy shares his philosophy that any general dentist should be able to remove a visible tooth in ten minutes or less, and that success comes from a few well-understood instruments and proper luxation technique rather than a drawer full of forceps. He makes a blunt case for same-day emergency treatment, explains the cash-pay, out-of-network model he's run since 1999, and argues that most dentists could thrive without insurance participation. He also talks about running a lean practice with a staff of two, keeping overhead under 25%, why new grads should work for someone else for a year or two before ownership, and why extraction skill should come before implant training. Throughout, Howard and Tommy return to what makes these trips meaningful — patients who arrive at 4 a.m. and hug you afterward, Tommy's 81-year-old mother handing out toothbrushes and toys, and the way stepping into someone else's world can reset a stressed-out dentist's perspective entirely.   Episode #1730 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard Farran catches up with Dentaltown legend Dr. Tommy Murph — 50,000+ posts and counting — literally on the clinic floor in Guatemala, mid-mission, with 300 patients waiting outside. 46 dentists from 4 countries. Nearly 1,000 teeth extracted in a single day. Hands-on CE where dentists who never touched an extraction in school leave doing full bony impactions.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Peeyush Ranjan, a board-certified pediatric dentist in both the United States and Canada and the owner of Tooth Pals in Airdrie, Alberta. Dr. Ranjan began his career in general dentistry in 2009 before discovering his passion for treating children, which led him to complete his pediatric residency at Nova Southeastern University and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident. His master's research explored using picture-guided techniques to improve oral hygiene in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder — work that continues to shape how he cares for kids today. The conversation spans Dr. Ranjan's unique cross-border journey — training in the U.S., practicing in rural Washington, and building a practice in Canada — and what it taught him about the profession in both countries. He makes a compelling case that rural America is dramatically underserved and full of opportunity most young dentists overlook, and shares why he remains a strong believer in independent ownership even in an age of consolidation and DSOs. Howard and Dr. Ranjan also dig into the role of culture and team (he runs his practice alongside his wife and treats his staff like family), how technology like the Solea laser and dental-specific VR transforms a child's experience in the chair, and his collaborative approach to infant tongue-tie treatment. The episode closes on the community work at the heart of his practice — from the Switch Witch candy buyback to toy drives and free screening camps — and the most important lessons he'd pass on to any young dentist starting out today.   Episode #1729 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Peeyush Ranjan — board-certified pediatric dentist in both the U.S. and Canada, and owner of Tooth Pals in Airdrie, Alberta. From training in the U.S. and practicing in rural Washington to owning a practice in Canada, Dr. Ranjan brings a rare cross-border perspective — plus a passion for technology, community giving, and making sure no child grows up fearing the dentist.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with JoAnne Tanner, founder of Tanner Management, a dental practice consulting firm specializing in acquisitions, financial due diligence, and operational systems. With more than 20 years of experience, JoAnne has guided countless dentists through the process of buying a practice — helping them avoid costly mistakes and build strong business foundations from day one. She's also the author of The Smart Dentist's Guide to Buying a Dental Practice, and is known for a clear, no-nonsense approach that makes complex transactions understandable. The conversation focuses on what dentists need to know before signing on the dotted line. JoAnne breaks down the biggest mistakes buyers make and how to avoid them, why financials alone don't tell the full story of a practice, and the critical reports every buyer should review before closing. She and Howard dig into how to spot hidden risks in hygiene, scheduling, and accounts receivable, why treatment philosophy differences between buyer and seller can make or break a transition, and how insurance participation — including Delta Dental — can shape future income. The episode closes on the most important question of all: how to tell whether a practice is genuinely sustainable or quietly declining.   Episode #1728 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with JoAnne Tanner — founder of Tanner Management and author of The Smart Dentist's Guide to Buying a Dental Practice — for a no-nonsense look at what it really takes to buy the right practice. From the biggest mistakes buyers make, to why the financials never tell the whole story, to the hidden risks lurking in hygiene, scheduling, and AR — JoAnne breaks down how to buy with clarity and confidence.

In this two-guest episode, Howard Farran brings together two clinicians unafraid to challenge the status quo. Dr. Michael DeLuke is a board-certified orthodontist who graduated valedictorian from SUNY Stony Brook and served as Chief Resident at UConn before owning DeLuke Orthodontics for nearly two decades. He has since retired from private practice to teach and coach full-time, serving on faculty at Montefiore Einstein and a Florida pediatric dental residency, and founding DeLuke Orthodontic Coaching ("DOC") and The DOC Podcast. Dr. Mark Levi is a Sydney-based dentist who, after his own severe obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis in 1998, dedicated his career to airway-focused care — co-founding integrated medical/dental sleep clinics, publishing in the European Sleep Journal, and in 2021 transitioning to an exclusive pediatric airway, breathing, and sleep clinic treating children aged 3 to 12. The conversation dives into early, airway-focused orthodontic and orthopedic treatment — why both guests believe it matters so much, and why the orthodontic establishment and academia have been so resistant to it. They explore what pediatric sleep-disordered breathing actually is and why it should be on every dentist's radar, what "evidence-based practice" really means, and the long-term physiological payoff of intervening in a generation of four-to-six-year-olds before problems compound. Dr. Levi shares his philosophy of engaging parents by talking symptoms rather than treatment protocols — the approach behind hundreds of five-star reviews and his plans to expand into the U.S. — while Dr. DeLuke also opens up about the business side of dentistry, including how he reached financial freedom at 46 after starting his practice at 30 with zero assets and a mountain of student debt.   Episode #1727 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with two outspoken voices in orthodontics and airway: Dr. Michael DeLuke — board-certified orthodontist, coach, and host of The DOC Podcast — and Dr. Mark Levi, an Australian pioneer in pediatric airway, breathing, and sleep. From why the ortho establishment resists early airway-focused treatment, to treating a generation of 4–6 year olds, to achieving financial freedom in dentistry — this conversation pulls no punches.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Kevin Lassiter, an Arizona native and proud Army veteran who earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and his Doctor of Dental Medicine from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Lassiter spent 12 years serving as a dentist in the U.S. Army, completing his specialty training through the United States Army Prosthodontic Program, and today provides relationship-centered dentistry that blends science and artistry to create healthy, natural-looking, long-lasting smiles. The conversation traces Dr. Lassiter's path from a 19-year-old applying to dental school — admittedly naive in those early interviews — through his entry into the Army via officer basic training and an AEGD program, to years of service that included time living in Germany. He shares an honest look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Army dentistry, what drew him to prosthodontics, and the experience of caring for veterans and soldiers during his residency. The episode closes on his transition into civilian private practice and the journey from associate to ownership, offering a grounded perspective for anyone weighing a similar route into military or specialty dentistry.   Episode #1726 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Kevin Lassiter — Arizona native, proud Army veteran, and prosthodontist who spent 12 years serving as a dentist in the U.S. Army before transitioning to private practice. From applying to dental school at 19, to Army life and training in Germany, to finding his passion in prosthodontics and making the leap from associate to owner — this is a candid, inspiring look at one dentist's unconventional path.

