The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

Hygiene production problems don’t start this week — they were built months ago through leading indicators you can track and influence. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with ACT Dental coach Ariel Siegel to explain why hygiene production is a lagging indicator and how to improve it by focusing on reappointment rate, perio diagnosis, and perio acceptance. You’ll learn what hygiene breakdown looks like in real time, what predictable stability looks like when systems are working, and the simplest numbers to start tracking today so you can engineer future results instead of reacting to past ones.

Listen to Episode 1021 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways

1. Hygiene production is a lagging indicator that is built three to six months before the appointment through daily behaviors and tracking.
2. Reviewing last week or last month’s numbers shows where you were, but it doesn’t give you a chance to change those results now.
3. Reappointment rate, perio diagnosis, and perio acceptance are leading indicators that drive future hygiene production.
4. When hygiene is built poorly, teams scramble to rebuild schedules, cancellations feel disruptive, and there is little depth in future hygiene.
5. Perio diagnosis will vary by provider when the department lacks alignment, consistent protocols, and consistent verbal skills.
6. Tracking real reappointment data (patients seen vs. patients scheduled) immediately increases awareness and improves performance.
7. Focusing on one KPI for 30 days creates clarity for the team and compounds into stronger, more predictable hygiene production.

Snippets:

00:00 Hygiene production problems are built months before today.

02:16 Hygiene production is a lagging indicator driven by leading indicators.

04:22 What it looks like when hygiene is built wrong: scrambling, inconsistency, and a weak schedule.

06:33 What it looks like when you build hygiene right: stable, predictable hygiene three to six months out.

09:23 Engineer hygiene production by tracking reappointment, perio diagnosis, and perio acceptance.

11:16 The actionable first step: track patients seen vs. patients reappointed.

13:08 Use perio diagnosis by provider to find alignment gaps and improve consistency.

15:49 Pick one KPI at a time to create focus and compounding improvement.

17:13 Data removes emotion and lets the team solve the problem together.

18:35 New BPA resources added for hygiene systems and metrics.

Guest Bio/Guest Resources:

Ariel has a master’s in healthcare administration and several years of dental experience in all aspects of the administrative roles within the dental office. Her passion is to work with dental teams to empower team members to realize their full potential in order to better serve patients, improve office systems to ensure a well-functioning team/office, and to help everyone have fun in the process!

Resources mentioned in the episode:

1. Best Practices Association (BPA) resources: https://www.actdental.com/free-resources/

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

1. The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
2. Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
3. Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
4. Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
5. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
6. Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Team meetings can become repetitive, unfocused, and unproductive when there is no structure, accountability, or protected time to move the practice forward. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Christina Byrne, ACT Dental coach and leader of the coaching team, about why team meetings often fail and what high-performing dental practices do differently. You’ll learn how to structure weekly meetings, choose the right timing, track meaningful KPIs, create accountability, encourage healthy conflict, and build greater alignment across your team.

If you want your meetings to lead to action instead of becoming another conversation about unresolved problems, listen to Episode 1116 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Hold a structured two-hour team meeting every week to maintain consistency, alignment, and accountability.
• Schedule meetings early in the day, preferably on Tuesday or Wednesday, rather than after work or during a busy Monday.
• Use a consistent meeting structure that includes celebrations, core values, priorities, KPIs, action items, practice development, and issue-solving.
• Review KPIs weekly so the team can identify problems early and put countermeasures in place before the month is over.
• Assign every action item to a specific person with a clear expectation for completion.
• Establish meeting roles such as leader, timekeeper, and note-taker to keep discussions focused and prevent unnecessary rabbit holes.
• Alignment does not require agreement, but teams need open communication, healthy conflict, and shared commitment before they can move forward effectively.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Why team meetings aren’t working

01:00 Why team meetings matter in a dental practice

04:06 Commit to a weekly two-hour meeting

05:50 Choosing the right day and time for the meeting

09:43 Follow an “agendaless agenda”

