Episode Summary

In this strategic and energizing episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of practice stability and growth, your annual planning session.

Together, they walk through the questions, metrics, team conversations, and leadership decisions that set the tone for a productive, organized, and profitable new year.

Sandy shares her trusted framework for evaluating practice performance, identifying bottlenecks, and turning missed opportunities into measurable goals. Dana breaks down how to communicate the importance of an annual planning meeting to your team—even if you haven't done one in a few years.

From KPI awareness and production forecasting to team agreements, CE planning, and SOP check-ins, this episode gives practices everything they need to create a clear, motivating roadmap for 2026.

If you want to stop drifting into the new year and instead design it—this episode is your guide.

Show Notes

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why most practices drift into the new year unprepared—and how to fix it

• The must-track KPIs for evaluating your year-end performance

• How to hold a productive annual planning meeting (without turning it into a gripe session)

• What your team really needs to contribute meaningful input

• How agreements, policies, and SOPs eliminate frustration and set expectations

• How to turn dropped statistics into 2026 wins

• Why tracking new patient sources matters more than ever

• How to anticipate "slow" months and outflow your way into a full schedule

• CE planning and skill inventories for every position

• The importance of setting daily and hourly production goals

• Updates your website and systems may be overdue for

• The role of communication in shaping team culture and patient experience

Episode Sponsors Identity Dental Marketing

Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward

The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice

VoIP for dental practices that want fewer missed calls, better patient communication, and stronger scheduling. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

Links & Resources

• Email Sandy for details on Front Desk Pro Virtual Training: [email protected]

• Follow us on Facebook: Dental Drill Bits

• Share this episode with your office manager, dentist, or colleague!

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy discuss the importance of measuring team energy and performance metrics in dental practices. They emphasize that while patient care is paramount, tracking statistics can enhance care quality and team morale. The conversation explores the concept of buy-in from team members, the significance of accountability, and how metrics can serve as tools for improvement rather than judgment. The episode concludes with actionable steps for practices to foster a positive culture through measurement and celebration of achievements. takeaways

• Your team's energy is crucial for productivity.
• Statistics can enhance patient care, not detract from it.
• Tracking metrics helps connect efforts to results.
• Buy-in from the team is essential for success.
• Purpose should always come before profit.
• Celebrating small wins boosts team morale.
• Metrics can reveal blind spots in practice management.
• Accountability fosters a culture of improvement.
• Positivity is contagious within a team.
• Consistent actions lead to predictable outcomes.

🔊 Episode Sponsors: Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury explore the often-overlooked power of a well-crafted job description. They explain why generic or outdated descriptions can set your practice up for failure—creating confusion, legal risk, and missed hiring opportunities. You'll learn what must be included, how to stay compliant, and why being transparent about your expectations (including physical demands and performance metrics) is key to attracting the right candidates. If you're serious about improving your hiring process and retaining top talent, this conversation is a must-listen.

Takeaways:

• Job descriptions should reflect the specific needs of your practice.

• Outdated job descriptions create misalignment and confusion.

• Every job description serves as a legal agreement between employer and employee.

• Transparency in compensation, expectations, and requirements is essential.

• Include physical job requirements and measurable performance goals.

• Store and organize job descriptions properly for easy access and compliance.

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.mangovoice.com

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.identitydental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices—simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.planforward.io

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy Pardue and Dana Pardue tackle one of the most underestimated tools in the hiring process—your job ad. They explain why hiring should be treated like a marketing campaign and how your job postings either attract or repel the very people you are trying to hire.

From crafting compelling headlines and utilizing creative job titles to understanding hiring psychology, Sandy and Dana share strategies to elevate your job ads and recruit with intention. They also explore the power of nontraditional hiring sources and the importance of keeping your energy positive throughout the hiring process. Whether you are actively hiring or just building your team, this conversation is packed with must-use tips to help you find and retain great talent.