In this two-guest episode, Howard Farran sits down with two financial leaders from PracticeCFO. Wes Read is a CPA, Certified Financial Planner™, and Registered Investment Advisor who began his career in Big 4 accounting at Ernst & Young before founding PracticeCFO in 2009 to give practice-owning doctors access to CFO-level financial leadership. He's also the founder of Practice Orbit and creator of Associates On Fire, a free financial education platform for dental associates. Joining him is Paul Lipcius, a CPA, Series 65-licensed Investment Adviser Representative, and CFO Advisor at the firm with nearly a decade of experience, who focuses on higher-net-worth clients, capital markets, and portfolio strategy, and serves on PracticeCFO's board and investment committee. The conversation centers on investing philosophy for busy dentists who aren't watching the markets every day. Wes and Paul unpack how they define and manage risk in a practical, long-term sense rather than just as volatility, and what a good advisor actually does to create value beyond picking investments. They explore how dentists should think about retirement vehicles like 401(k)s, defined benefit plans, and IRAs, how to stay disciplined and avoid emotional decisions during market swings, and the unique advantage of integrating CPA services with investment management under one roof. The episode closes on the perennial industry debate over fees — whether advisors truly justify their cost, and how dentists can evaluate whether they're getting real value for their money.   Episode #1725 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Wes Read, CPA, CFP® — Founder & CEO of PracticeCFO — and Paul Lipcius, CPA and CFO Advisor at the firm, for a deep dive into smart investing and wealth strategy for dentists. From defining real "risk" beyond market volatility, to the advantage of having your CPA and investment strategy under one roof, to whether advisor fees are truly worth it — this is straight talk on building lasting financial independence.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Paul Homoly, one of the profession's foremost authorities on treatment acceptance and the new patient experience. After 20 years in clinical reconstructive dentistry, Paul devoted the following decades to building what many consider the most comprehensive body of work on guiding dentists and their teams toward successful complete-care practices. He's the author of several influential books — including Dentists: An Endangered Species, Isn't It Wonderful When Patients Say "YES!", and Just Because You're an Expert… Doesn't Make You Interesting — and the first dentist worldwide to earn the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned distinction in professional speaking. The conversation explores Paul's central mission: making it easy for patients to say "yes" to complete care. He shares the communication and leadership principles behind his Treatment Acceptance Mastery curriculum — which now includes a first-of-its-kind AI Accelerator Coach — and why being a clinical expert doesn't automatically make a dentist compelling or persuasive at the chairside. Drawing on work that has contributed millions of dollars in monthly collections for his clients, Paul and Howard dig into how dentists can connect with patients, present treatment in a way that resonates, and build practices where complete care becomes the norm rather than the exception.   Episode #1724 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Paul Homoly — a leading authority on treatment acceptance and the new patient experience, and the first dentist in the world to earn the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation. After 20 years in clinical reconstructive dentistry, Paul has spent decades cracking the code on one question: how do you make it easy for patients to say "yes" to complete care? His work has driven millions in monthly collections for his clients.

Why fear—not dentistry—is holding practices back The mindset shift from blaming PPOs to taking ownership How trust drives treatment acceptance more than sales tactics Why dentists should stop letting insurance dictate clinical decisions Lessons learned from 40+ years in dentistry and Dentaltown Howard's perspective on DSOs, private practice, and entrepreneurship Why AI will augment dentists—not replace them The importance of surrounding yourself with positive, growth-minded people Building a practice culture that patients and employees love Why comprehensive dentistry creates better outcomes for patients and practices Howard's advice for young dentists entering the profession Practical leadership lessons every practice owner can implement immediately Resources Dr. Howard Farran

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Chanelle Small, an endodontist who earned her Certificate of Endodontics from Tufts and both her DDS and undergraduate degree from Howard University, and who served as a Clinical Instructor at Columbia. Beyond founding Midtown Endodontics in New York City, Dr. Small works as a dental expert witness, retained by both plaintiff and defense attorneys across multiple states to determine whether the standard of care was met in malpractice cases. The conversation demystifies the legal side of dentistry that most clinicians never see until it's too late. Dr. Small breaks down the four elements of a malpractice claim — duty, breach, causation, and damages — through a real endodontic scenario, and explains how "standard of care" actually gets defined in the courtroom versus the textbook. She walks through the anatomy of a case from the initial complaint to resolution, when and how an expert witness enters the picture, and whether she's ever felt pressured by attorneys to shade her opinion to strengthen a case. The episode closes on the practical side every dentist can act on today: why radiographic documentation matters so much, what's most often missing from the record, and the habits beyond documentation that help protect a practice. Disclaimer: This interview does not constitute legal or tax advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This interview is for educational purposes only. Episode #1723 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Chanelle Small — endodontist, founder of Midtown Endodontics in NYC, and a dental expert witness retained by both plaintiff and defense attorneys. From the four elements of a malpractice case to how "standard of care" actually gets defined in a courtroom, Dr. Small pulls back the curtain on what really happens when a dentist gets sued — and the documentation habits that protect you.

