Most associates believe the first twelve months after opening a dental practice are about survival. Stephen Trutter has been part of nearly 1,000 startups, and he will tell you the strongest ones had already won or lost before they ever saw a first patient. This episode is about what he calls the 12 month mindset,…
The dentist earning $220,000 a year was convinced he was failing. A young guy making minimum wage said he would trade places in a heartbeat. That gap explains almost everything about dental practice ownership in 2026, and it has very little to do with money. In this episode, Stephen Trutter sits down with Gary Bird,…
The dentists who build the biggest success stories in dental practice ownership were not the ones with the least debt or the most money in the bank. So what actually separates them? After nearly 1,000 startups, Stephen Trutter has watched the same pattern play out every time, and it has almost nothing to do with…
Is a dental startup actually worth it? Seven years ago, Dr. Ben Friberg was an associate who quietly wondered if practice ownership was for other people, not for him. Today he produces over $2.2 million a year, takes ten weeks off, and has watched three DSOs open within a half mile without losing a step….
Dr. Melissa is a practicing dentist, author, and host of the Dental Digest Podcast, and she is in the throes of building her own startup right now alongside Ideal Practices. This is the first of three conversations we are sharing with Dr. Melissa as she builds, so you can follow the whole journey in real…
Most dental startups spend hours picking chair fabric and five minutes on culture. Then they open, patients can feel it, and the experience they meant to create gets defined for them by accident. On this episode of The Startup Dentist, Stephen Trutter breaks down what it actually takes to build a patient-centered dental practice from…
Dental insurance isn’t really insurance. It’s closer to a coupon, and the second a new owner starts credentialing with every plan they can get into, they’ve made three quiet trade-offs that will define their dental practice for the next decade. In this episode of The Startup Dentist, Stephen Trutter walks through the dental startup insurance…
Fifteen years ago, Dr. Gus stood up at a campfire on the last night of a diabetes summer camp and promised he’d be part of that community forever. He was a college kid. He hadn’t even decided he wanted to be a dentist yet. But he meant every word. Today, Dr. Gus owns his own…
The biggest myth in dental startups is this: if you’re smart, motivated, and willing to work hard, you can figure it out by yourself. That’s exactly the mindset that got you through dental school. It’s also the mindset behind the most expensive, most avoidable mistakes Stephen has seen in 20 years and nearly a thousand…
Your dental startup SEO isn’t ranking from day one. Your Google ads aren’t at full strength the moment your doors open. So where do your first 100 patients come from? In this episode, Stephen Trutter breaks down the community engagement strategy that Ideal Practices uses with every dental startup client, and why it’s the fastest…