Moving away from insurance can create fear for dentists who worry patients will leave, the team will resist, or production will suffer. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Troy Schmedding, a private practice dentist in Walnut Creek, California, to explain how he transitioned out of insurance participation, rebuilt his practice around quality and…
Sharing numbers with the team can feel difficult for dentists who worry that data will seem cold, corporate, or disconnected from patient care. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, dental hygienist and coach, to explain why sharing metrics feels so hard and how to make those conversations productive, consistent, and patient-centered. You…
Burnout is not always caused by the amount of work someone is doing. It can also result from spending too much time performing work that creates frustration and drains energy. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Heather Crockett, ACT Dental coach, about applying the Working Genius model to burnout, leadership, team responsibilities, and patient…
A clicking jaw joint may not hurt, but pain alone does not reveal whether the joint is healthy, stable, or affecting growth and occlusion. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Dr. Jim McKee, a restorative dentist and educator, about evaluating clicking joints from a structural and orthopedic perspective. You will learn how the articular…
A full schedule can look productive while still falling short of a practice’s financial goals. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Miranda Beeson, Director of Education at ACT Dental, about why busy days underperform and how production-per-day goals, schedule utilization, patient selection, and block scheduling create greater predictability. You will learn how to evaluate…
Patients may seem uninterested in their oral health, but the real issue may be that they have not been given a clear reason to participate in their care. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Melissa Obrotka, a dental hygienist and oral-systemic health educator, about helping patients understand what is happening in their mouths and…
Why do some team members leave work energized while others feel drained, frustrated, or misunderstood? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with coach Heather Crockett about the Working Genius model and how dental teams can use it to better understand their strengths, frustrations, communication patterns, and roles. You will learn the six types of Working…
Production gaps are often blamed on low case acceptance or insufficient diagnosis, but the real issue may begin with how the schedule is structured, protected, and maintained. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with dental practice coach Ariel Siegel about identifying whether lost production begins in the schedule or the operatory. You will learn how…
Missed calls, staffing shortages, and phone fatigue can create a front office bottleneck that affects both the patient experience and practice production. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Richard May of Mango Voice about how modern VoIP systems and AI receptionists can help dental practices answer more calls, streamline scheduling, document patient conversations, and…
Building, growing, and owning an independent dental practice can feel isolating, especially when decisions, team challenges, and long-term vision fall on the practice owner. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT coach and dental practice leader, to explain why community matters in practice ownership and how the right support system can help…