Next Level Practice

If someone walked into your office tomorrow and offered to buy your practice—would you know what to ask for? Most dentists don't.

In Part 1 of our 3-part series on Practice Value, Kelly Dahmer breaks down the biggest myth in dentistry: that production and collections determine your value. They don't. In today's market, it's all about margin, systems, and EBITDA.

What You'll Learn: • Why production and collections don't define your value • The 3 real drivers of practice value: profit, systems, and stability • What EBITDA actually means—and why it matters more than ever • How to build a practice that runs without you (and why buyers care) • Real-world case study: How one stressed-out dentist went from $4k/month to a $7M valuation

This episode is packed with actionable insight whether you're ready to sell or just want more freedom down the road. Kelly also unpacks the emotional and strategic shifts dentists need to make to move from burned out owner to confident, cash-flow-positive leader—with or without a sale.

You'll also hear about: ✓ What private buyers vs. group buyers are really looking for ✓ How to think about rollups, equity retention, and recap events ✓ Why "value" isn't about how big your practice is, but how sustainable it is

🎧 Ready to know your number? Book a free Practice Value Review with Kelly: https://hubs.ly/Q03vy4k10

Be sure to subscribe and stay tuned for Part 2—where we walk through exactly how to clean up your numbers, add back value, and position your practice to win.

📝 Download the 90-Day Practice Sale Book: https://nextlevelpractice.com/the-90-day-practice-sale 🔗 More resources: https://nextlevelpractice.com/

You hired a great team member…Now what? The first 90 days can make or break a new hire's success—and most practices are getting it wrong. Onboarding isn't paperwork; it's the culture blueprint. What You'll Learn: • Why onboarding starts before day one • How to design a 90-day onboarding plan that boosts retention • The difference between "new" and "fresh" hires—and why it matters • How to use mentors, feedback loops, and performance tracking for long-term success • A plug-and-play roadmap to create confident, culture-fit team members Most practices stop leading once the contract is signed—but that's when real leadership begins. In this episode, Kelly Dahmer dives deep into why onboarding is not just a checklist but a cultural shift. With 46% of new hires failing within 18 months, it's not enough to hope your new team member "figures it out." Kelly shares the "Next Level" way to onboard: setting expectations early, assigning peer mentors, using role-specific onboarding checklists, and clarifying who to go to for what. You'll also learn how to structure 30-day reviews, how to support performance-based raises, and how to turn red flags into growth opportunities—or graceful exits. Perfect for dental practices, this episode gives you actionable steps to improve retention, morale, and productivity. Whether you're onboarding a dental assistant, office manager, or hygienist, these principles apply across your team. Subscribe for more hiring and culture strategies! Leave a review if today's episode gave you a fresh perspective. 💼 Download the Fresh Hire Onboarding Guide here: https://hubs.li/Q03sK_RH0 🔗 Links & Resources: https://nextlevelpractice.com/

If you're tired of hiring flops, high turnover, and ghosted interviews, this episode is your game plan. Discover a smarter, proven approach to dental recruiting that actually works. 🎯 Subscribe now!

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why most dental practices hire backwards (and how to fix it)

• The 4-step strategic hiring system to reduce turnover

• How to write job ads that filter, not attract the wrong candidates

• Layered interview tactics that reveal true fit

• When to hire slow and fire fast—and why it saves your culture

Why Hope Isn't a Hiring Strategy (But Systems Are)

Posting on Indeed and crossing your fingers? That's not a hiring plan—it's wishful thinking. With nearly 58% of dental practices struggling to fill key roles, especially hygienists and admin staff, it's time to ditch the reactive approach.

In Episode 11, Kelly Dahmer shares the exact framework her clients use to hire for fit, not just fill a seat. You'll learn why job ads should speak to values and impact—not just tasks—and how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to optimize visibility on job boards. From using detailed subject lines to test applicant attention, to implementing personality assessments and working interviews, this is a step-by-step guide for hiring smarter.

Hiring isn't about luck. It's about leadership. This episode will help you build the team your culture deserves.

💬 Share this episode with a colleague who's hiring—or should be!

🎧 Subscribe for more practice-transforming insights.

🎯 Ready to Stop Hiring on Hope? Download our free sample job ad template that filters the wrong fits before they hit your inbox. Crafted for dental teams. Proven to work. 👉 Grab yours now: https://hubs.li/Q03nFVBL0

Website: https://nextlevelpractice.com/

Struggling to hire and keep great dental team members? You're not alone. Discover why 62% of dentists call staffing their #1 issue.

