Every dentist wants an assistant who anticipates their needs without being asked. Almost nobody does what it takes to get there.

Kevin Henry, dental journalist and founder of Dental Assistant Nation, has spent 21 years advocating for dental assistants. In this episode, he shares what makes them disengage, what a good day actually looks like for them, and how to train them the right way.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:52) Why your dental assistants aren't engaged

(06:13) The skills to instill in every assistant

(10:44) Dental assistant schools post-COVID

(11:51) The push to turn assistants into hygienists

(13:35) Staffing shortage or a retention problem

(16:00) The training mistake that backfires

(17:26) Setting goals for a role with no numbers

(19:07) 3 things assistants actually care about

(23:25) How to give your assistant a good day

(25:14) The commandments of treating your assistant well

(27:40) What's next for AI and staffing

(30:24) Conversations to have before someone asks for a raise

Check out the Dental Assistant Nation podcast:

https://dentalassistantnation.com/

Learn more about what dental assistants can legally do in your state:

https://www.danb.org/

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

We describe the moment every practice owner knows: you block CEO time to build better systems, then lose it to nonstop interruptions and tiny fires. We share how protecting leadership time, setting clear availability rules, and focusing on KPIs turns you from the bottleneck into the builder of a practice that runs without you. 

• why CEO time disappears faster than clinical time 
• protecting leadership time like production time 
• the difference between reacting all day and creating real growth 
• a simple closed-door boundary for uninterrupted work 
• what to do when CEO work feels uncomfortable 
• starting with KPIs, a problem list, and one-on-ones 
• spotting repeat questions and turning them into systems 
• training the team to make decisions without you 
You can book a strategy, call it dentalpracticeheroes.com/slash strategy. 
And if this episode resonated with you, I would really appreciate it if you left a review. 

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Eight out of ten employees show up disengaged. The other two are doing all the work in your practice.

In this episode, Dr. David Maloley explains what's really driving attrition and why a paycheck doesn't cut it anymore. You'll find out which outside forces are quietly commoditizing your practice, the burnout triggers already built in, and how to create an employee experience that holds your practice together.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:19) David’s dream practice that turned into a nightmare

(06:29) What hiring an office manager can't fix 

(09:18) The forces commoditizing dentistry

(18:25) What a bad employee experience looks like

(20:10) Three levels of a value-fluent team

(21:16) What's really driving patient attrition

(23:09) Burnout triggers built into dental practices

(25:30) What happens when you stop chasing numbers

(30:10) Why vague leadership creates attrition

(36:28) The Trust Triangle decision framework

Take the Commodity Threat Assessment:
https://assessment.irreplaceablepractice.com/

Listen to more episodes with Dr. David Maloley:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311108/episodes/14424320

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311108/episodes/14423936

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Hire another associate, open a second location, drop insurance — or maybe change nothing at all? The truth is, just because your practice can grow doesn't mean it should.

In this episode, the DPH coaches will help you figure out what kind of practice actually fits the life you want. You'll hear the mistake that almost buried one of them, the steps you should take before scaling, and the honest questions that reveal whether a bigger practice is right for you.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:26) How to make your own decision

(06:45) The mistake that can break your practice

(09:52) A framework for deciding whether to scale

(11:40) The client who was happier staying small

(13:12) What type of leader you are (and why it matters)

(15:38) One thing to do whether you scale or not

(18:30) How to know when you're ready

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

You know the moment: you’re having the same conversation again, trying to stay calm, trying to protect psychological safety, but quietly wondering why the message still isn’t landing. When a team member keeps missing a checklist step, showing up late, skipping a pre-collect, or sending patients up front with the wrong codes, it stops feeling like a one-off mistake and starts feeling like a culture problem. That’s where accountability either strengthens your dental team or slowly erodes it.

We break down a powerful tool from Crucial Accountability called CPR: Content, Pattern, Relationship. First we talk about content, the single miss that needs a quick, timely reset of expectations. Then we move to pattern, where leaders must stop re-litigating “today” and name the repetition clearly, without getting dragged into whataboutisms or excuses. Finally, we tackle relationship, the level most practice owners avoid until it hurts: when the real issue becomes trust, and the team can’t count on someone to do their part in a system that depends on everyone.

You’ll leave with three tactical takeaways you can use immediately, plus a clear test for deciding which conversation you’re actually having before you open your mouth. If accountability is a constant bottleneck in your dental practice management, we also share how a trained leadership team can carry standards with you so you’re not the only person holding the line. Subscribe, share this with a practice owner friend, and leave a review so more dental leaders can find the show.

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

"I just need to get more patients into the office." It's something almost every owner tells themselves, but it's rarely what their practice needs.

In this episode, you'll learn the five levers that decide how much your practice actually produces. The DPH coaches share their own experiences of freezing in front of patients, getting honest feedback from their teams, and coaching associates who want a raise.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:02) What to do when an associate wants more money

(06:29) Why chasing new patients keeps you stuck

(08:13) Are you doing comprehensive treatment planning?

