The Dental Practice Heroes Podcast

A crowded calendar can look like success, but what if it’s hiding slow service, low-yield work, and profit slipping through the cracks? We pull back the curtain on the “packed restaurant” illusion and share a clearer measure of health: dollar-per-hour production. By focusing on adjusted production per hour, you can design days that hit your goals on purpose, not by accident, and reclaim time without sacrificing revenue.

We get specific about how to shift from busy to profitable. You’ll hear the simple math that compares an eight-hour day of fillings to a four-hour block of crowns—and why the latter can be four times more profitable in half the time. We dive into DPH block scheduling, setting minimum dollar values for key slots, and limiting low-dollar procedures so your schedule tells the truth. We also tackle the hidden cost of cancellations: the empty operatory that quietly halves profitability. From pre-collecting and firm policies to waitlists and same-day rescue protocols, we show how to protect high-value time and stabilize your week.

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

You have the income, the title, even a great team, but still feel trapped. Sound familiar? This episode with Dr. Richard Low will help you take a step back and understand what’s behind your burnout — and how to fix it.

We talk about his decision to leave his 35-office DSO to save his marriage and mental health, why isolation makes burnout worse, and what you can do to get out of the cycle of guilt and overwhelm. Tune in for much-needed advice and perspective on recovery, purpose, and finding yourself again!

Topics discussed:

• Dr. Richard Low’s early success in dentistry
• How success led to burnout, depression, and feeling trapped
• The wake-up call that led him to leave his group
• Why so many practice owners struggle to make a change
• What to do when you’re unhappy in ownership
• How to recover and heal from burnout
• Why dentists need to talk more about mental health

Listen to the Next Level Dentist podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@NextLevelDentist

Connect with Dr. Richard Low:

https://nextlevelfathers.com/

https://www.instagram.com/dr.richard.low/

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

GRAB THE FREE PLAYBOOK HERE - Discover 30 proven strategies top-performing dentists use to increase profits, cut clinical days, and finally enjoy the freedom they originally built their practices for.

https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/playbook

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Ever felt like your dental practice would finally take off if you could just get a few more new patients through the door? That seductive thought might be keeping you from discovering what's really holding your practice back.

I learned this lesson the hard way. Two years into practice ownership, we were consistently seeing 75-90 new patients monthly with minimal marketing effort. The schedule was packed, production was strong, and colleagues were asking for my secrets. I genuinely believed I had mastered practice ownership—until I implemented dashboard software that revealed the harsh truth. Despite impressive production numbers, almost every other metric was failing. Patient retention was terrible. Case acceptance rates were dismal. Cancellations were rampant.

What makes this trap so dangerous is how effectively new patients mask these problems. When you're constantly busy with new faces, you don't notice how many existing patients disappear through the back door. When demand for appointments is high, cancellations don't leave obvious holes in your schedule. When enough patients say "yes" to keep you busy, low case acceptance rates don't trigger alarms. But these hidden inefficiencies dramatically slow your practice's true growth potential.

Once we addressed these fundamental issues, everything changed rapidly. We reached capacity faster, brought on associates sooner, and I reduced my clinical days while improving profitability. The math is clear: fixing retention keeps your marketing investments working longer; reducing cancellations frees your team from constant schedule shuffling; improving case acceptance lets you treat fewer patients while achieving better financial results. Rather than chasing more new patients to pour into a leaky bucket, focus first on plugging the holes—then watch how quickly your practice transforms when new patients become a growth accelerator rather than a band-aid covering deeper problems. Ready to discover what's really holding your practice back? Let's talk about creating systems that maximize what you already have.

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

It’s time for a reality check: hiring an associate isn’t a shortcut to less stress and more growth. In this episode, we break down what associates actually need to succeed and the real reasons they don’t work out or make your life easier — and it’s not usually about greed or laziness.

Learn strategies to help your associates reach production goals, the metrics that will keep them accountable, and what you can do to become a better mentor!

Topics discussed:

• Why associates struggle to produce or leave
• 3 key areas to focus on from day one
• Communication and calibration strategies
• Why Steve doesn’t use the word “associate”
• How to support and invest in associates’ growth
• The owner’s role as a mentor
• Metrics that keep associates on track
• Training for smarter scheduling and case acceptance

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

It’s the classic lose-lose situation: a patient walks in with no pain, goes home, and calls you back and says, “I’m having pain and it didn’t hurt until you touched it.” Even when you do everything right, you still get the blame.