Takeaways:

• If you are having trouble hiring, check your job ads first

• Always accept resumes even when you are not actively hiring

• Make sure job ads reflect your practice's values and culture

• Use creative job titles to capture attention and stand out

• Women apply when they meet 80 percent of requirements; men at 20 percent

• Treat hiring like a marketing campaign, not just an HR task

• Track where your applicants come from to measure effectiveness

• Consider nontraditional candidates from service-oriented industries

• Stay positive throughout the process—your mindset matters

• Great employees are often already employed—go find them

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again 👉 www.mangovoice.com

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert 👉 www.identitydental.com

Plan Forward The number one membership plan platform for dental practices—simple, secure, and patient friendly 👉 www.planforward.io

You can have the best marketing strategy in the world, but if your phone skills are lacking, patients will walk. In this episode, Dana and Sandy get real about what happens when dental teams unknowingly drive callers away with poor phone habits, disconnection, or defaulting to "no."

They walk through mystery shopper call examples, red-flag language to avoid, and the mindset shift every front desk team member needs to convert, not repel, new patients.

This one's packed with real talk, laugh-out-loud stories, and practical ways to be the cheerleader your practice needs.

You'll learn how to:

✅ Build rapport in the first 7 seconds of a call ✅ Ask the right questions during discovery ✅ Avoid "no" language and still set boundaries ✅ Take control of the appointment conversation ✅ End calls in a way that reduces broken appointments

📓 Listener challenge: Call your own office or listen to a recorded call (if legal in your state). Would you schedule an appointment based on how it sounds?

Key takeaways:

• Your marketing dollars are wasted if your phone skills don't back it up.

• "Unfortunately" and "Sorry" are red flags—replace them with warmth and guidance.

• Patients don't want homework. Take the lead, get their name and number first.

• Schedule with confidence. Too many options = confusion.

• A cheerful, confident voice beats fancy scripts every time.

Episode Sponsors Identity Dental Marketing

Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward

The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice

VoIP for dental practices that want fewer missed calls, better patient communication, and stronger scheduling. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

📲 Join the conversation! Drop your favorite phone call tip or share a "worst call ever" moment in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group—your post could inspire our next episode!

Episode Title: Wasted Time, Open Time, and Maximizing Your Schedule

Episode Description: Welcome to another exciting episode of Dental Drill Bits! This week, Sandy Pardue is joined by a very special guest—Dana Pardue, the original co-host and HR business professional. Together, they kick off the new season with a deep dive into one of the most critical topics for dental practices: managing open time in your schedule.

Discover actionable tips to identify, track, and eliminate wasted time in your practice. Whether you're dealing with broken appointments, patient no-shows, or underutilized slots, this episode equips you with practical strategies to improve productivity, enhance patient care, and boost your bottom line.

Plus, hear Dana's unique perspective on the patient experience and why over-communicating about appointment changes can backfire. Stay tuned until the end for a game-changing resource that could revolutionize how you handle in-house membership plans!

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Dana Salisbury's journey back to Dental Drill Bits and her insights on training and development for dental practices.
• The real cost of open time and why tracking it is crucial.
• How to calculate daily, hourly, and per-unit production goals.
• Strategies to reduce cancellations, no-shows, and last-minute reschedules.
• The importance of maintaining a reliable call list and leveraging patient interactions.
• Patient perspective: Why excessive appointment changes can harm patient satisfaction.
• The role of team meetings in addressing missed opportunities.
• An introduction to Plan Forward—a custom dental membership platform offering tools for automated billing, patient communication, and more.

Sponsors:

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

In this festive episode, Dana and Sandy unwrap the unforgettable world of dental office Christmas parties — the good, the chaotic, and the "HR-will-hear-about-this" kind of moments.

From table fires to haunted hotels, over-served team members, questionable Ubers, party buses, shopping sprees, and meaningful low-budget celebrations, they share what makes a holiday party truly memorable while keeping your practice safe, appreciated, and drama-free.

Whether you're planning a simple potluck or an all-out evening event, this episode gives you the ideas, warnings, and best practices to make your celebration merry, bright, and not a future cautionary tale.

What You'll Learn

• How to plan a Christmas celebration that boosts morale without breaking the budget
• Common holiday party pitfalls (alcohol, transportation, guest dynamics) and how to prevent them
• Gift and appreciation strategies that genuinely resonate with your team
• Why thoughtful holiday traditions strengthen culture and improve team retention

Listen Now:

Dental Drill Bits on Apple Podcasts

Episode Sponsors

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

Episode Summary

In this strategic and energizing episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of practice stability and growth, your annual planning session.