In this eye-opening episode, Kelly Dahmer, CEO of Next Level Practice, dives into the dental hiring crisis affecting practices nationwide. With staffing shortages, rising payroll costs, and high turnover disrupting patient care and profitability, it's more critical than ever to rethink your approach. Learn why hiring feels like filling a leaky bucket—and what you can do to stop the leaks.

In this episode, you'll learn: • Why the "Great Resignation" and "Great Reshuffling" are still impacting your team • How poor hires and high turnover quietly destroy your practice's financial health • Proven ways to make your practice the ideal place to work • The direct and hidden costs of hiring mistakes—and how to avoid them • Why A-players leave when C-players stay • How to align your team with vision, values, and performance-based compensation • Three key steps to prepare for strategic hiring in a competitive market

🎯 Download the free Practice Expense Tracker to benchmark your staffing overhead: https://hubs.li/Q03nFX3j0

📅 Book a call with Kelly for personalized help: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ava-tallman/podcast-strategy-session-kelly-dahmer

Website: https://nextlevelpractice.com/

Ready to escape the insurance trap? Learn how to drop PPOs with strategy—not chaos. Subscribe now for real-world solutions!

Is your biggest PPO silently draining your profits, your peace of mind, and even your patient relationships? In this powerful episode of the Next Level Practice Podcast, host Kelly Dahmer, CEO of Next Level Practice, reveals a clear, actionable plan to drop PPOs strategically—without losing your patients or your income.

Learn how to conduct a PPO profitability audit, communicate changes with confidence, and implement in-house membership plans to retain patients. Plus, hear Natasha's inspiring transformation from loss to growth after ditching the plans that weren't serving her or her patients. If you've ever felt trapped by insurance contracts, this is your must-listen blueprint for building a fee-for-service future.

📞 Ready to assess your practice's PPO plans? Schedule a call: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ava-tallman/podcast-strategy-session-kelly-dahmer

💬 If this gave you courage or clarity, share it with a colleague who needs to hear it!

🔗 Visit Next Level Practice: https://www.nextlevelpractice.com

Dentists are constantly told to chase new patients to grow their practice. But what if we told you that not all new patients are an asset—in fact, some might hurt your profitability, team morale, and patient experience?

In this eye-opening episode of the Next Level Practice Podcast, host Kelly Dahmer, CEO of Next Level Practice, breaks down the myth that "more new patients = growth." You'll learn how blindly pursuing new patient growth can create a new patient treadmill, leading to high expenses, low case acceptance, and burnout across your entire team.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why more new patients might be costing you more than you think

• How to identify whether you really need new patients or just better systems

• The difference between productive, consumptive, and destructive expenses in your dental business

• A real case study: How Dr. T was spending $4,500/month on marketing and still losing patients

• How to create an ideal patient avatar and stop absorbing emotional stress from the wrong patients

• Why it's crucial to listen for personal motivators and connect emotionally to increase case acceptance

• A proven new patient protocol your whole team can follow for consistent, high-converting patient experiences

• How to assess your true capacity using our Practice Capacity Calculator

This episode is your roadmap for changing the script on new patient acquisition by working smarter, not harder.

Ready to stop the chaos and finally maximize the patients you already have? 🎯

👉 Download our free Practice Capacity Calculator and determine if your practice really needs more new patients.

💬 Share this episode with your office manager or treatment coordinator—your whole team will benefit from this conversation!

If your treatment plans are being ignored, delayed, or outright rejected, this episode is for you. In this episode, Kelly Dahmer, CEO of Next Level Practice, reveals exactly why patients ghost after hearing their treatment plan—and how to turn that around with a proven, step-by-step system that dramatically increases case acceptance.

Are your patients leaning in… or leaning out? Too many practices do all the work to diagnose and educate, but fail at the most critical step: helping the patient truly understand why the treatment matters to them. Without this connection, even the best treatment plan can fall flat.

In this episode, Kelly shares a real-world success story of "Dr. N," a prosthodontist whose practice saw case acceptance jump from 38% to 65% in just 90 days. From optimizing the physical space to mastering the conversation, you'll get the tools to close more cases, ethically and empathetically.

✅ Why treatment rooms—not front desks—are the secret to higher case acceptance ✅ How to shift from selling solutions to explaining problems using visual aids and layman's terms ✅ A smarter way to offer payment options—one at a time—to reduce overwhelm and improve decision-making ✅ How to empower your treatment coordinator to become a true financial freedom fighter for patients ✅ What happens when you focus on education over persuasion—and tie treatment back to the patient's personal why

Is Your Case Acceptance Rate Leaving Money on the Table? Let us help you analyze it—book a free consultation with our team. Schedule a session: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ava-tallman/podcast-strategy-session-kelly-dahmer

Share this episode with your treatment coordinator or office manager—your whole team should hear this.