12:47 Focus on quarterly priorities and meaningful KPIs

13:37 Create participation, trust, and accountability

18:33 Avoid rabbit holes and assign action items

19:59 Establish clear meeting roles

23:29 Understand the difference between alignment and agreement

25:16 Protect the meeting rhythm and focus on progress

26:00 Tools for leading more effective team meetings

Episode resources:

• Team Meetings Tool: https://hub.smilesource.com/c/resources/team-meetings
• Guide for Leading Great Team Meetings: https://hub.smilesource.com/c/resources/guide-for-leading-great-meetings v

Guest Bio:

Christina Byrne is the Director of Operations at ACT Dental, where she oversees coaching alignment, system development, and operational consistency across practices nationwide. She works closely with dental teams to help them build scalable systems that improve predictability, accountability, and long-term practice performance. In this episode, Christina references ACT Dental resources including the Analyzing Existing Systems document, the master systems checklist, and the systems and checklist support guide available through the Best Practices Association.

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Write-offs may look like a normal part of doing business, but do you know how much they are actually costing your dental practice? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with ACT Dental coach Robyn Theisen about understanding the gap between gross and net production, identifying where write-offs are coming from, and making strategic changes that improve collectible production without adding more days, procedures, or team members.

Learn how to categorize your adjustments, evaluate PPO participation, review membership plans, and reduce unnecessary write-offs over time. Listen to Episode 1115 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Your write-off percentage is calculated by dividing total write-offs by gross production.
• Insurance adjustments, membership plan adjustments, and elective adjustments are three major categories of write-offs.
• Membership plan pricing should be reviewed regularly so discounts do not unintentionally increase as office fees rise.
• Elective adjustments such as courtesy discounts, family discounts, and warranty write-offs should be clearly defined and consistently tracked.
• Eliminating write-offs entirely is unrealistic, but practices can strategically reduce them percentage by percentage.
• Small reductions in write-offs can significantly increase collectible production without requiring additional procedures, days, or team members.
• Understanding individual PPO contracts and making gradual changes can help teams reduce write-offs while maintaining patient relationships.

Episode Chapters:

01:00 Why write-offs matter in dentistry.

03:45 Understanding gross production, net production, and write-off percentage.

05:20 Insurance adjustments and PPO reimbursement.

06:54 Reviewing membership plan adjustments.

08:05 Understanding elective adjustments and discounts.

10:47 Why write-offs should be managed rather than eliminated.

11:50 Evaluating PPO contracts and shared agreements.

14:22 The financial impact of reducing write-offs.

18:00 Final takeaways and tracking your financial gaps.

Guest Bio/Guest Resources:

Robyn Theisen brings an entire life and legacy of dental experience to the team and every team with which she works as the daughter and sister of dentists. With almost 20 years of experience in dentistry, her roles ranged from practice management to operations at Patterson Dental to coaching teams. Robyn’s passion is empowering teams to realize that they can dramatically impact the lives of the people they serve by implementing skills and systems to remove barriers to life-changing dental treatment. She has done it for decades and does it every day with dental teams.

Outside of coaching, she enjoys time with her husband, Rob, and two daughters, Emerson and Ruby. She loves traveling, music, fitness, and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.

Episode Resources:

• Financial Gaps at a Glancer:
• https://hub.smilesource.com/c/resources/financial-gaps-at-a-glance'
• Financial GAPs Calculator:
• https://hub.smilesource.com/c/resources/financial-gaps-calculator

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Why can your practice feel busier than ever, show higher production, and still not see more money in the bank? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT Dental’s Director of Education, to explain why gross production is often a misleading proxy for profitability and what to measure instead.