In this episode, you’ll learn exactly what you can say in appointments to avoid conflict, the treatment planning mistakes that can come back to bite you, and how to handle to patients who demand you pay to fix what’s “wrong.”

Topics discussed:

• Why new dentists struggle with patient complaints
• How to communicate risks with empathy
• The importance of decisiveness in treatment planning
• Using AI to address post-op pain
• How to explain post-op sensitivity and possible complications
• How the DPH coaches handle retreatment and refund demands
• Learning from mistakes and addressing issues with your team

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

GRAB THE FREE PLAYBOOK HERE - Discover 30 proven strategies top-performing dentists use to increase profits, cut clinical days, and finally enjoy the freedom they originally built their practices for.

https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/playbook

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Tired of putting out fires all day? It’s time to start thinking like a CEO, not just a clinician. In this episode, Dr. Chris Green shares the systems that helped him cut down clinical days and lead like a CEO instead of just a manager.

You'll learn how he trains strong leaders, strategies you can use to address team resistance when you step back from the chair, and the first step every owner should take to start acting like the CEO of their practice. Hear what it takes to lead with less stress and more structure!

Topics discussed:

• The new challenges that come with practice growth
• Dr. Green’s biggest leadership mistake as a new owner
• Developing systems to lead instead of manage
• The structure that helped him reduce clinical days
• Core lessons in his 12-week leadership program
• Mindset shifts for cutting clinical days without guilt
• Strategies to keep associates happy and accountable
• Key metrics that show you’re ready for another associate
• How to easily cut down to three clinical days

Grab Dr. Chris Green’s book, The Plan, The Project, The Practice: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0D37YZBKN/allbooks/

Learn more about Dynamic Dental Ascension:
https://dynamicdentalascension.com/

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

GRAB THE FREE PLAYBOOK HERE - Discover 30 proven strategies top-performing dentists use to increase profits, cut clinical days, and finally enjoy the freedom they originally built their practices for.

https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/playbook

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Ever notice how those last two painful reps at the gym are what actually build muscle? Dental practice ownership works exactly the same way. Growth happens precisely when you're tired, stressed, and want to quit—but push through anyway.

Dr. Paul Edgerson shares a deeply personal journey from being a 99-pound freshman football player who could barely bench the bar to building successful dental practices. The transformation didn't come from working harder, but from working smarter and pushing through discomfort. When he hired a trainer who taught him that growth only happens during those painful final reps, everything changed. This same principle applies perfectly to practice ownership.

Through vulnerable storytelling, Dr. Edgerson reveals how he faced the uncomfortable task of confronting an associate dentist about questionable clinical work, despite good production numbers and positive patient relationships. This courage to have difficult conversations, drop insurances with outdated reimbursement rates, delegate leadership responsibilities, and say no to energy-draining commitments represents the "last two reps" of practice ownership. These uncomfortable actions yield the greatest returns and differentiate growing practices from stagnant ones.

The podcast introduces a powerful framework for identifying what you're avoiding in your practice because of discomfort. Dr. Edgerson challenges listeners to "eat the frog"—tackle your most uncomfortable task first thing each day—and consider getting a "spotter" in the form of coaching or mentorship to accelerate growth. After all, you can't build strength without stress, and you can't build a better practice without embracing necessary discomfort. What uncomfortable conversations are you avoiding that might be keeping you from true practice freedom?

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Overwhelmed in ownership? You can’t fix everything at once, but today you'll learn where to start. Get back to the fundamentals — vision, numbers, and leadership — with simple steps that will help you get organized and out of survival mode.

The DPH Coaches share the seven metrics every owner should track, the checklists that keep you and your team accountable, and how to spend less time on tasks you don't enjoy. If you feel like you're drowning in problems or stuck in decision paralysis, this episode is for you!

Learn how to:

• Navigate the mental toll of ownership
• Define your “why”
• Align your culture with your vision
• Do a “stress autopsy”
• Track important data in your practice
• Keep your team accountable
• Make smarter decisions based on data

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Learn how to make more money on less days!  Register for the 3 Day Virtual Practice Freedom event at https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/freedom

GRAB THE FREE PLAYBOOK HERE - Discover 30 proven strategies top-performing dentists use to increase profits, cut clinical days, and finally enjoy the freedom they originally built their practices for.

https://www.dentalpracticeheroes.com/playbook

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.