Art of Dental Finance and Management

If you are going to school to become a dentist, or have recently started your career in dentistry, there are many important financial considerations, starting with borrowing when you’re in dental school. There are several loan options from federal to personal borrowing options, so how do you know what fits you best and what will leave you in the best financial situation when you start your career?

In this episode of The Art of Dental Finance and Management. Join Art Wiederman as he sits down with Dr. Amrita Patel, a general dentist and award-winning author and national educator. They’ll discuss student loan and other debt strategies dentists should take into consideration as they navigate dental school and jumping into the dental profession.

About the Guests

Dr. Amrita Divian Patel

Dr. Amrita Patel is a general dentist and award-winning author and national educator. She is a multi-practice owner based in Westchester County, New York, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dr. Patel also contributes to the profession through her writing as the Leadership columnist for AGD Impact, and is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board to Dental Economics.

About the Host  

Art Wiederman, CPA  

Director of Dental Practices  

Art specializes in serving dental practices. He oversees a variety of services including accounting, tax compliance and planning, financial planning, retirement planning, and financial practice management consulting. Art’s expertise is not only in taxation issues for dentists, but also in his knowledge of dental practice metrics and benchmarks. Art has the ability to look at a dentist’s statements and identify profit holes in their practice.  

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Show Notes and Resources  

• UPCOMING EIDE BAILLY EVENTS

• EIDE BAILLY’S HEALTHCARE SERVICES  

• DECISIONS IN DENTISTRY   

• ACADEMY OF DENTAL CPAS  

The future of artificial intelligence (AI) in dentistry promises enhanced diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, streamlined practice management, and increased case acceptance, all while maintaining the human element of dental care. In this episode of The Art of Dental Finance and Management, Art visits with Dr. Divian Patel and Bernard Casse, co-founders of TrustAI. TrustAI’s software can have conversations with a dentist and help them make the best clinical decisions possible. The three discuss how AI integrates with dental technology and the diagnostic capabilities AI brings to the table.

About the Guests

Dr. Divian Patel, TrustAI

Dr. Patel practices dentistry at San Ramon Dental Excellence in San Ramon, CA. His passion lies in delivering high-quality care through conservative dentistry, focusing on achieving healthy, functional, and aesthetically pleasing smiles. His areas of expertise include invisible orthodontics, restorative, cosmetic, and implant dentistry. Dr. Patel is dedicated to practicing ethical, non-invasive dentistry that prioritizes patient well-being. He’s also a co-founder of Trust AI an Advisory Board Member at Cloud Dentistry and DAS Group Senior Partner.

Bernard Casse, CEO and Founder of RIOS

Dr. Casse is a seasoned leader and entrepreneur, leading a world-class team developing dexterous, AI-powered robots.

About the Host  

Art Wiederman, CPA  

Director of Dental Practices  

Art specializes in serving dental practices. He oversees a variety of services including accounting, tax compliance and planning, financial planning, retirement planning, and financial practice management consulting. Art’s expertise is not only in taxation issues for dentists, but also in his knowledge of dental practice metrics and benchmarks. Art has the ability to look at a dentist’s statements and identify profit holes in their practice.  

Industries   

Healthcare  

Offerings  

Healthcare  

Related Insights  

Pull latest  

Show Notes and Resources  

• UPCOMING EIDE BAILLY EVENTS

• EIDE BAILLY’S HEALTHCARE SERVICES  

• DECISIONS IN DENTISTRY   

• ACADEMY OF DENTAL CPAS  

One of the traits that separate great dentists from good Dentists are their abilities to communicate with patients and to lead a cohesive, happy dental team. Today, Art visits with Jonathan Bonanno who is an Industrial Organizational Psychologist and whose work involves helping dentists to communicate with their patients and also involves the importance of understanding employees needs, providing a psychologically safe and positive work environment. Art and Jonathan discuss what steps a Dentist can take to improve team cohesiveness and efficiency, why calling your team a “family” might not be the best way to refer to them, and how to determine if the “vibe” in your dental office and with your team is off, and how to fix it. Jonathan also explains how to create and promote a positive team culture and why it is important to recognize achievements.

Finally, Jonathan describes several different leadership styles and why there are good, or not so good such as autocratic and democratic leadership, Laissez-Faire leadership, and then two good leadership styles which are Transformational where we inspire and motivate and Servant leadership where we serve the needs of others.

About the Guests

Jonathan Bonanno

Industrial Organizational Psychologist

Jonathan Bonanno is a trailblazing organizational development executive, founder of ZIA, and the visionary behind The Chief Psycho. With a career rooted in psychology, leadership, and talent optimization, Jonathan has redefined what it means to create safe, high-performing cultures—especially in dentistry and healthcare. Known for his bold, no-BS approach and commitment to authenticity, Jonathan supports teams and leaders in unlocking their full potential, integrating psychodynamic insight with practical strategy. Whether he's coaching a DSO, leading a workshop, or hosting his podcast, Jonathan shows up with zeal, heart, and an unapologetic drive to disrupt the norm.