You’ll learn the difference between gross and net production, how write-offs and overhead quietly erase gains, and the first steps to protect margins so profit can follow production. Listen to Episode 1057 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Gross production can be a “gross misrepresentation” of what a practice can actually collect, while net production reflects what is realistically collectible.
• Higher production does not automatically create higher profit when write-offs grow and overhead rises at the same time.
• Practices get it wrong when they celebrate production without tracking what gets adjusted away and what it costs to deliver the care.
• Large write-offs (insurance, membership plan discounts, elective courtesies, and untracked adjustments) can create an “effort gap” where work is done but revenue is not collectible.
• Adding hours, days, team members, and equipment to chase production can increase expenses and compound the profitability problem.
• Practices get it right by tracking adjustments by category (and often by individual insurance carriers) and by regularly reviewing the P&L to confirm expenses are aligned with revenue-producing needs.
• The first action steps are to clarify write-offs in the practice management system and to understand where overhead dollars are going before pushing for more production.

Snippets:

00:00 Why production can be up while profit doesn’t follow.

02:10 Gross vs. net production and why the distinction matters for doctors and teams.

06:10 What it looks like when practices get it wrong and the bank account doesn’t grow.

07:05 Write-offs and the “effort gap” between delivered care and collectible revenue.

08:35 How chasing more production can quietly drive overhead higher.

10:05 Why the real issue is often strategy, not production.

14:15 The mindset shift for fee-for-service: being okay with downtime and using it well.

17:10 The first thing to do tomorrow: get clarity on write-offs and adjustments.

19:05 The next step: review the P&L and understand overhead buckets.

Guest Bio/Guest Resources:

Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.

Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Technology and AI are making information faster and easier to access, but speed alone will not make you a better dentist. As patients gain more information online while spending less time reading deeply, dentists have an opportunity to stand out through curiosity, knowledge, trust, and genuine human connection. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Dr. Uche Odiatu, dentist and speaker, about why there has never been a better time to get ahead in dentistry.

You will learn why depth of knowledge still matters, how high-touch care complements high-tech dentistry, why slowing down can become a competitive advantage, and how lifelong learning can strengthen patient relationships. To learn how to differentiate yourself in an increasingly fast and technology-driven world, listen to Episode 1113 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Most people have easy access to information but often lack the depth of understanding that comes from sustained reading and learning.
• Dentists should acknowledge patients who research their health rather than dismissing their questions or concerns.
• Technology can improve dentistry, but compassion, empathy, eye contact, confidence, and personal attention are what make patients feel cared for.
• Reading and listening to books can help dentists develop the knowledge, curiosity, and communication skills that build trust chairside.
• Dentists have an unusual amount of time with patients compared with many other healthcare providers, creating opportunities to become trusted sources of guidance.
• Greater efficiency and speed do not automatically create greater fulfillment, making intentional connection and time with patients increasingly valuable.
• Curiosity, continuous learning, wisdom, and human connection remain important differentiators as AI and technology become more common in dentistry.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Intro

02:37 Why there has never been an easier time to get ahead.

03:14 The difference between access to information and depth of knowledge.

04:05 How dentists should respond when patients bring in online research.

06:05 High tech versus high touch in dentistry.

07:32 Why dentists should study human connection and relationship skills.

11:10 Getting lost in a book and stepping away from digital anxiety.

15:07 Being intentional about the information and media you consume.

16:48 Navigating AI-generated information and uncertain online sources.

19:22 Finding time to learn through audiobooks and listening.

22:00 Curiosity, learning, and human connection as advantages for dentists.

24:16 Why slowing down may become a competitive advantage.

27:04 The value of in-person learning and connection.

28:49 How to learn more about Dr. Uche Odiatu.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Uche Odiatu has a DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine). He is a professional member of the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), a Certified Personal Trainer NSCA (National Strength & Conditioning Association), and the Canadian Association of Fitness Professionals (canfitpro). He is the co-author of The Miracle of Health and has lectured in Canada, the USA, the Caribbean, the UK, and Europe. He is an invited guest on over 400 TV and radio shows, from ABC 20/20, Canada CTV AM, Breakfast TV, to Magic Sunday Drum FM in Texas. This high-energy healthcare professional has done over 450 lectures in seven countries over the last 15 years.