In this two-guest episode, Howard Farran brings together two very different but complementary paths in reconstructive surgery. Nancy Hairston is the founder and CEO of MedCAD, a Dallas-based medical technology company specializing in patient-matched cranial, facial, and mandibular implants. A sculptor by training — with a fine arts degree and an early career designing toys for Mattel and Disney and building 3D animation software that became Maya — Nancy channeled her mastery of digital sculpting into medicine, earning FDA clearance for her AccuShape cranial implant in 2011 and delivering custom, patient-specific solutions for more than 8,000 individuals since. Dr. Samir Singh is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, trained at VCU in complex implant surgery, bone grafting, orthognathic surgery, and maxillofacial trauma, who now practices in North Pittsburgh, teaches and mentors residents, and lectures nationally on full-arch implant reconstruction. Together, the conversation walks through how custom implant design and surgical expertise intersect — the MedCAD process of turning precise imaging into a planned, in-house-manufactured implant delivered to surgical teams around the world, and how that planning removes friction, shortens procedure time, and boosts a surgeon's confidence before the first incision. Dr. Singh shares his journey from Pittsburgh to the operating room, the growth and technology behind his practice, and memorable orthognathic and reconstruction cases, along with his heart for mission work — including trips to treat children with cleft lip and palate in Peru. The episode closes on mentorship and the shadowing and hiring opportunities both guests see for the next generation of surgeons and innovators.   Episode #1722 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with two guests at the cutting edge of surgical reconstruction: Nancy Hairston, founder & CEO of MedCAD, and Dr. Samir Singh, board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon. From an artist-turned-medical-tech founder who's created patient-matched implants for 8,000+ people, to a surgeon rebuilding faces and jaws with full-arch and orthognathic expertise — this is a fascinating look at how custom design and surgical skill come together in the OR.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Bob "Dee" Dokhanchi — a private practice dentist since 1993, entrepreneur, media publisher, and tireless advocate for the profession. A 1992 graduate of Loyola University Chicago College of Dental Surgery, Bob has earned a reputation as a forward-thinking leader with a deep interest in technology, software, and cloud systems, becoming widely known as the "cloud guy" for his practical advice on dental tech and digital strategy. He's also the founder of Dentistry in General, a large verified dentist-only community built to foster candid discussion, support, and connection, along with its media arm spanning the DIG Radio Network, Dentistry's Digest, and the DIG-A-PALOOZA live CE event. The conversation centers on organized dentistry and advocacy — the role of the ADA, the communication gap between organized dentistry and everyday dentists, and how the Dentistry in General Advocacy Coalition aims to improve transparency and engagement across the profession. Bob also shares his personal decision to run for office, seeking the Secretary position within the Illinois State Dental Society through a ladder system that leads to the presidency, and what motivated him to step off the sidelines and get directly involved. It's a candid look at why grassroots leadership matters and how individual dentists can shape the direction of their own profession.   Episode #1721 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Bob "Dee" Dokhanchi — private practice dentist, entrepreneur, media publisher, and founder of Dentistry in General, one of the largest dentist-only communities online. Known as the "cloud guy," Bob is a passionate advocate for the profession. This conversation digs into organized dentistry, the ADA, and what it really means to step up and run for office to make dentists' voices heard.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Joseph Hogan, President and CEO of Align Technology — the company behind Invisalign and the iTero scanner. Hogan brings an extraordinary executive background to the conversation, having led ABB, a $40 billion global automation company, and spent 25 years at General Electric, including eight years as CEO of GE Healthcare, where he more than doubled revenues from $7 billion to $16 billion. The discussion explores where Align is focusing its efforts to meet dentists where they are today, the recent innovations Hogan is most excited about, and what separates the most successful Invisalign-trained doctors from the rest. Howard and Hogan dig into Align's approach to AI across its product portfolio, how the company is leveraging additive manufacturing and 3D printing, and its plans for direct fabrication. They also examine trends among growing patients, how Invisalign fits into ortho-restorative workflows, and the biggest challenges Align is hearing from doctors around training and education. The conversation closes with a forward-looking discussion on expanding global access to clear aligner therapy and what excites Hogan most about the future of orthodontics and digital dentistry. Want to know more about Align? - https://www.aligntech.com/ Episode #1720 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Joseph Hogan — President & CEO of Align Technology, the company behind Invisalign and iTero. With a career that spans GE Healthcare and ABB before leading Align, Joe brings a rare view of where digital dentistry is headed — from AI and 3D printing to direct fabrication, global access to clear aligner therapy, and what the most successful Invisalign doctors are doing differently.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Karl Frye, Principal Broker and owner of Frye Practice Sales, a Scottsdale-based practice and commercial real estate brokerage, and current President of the National Association of Practice Brokers. Before founding his firm in 2015, Karl spent more than a decade in commercial banking serving the M&A needs of doctors — financing the startups, growth, sales, and refinances of dental practices nationwide. That credit background gives him a distinctive, outcome-focused perspective on what's actually realistic in today's healthcare acquisition market. The conversation tackles the questions on every practice owner's mind: whether the private-practice buyer is truly a thing of the past (Karl says not so fast), and whether dentists should simply say "no" to the DSO (his answer is more nuanced than you'd expect). Howard and Karl walk through how sellers should navigate a shifting market, what buyers should be doing right now, and a recap of where the lending market stands. They close on a decision many selling dentists overlook — whether to sell the commercial real estate along with the practice or hold onto the building and collect rent.   Episode #1719 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Karl Frye — Principal Broker and owner of Frye Practice Sales and current President of the National Association of Practice Brokers — for a straight-talking look at the dental transitions market. With 12+ years financing healthcare M&A before becoming a broker, Karl brings rare credit-side insight. Is the private practice buyer a thing of the past? Should you say no to the DSO? And what should you do with your building when you sell?

In this four-guest roundtable — part three of the show's airway and sleep series — Howard Farran brings together a genuinely multidisciplinary panel: Patrick McKeown, an internationally recognized breathing expert, author of eleven books, and creator of MyoTape and the modern Buteyko approach; Dr. Felix Liao, an engineer-turned-dentist who coined "Impaired Mouth Syndrome" and developed Airway Facial Epigenetics through his AMD Academy Global; Nerissa Boggan, a myofunctional therapist and sleep-and-breathing educator with 25+ years in dental hygiene and author of the children's book My Dog Myo and My Nose; and Dr. Anthony Bolamperti, a second-generation laser dentist running Omaha Laser Dentistry and its Airway Institute. Together they approach the same overlooked problem — the airway — through four lenses: epigenetics, Buteyko breathing, myofunctional therapy, and laser dentistry. The conversation explores how a mouth-breathing habit reshapes the face and drives malocclusion, why restoring the airway can ease chronic pain and improve sleep and mood, and how starting with the nose — nasal hygiene, lip seal, tongue posture, and early intervention — changes outcomes from infancy through old age. Throughout, Howard returns to his recurring theme of transferring hard-won knowledge to the next generation, asking each guest what they'd tell a newly graduated dentist. The answers converge: pay your dues and your loans, but don't stay siloed — see the whole patient behind the tooth, learn airway health, and think like an oral physician rather than a "trinket" dentist. The panel also confronts the sobering sleep-apnea funnel (only about five of every hundred sufferers are actually treated), the ongoing debate over tongue ties and frenectomies, and the profession's burnout crisis — united by the conviction that dentists, who see patients more often than physicians do, are uniquely positioned on the front line of whole-health care. The American Sleep and Breathing Academy: https://asba.life/  Episode #1718 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard hosts a four-guest airway roundtable with breathing expert Patrick McKeown, "Airway Mouth Doctor" Dr. Felix Liao, myofunctional therapist Nerissa Boggan, and laser dentist Dr. Anthony Bolamperti. Four disciplines — epigenetics, Buteyko breathing, myofunctional therapy, and laser dentistry — all treating the same overlooked problem: the airway. From why "straight white teeth is the wrong goalpost" to the sleep-apnea funnel where only ~5 of 100 patients ever get treated, this one connects the dots.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Brian Hanks, MBA, CFP — a national dental transitions expert, author, accountant, and Certified Financial Planner who has been directly involved in hundreds of dental practice transitions across all fifty states. Through his firm, Dental Buyer Advocates, Brian works exclusively with buyers, guiding them through due diligence, negotiation, financing, and transition. He joins the show to explain what recent turbulence in private credit markets could mean for dental practice valuations. The conversation starts with the Blue Owl private credit situation and why a fund halting redemptions matters to everyday dentists. Brian explains how private equity and private credit have fueled the dental acquisition boom, and what happens when that fuel gets more expensive — specifically how EBITDA multiples compress as borrowing costs rise, and what that looks like in real dollar terms for a selling dentist. He also addresses why changes in credit markets typically take 12 to 24 months to show up in practice valuations, and how to tell whether the current moment is the start of a genuine shift or just a temporary blip. From there, Brian offers practical guidance for both sides of the market: what dentists thinking about selling in the next few years should be doing right now, how a cooling acquisition market can create real opportunity for buyers, and the early warning signs brokers and advisors are already watching — longer timelines, fewer bidders, and more selective buyers. He closes with the single biggest mistake dentists make when selling, what a truly well-prepared practice looks like to a serious buyer today, and where he thinks valuations are headed over the next 24 months. Episode #1717 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Brian Hanks, MBA, CFP — national dental transitions expert, author, and founder of Dental Buyer Advocates — to unpack what recent turbulence in private credit markets could mean for dental practice valuations. Most dentists have never heard of Blue Owl. Brian explains why they should care — how rising borrowing costs compress EBITDA multiples, what that means in real dollars for a selling dentist, and why credit market shifts take 12–24 months to show up in what your practice is worth.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Eric J. Morin, MBA, Founder and President of Tower Leadership, a Forbes speaker and best-selling author who has spent more than two decades helping doctors build more profitable, scalable, and valuable businesses. The conversation focuses on the operational and financial disciplines that separate a practice that simply produces well from one that commands real enterprise value. Eric explains how dentists can grow EBITDA without just doing more dentistry — by finding the profit quietly lost to overhead, inefficiency, weak scheduling, and poor case acceptance — and walks through the key KPIs every owner should actually be tracking to make better decisions. He and Howard dig into the most common operational blind spots, including why what looks like a production problem is often really a leadership, accountability, or systems problem. The discussion also covers how to scale from a strong single location into a larger, sustainable business without sacrificing culture, patient experience, or profitability, and closes with how owners should think about private equity, DSOs, and timing a potential exit before deciding whether to stay independent, keep growing, or prepare for a transition. Episode #1716 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Eric J. Morin, MBA — Founder & President of Tower Leadership, Forbes speaker, and best-selling author who's helped thousands of doctors turn good practices into high-value enterprises. From growing EBITDA without just "doing more dentistry," to the KPIs every owner should know, to what actually makes a practice valuable in today's market — Eric breaks down the business side dental school never taught.

