Practice Autonomy Podcast

Back in 2011, I gave a lecture called “The Coming Storm for Dentistry.”

I warned that insurance companies would choke reimbursements while corporate dentistry scaled up and swallowed private practices.

Fourteen years later… well, here we are.

In this week’s Practice Autonomy Podcast, we open that time capsule and compare those predictions to the real 2025 data — and it’s chillingly accurate:

🦷 PPO reimbursements are lower than last year for one-third of dentists.

💰 Overhead is rising faster than collections.

DSOs now employ more than 1 in 4 new grads, backed by billions in private equity.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. I also share the same three-part counter-strategy that still works today:

1️⃣ Get Bigger – Build multiple sources of new-patient flow.

2️⃣ Get Faster – Run your practice with precision systems that out-produce corporate offices.

3️⃣ Get Stronger – Align your team so you can move faster than any DSO.

If you’ve felt that “Viking raid” from corporate recruiters or insurance clawbacks, this episode will hit home — and give you a roadmap to fight back.

Stay independent, stay sharp, stay private

Staff has gotten so expensive. It's so expensive to keep good team members that any successful dentist knows it is the #1 item on the P&L by far these days.

And yet, it's so important to keep those key players.

The success or failure of a dental practice is overwhelmingly dependent on its staff, who function as the critical intermediary between the doctor and the patient.

A significant portion of patients place more trust in the opinions and expertise of the staff than in those of the doctor.

To achieve peak performance, doctors must understand the unique motivations, perspectives, and "secrets" of their staff members.

Uncovering these underlying factors is essential for breaking down barriers to productivity, resolving internal conflicts, and fully implementing the practice's vision.

Get Dental Staff Secrets Mindmap Here

Most of us waste a ton of time each day.

I'm not asking any dentist to rush through any procedure or exam.

You should demand excellence for yourself every second of every day.

But, you're kidding yourself if you think you're not wasting time.

My theory is that if you are taking a day away from your family to be at the dental office, you should make every second count.

What I believe you will find is that you can absolutely be as productive while working less if you put your mind, heart, and soul into that pursuit.

If you pull this off, you'll basically give yourself a vacation every single week.

Imagine how much your family will appreciate that!

In this episode I lay out the basic concepts that allow this to happen.

See what you think and let me know.

20 Bootcamps in 5 years. Enough was enough. It was time to move on....

But, it was a ton of fun and also super challenging.

I'll share what made it great and what some dentists do to try to make your life miserable if you put on courses to try to help them.

The REAL life of a dental speaker isn't what you think it may be.

Here's what the Practice Autonomy Podcast is all about.

Each episode, you'll hear proven systems, strategies, and stories that help you cut insurance dependence, streamline your workflows, bring more work in-house, and protect one main thing as a private practice dentist, your freedom.

Here's what the Practice Autonomy is all about.

Each episode, you'll hear proven systems, strategies, and stories that help you cut insurance dependence, streamline your workflows, bring more work in-house, and protect one main thing as a private practice dentist, your freedom.

Current events are full of crisis events that affect so many, dentists included.

In 2013 a lightning strike started a fire that burned down my dental practice.

4 months later I delivered a lecture on how we responded to the crisis in 12 steps.

While some things have changed, the principles and many of the action items are uniquely appropriate for any dentist who finds themselves in the midst of catastrophe.

Or, any dentist who knows how lucky they have been to avoid disaster and wants to prepare before it's too late.

CAD/CAM milling technology including CEREC is dying on the vine.

The march to 3D printed crowns is underway and if you get in on the front end of the bandwagon, you can save tons of overhead on your lab bills.

There are 3 Big Ways to 3D print crowns right now.

Listen up and catch the wave of the future before most dentists know what hit them.

Go to 3DPA.org for a free report:

3 Big Mistakes Most Dentists Make When they Consider 3D Printing

Some of the things dentists rave over as they add 3D Printing to their practice are really cool, but don't exactly move the needle when it comes to ROI.

Then, there are a small few that pay the way for everything else the super techy nerd gene that all dentists have (myself included).

Today we're going to talk about the procedures that will pay off your initial investment the fastest.

After you pay that off, you will have a lot of choices on what to do with the profit.

One of the best things I have seen is to lower your fees to patients so that both you and your patients have a big win from this.

Plus, you will be securing your practice by insourcing at a time when sending out labwork can be dicey to say the least.

You realize you need to start 3D printing.

You're busy. We're all busy. But...

You realize you need to start 3D printing for all the amazing reasons you're hearing and reading about.

What is the easiest and simplest way to start from absolute zero?

Here are the 3 simplest ways to start printing and realize the power of what it can open in your practice.

Get more free 3D printing resources at 3dpa.org

Case acceptance and case presentation problems are rampant in our profession.

Is it us or is it the patients who get in the way of them getting optimal care?

Maybe it's a little bit of both, but luckily things are getting easier.

3D Printing can break down some of the biggest barriers that cause "empty chair" syndrome.

After you listen to this episode you will want to go on over to the 3D Printing Association website and get our free resources to help you get started.

www.3DPA.org