Episode Resources:

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

AI is changing how patients search for and choose dental practices, but traditional marketing reports may not show where those patients actually came from. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt speaks with Eric Hubbard of Pain-Free Dental Marketing about how AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are changing dental patient flow, making traditional attribution more difficult, and increasing the importance of understanding what patients actually searched for.

You will learn how to improve referral tracking, why multi-channel attribution matters, where marketing dollars may be better spent, and how original content and clear trust signals can help your practice remain visible as AI search grows. Listen to Episode 1112 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• AI has quickly become a meaningful source of new patient flow, but practices may underestimate its impact because traditional tracking methods cannot always identify AI-driven referrals.
• Dental teams should go beyond asking patients how they heard about the practice and ask what they searched for, what mattered to them, and what information influenced their decision.
• Multi-channel attribution provides a more complete picture because referrals are often supported by additional research through Google, social media, websites, videos, and other channels.
• Patients are using AI to search for dentists based on highly specific criteria such as gentleness, insurance participation, practice values, ownership structure, and treatment philosophy.
• Strong SEO fundamentals, original content, good reviews, clear websites, and authentic information about a practice can also help practices perform well in AI-driven search.
• Marketing analysis should combine patient conversations, practice management data, and digital traffic information rather than relying on a single attribution source.
• Practices can strengthen trust by consistently communicating who they are, what they care about, how they treat patients, and how they serve their communities.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Intro

02:53 Why AI is becoming important in dental marketing.

04:55 How digital breadcrumbs have traditionally tracked patient behavior.

08:31 Understanding multi-channel attribution.

12:07 What patients are actually asking AI when searching for dentists.

15:14 Where dental practices should consider investing their marketing dollars.

20:11 Building trust as AI-generated content increases.

22:55 Combining phone calls, practice data, and digital tracking.

25:27 Two actions dentists can take now.

26:38 Marketing by consistently talking about what you care about.

28:00 Why narrowing your message can attract the right patients.

30:32 How to learn more from Eric and Pain-Free Dental Marketing.

Guest Bio:

Eric Hubbard is a dental marketing professional with Pain-Free Dental Marketing. His marketing background includes experience with Procter & Gamble and GameStop, where he developed an approach centered on clearly identifying and communicating with an ideal customer. Today, he applies that discipline to dental practices, helping them improve their digital presence, attract the right prospective patients, and focus on sustainable practice growth.

Episode Resources:

• Bite-Sized Dental Marketing podcast:
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bite-sized-dental-marketing/id1688425885
• Pain-Free Dental Marketing: https://www.painfreedentalmarketing.com/

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Insurance aging tells you how much money insurance companies owe your practice and how long those dollars have been outstanding. But when claims start sitting beyond 30, 60, or even 90 days, cash flow can quickly suffer. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt is joined by coach Carlie Einarson to explain how to read your insurance aging report, recognize when claims are becoming a problem, and create a consistent system for getting outstanding balances resolved. Learn what healthy insurance AR should look like, why clear ownership matters, and what your team can start doing today to improve collections.

Listen to Episode 1111 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Insurance aging shows how much money insurance companies owe your practice and how long those balances have been outstanding.
• The majority of healthy insurance AR should remain in the zero-to-30-day bucket.
• Growing balances in the 60-, 90-, and 90-plus-day buckets indicate that claims need more attention.
• Claims need a consistent follow-up process and a clearly designated team member responsible for resolving them.
• Clean claims with complete X-rays, notes, and required information can help prevent unnecessary payment delays.
• Insurance aging balances should decline over time rather than steadily increase from month to month.
• Start by identifying how much money is sitting in each aging bucket, then build systems to resolve the outstanding claims.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Metric Mondays

01:00 What insurance aging means

03:52 Signs your insurance AR is going in the wrong direction

05:12 Finding where insurance money is getting stuck

07:14 What healthy insurance aging looks like

08:57 Assigning ownership and creating a follow-up system

11:00 How to evaluate your insurance aging report

12:42 Using reporting systems to improve insurance AR

13:00 Wrap up

Guest Bio:

Carlie Einarson is a lead practice coach who has a passion for helping others succeed in the dental field. She loves helping to create a stable foundation for practices so both professionals and patients have a great experience every time they walk in the door!