In this roundtable — part two of the show's airway and sleep series recorded around an ASBA gathering — Howard Farran sits down with three leaders working at the intersection of dentistry, sleep, and medicine: Dr. Luann Hall, a UCSF-trained "recovering pediatric dentist," minimally invasive advocate, and regent of the American College of Dentists; Dr. Manisha Witmans, a board-certified sleep physician, pediatrician, and pediatric pulmonologist who built the pediatric sleep program at Stollery Children's Hospital and recently learned she's been an OSA patient herself since childhood; and Dr. Janelle Crichton, an orthodontist and airway specialist whose practice ranks #1 in Canada for Invisalign volume and who is entering Stanford's Orthodontic Dental Sleep Medicine program as one of only six orthodontists in North America accepted. The conversation opens on a philosophy of preservation — the idea that a tooth can outlive us but rarely survives the drill — and Dr. Hall's case for minimally invasive care, arresting decay and remineralizing rather than cutting. She also introduces two ventures she advises: Auris DX, an FDA-approved salivary test for oral cancer often described as a "pap smear for the mouth," and InHand Dental, a teledentistry tool built during the pandemic. That leads into a recurring theme of the episode: the artificial divide between medicine and dentistry, why oral cancer screening isn't reimbursed like its medical equivalent, and the panel's shared vision of collaborative care built around a single shared medical record and integrated practices where orthodontists, myofunctional therapists, and physicians work under one roof. Much of the discussion centers on airway and sleep. The doctors walk through how mouth breathing shows up in the chair — lips apart, dry inflamed gums, high narrow palates, dark under-eye circles, brain fog, grinding, bite changes, crowding, delayed eruption, and white-spot lesions driven by reduced salivary buffering — and Dr. Witmans drives home the loop between poor sleep and systemic inflammation. She also highlights a striking inequity: women weren't included in obstructive sleep apnea research until 1993, decades after REM sleep was discovered, leaving today's screening tools heavily weighted toward men and countless anxious, exhausted, chronically-in-pain women underdiagnosed. Howard adds his own near-fatal kidney stone story as a vivid example of how men delay seeking care. The panel debates when children should first see an orthodontist — landing firmly on early, growth-modification-focused intervention rather than the traditional "wait until twelve" — and closes with practical, fear-reducing exam tips for new dentists, like asking a child whether their teeth feel "happy or sad" and letting patients tell you what they think is going on. Episode #1715 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard hosts a powerhouse airway roundtable with Dr. Luann Hall, Dr. Manisha Witmans, and Dr. Janelle Crichton — a "recovering" pediatric dentist, a sleep physician, and one of North America's top airway orthodontists. From why "you can survive without a tooth but not the drill," to the decay patterns that secretly signal an airway problem, to how women went unstudied in sleep medicine until 1993 — this conversation connects dots most dental schools never do.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Eric Recker — a dentist of 24 years, keynote speaker, author, pilot, mountain climber, and success coach based in Pella, Iowa — for a candid conversation about burnout and the path back from it. Eric opens up about how close he came to leaving dentistry entirely: he tried to sell his practice, and when the deal fell through, he was forced to confront the tension headaches, heart palpitations, and panic attacks he'd spent a decade dismissing as "just how it is" — including one attack that left him on his office server room floor on a Monday morning. The conversation traces how COVID became an unexpected turning point, giving Eric the space to step back and ask what was really unsustainable about the pace he was keeping. He shares the concept that changed everything — "boundarying" his day, a phrase from his outside-dentistry mentor — and makes the case for having two coaches: one inside dentistry and one for life beyond it. Eric and Howard dig into the "false sense of urgency," the voice of should that runs like a background app draining energy, and the simple practice of writing those thoughts down and asking, "What can I do about it?" Eric explains the framework behind his book, The Dam Analogy: we're all like a dam balancing stored energy (the lake) against our impact on the world (the river) — and while dentists are exceptional at output, most are terrible at refilling themselves. He describes retreating to a monastery for 24 hours as one way he refills, and lays out the choice between "Mountain A" (grumpy, doom-scrolling, being everything to everyone) and "Mountain B" (intentional living, self-care, and pursuing what matters most). Along the way, the two share practical hacks — protecting your Monday morning schedule, doing more of the dentistry you love and less of what drains you, firing the "Mrs. Murgatroyd" patients who exhaust the whole team, and using the freeing phrase "what you're asking me to do is unreasonable" to hold boundaries with patients. The episode closes on the importance of raising your hand and asking for help, and Eric's invitation to any struggling dentist to simply start a conversation.   5-Day Knock Back Burnout Challenge- https://ericrecker.com/knock-back-burnout/   Episode #1714 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Eric Recker — dentist, keynote speaker, author, pilot, and success coach — who nearly walked away from dentistry before turning his burnout into a mission to help others. From panic attacks on the server room floor to "boundarying" his day, the Dam Analogy, and choosing "Mountain B," Eric shares hard-won, practical tools for any dentist quietly telling themselves "this is just how it is."