About the Host

Art Wiederman, CPA

Director of Dental Practices

Art specializes in serving dental practices. He oversees a variety of services including accounting, tax compliance and planning, financial planning, retirement planning, and financial practice management consulting. Art’s expertise is not only in taxation issues for dentists, but also in his knowledge of dental practice metrics and benchmarks. Art has the ability to look at a dentist’s statements and identify profit holes in their practice.

Navigating the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can be intimidating for individuals and businesses alike. In these situations, it helps to have a former IRS professional on your side.

On this episode of the Art of Dental Finance and Management podcast, Art is joined by Ben Peeler, Partner in Charge of Eide Bailly’s Tax Controversy and Procedures group. Ben provides updates on proposed personnel cuts at the IRS and what they mean for current and future audits. Ben also discusses issues with S Corporation shareholder loans, why it’s important to report all your income, and what documentation is necessary for expenses. Finally, Art and Ben discuss the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” — the worst of the worst scams taxpayers may encounter this year. Tune in to receive actionable insights from someone familiar with the ins and outs of the IRS.

Dentists in private practice are bombarded with not only their local dental supply representative visiting on a regular basis, but dozens dental supply vendors standing in line at the practice entrance. These vendors most often want to sell the practice owner their product, but did you know there are ways to save? With Procurement Technology dentists can reduce their supply costs by as much as 30%. In this episode of the Art of Dental Finance and Management, Art it joined by Jordyn Levitas, head of Strategic Partnerships at Torch Dental.

Levitas discusses how artificial intelligence is helping to organize the dental supply procurement process like never before. It provides the dentist an available platform with several authorized options and helps dentists keep track of the team’s product preferences, orders and spend across vendors. This ultimately saves time for dental teams and overall costs by driving efficiency.

About the Guests

Jordyn Levitas

Head of Partnerships, Torch Dental

Jordyn has dedicated her career to the tech industry, with a strong focus on innovation in the dental space. As one of the founding team members at Torch Dental, she played a pivotal role in the company’s early growth—personally visiting hundreds of dental offices across New York City to gather critical market insights. Her hands-on approach helped shape Torch’s cutting-edge procurement platform, designed to bring greater efficiency, convenience, and transparency to dental practices.

Over the past six years, Jordyn has witnessed Torch Dental expand from serving zero practices to over 3,000 nationwide. She is deeply passionate about how innovative technology can empower dental teams, streamline operations, and elevate patient care—regardless of practice size.

Now based in Chicago, Jordyn leads Strategic Partnerships at Torch Dental, helping the company build strong industry relationships and drive continued growth.

About the Host

Art Wiederman, CPA

Director of Dental Practices

Art specializes in serving dental practices. He oversees a variety of services including accounting, tax compliance and planning, financial planning, retirement planning, and financial practice management consulting. Art’s expertise is not only in taxation issues for dentists, but also in his knowledge of dental practice metrics and benchmarks. Art has the ability to look at a dentist’s statements and identify profit holes in their practice.

Industries

Healthcare

Offerings

Healthcare

Related Insights

Pull latest

Show Notes and Resources

• UPCOMING EIDE BAILLY EVENTS

• EIDE BAILLY’S HEALTHCARE SERVICES

• DECISIONS IN DENTISTRY

• ACADEMY OF DENTAL CPAS

One of the biggest challenges facing dentists today involves contracting with PPO plans through insurance companies. On The Art of Dental Finance and Management Podcast, Art discusses this challenge with Ben Tuinei, President of Veritas Dental Resources. For over twenty years, Ben has helped thousands of dentists obtain higher reimbursements, manage the array of contracts put in front of them by insurance companies, and successfully resign from insurance company plans with a minimal loss of patients.

Ben and Art discuss how dental practices can negotiate fees with insurance plans, what umbrella insurance policies are and how they work, and what a dentist must consider from an insurance perspective if they are considering buying or starting a practice from scratch. Ben also details the steps a dentist should take to educate their patients when considering the move to an out-of-network provider, including key interpersonal skills for front desk administrators.

In this episode of the Art of Dental Finance and Management, Art is joined by Dr. Max Martinez, President of the California Dental Association (CDA), to discuss the importance of organized dentistry. Dr. Martinez outlines his own professional journey, from becoming the first in his family to graduate high school to overseeing the largest dental association in the country. Art and Dr. Martinez also discuss the most pressing challenges facing dentists today, from insurance restrictions to workforce shortages, and the role that local dental organizations can play in overcoming these challenges.

In Dr. Martinez’s words, it truly takes a village to run a dental practice. He also shares information about the CDA Foundation’s efforts to help practices impacted by recent wildfires recover and rebuild.

In this episode of the Art of Dental Finance and Management, Art is joined by Perrin DesPortes, founder of The Next Level Executive, for a conversation about expanding your dental empire. Perrin provides advice for dentists who want to level up their practice by building additional locations — discussing who should (and shouldn’t) consider expansion, how to effectively lead a growing team, and why you need to identify and track key metrics about your practice.

In this episode of the Art of Dental Finance and Management, Art is joined by Nancy Coy, founder of Finance Rx Venture Studio, for an in-depth exploration of patient financing. Nancy discusses some of the most common mistakes dentists make when communicating financing options with patients. She also shares how implementing a financing system that is tailored to your patient base and treatment protocol can help your practice avoid regulatory challenges and dramatically increase your case acceptance rate.

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