Carlie graduated from Utah College of Dental Hygiene. She has ten years of experience in the dental field, including clinical dental hygiene, front office, and leading teams.

In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with loved ones, traveling, skiing, playing volleyball, and golfing.

Episode Resources:

Check out our practice reporting guide:

https://hub.smilesource.com/c/resources/practice-reporting-guide

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

In dentistry, many problems aren’t caused by the procedure itself—they come from what wasn’t discussed before treatment started. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Dennis Hartlieb, a general dentist and educator, to share four communication tips that help you set expectations, reduce misunderstandings, and protect the practice before you ever pick up a handpiece.

You’ll learn how to give patients clearer choices, document risk the right way, talk through outcomes without creating fear, and spot red flags before they become bigger problems—listen to Episode 1110 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Give patients two options to simplify decisions and prevent overwhelm.
• Explain material choices in simple terms (composite as “plastic,” porcelain as “glass”) and connect each to tradeoffs.
• Set yourself up for success by having the key conversations before you start treatment, especially on higher-risk cases.
• Sell the benefits of the recommended treatment before you explain what can go wrong.
• Use photos and brief chart notes (like “reviewed photograph of crack with patient”) to document the condition and the conversation.
• Watch for red flags like patients who fight you on treatment, arrive with multiple splints, or evaluate dentistry with magnification.
• Manage expectations for single-tooth esthetics by defining “social distance” success and planning for follow-up adjustments.

Snippets:

00:00 Why communication before treatment matters.

01:00 Meet Dr. Dennis Hartlieb and what he teaches.

02:10 Dennis explains his practice focus and Dental Online Training.

04:10 Dennis shares his connection to Buddy Mopper and composite dentistry.

06:10 The two-option framework for a chipped anterior tooth.

07:20 “Plastic vs. glass”: how to explain composite vs. porcelain in patient language.

09:35 What Dennis says when patients ask, “What would you do, doc?”

12:45 Managing cracked teeth: using pre-op photos to document unpredictability.

16:25 Sell the benefits first, then discuss the risks.

18:05 Missing tooth conversations: step-by-step options without overwhelming patients.

20:35 Why Dennis limits choices to two options at a time.

25:10 Red flags: patients who resist treatment or “know dentistry too well.”

28:05 Splints, magnifying mirrors, and when to step back from treatment.

31:20 Setting expectations for single-tooth matching in the esthetic zone.

34:45 Fee levels based on esthetic difficulty and patient expectations.

36:20 Why Dennis prefers composite veneers for control and predictable revisions.

39:00 Final lesson: ask questions, truly listen, and pull on the thread.

41:15 Where to find Dennis: Dental Online Training and YouTube.

Guest Bio/Guest Resources:

Dr. Dennis Hartlieb is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. He maintains a full-time practice, Chicago Beautiful Smiles, in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Illinois. Dr. Hartlieb is an instructor at the Center for Esthetic Excellence in Chicago and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Marquette University School of Dentistry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He lectures extensively to dentists throughout the U.S. on the art and science of anterior and posterior direct resin techniques.

Dr. Hartlieb is an Accredited Member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also a member of the prestigious American Academy of Restorative Dentistry, and the American Dental Association. He is the president of the Chicago Academy of Interdisciplinary Dentofacial Therapy, and officer for the Chicago Academy of Dental Research study club. His dentistry has been seen in many dental publications and he has contributed articles on his techniques in restorative dentistry.