(09:46) Five levers that decide what you produce

(12:47) Why so many doctors freeze or hold back

(16:27) The honest feedback your team isn't telling you

(19:05) Setting standards and measuring outcomes

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Your hygienist spends more time with your patients than you do. That makes them one of the biggest case acceptance drivers you have.

This episode shows you how to unlock that potential with the right systems, language, and a true doctor-hygienist partnership. Hygiene consultant Janet Hagerman breaks down how to train your team to talk about treatment, the meeting you should be having every month, and the five steps to the perfect handoff.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:08) From hygienist to fractional hygiene officer 

(05:47) Why hygiene is the bedrock of your practice

(08:28) Where to start with your hygiene team

(13:08) How to have perio conversations with patients

(18:30) Getting them involved in diagnosis and treatment

(21:01) The monthly meeting that aligns your team

(24:05) Disagree without making anyone look bad

(26:22) The perfect handoff sequence

Download Janet’s free step-be-step handoff guide: https://janethagerman.com/tpn/c/C2030/docs/DOC-5ComponentsofHandoff-c2030.pdf

Connect with Janet Hagerman:

Website | https://janethagerman.com/

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/janethagerman/

Email | [email protected]

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

If you walked into your dental practice right now and asked one random team member what they’re actively trying to get better at, would they have a real answer or a long pause? That moment tells you almost everything about your culture, your leadership, and why “good people” sometimes slowly turn into disengaged people. We believe most team members don’t drift toward excellence on their own, they drift toward comfort, and it’s our job to make growth the default. 

We unpack why ongoing team training is one of the highest-ROI investments in dental practice management. It’s not just about clinical skills or checking boxes after onboarding. It’s about building a culture of mastery where coaching and feedback feel normal, where people know what they’re working on next, and where your assistants, hygienists, and admin team develop into stronger communicators and leaders. We also talk through the common sticking point: many owners want better systems and better performance, but they simply don’t know what to teach, who to teach, or how to structure training so it actually sticks. 

We share a practical approach for making development consistent, including separating operational meetings from true training time, using quarterly sessions for role-play and verbiage, and setting a 90-day skill focus for every department. If you’ve been hoping your team “just gets better,” this will give you a clearer roadmap for building skills like case presentation support, patient communication, conflict handling, and leadership at every level. 

If you found yourself nodding along, take a minute to subscribe, share this with a practice owner friend, and leave a five-star review so more dental teams can build a culture that never stops improving.

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Your dental practice feels like it’s barely surviving, the team is overwhelmed, and the plan sounds logical: “Once we hire one more assistant or one more hygienist, then we’ll fix the systems.” I’m challenging that idea head-on, because waiting doesn’t pause the chaos. It feeds it. When we delay training, accountability, and process improvement, we create the exact environment that drives burnout, frustration, and turnover in a short staffed dental office.

I walk through the cycle I see constantly in dental practice management: we hire someone, we rush onboarding, the new team member is afraid to ask questions, mistakes pile up, coworkers get resentful, and suddenly we’re hiring again. The problem isn’t effort, it’s predictability. That’s why building a systematized dental practice is not a “nice to have.” Clear expectations, simple workflows, and consistent follow-up are powerful staff retention strategies that make the day feel doable and the job worth keeping.

You’ll get a practical leadership playbook for what to do right now: talk to your team with transparency, pick one recurring friction point to fix instead of launching five projects, and protect training even when the schedule is packed. Training isn’t extra work, it’s how we reduce future work and help people feel confident, capable, and loyal.

If you want help building the systems and training that keep great people, head to dentalpracticeheroes.com/slash strategy and set up a call with me. Subscribe, share this with a practice owner who’s stuck in survival mode, and leave a five-star review so more dentists can find the show.

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.

Front desk versus clinical: every practice has this quiet rivalry, but it doesn't have to be that way.

In this episode, the DPH coaches break down why these two sides of the office resent each other and how you as the owner might be making it worse. They share exactly what you can do to create cohesion in the office, from an exercise that breaks tension and gets people talking to an easy fix for the most common source of conflict.

Topics discussed:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:43) What causes front and back office drama

(06:55) The exercise that bonds your office

(14:11) Managing unspoken expectations

(15:42) How to handle team complaints without losing safety

(18:55) Who should handle team conflict

(21:45) The trust exercise every office needs

(25:13) When getting involved backfires

(27:22) What causes the most conflict and how to fix it

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Use the same marketing company as Dr. Etch!

Get your free demo with Relevance Marketing by Clicking Here

Take Control of Your Practice and Your Life

We help dentists take more time off while making more money through systematization, team empowerment, and creating leadership teams.

Ready to build a practice that works for you? Visit www.DentalPracticeHeroes.com to learn more.