Growth In Dentistry: A Dental Intelligence Podcast

We have another Practice Growth Deep Dive for you! In this episode, Steve Jensen talks with Dr. Kartik Antani about the journey from dental school to ownership, what it takes to scale (and when it can be smarter to scale back), and how strong systems and mentorship drive both performance and well-being. Dr. Antani also shares how sleep dentistry and medical billing fit into a modern general practice, plus his vision for more connected, tech-enabled dental and medical care.

Listen in to hear about:

• Building your support system
• Early-career advice: DSO vs private vs ownership
• Scaling practices: What people do not talk about enough
• What actually drives practice performance
• Clinical focus in Dr. Antani’s practice
• Sleep apnea workflow and medical billing

…and so much more!

Resources Mentioned

Sleep Apnea Resources:

• Transform Dental Sleep by Jason Tierney: https://www.amazon.com/Transform-Dental-Sleep-Step-Step/dp/B0C524116R.
• AADSM: https://www.aadsm.org/

Email Dr. Antani: [email protected]

Business Books:

• Built to Sell by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without-ebook/dp/B004IYISQW
• The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Customer-Creating-Subscription-Business-ebook/dp/B00LFYXDNQ
• The Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Selling-Your-Business-Strategies-ebook/dp/B08NTSFMJL
• Small Giants by Bo Burlingham: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Giants-Companies-Instead-10th-Anniversary/dp/014310960X
• Traction by Gino Wickman: https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837
• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone: https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/0470627603

See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.

In this episode, Steve Jensen sits down with Laura Johnston, founder of My Dental SOP, to break down what SOPs really are and why “a checklist is not an SOP.” They talk about how documenting workflows reduces chaos, protects the practice, improves training, and helps teams scale across providers and locations.

Listen in to learn:

• About SOPs for the dental practice and why they matter for consistency and coverage
• Why checklists miss the “how,” including communication and cross-department handoffs
• How to start without getting overwhelmed
• How SOPs support risk reduction, including clearer roles and stronger internal controls
• How structured onboarding expands the candidate pool beyond those with dental experience
• Why owners should identify an internal “SOP champion” to avoid becoming the bottleneck

…and so much more!

About the Guest:

Laura Johnston is the founder of My Dental SOP. With more than two decades in dentistry, Laura helps practices document workflows, build training paths, and align teams to deliver consistent patient experiences.

Resources:

• My Dental SOP: https://www.mydentalsop.com/
• Dental Intelligence demo + gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast

In this episode of Growth in Dentistry, host Steve Jensen talks with Michael Dinsio and Paula Quinn from Next Level Consultants about why many practices are adding new patients but not actually growing, and how daily systems can drive retention, scheduling consistency, and a better patient experience.

Listen in to hear about how:

• Patient retention is the hidden growth lever
• Loyalty has changed – how patient and team member loyalty can look different

• Systems beat good intentions

…and so much more!

Resources:

• Check out Next Level Consultants: https://nxlevelconsultants.com/
• See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Growth in Dentistry podcast! In this episode, Steve Jensen talks with Bryton Nield of Dentist Partner Pros about why associate relationships fail and how to hire associates with a higher success rate.

Tune in to hear about:

• How to avoid “panic hiring” when an associate leaves or the practice is maxed out
• What associates actually want from practice owners
• Defining the ideal candidate: Skills, culture, character, commitment
• The investment of recruiting

Resources:

• Learn more from Bryton’s team at http://hiringpros.com.
• See a demo of Dental Intelligence and get a $50 gift card: http://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.

Welcome back to the Growth in Dentistry podcast! In this episode, Steve Jensen talks with Kelsey Porter, co-founder of Beacon PPO Solutions, about using PPO fee negotiations to increase practice profitability without increasing patient volume.

What you’ll learn:

• How PPO negotiations can increase revenue per procedure while keeping practices in-network
• How often to negotiate and what happens if you have not reviewed fees in years
• Why the first offer is often small, and how deeper negotiation can lead to larger lifts
• How leasing and network structure can create leverage with carriers
• What the process, timeline, and workload typically look like for a practice

…and so much more!