Together, they walk through the questions, metrics, team conversations, and leadership decisions that set the tone for a productive, organized, and profitable new year.

Sandy shares her trusted framework for evaluating practice performance, identifying bottlenecks, and turning missed opportunities into measurable goals. Dana breaks down how to communicate the importance of an annual planning meeting to your team—even if you haven't done one in a few years.

From KPI awareness and production forecasting to team agreements, CE planning, and SOP check-ins, this episode gives practices everything they need to create a clear, motivating roadmap for 2026.

If you want to stop drifting into the new year and instead design it—this episode is your guide.

Show Notes

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why most practices drift into the new year unprepared—and how to fix it

• The must-track KPIs for evaluating your year-end performance

• How to hold a productive annual planning meeting (without turning it into a gripe session)

• What your team really needs to contribute meaningful input

• How agreements, policies, and SOPs eliminate frustration and set expectations

• How to turn dropped statistics into 2026 wins

• Why tracking new patient sources matters more than ever

• How to anticipate "slow" months and outflow your way into a full schedule

• CE planning and skill inventories for every position

• The importance of setting daily and hourly production goals

• Updates your website and systems may be overdue for

• The role of communication in shaping team culture and patient experience

Episode Sponsors Identity Dental Marketing

Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward

The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice

VoIP for dental practices that want fewer missed calls, better patient communication, and stronger scheduling. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

Episode Quotes Worth Sharing

• "Your success or your lack of it depends 100 percent on what happens within your own four walls."

• "Annual planning isn't paperwork—it's the heartbeat of a stable growing practice."

• "You can't improve what you're not aware of. Stats tell the truth."

• "Direction beats intention every single time."

Links & Resources

• Email Sandy for details on Front Desk Pro Virtual Training: [email protected]

• Follow us on Facebook: Dental Drill Bits

• Share this episode with your office manager, dentist, or colleague!

In this eye-opening episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy Pardue tackle a topic few talk about openly — why some dentists genuinely love their profession while others can't wait to get out. Drawing from Sandy's experience consulting with over 600 dental practices, they reveal the defining difference: the dentists who thrive understand business and leadership, not just clinical care.

Together, they unpack why mastering people skills, systems, and practice management can transform dentistry from stressful to deeply fulfilling. From learning how to manage money and motivate your team to leading with gratitude and balance, this episode is packed with mindset shifts to help you fall back in love with dentistry.

If you've ever thought, "I hate being a dentist," this episode will remind you—it's not the dentistry, it's the missing business tools. You can learn those. You can take control. And you can love your work again.

Key Takeaways

• Business knowledge is the bridge between burnout and balance.

• Leadership and communication skills create calm, confident teams.

• Systems bring structure, and structure brings freedom.

• Appreciation and consistency are stronger than pay raises.

• Detachment and compassion prevent emotional exhaustion.

• A strong leader defines vision, sets expectations, and celebrates wins.

• You can't buy culture—you build it through trust and gratitude.

• Reignite your love for dentistry by investing in your people and yourself.

🎧 Listen Now: Dental Drill Bits on Apple Podcasts

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com

In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy dive into one of the most challenging scenarios in any dental practice—when a team member refuses a task that's part of their role.

Inspired by a real Dentaltown post, Sandy breaks down what's really behind these moments, from unclear expectations and lack of training to blurred lines of authority. She shares how leaders can respond calmly, communicate clearly, and reset accountability without damaging trust.

Dana adds perspective on balancing empathy and authority, and how understanding communication styles can help prevent tension before it starts. Together, they offer practical, real-world advice to help practices turn moments of conflict into opportunities for clarity and growth.

💡 Takeaways

• Most refusals come from confusion, not defiance.

• Clear systems and written expectations prevent recurring issues.

• Communication—both verbal and written—is the foundation of trust.

• Leaders must stay approachable while reinforcing accountability.

• Consistency in expectations leads to predictable, positive outcomes.

🔊 Episode Sponsors:

Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert. 👉 www.IdentityDental.com

Plan Forward The #1 membership plan platform for dental practices — simple, secure, and patient-friendly. 👉 www.PlanForward.io

Mango Voice VoIP that works for dental practices. Elevate your phone systems and never miss a patient call again. 👉 www.MangoVoice.com