Are you treating your team's salaries like an expense — or like the investment they truly are? In this episode of the Next Level Practice Podcast, CEO Kelly Dahmer shares why every salary in your dental practice needs a scorecard — and how shifting your mindset can transform your payroll from a cash drain into a profit-producing machine.

If you've ever wondered why you're writing payroll checks without seeing results — or felt resentment every time you hit "submit" on payday — this episode is for you. 💥

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why salaries aren't your real problem — unclear expectations are
• How to turn every role into a mini business that drives your practice's success
• A simple structure for tracking team performance without micromanaging
• How to calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) for each role in your dental office
• Why every team member needs written KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) tied directly to your practice goals
• How to reframe salaries as an investment in growth, not just a line item on your P&L
• How better role clarity leads to higher accountability, ownership, and team leadership

Kelly also walks you through a real-life case study of "Dr. B" — a practice owner paying 51% of revenue toward salaries without a clear return — and how simple operational changes reignited her team's accountability, boosted production, and got her payroll working for her instead of draining her profits.

Get Your Free Copy of Million Dollar Dentistry

Want to know exactly where your practice is leaking time and resources? 📘 Download our book Million Dollar Dentistry FREE: https://nextlevelpractice.com/mdd-ebook-promo/

It's packed with systems and frameworks to boost production, improve efficiency, and reclaim your time.

🔗 Want a free strategy session to assess your practice's team ROI? Book a time with us today: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ava-tallman/podcast-strategy-session-kelly-dahmer

👉 Subscribe to the Next Level Practice Podcast for weekly leadership, operations, and business growth strategies tailored for dental practices.

What if the key to transforming your dental practice's profitability isn't more new patients—but optimizing the team you already have?

In this game-changing episode of the Next Level Practice Podcast, host and dental business strategist Kelly Dahmer reveals why most practices are overlooking their most powerful revenue generator: the hygiene department.

While many dentists think hygiene is just "maintenance" or a break-even part of the schedule, the truth is it should be the engine that drives production, case acceptance, and long-term patient retention. If your hygiene department isn't contributing at least 30% of your annual production, you're leaving money—and patient outcomes—on the table.

✅ Why hygiene is the most under-leveraged department in your dental office ✅ The 3 major shifts to turn hygiene into a case acceptance machine ✅ How to move from "cleanings" to co-diagnosis and patient advocacy ✅ What a Healthy Mouth Baseline is and how to implement one ✅ The truth about unscheduled active patients—and how to reactivate them fast ✅ Why new patient marketing isn't always the answer to growth ✅ How Dr. H doubled hygiene production in 4 months with simple systems ✅ Why hygiene reactivation is your fastest ROI—without spending more on ads

1. Install a Healthy Mouth Baseline – Create a standard of care across your practice that your team can use for co-diagnosis and education.

2. Train Your Hygienists as Co-Diagnosticians – Give your team scripts, tools, and confidence to advocate for treatment.

3. Reactivate Unscheduled Patients – Build a system that re-engages overdue patients without more marketing spend.

Want Kelly's Healthy Mouth Baseline Template? Download it FREE

Curious about how your hygiene department stacks up? Book a strategy session with Kelly's team to assess your numbers and build a plan for growth.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly dental practice growth strategies 📤 Share this with your office manager or hygiene team!

Is your dental practice dependent on YOU to function?

If taking a vacation feels impossible because your team can't run the show without you, this episode is your wake-up call. In this high-impact episode of the Next Level Practice Podcast, host Kelly Dahmer shares the exact framework for transforming your dental team from a reactive, chaotic group into a high-performing, self-managing team that drives growth—even when you're not around.

Whether you're a practice owner, office manager, or team leader, you'll discover how to break free from the bottlenecks and create a scalable, structured, and aligned team that actually takes ownership.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why most dental teams run on personality, not systems—and why that's dangerous

✅ The difference between assigning ownership vs. tasks (and why it matters)

✅ How to identify and empower a true team leader within your practice

✅ Why your practice can't grow if you're still the glue holding it all together

✅ Step-by-step process to create roles, KPIs, and accountability structures

✅ How to align your team with vision, purpose, and core values

✅ Ways to get your team to care about the numbers just as much as you do

✅ The importance of training for confidence, not just compliance

✅ The "20/80 rule" of working ON vs. IN your business—and how to apply it today

🎓 Want to Go Deeper? Sign up for the FREE Total Team Tune-Up Training, where we break down exactly how to realign your practice and empower your team to lead.

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📤 Share this episode with a fellow dentist or practice owner