Resources:

• Beacon PPO Solutions: www.beaconpposolutions.com

• Check out a demo of Dental Intelligence and get a $50 gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast

In this episode of Growth in Dentistry, host Steve Jensen sits down with Miranda Beeson from ACT Dental to discuss a hot take on new patients. While new patients are essential for practice growth, Miranda challenges the common assumption that simply increasing new patient numbers is the solution to revenue goals. Tune into this conversation to explore how to measure net patient growth, the significance of the new patient hygiene reappointment percentage, and how to create a practice that supports the life you want to live.

We cover:

• The importance of Annual Patient Value
• High volume/low profit practices vs. low volume/high profit practices
• Net Patient Growth and how to stop losing patients from inactivity
• Reactivation Systems
• The new patient experience
• Hygiene reappointment

...and so much more!

Resources:

• ACT Dental – https://actdental.com
• Best Practices Association – https://join.actdental.com
• Best Practices Podcast with Kirk Behrendt – https://actdental.com/podcast
• See a demo of Dental Intelligence and get a $50 gift card – https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast

In this episode of the Growth in Dentistry podcast, join Steve Jensen as he sits down with Susan Leckowicz, a dental coach with 16 years of coaching experience and 20 years of clinical experience as a hygienist. Susan shares her proven case agreement system that helps practices move beyond simply getting patients to accept treatment, focusing instead on creating genuine agreement and commitment to complete care plans.

Listen to the episode to hear more about:

• The case acceptance vs. case completion gap

• Optimizing the hygiene visit for treatment planning

• The financial agreement system

• Follow up and accountability with unscheduled treatment

• Driving team buy-in and behavior change
• Patient communication strategies

...and so much more!

Connect with Susan by emailing her at [email protected]. Learn more about Dental Coaches at www.dentalcoaches.com.

See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: http://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.

In this episode of Growth in Dentistry, Steve Jensen sits down with Heather Crockett from ACT Dental to discuss practical strategies for overcoming burnout and building a thriving dental practice. They explore the "Sunday Scaries" phenomenon that many dental professionals experience and provide actionable advice on leadership, self-awareness, delegation, and work-life balance.

Listen to the episode to hear about:

• Identifying the root causes of Sunday night dread
• The Power of Reflection
• The Three Hats of Leadership
• Self-Awareness as a Leadership Tool
• The Show-Do-Teach method
• Avoiding Maintenance Mode
• Setting Boundaries

...and much more!

Resources:

• Learn more about ACT Dental: https://www.actdental.com/
• Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• The Working Genius Model: https://www.workinggenius.com/
• The DiSC® Assessment: https://www.discprofile.com/
• Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team: https://www.fivebehaviors.com/
• See a demo of Dental Intelligence and get a $50 gift card: http://get.dentalintel.net/podcast

In this episode of the Growth in Dentistry podcast, Steve Jensen sits down with Ragan Hartman, a dental industry expert with over 27 years of experience in healthcare management and executive coaching. Ragan shares actionable verbal skills and scripting techniques to address common challenges facing dental practices today and provides actionable scripts to use in your practice.

Listen in to hear more about:

• The power of words in dentistry
• Handling accounts receivable
• Mitigating cancellations
• Managing no-shows
• Going out-of-network
• Handling escalations

...and so much more!

Want to reach out to Ragan and get a copy of the scripting guides she mentioned? You can call/text her at 931-808-8820 or email her at [email protected]. You can also contact her via the Fortune Management website: https://www.fortunemgmt.com/profile/ragan-hartman.

See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: http://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.

In this episode of Growth in Dentistry, host Steve Jensen and Riley Beck of Energize Group sit down with Dr. Fran Dolan, owner of Dolan Dental, to discuss how he built a top-performing scratch practice in just three years. Dr. Dolan shares his journey from associate dentist to practice owner, revealing the strategies, challenges, and key decisions that led to his success.

Listen in to hear about:

• Dr. Dolan’s early career and transition from associate to practice owner
• His unique practice model of split-shift scheduling and how his team is structured
• Marketing and patient acquisition, and his partnership with Energize Group
• The practice’s growth trajectory
• His investment in technology used in his practice, from 3D printers to intraoral scanners and more

…and so much more!

Want to get in touch with Dr. Dolan? Follow along with his practice journey on Instagram at @dolan_dental and reach out there or to his personal account, @fran_dolan_dmd.

See a demo of DI and get a $50 gift card: https://get.dentalintel.net/podcast.