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Randolph Cross, a private practice endodontist in Watsonville, California, and the inventor of the EndoCator — a first-of-its-kind chairside ATP test that tells clinicians, in five seconds, whether a root canal is truly clean before they close it. Dr. Cross traces the idea back to a finals-week breakdown during his residency at USC, when he realized the profession had no reliable, real-time way to confirm disinfection. Drawing on his biochemistry background, he bought a cheap ATP tester off eBay, tried it on extracted teeth, and watched the readings drop from dirty to clean as he worked — the moment he knew he was onto something. Randy explains the science in plain terms: ATP is the energy molecule found in every living cell, and when it hits the enzyme luciferase, it emits light the device measures on a 1–100 scale. Because it detects ATP rather than culturing bacteria, it's more sensitive than traditional methods and picks up anaerobes and even fungi that cultures miss. He even demos it live, licking a test tube to show how a "clean-looking" sample still lights up as filthy. Along the way he shares the anecdote that crystallized it all — a case where a textbook-perfect obturation tested dirty while a squiggly-looking fill tested spotless — and how the patent office initially rejected the idea twice for being "too obvious." The conversation dives deep into practical disinfection: why full-strength sodium hypochlorite and contact time still matter most, his use of Triton on necrotic cases, the trade-offs of lasers, heated irrigants, and ultrasonic activation, and his "apical barbarian" approach to working to length. Dr. Cross frames the EndoCator as smaller, faster, and cheaper than the alternatives — roughly $1,800 for the unit and about $7 per test, versus six figures for a GentleWave — and stresses that patients deserve to know their infection is gone before the canal is sealed. Howard and Randy also cover one-visit versus two-visit endo, the overprescription of antibiotics, posts and the ferrule effect, intentional reimplantation, and the realities of practicing endo in rural America, closing with candid advice for any dentist sitting on an idea: go for it, prototype early, and pass the baton when it stops being fun. Episode #1713 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Randolph Cross — private practice endodontist and inventor of the EndoCator, a 5-second chairside ATP test that finally answers the question most dentists never ask: is this root canal actually clean before I fill it? Born out of a finals-week epiphany in residency and a $20 tester bought off eBay, Randy's device gives real-time feedback on canal cleanliness — and the readings have humbled a lot of egos.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Sompop Bencharit, a board-certified prosthodontist, innovation strategist, and Director of Innovation at the Austin Institute of Dental Medicine, who has led technology transformation at VCU, the Medical University of South Carolina, and High Point University. A Fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists with over 100 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Bencharit also serves as president of HADEN — the Haptic and AI in Dental Education Network — connecting more than 70 educators worldwide. The conversation opens by demystifying "haptics" — the virtual-reality, flight-simulator-style training that lets students feel the difference between drilling enamel and dentin, turning passive learning into muscle memory before they ever touch a patient. Dr. Bencharit argues that the single biggest barrier keeping dental schools from modernizing isn't money or expertise, but fear. He shares how he digitized VCU's dental school — flipping a program that once took 79 days to deliver a single crown into one where students routinely complete same-day, in-house digital restorations — and stresses that the real key wasn't machines, but workflow. Howard and Dr. Bencharit dig into what a truly future-ready dental school looks like, the core digital skills every new graduate should master (intraoral scanning, 3D printing, same-day restorations, and implant planning with guided surgery), and why robotic implant placement is now the most accurate method available. They also take on the AI debate head-on — with Dr. Bencharit explaining that dentistry has quietly used AI for years, that generalists will increasingly perform work once reserved for specialists, and that his real concern isn't AI replacing jobs but its potential to fabricate undetectable research. The episode closes with a passionate discussion on the maldistribution of dentists, the crushing burden of student debt, and why subsidized dental education — like the tuition-free residency model at the Austin Institute — may be essential to serving underserved communities.   Episode #1712 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Sompop Bencharit — board-certified prosthodontist, innovation strategist, and president of HADEN, the world's largest community advancing haptic and AI technologies in dental education. From flight-simulator-style "haptic" training and same-day digital dentistry, to why he says fear is the #1 barrier holding dental schools back, to how AI will reshape all 12 specialties — this is a candid look at where dental education must go next.

In this episode, Howard Farran welcomes back Dr. Densen Cao — physicist, prolific inventor, and founder and CEO of CAO Group and AMD Lasers — for his first return to the show in eight years. Mentored early in his career by Dr. Gordon and Dr. Rella Christensen, Dr. Cao has spent decades developing disruptive dental technologies at the intersection of physics, materials science, and clinical dentistry. The heart of the conversation is his newly released LEAP procedure (Laser Endodontic Ablation Procedure), unveiled at AAE 2026 after five years of FDA review and more than 100 U.S. cases. Dr. Cao explains why disinfection — not obturation — is the true key to root canal success, and how LEAP uses a low-energy diode laser to ablate residual tissue and bacteria, paired with a proprietary LEAP solution of chlorhexidine and ethanol to reach the fins and side canals. The result, he says, is a five-nines (99.999%) bacteria reduction achieved in live patients, with an independent clinical study by Dr. Rella Christensen now underway. The discussion then moves to prevention, where Dr. Cao introduces his caries risk testing strips — which measure salivary pH and buffer capacity with a simple lick — and "Cavity Fighter" mints designed to neutralize acid and remineralize enamel during the critical window after eating. Along the way, Howard and Dr. Cao explore why a small percentage of people never get cavities, the impact of vaping and dry mouth on caries risk, the physics of curing lights, and the history behind AMD Lasers. The episode closes with Dr. Cao's reflections on COVID and disinfection, the future of AI in dentistry, and what a lifetime in physics has taught him about trusting science and data above all.   Episode #1711 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard welcomes back his friend Dr. Densen Cao — physicist, inventor, and founder & CEO of CAO Group and AMD Lasers — eight years after his first appearance. From a groundbreaking new laser root canal disinfection procedure (LEAP) that just earned FDA clearance, to caries risk strips and "Cavity Fighter" mints that could change how we prevent decay, Dr. Cao shares what happens when a physicist tackles dentistry's oldest problems.

In this episode, Howard Farran reconnects with longtime friend Dr. Ben Wachter, a Mesa, Arizona native and 2017 graduate of A.T. Still University whose career has been shaped by service, perseverance, and a passion for caring for the underserved. Ben opens up about the mentor who changed his life — the late Dr. Tim Lukowski — who inspired him to leave a path toward medical school, took him on his first mission trips to Mexico, and believed in him through three rounds of dental school applications. The conversation moves through Ben's remarkable commitment to charitable care, including 10 dental mission trips to Mexico, his work with Arizona Sunshine and the Arizona Mission of Mercy, and his role in helping create clinics that serve those who need it most. He also reflects on training under implant and sedation experts like Dr. Richard Feldhake and Tom Mattern, launching the first special care clinic with Pacific Dental Services in Scottsdale, and building his skills across oral conscious sedation, IV sedation, and general anesthesia for patients with special needs. Howard and Ben also get candid about the realities facing new graduates — how to read a DSO contract, why the "owner doc" model can be misleading, the importance of looking closely at the numbers before taking a job, and the staffing and hygienist shortages that make rural practice both rewarding and challenging. The episode closes with Ben sharing the story behind his invention, the Nova Flow Adapter — an affordable, autoclavable, Arizona-made alternative to pricey isolation systems — and a shared reflection on why missionary dentistry has a way of resetting a burned-out clinician's soul.   Episode #1710 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with friend and fellow Arizonan, Dr. Ben Wachter — a Mesa, Arizona native and general dentist whose career has been built on service, grit, and a deep commitment to underserved patients. From applying to dental school three times, to 10 mission trips to Mexico, to launching a special care clinic and inventing his own affordable dental tool — Ben's story is a reminder of why so many of us got into this profession in the first place.

In this two-hour roundtable recorded at a global airway, breathing, and sleep conference, Howard Farran sits down with three of the field's most passionate voices: Dr. Toshi Hart, Diplomate and President-Elect of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy; Dr. Kimberly Ann Meyer, current President of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain; and Dr. Mark Levi, a Sydney-based diplomate who turned his own severe sleep apnea diagnosis into a career treating children. The conversation centers on a provocative idea: that the malocclusion, crowded teeth, and breathing problems flooding modern dental practices stem from generations of underdeveloped jaws — driven by softer diets, less nursing, and mouth breathing. Dr. Hart shares how a single 45-minute lecture on craniofacial epigenetics redirected her career, leading to a study in which guided growth appliances produced a 76% reduction in decay. Dr. Levi makes the case for early intervention in children as young as three, explaining why the window to influence facial growth closes far earlier than most clinicians realize. Dr. Meyer connects the dots between nasal breathing, nitric oxide, tongue posture, tonsils and adenoids, and the cascade of downstream effects on sleep, behavior, and long-term health. Along the way, the group tackles the fierce professional pushback they face, why mothers — not journals — are driving change, the relationship between bruxism, airway, and even implant failure, and how a single-chair, drill-free practice can outperform a traditional one. The episode closes with practical guidance for young dentists on where to begin, why education matters more than expensive machinery, and how building thriving children builds a thriving practice.   Episode #1709 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with a powerhouse airway roundtable — Dr. Toshi Hart, Dr. Kimberly Ann Meyer, and Dr. Mark Levi — three leaders changing how dentistry thinks about jaw development, breathing, and sleep. From why 80% of kids have underdeveloped jaws, to a 76% reduction in decay through early intervention, to the pushback these "myofunctional quacks" proudly embrace — this is a candid, eye-opening conversation about treating the root cause, not just the cavity.

