My Practice My Business: The Clinical Business of Dentistry

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If you’ve been following dental policy this year, you probably noticed that Utah passed more meaningful reforms than any other state… but you wouldn’t know that from reading the American Dental Association’s updates.

And that’s the problem. We worked for years to protect patient choice, fair reimbursement, and provider rights — and somehow, those wins didn’t even make the ADA’s 2025 legislative recap. And why do we care? Not for recognition, but to help guide and motivate other states to serve their association members, and the patients they serve.

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WELCOME TO 10 WEEKS OF LEGISLATION HERE IN UTAH!

But Rob and Tracy, I'm not in Utah, how does this apply to me? It's simple, if you're in another state, take this information to your state dental association and get them to pass legislation like we have here in Utah.

If you’ve been following dental policy this year, you probably noticed that Utah passed more meaningful reforms than any other state… but you wouldn’t know that from reading the American Dental Association’s updates. 

And that’s the problem. We worked for years to protect patient choice, fair reimbursement, and provider rights — and somehow, those wins didn’t even make the ADA’s 2025 legislative recap. And why do we care? Not for recognition, but to help guide and motivate other states to serve their association members, and the patients they serve.” 

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Insurance companies allow — and even encourage — billing for non-covered services…
 Meanwhile, some association leaders accuse dentists of unethical billing for using the exact CDT codes the ADA created.

You can’t make this stuff/shit up.

If your blood pressure isn’t elevated yet, just wait.

We’re going to talk about:

• How dental associations became the enforcement arm for insurers instead of advocates for dentists.
• Why certain leaders have adopted insurer-aligned mindsets that actively harm the profession.
• How the ADA’s own language contradicts what associations preach.
• And why it’s time — long overdue — for dentists to say:
   Enough. Is. Enough.

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In dentistry—as in life—leadership is not a title, but a responsibility. Too often, we imagine leadership as a rank to be achieved, a position to be claimed, or an office to be won. But genuine leadership is not defined by where you sit at the table; it’s defined by what you do when you’re at the table—and more importantly, what you do when you’re not.

At its core, leadership is action. It’s the daily choice to step forward, to shoulder responsibility, and to serve others even when no one is watching. For state and national dental association leaders, this means moving beyond advocacy for oneself to a broader commitment: fighting for the profession, for patients, and for the future of oral health.

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In this episode, we pull back the curtain on Delta Dental’s latest effort to “train” HR departments on how to talk about their plans. On the surface, it looks like education—but behind the scenes, it’s strategic messaging designed to make employees hear only the positives and none of the truth about coverage limitations, provider restrictions, and patient choice.

We explore how these trainings teach HR professionals to polish the Delta Dental brand while avoiding the real issues—like low reimbursements, restrictive contracts, and the control Delta exerts over provider care. By shaping the message at the HR level, Delta ensures employees stay loyal to their network and blind to what’s really happening behind the smile.

Tune in as we decode Delta Dental’s playbook and show how employers can empower their teams with facts, not spin.

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Tracy takes our listeners into a deep dive on how third-party payers are discouraging their clients to see out-of-network dentists. In this episode, we expose the truth behind Delta Dental’s latest campaign targeting HR departments. Their message? Convince employees that going “out of network” will cost them more. The reality? It costs Delta control. We break down the misleading talking points, reveal what the data actually shows, and explain how this manipulation keeps both employers and employees in the dark—while protecting Delta’s profit margins, not patient care.

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and resistance figure, once observed:
 “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. Stupidity, not evil, is the greater threat. Not because it’s more powerful, but because stupidity is unreachable. You can expose evil, you can argue with it, you can shine a light on it, you can resist it, but stupidity just does not respond. It does not engage. It just is, and it spreads.”

Though written in the context of political oppression, Bonhoeffer’s words resonate profoundly within dentistry today. The challenges our profession faces—insurance restrictions, reimbursement struggles, regulatory burdens—are not merely fueled by malice or greed. More often, they are perpetuated by what Bonhoeffer described: a surrender of independent thought and discernment.

In this article, we will examine how Bonhoeffer’s warning applies to dentistry, dental insurance, dental association leadership, and dental teams. More importantly, we will explore how liberation—not simply instruction—is the only antidote.

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Two wonderful softwares at battle with each other. Unfortunately, Dentrix is flexing their mighty muscle, and it just might lead to dental practices making the switch to other dental practice management software. Vyne is the preferred software when it comes to the submission of dental insurance claims. Hopefully they'll fix their integration issues. Tracy takes on the podcast on this power struggle issue.

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Why Do Dental Specialists Feel Restricted in Charging Referred Patients, or should I say, using up the PPO patient’s benefits?

If you’ve ever wondered why your dental specialist friends seem hesitant to bill additional fees for value-added services, or their full fee, or why your dental specialist family member says they have to “keep their fees within the referring dentist’s range,” you’re about to find out.

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Imagine you offer two options to your patients—one with premium materials, one standard. Sounds good, right? But what happens when those better options come at a cost that insurance won’t cover?

Now ask yourself—when you pass on those costs to higher-paying patients, is that ethical? Or are you just playing Robin Hood with root canals?

Here’s the kicker—many practices do this silently. PPO plans cover less, yet those patients often walk out with the same high-quality restorations that cash-paying or premium-insured patients get. So, who's really paying? Your MEPAT patients… the ones funding your LEPAT patients' dental care.

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