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Show Notes

Dental insurance is not automatically the enemy. The bigger problem is often unclear strategy, inconsistent scheduling standards, and making an emotional decision to drop plans before the practice is ready.

In this episode, T-Bone and Meredith explain how to make smarter insurance decisions without going cold turkey. They discuss when an owner doctor can go out of network while the practice remains in network, how to evaluate plans using real revenue data, and why waitlists can help create more control over hygiene schedules, cancellations, and patient behavior.

Main Topics

• Why dropping dental insurance should be a strategic, data-driven decision  
• Balancing insurance participation with associate growth and hygiene capacity  
• Taking the owner doctor out of network while keeping the practice in network  
• Evaluating an insurance plan by revenue, fees, patient behavior, and opportunity cost  
• Using waitlists to manage cancellations and limit access to overbooked schedules  
• Prioritizing patients who keep appointments and follow through with treatment  
• Tracking broken appointments and creating clearer scheduling standards  
• Building a gradual plan to reduce dependence on unprofitable insurance plans  

In This Episode

• Why “What problem are you trying to solve?” is the first insurance question to ask  
• How dropping insurance too early can make it harder to fill an associate’s schedule  
• Why associates often need significantly more patient flow than owner doctors  
• A $35,000-per-month insurance plan example that was not ready to be dropped  
• How medical billing and sleep apnea revenue can affect insurance decisions  
• A waitlist framework for last-minute cancellations and repeatedly unreliable patients  
• Why future appointments should go first to patients already committed to the schedule  
• How clinical standards protect the practice from “supervised neglect”  
• Why insurance can support a profitable, high-performing practice when managed strategically  

Timestamps
00:00 – The $35K-per-month insurance plan that was hard to drop 
00:28 – Why insurance is a major coaching conversation right now 
01:55 – Start with the real problem you are trying to solve 
03:02 – Owner out of network, practice still in network 
04:04 – Why associates need more patient flow 
06:47 – Use revenue data, not emotion, to evaluate plans 
10:24 – The waitlist strategy for insurance patients and cancellations 
11:59 – Prioritizing scheduled patients for short-notice openings 
16:46 – Preparing the practice for a future insurance transition 
23:31 – Why insurance is not the enemy 

Resources & Links
3D Dentists: https://www.3d-dentists.com/

Join the free 3D Dentists community: https://pro.3ddentists.com/

Connect with T-Bone
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tbonespeaks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tbonespeaks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbonespeaks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbonespeaks/reels/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tbonespeaks

The Bottom Line

Dropping insurance is not a one-size-fits-all decision. Before leaving a plan, get clear on the problem you are trying to solve, review the revenue and patient data, consider your associate and hygiene capacity, and build a phased plan that protects the practice.

Use waitlists, scheduling standards, team training, and stronger patient conversations to create more control over your schedule. Insurance may not be the enemy. A lack of strategy is.

Small steps create a big future.