Dr. Aruna Rao is a pediatric dentist, practice owner, and president elect of the Minnesota Dental Association. She also teaches one day a month at the University of Minnesota, where she helps run the clinic for dental students during their pediatric rotation.

Dr. Rao comes on the podcast to talk about why it's critically important for private practice dentists to adjunct at their local schools so that we can train the next generation of dentists. Many programs are lacking in having faculty members who can provider real-world experience. We even joke about how many GPs can do molar endo, but don't feel comfortable placing a stainless steel crown.

Dr. Rao can be reached at [email protected]

Dr. Todd Gray is a pediatric dentist and the Chief Dental Officer at Dentaquest. Dentaquest is the largest Medicaid managed care provider in the country, and is responsible for delivering Medicaid dental services to millions of children in the United States.

Dr. Gray spent 15 years in private practice as a pediatric dentist in the state of Nevada before making a career shift and working his way up in the world of dental insurance and Medicaid. We met at AAPD in Las Vegas and immediately decided that we had to do a podcast together.

I was so excited to have Dr. Gray on since he has the unique perspective of being both a practicing pediatric dentist, but also knows the inner-workings of how Medicaid is administered. We have a great discussion where he busts common Medicaid misconceptions, along with sharing what he's learned about how Medicaid plans work.

The goal of our conversation was to change the narrative of Medicaid being a big faceless monster, and to give providers tips on how to make Medicaid work in their office.

Dr. Gray is also the co-founder of Smiyl, a dental supply company that gives crazy good deals on prophy supplies to pediatric dentists. I want listeners to support our fellow pediatric dentists, so please check them out at www.smiyl.com.

You can use code Smiyl20 to get 20% of your next order of prophy supplies.

After several weeks of compiling the data, the numbers are in! This episode finally sheds light on what real-life numbers you can expect for a pediatric dental start-up. I asked listeners the following questions:

1. What is the demographic of your practice?

2. How much did you produce/collect your first few years of practice ownership?

3. When did you break even?

4. When did you start paying yourself?

5. How long did you associate?

I had TONS of responses, but I picked the best 15 and read them anonymously for this episode. Hopefully this provides some insight and is a helpful resource for those in the early stages of practice ownership.

Dr. Gerardo Martinez is a returning guest on the show. We met up at AAPD and decided to record a podcast after flying home. We begin the conversation around changes in behavior management, and why it's ok for kids to cry at the dentist. The key is parent expectation and good communication.

Dr. Martinez is also a visionary and advocate for 3D printing in pediatric dentistry. He has spent the last 5 years learning to incorporate scanning and 3D printing crowns, veneers, aligners, and appliances into his pediatric practice. We talk about first steps a practitioner can take to get started.

Dr. Martinez is also hosting a CE event in Los Cabos from July 23-26. "The One Summit" has 28 CE credits with a central theme of airway, ortho, and 3D workflows. This would be a great way to get some CE this summer along with time on the beach. Even though it's a bit last minute, you can use code BTT to get $500 off registration and lodging.

Dr. Milca Ceballos is a pediatric dentist and owner of her start-up, Pawsitive Pediatric Dentistry. Her office is in rural Pennsylvania where she has experienced explosive growth, to the point of already trying to bring on an associate while she continues to expand her tongue-tie practice.

This episode focuses on how she built her office for success. We discuss:

- Who she hired to do a demographic report

- Why she decided to use a consultant, and why is was valuable to her

- Setting goals and blowing past estimates

- The importance of a good team

- How a consultant allowed her to increase her lending limits

- Why she chose to purchase a CO2 laser

- Her vision for creating a 2 doctor practice

Dr. Gerry Samson is a dual-trained pediatric/ortho legend and founder of Gnathos, a continuing education platform teaching pediatric dentists valuable orthodontic skills. He practiced for 40+ years and continues to lecture and teach at various institutions. His list of accolades is too extensive to list so just trust me on this... he knows a thing or two about occlusion and the growing dentition.

I invited him to come on the podcast and talk about a controversial topic of his choice, so we settled on airway dentistry in pediatric patients. Some of the things we discuss:

- Sleep disordered breathing

- Should we be referring kids for tonsillectomies?

- The value of a second opinion to limit liability

- Communication tips for parents

- Structuring relationship with pediatricians

- Are we over-treating tongue and lip ties?

Dr. Patrick Micaroni is a pediatric dentist and practice owner from New York. We talk about just about every topic related to pediatric dentistry that you can think of, including:

- How he bought an existing practice and kept the selling doc on as an associate

- Why residency was truly "the good ol days"

- Recurrent decay on teenagers

- Why class IIs are terrible

- Cloud-based dental software, pros and cons

- Challenges of employing expensive hygienists in states where assistants can't coronal polish

This is a great casual episode where we vent about the common pitfalls that drive us crazy as pediatric dentists.

Dr. Robert Mansman is a pediatric dentist who has turned a 3 million dollar practice into an 8+ million dollar practice with multiple associates and an orthodontic clinic. His practice is in Maryland, but he lives in Florida.

Dr. Rob was fantastic in being transparent with his practice numbers, and talking about his growth strategies. Some things we discuss:

- How he was able grow an already established practice

- How he finds and retains good associates

- Why he's ok with having higher overhead to keep and reward rockstar employees

- How outsourcing tasks has allowed him to scale

- The importance of a good office manager, and pay structure for that position

Dr. Jesse Defazio is a pediatric dentist and a "super associate." She has practiced in 15 offices over the last 11 years, following her husband's military career. She comes on the show to talk all about associateships and what to look for when trying to find that perfect practice. We cover some great topics including:

- When does working for a DSO make sense?

- Be cautious of second locations

- What would the perfect office set-up look like?

- Why working interviews are important

- Should doctors receive a percentage of radiographs, fluoride, and prophies?

- W2 vs 1099 red flags

This is also a great episode for practice owners who want to bring on an associate and set them up for success.

In today's episode, Dr. Craig Lustman and I have a great podcast talking about the unique philanthropic model Craig has developed in his dental practices.

Craig has found an amazing way to support his passion for developing water, food, and athletic resources for the underserved in Africa. Every cavity-free recall allows his patients to contribute five dollars of profit towards his non-profit organizations, giving his patients a sense of purpose while also encourage good oral hygiene.

Our discussion also touches on operational strategies, team dynamics, and the importance of maintaining a balance between professional and personal life. We explore how Craig's journey from Maryland to Florida shaped his approach to dentistry and community service, emphasizing the significance of creating a positive impact through his practice.