In this episode, Howard Farran is joined by Ellen Bösl, Vice President of Research and Development at Solventum, where she leads the strategy and execution of the Global Dental Solutions R&D organization. A chemical engineer by training with a 25-year career spanning Solventum and 3M — including R&D leadership across MedSurg, Transportation, and Electronics — Ellen brings a systems-level lens to one of the profession's most stubborn problems: oral health inequity. The conversation confronts why oral health remains one of the most unequal corners of healthcare despite unprecedented advances in technology, materials, and knowledge. Ellen and Howard dig into the root causes that rarely get discussed, whether inequity is best understood as a clinical, business, or policy challenge, and which innovations genuinely broaden access versus those that merely sound impressive. They also explore the gaps between urban, rural, private, public, and corporate dentistry, what frontline providers actually need, and what realistic progress could look like decades from now.   Episode #1708 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard welcomes Ellen Bösl — Vice President of R&D at Solventum — to tackle a question the industry doesn't ask often enough: with more technology and knowledge than ever, why is oral health still so deeply unequal? Drawing on 25 years of innovation leadership, Ellen separates the technologies that truly expand access from the ones that just make good headlines.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Tobias Richter, founder of TRI® Dental Implants and a dental entrepreneur with two decades of experience at the cutting edge of the implant industry. Tobias traces his journey from launching product innovations like SLActive at Straumann, to co-founding Implant Direct Europe and building the business across 25 markets before its sale to the Danaher Group, to eventually founding TRI® as an innovative digital implant company. Beyond TRI®, he is also a co-founder of the German dental clinic group DENTABENE, a partner in the e-learning platform Dental Campus, and a board member of the dental lab group DELABO.GROUP. The conversation explores the digital dentistry revolution and the trends shaping its future, why workflow thinking has become mandatory for everyone in the industry, and how no-abutment implant innovation aims to fundamentally improve the experience for both patients and clinicians by reducing pain, time, and cost.   Check out their website: www.tri.swiss    Episode #1707 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Tobias Richter — founder of TRI® Dental Implants and a 20-year veteran of the global dental industry. From launching innovations at Straumann to building Implant Direct across 25 European markets, Tobias has spent his career pushing implant dentistry forward — and now he's rethinking it entirely with no-abutment innovation designed to save patients and clinicians pain, time, and money.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Jack Hahn, a pioneering figure in implant dentistry whose career spans more than 58 years — 54 of them dedicated to implants. Dr. Hahn takes listeners through a remarkable journey that began with placing bilateral blade implants in 1970, evolved through subperiosteal and early root form implants, and ultimately led him to design four distinct implant systems, including the Steri-Oss, the Replace Tapered Implant, and the Hahn Tapered Implant now manufactured by Glidewell. Along the way, he shares stories of treating patients and teaching dentists across the globe — from Russia to Saudi Arabia — the skepticism he faced early in his career, and the lessons he learned both in clinical innovation and in business. A recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and past president of the American Board of Oral Implantology, Dr. Hahn offers a rare firsthand account of how implant dentistry grew from a fringe idea into a cornerstone of modern care — along with candid advice, including the mistakes he made selling his own practice.   Episode #1706 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Jack Hahn — a true living legend of implant dentistry with over 58 years in practice and 54 of them devoted to implants. From placing his first blade implants in 1970 to designing four implant systems — including the Hahn Tapered Implant — Dr. Hahn has quite literally helped shape modern implant dentistry as we know it.

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.  

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.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Jay Reznick, a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and one of North America's earliest adopters of fully-guided, prosthetically-based implant surgery. Trained at Tufts, USC, and L.A. County-USC Medical Center, Dr. Reznick holds both a DMD and an MD — and has spent the last two decades at the forefront of 3D digital technology in dentistry, becoming the first specialist in the U.S. to integrate CBCT and CAD/CAM into clinical practice. He is a co-founder of OnlineOralSurgery.com, a leading educational platform for practicing dentists seeking to expand their surgical skills, and a frequent lecturer and live-course instructor for dentists around the world. The conversation draws on his extensive clinical and teaching experience, exploring the evolution of implant surgery, the impact of digital workflows, and what it takes to bring advanced surgical techniques into everyday dental practice.   Episode #1705 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Jay Reznick — oral and maxillofacial surgeon, DMD, MD, and one of the true pioneers of digital implant surgery in the United States. The first specialist in the country to integrate CBCT and CAD/CAM in practice, Dr. Reznick has spent two decades teaching dentists around the world how to think bigger, operate smarter, and deliver better surgical outcomes.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Drs. Jessica and Richard Marn — a wife-and-husband team whose combined expertise in pediatric dentistry and anesthesiology has led them to a mission-driven focus on sedation safety in dental and oral surgery practices. Jessica is a board-certified pediatric dentist and private practice owner with over two decades of experience in New York City, while Richard is dual board-certified in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology, with over 18,000 anesthetics delivered and faculty experience training Harvard Hospital anesthesiologists in crisis resource management and performance under pressure. Together, they developed the Boring Sedation Method — a systems-based approach built on the belief that sedation is a practice capability, not just a provider technique. The conversation explores what most practices are missing even when they have the right permits, monitors, and emergency drugs in place, how stronger systems make routine sedation smoother and deviations less likely to become emergencies, and what dentists and oral surgeons should assess first if they want to know how solid their sedation systems really are. Episode #1704 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Drs. Jessica and Richard Marn — a pediatric dentist and dual board-certified anesthesiologist who together are redefining how dental practices approach sedation safety.  Their concept? Boring Sedation. The goal isn't dramatic rescue — it's building systems so reliable that problems get caught early and cases stay predictable. 