• Dental Online Training: https://www.dothandson.com/
• Dr. Hartlieb’s email: [email protected]
• Dr. Hartlieb’s Facebook: / dennishartliebdds
• Dr. Hartlieb’s social media: @hartliebdds

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

AI can make your dental practice more efficient, but what happens when efficiency starts replacing the human connections that make dentistry work? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt is joined by ACT Dental coach Heather Crockett to share four ways to protect the human side of dentistry in an increasingly AI-driven world. You’ll learn how to use AI to create more capacity, why some conversations should never be outsourced, how to preserve the patient and team experience, and why a human must remain accountable for AI-generated work.

To learn how to use technology without losing the relationships that matter most, listen to Episode 1109 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Use AI to eliminate low-value work and create more capacity for leadership, patient care, and relationships.
• Do not automatically fill the time AI saves with more work; intentionally decide where that time should go.
• Human connection should not be outsourced when conversations require courage, empathy, trust, mentoring, or collaboration.
• AI can support patient and team interactions, but it cannot fully interpret emotions, hesitation, body language, or the nuances of human relationships.
• Technology should support the patient and team experience rather than replace meaningful human interaction.
• A human must remain accountable for reviewing AI-generated information, communication, systems, and other important outputs.
• Use the time AI gives back to create more space for your team, patients, family, and the relationships that contribute to a better practice and a better life.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Protecting the human side of dentistry in an AI world

02:33 Why dentists need to embrace AI thoughtfully

04:15 Trust will become increasingly important

07:40 Use AI to create capacity

09:00 Be intentional with the time AI gives back

11:46 Don't outsource human connection

15:19 Protect the human experience in your practice

17:13 Keep a human accountable to the task

19:00 Put your best energy toward what matters

21:00 Use AI to make room for more humanity

22:00 Final thoughts on creating a better practice and a better life

Guest Bio/Guest Resources:

Heather Crockett is a Lead Practice Coach who finds joy in not only improving practices but improving the lives of those she coaches as well. With over 20 years of combined experience in assisting, office management, and clinical dental hygiene, her awareness supports many aspects of the practice setting.

Heather received her dental hygiene degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in 2008. Networking in the dental community comes easy to her, and she loves to connect with like-minded colleagues on social media. Heather enjoys both attending and presenting continuing education to expand her knowledge and learn from her friends and colleagues.

She enjoys hanging out with her husband, three sons, and their dog, Moki, scrolling through social media, watching football, and traveling.

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: [email protected]
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

Many dental practices feel surprised by their numbers at the end of the month, even when they review reports regularly. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt sits down with Miranda Beeson, leadership coach at ACT Dental, to explain the difference between leading and lagging indicators and why relying too heavily on historical data creates stress, reactivity, and missed opportunities. They break down how leading indicators connect daily behaviors to long-term results, how to spot problems earlier, and how to use data to lead calmly instead of reactively.

If you want to understand which numbers actually help you influence outcomes before it’s too late, listen to Episode 1009 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways

1. Lagging indicators show what has already happened in a practice and cannot be changed once reported.
2. Leading indicators help predict future outcomes and guide daily and weekly behavior.
3. Practices that focus only on lagging indicators often feel blindsided and become reactive under pressure.
4. Tracking leading indicators weekly allows leaders to correct course before the end of the month.
5. Hygiene reappointment, diagnostic percentage, and case acceptance are examples of leading indicators that influence production.
6. Teams engage more effectively when they understand which daily actions influence practice results.

Episode Chapters:

• 00:52 Leading indicators versus lagging indicators and why both matter.
• 02:28 Why lagging indicators create reactive leadership and team stress.
• 03:50 Using hygiene metrics to predict future production.
• 06:11 Planning ahead for known schedule disruptions like holidays.
• 07:38 What it looks like when practices rely only on lagging indicators.
• 09:42 How leadership changes when leading indicators are used correctly.
• 11:39 Tracking diagnostic percentage and case acceptance week over week.
• 14:47 A simple first step to start using leading indicators today.

Guest Bio/Guest Resources

Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.

Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com