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Shreyas Parab, co-founder and CEO of DayDream, an AI-powered dental revenue cycle company serving hundreds of practices nationwide. Shreyas opens up about growing up in his mother's dental practice — and how watching real inefficiencies play out every day ultimately inspired him to build what she never had. The conversation is candid and wide-ranging, covering what Shreyas looks at first when assessing the true health of a practice, where dentists are overcomplicating things that have simple fixes, and where AI in dentistry is genuinely overhyped right now. He also shares what he would do differently if he could design a dental practice from scratch today — a question that draws on both his insider upbringing and his outsider perspective as a tech founder building solutions for the profession.   Episode #1703 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Shreyas Parab — co-founder and CEO of DayDream — who grew up in his mother's dental practice, saw the broken systems up close, and built the solution he wished they'd had. From spotting hidden revenue leaks to cutting through the AI hype, Shreyas brings a refreshingly honest outside perspective on what's really holding dental practices back.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Bob Marcus, retired San Diego dentist, dental office coach, and co-founder of Kick Your Apps, Inc. — the company behind DDS GP, an award-winning iPad app that helps dentists explain conditions and treatment options through simple, patient-friendly visuals. Dr. Marcus brings a psychologist's eye to the treatment planning conversation, exploring why so many offices feel busy but fail to convert that activity into real production. The discussion covers what a great treatment plan presentation actually looks like, why case acceptance is about trust and clarity more than price, and how shoulder-to-shoulder communication transforms the patient experience. Dr. Marcus and Howard also dig into smarter ways to stay profitable within insurance networks and share the story behind DDS GP — now used by over 15,000 dental professionals across 65 countries.   Episode #1702 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Bob Marcus — retired clinician, dental coach, and co-founder of DDS GP, the award-winning iPad app used by over 15,000 dental professionals in 65 countries. From the psychology of treatment planning to why busy practices still struggle with production, Dr. Marcus breaks down what case acceptance really means — and how better patient communication changes everything.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Sarah Beth Herman, CEO of Dentistry Support®, Dentistry Support Academy, and a nationally recognized leader in dental operations, staffing, and team development. Armed with an MBA earned Summa Cum Laude and over two decades of real-world experience, Sarah Beth brings sharp opinions and practical solutions to some of the most overlooked problems in dental practice management. The conversation covers why percentage-of-collections pricing models misalign incentives and penalize growing practices, why insurance verification should be treated as a standard of care rather than an add-on service, and how clean AR is achievable at any size with the right staffing and systems in place. Sarah Beth and Howard also dig into what makes a schedule truly profitable versus just full, and why SOPs — far from being a corporate bureaucracy — are the single greatest tool a dentist has for removing themselves as the bottleneck. Sarah Beth also shares the story behind Dentistry Support's 2025 BBB Torch Award for Ethics and what building a global team across nine countries has taught her about leadership done right.   Episode #1701 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Sarah Beth Herman — CEO of Dentistry Support®, 2025 BBB Torch Award winner, and one of dentistry's most candid voices on leadership, systems, and back-office operations. From percentage-based billing models she disagrees with, to AR aging, scheduling structure, and why SOPs aren't corporate — they're freedom — Sarah Beth doesn't hold back.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Kiera Dent, founder and CEO of The Dental A Team, whose nearly 2 million podcast downloads and hundreds of coached practices speak for themselves. Kiera cuts straight to the heart of why so many dental practices feel stuck — not because they lack patients or production, but because they lack systems. The conversation covers the hidden gaps that drain profitability even in high-producing practices, why dentists often become the ceiling of their own growth, and how to build a team that supports the doctor instead of depending on them. Kiera and Howard also dig into scheduling as a revenue lever, the real reasons patients say no to treatment, the KPIs that actually drive decisions, and the difference between a nice culture and an accountable one. Whether you're feeling chaotic, stalled, or simply ready to level up, this episode delivers both the clarity and the practical tools to move forward.   Episode #1700 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Kiera Dent — founder and CEO of The Dental A Team — for a straight-talking conversation on why busy practices still struggle, and what it actually takes to build a profitable, system-driven dental business. From scheduling and case acceptance to culture, accountability, and breaking the "rockstar employee" dependency — Kiera brings the energy and the answers.

1699 The Irreplaceable Dental Team - Heather-Dawn Lawson-Meyers : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran   In this special episode, the tables are turned — Howard Farran joins Dr. Heather-Dawn Lawson-Myers as a guest on The Irreplaceable Dental Team Podcast. Dr. Lawson-Myers, a transformational speaker, Maxwell Leadership Certified Trainer, and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach with over 30 years in dentistry, brings a sharp set of questions that pull some of Howard's most direct insights to the surface. The conversation covers Howard's foundational framework of People, Time, and Money — and the order in which practices should prioritize them. Howard shares counter-intuitive business rules most dentists ignore, what it really means to empower a team member in a single day, and why collecting payment upfront doesn't just improve cash flow — it actually strengthens the patient relationship. The episode also tackles the metrics that matter most in a healthy practice, the systems that are overcomplicated and how to simplify them, and the one non-negotiable trait Howard hires for beyond clinical skill. The conversation closes with a reflection on building community — locally and globally — and the single piece of advice Howard would give his younger self on day one.   Episode #1699 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, This time, Howard Farran is in the guest seat — joining Dr. Heather-Dawn Lawson-Myers on The Irreplaceable Dental Team Podcast for a candid, no-holds-barred conversation on people, money, leadership, and what it really takes to build a thriving dental practice. From hiring for character over skill to getting paid upfront and building community, Howard brings decades of hard-won wisdom in true uncensored fashion.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Tesa Jolly, a rural practice owner based in Pulaski, Tennessee, whose career has been defined by service, resilience, and a willingness to think differently. From unexpectedly becoming a practice owner shortly after graduation, to founding one of Tennessee's longest-running Free Dental Day events, Dr. Jolly has built a practice and a life around long-term impact. Today, her focus is on how dentists can harness AI not as a productivity shortcut, but as a genuine thinking partner — one that turns scattered thoughts into structured decisions and invisible stress into visible, actionable systems. The conversation explores why dentists are uniquely wired for AI, how Dr. Jolly uses it daily to stress test decisions and build workflows, and where most dentists are getting it wrong by asking too little of the technology available to them.   Episode #1698 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Tesa Jolly — rural practice owner, national award winner, and one of dentistry's most compelling voices on AI and operational clarity. Her take? Dentists aren't behind on AI. We're already wired for it. This episode is about stopping to use it like Google — and starting to use it like a thinking partner.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Nigel Kennedy, affectionately known as "No Pain Nigel," who retired in 2025 after a remarkable 46-year career dedicated to transforming the experience of anxious dental patients. Nigel shares how a simple A-frame board outside his practice became the unlikely spark that launched a movement, and how his partnership with Anthony Gedge helped turn a personal clinical philosophy into the Pain-Free Dentistry Institute. The conversation covers his 15-step pain-free protocol, why emotional safety and trust matter as much as technique, and how that work later inspired dentist Mark Skimming to build the Pain Free Dentistry Group, now spanning over 14 clinics across the UK. Nigel also reflects on receiving praise from Professor Stanley Malamed, his MBE nomination, and the motivation behind his book, Painless Dentistry? Yes Please, a patient education resource born from decades of listening to people who were simply too afraid to seek care.   Episode #1697 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Nigel Kennedy — aka "No Pain Nigel" — the retired UK dentist whose gentle, patient-first approach helped spark the pain-free dentistry movement across Britain. After 46 years in practice, an MBE nomination, and praise from Professor Stanley Malamed himself, Nigel shares the story behind the movement, the protocol, and the simple A-frame sign that started it all.

1696 Practice Ownership : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran   In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. David Weber, a third-generation dentist practicing in Michigan City, Indiana, and co-founder of Restore Dental Lab, Restore Dental Education, and Clever Dental Co. Dr. Weber shares the lessons learned moving from associate to owner, and from solo practice to group model — including the unexpected challenges of each transition. The conversation digs into the rewards and pitfalls of hiring new graduates, what it takes to build a strong team culture, and why so many dentists are stepping back from ownership just as corporate consolidation accelerates. Dr. Weber makes a compelling case for dentist-owned regional groups as a meaningful alternative to private equity — and asks a harder question: why are dentists forfeiting control of their own industry?   Episode #1696 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. David Weber — third-generation dentist, AGD Fellow, and co-founder of Restore Dental Lab, Restore Dental Education, and Clever Dental Co. — to talk about what it really takes to build and grow a dentist-owned practice in today's market. From solo owner to group practice, hiring new grads, and pushing back against PE consolidation — this is an honest conversation about protecting the soul of private dentistry.

Welcome to the Irreplaceable Dental Team podcast brought to you by DAME - Dental Assisting Made Easy. A safe space to be mentored, empowered, and equipped. We are here to discuss the hot topic of how we as dentists can connect with AI, courtesy of Dr. Howard Farran. Let's learn and stay on the grow! Please remember to subscribe, rate, and share. DAME - Dental Assisting Made Easy. We are better together!A big thank you to local Jamaican artist, Owen Pinnock, for the original music on our podcast.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Sonia Szamocki, Oxford-trained physician and Founder and CEO of 32Co, a UK-based AI-powered health tech platform bringing specialist-level care to high street dental practices. Dr. Szamocki shares her journey from emergency medicine and ophthalmology to Boston Consulting Group and ultimately to founding 32Co — driven by a conviction that technology, not more specialists, is the key to solving access in healthcare. The conversation explores how 32Co is tackling two major areas — orthodontics and sleep medicine — by connecting general dentists with specialist oversight, AI-driven workflows, and full compliance infrastructure. With 90% of the UK population within 30 minutes of a 32Co dentist, the platform is also pioneering the bridge between dentistry and mainstream medicine through its patient-facing sleep brand, Aerox Health. Howard and Dr. Szamocki also compare the UK and US healthcare landscapes and what each can learn from the other. Episode #1695 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Sonia Szamocki — Oxford-trained physician, founder, and CEO of 32Co — to talk about using AI to bring specialist-level care to everyday dental practices.  From clear aligners to sleep apnea, 32Co is quietly reshaping how dentistry and medicine connect — and why that gap has cost patients for far too long.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. William Cliff, practicing endodontist and Founder and CEO of Asesso Health. With over 28 years of clinical experience, Dr. Cliff shares how repeated frustration with undiagnosed TMJ and bruxism patients led him to create a first-of-its-kind integrated solution — combining a dentist-designed grind guard, a proprietary sensor module, and a mobile app that tracks grinding intensity, sleep quality, and jaw pain over time. The conversation explores the gap between tooth pain and jaw pain, why traditional night guards fail patients, and how real-time data is changing the way dentists and patients approach treatment and accountability.   Episode #1694 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. William Cliff — endodontist, founder, and CEO of Asesso Health — to talk about one of dentistry's most underserved problems: TMJ and bruxism. After 28 years of watching patients struggle with ineffective night guards and undiagnosed jaw pain, Dr. Cliff built something new — the first integrated solution that tracks real-time grinding data and measurable improvement over time.

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Arun Mehra, Founder and CEO of Samera Business Advisors and a UK Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience advising dental businesses. Together they tackle some of the most pressing questions in modern dentistry — from the state of global DSO consolidation and the hidden back-office costs killing margins, to workforce shortages, practice valuations, and whether the solo-owner model still has a future. Arun brings a sharp international lens to the conversation, drawing on insights from both the US and European markets to explore what it really takes to build a dental business that lasts.   Episode #1693 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Arun Mehra, Founder & CEO of Samera Business Advisors, for a sharp, no-nonsense conversation on the global business of dentistry. From DSO consolidation and back-office automation to workforce shortages, practice valuations, and the future of solo ownership — this episode is packed with insight for any dentist thinking seriously about growth and longevity.

Episode #1692 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Victoria Peterson of Productive Dentist Academy shares powerful insights on building a practice that's not just profitable—but truly sustainable. From honoring the legacy of co-founder Dr. Bruce Baird to navigating private equity, AI, and the evolving role of ownership, this episode dives deep into what it really takes to create a durable, people-first practice in today's landscape. Victoria Peterson is Co-Founder and CEO of Productive Dentist Academy and a nationally recognized dental entrepreneur, speaker, and author. With more than 30 years of experience in dentistry—beginning as a registered dental hygienist and later owning five practices through Neighborhood Smiles, LLC—she blends real-world business expertise with a unique background in Spiritual Studies to help dentists build profitable, purpose-driven practices. An award-winning leader, including the 2013 Silver Stevie Female Entrepreneur of the Year, she is the host of the Investment Grade Practice™ podcast and an advisor to Dental Entrepreneur Women. Victoria is known for championing long-term ownership, strong leadership, and building durable practices that are both financially successful and deeply human.

Episode #1691 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Dr. Tony Schicktanz and Dr. Alex Besmer bring a fresh, next-generation perspective to the profession. From building clinical skills in implants and prosthodontics to navigating early career decisions, business growth, and patient psychology, this conversation is candid, insightful, and packed with real-world lessons for young dentists.

Dr. Kartik Antani is a Top 40 Under 40 dentist with expertise in sleep dentistry, TMJ therapy, dental implants, and group practice operations. Having purchased and scaled multiple practices, he brings a rare blend of clinical insight and operational strategy, with a focus on reducing inefficiencies, improving profitability, and creating sustainable practice models. He frequently writes and speaks on patient education, leadership, burnout, and the evolving role of AI in dentistry, drawing from both personal experience and real-world implementation. Passionate about helping dentists think bigger while maintaining balance and fulfillment, he offers a grounded perspective on building high-performing practices without sacrificing well-being. Episode #1690 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Dr. Kartik Antani shares real-world lessons on scaling dental practices, avoiding burnout, and building smarter systems. From buying and growing multiple practices to identifying inefficiencies and improving profitability, Dr. Antani dives into what actually works—and what doesn't—when it comes to sustainable growth. Plus, insights on leadership, AI in practice, and managing the pressures dentists face every day.

Episode #1688 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, three industry leaders—Dr. Edward Rossomando, Dr. Gordon Christensen, and Chuck Cohen—come together for a wide-ranging discussion on the present and future impact of AI in dentistry. From clinical innovation to practice management and education, this roundtable explores how students, new grads, and experienced dentists can stay ahead of the curve as technology rapidly reshapes the profession.

1688 Jay & Flint Geier : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran Jay Geier is the founder of the Scheduling Institute, Practice Growth Institute, and Net Worth Institute, and author of New Patients Now. Since 1997, his training organizations have helped more than 35,000 doctors and teams grow private practices through proven systems for new patient acquisition, case acceptance, and business value creation. He also hosts The Private Practice Playbook podcast. Flint Geier is the President of the Scheduling Institute, where he leads strategic growth, operations, and implementation of programs focused on patient experience, marketing, and treatment acceptance. Together, Jay and Flint work to help independent dental practices scale sustainably, improve profitability, and build long-term enterprise value.

Episode #1687 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Jaclyn Nona, CEO & co-founder of Clever Dental Co., to talk about a smarter, more sustainable way to market your dental practice. This episode breaks down why internal marketing beats outsourcing, how your own team can build trust, culture, and patient loyalty, and why authenticity and consistency matter more than polished agency content. If you've ever felt stuck between doing nothing or overpaying an agency, this conversation is for you.