In this kickoff episode of a brand-new series, host Wes Read shares the foundation of financial planning tailored specifically for dental practice owners. Drawing from his widely presented talk, Dental Financial Planning: Turning Chaos into Financial Freedom, Wes explains why every dentist—regardless of age—should have a personal financial plan. He discusses the importance of building a roadmap for your future, even if life takes unexpected turns, and outlines how thoughtful planning today leads to financial independence tomorrow.

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• New Series Launch: Introduction to a focused series on financial planning for dentists.
• Tailored to Practice Owners: Why generic financial advice often falls short for dental professionals.
• Importance of Planning: Even if your life doesn’t follow the plan exactly, the act of planning drives better decision-making.
• The Goal of Practice CFO: Help clients reach financial independence—where work becomes optional.
• Life and Money Interconnected: How life planning and financial planning go hand-in-hand.
• Stephen Covey Reference: Climbing the right “ladder” matters—choose your financial path intentionally.
• Complex Financial Ecosystem: Addressing the “chaos” of multiple accounts, debts, and financial instruments dentists manage.
• No One Too Young or Too Old: Whether you're 30 or 60, financial planning remains crucial.

#DentalBoardroomPodcast #PracticeCFO #DentalFinancialPlanning #FinancialFreedom #DentistMoneyTalk #DentalPracticeOwner #WesReed #WealthPlanning #LifePlanning #DentistFinance #DentalSuccess #SmartMoneyMoves

In this episode, Wes Read dives deep into a topic that keeps many dental practice owners awake at night: embezzlement. Drawing from real-life cases and his years of experience working with dentists, Wes explores how trusted team members can sometimes become the source of financial harm. He emphasizes the importance of "professional skepticism", a principle he adopted early in his career at Ernst & Young, and how applying this mindset can help dentists protect their finances without damaging team morale.

Download the Embezzlement Protection Guide for Dentists from Practice CFO:

https://practicecfo.com/wp-content/uploads/PracticeCFO-Embezzlement-Protection-Guide.pdf

• Real-Life Case Study: A dentist in Oregon lost $250,000 over seven years due to embezzlement by a trusted office manager.
• Trust vs. Verification: Even with loyal employees, verification processes are essential.
• Professional Skepticism: A lesson from Wes’s auditing career — trust is good, but professional skepticism is better.
• The Value of Accountants: CPAs bring price transparency, which underpins financial confidence — not just in public companies, but in small businesses like dental practices.
• Common Discovery: Most dental embezzlement cases are uncovered accidentally, making proactive systems critical.

#DentalBoardroomPodcast #PracticeCFO #DentalEmbezzlement #ProtectYourPractice #FinancialTransparency #TrustButVerify #DentalFinance #ProfessionalSkepticism #CPAWisdom #FraudPrevention #DentalOfficeTips

In this quarter’s deep dive, Wes Read unpacks the latest insights from the ADA Health Policy Institute’s Q2 2025 report—a comprehensive look at the state of the U.S. dental economy. Using AI to summarize key findings, we explore economic confidence among dentists, patient spending patterns, workforce trends, and the paradox of continued investments despite growing uncertainty. Whether you’re a dental professional, healthcare investor, or simply curious about the business of smiles—this episode is for you.

• Economic Confidence Down: Dentist sentiment in Q2 2025 hits a record low across personal practices, the dental sector, and the broader U.S. economy.
• Top Concerns Identified: Pessimism driven by government policies, tariffs, inflation, global instability, and general economic uncertainty.
• Real Voices, Real Frustrations: Dentists express concern over unpredictable policies and rising operating costs in candid quotes from the report.
• Positive Outlooks Still Exist: Some dentists remain confident, citing strong patient demand, resilient consumer behavior, and support for current policies.
• Investments Continue: Despite low confidence, many practices are moving forward with software upgrades, equipment purchases, and dropping insurance networks.
• Hiring Surge Surprises: Nearly 38% of dentists added staff—far surpassing the 22% who originally planned to.

#DentalEconomy #ADAreport #DentalPracticeTrends #HealthcareBusiness #DentistryInsights #DentalPodcast #EconomicConfidence #AIandDentistry #DentalWorkforce #DentalInvestments #PracticeGrowth #DentalBoardroomPodcast

In this episode of The Dental Boardroom Podcast, host Wes Read, CPA CFP®, is joined by Myles Davis, founder of Dentrec—a platform designed to bring clarity and consistency between dental practice management systems, bank accounts, and accounting software like QuickBooks.

Wes and Myles explore the common yet often overlooked issue of reconciling collections data with actual deposits. They dive deep into how disorganization or gaps in reconciliation can lead to embezzlement, financial misstatements, patient trust issues, and inefficiencies in team performance tracking.

Myles shares how Dentrec is helping DSOs and solo practices alike automate reconciliation, allocate deposits correctly (especially across multiple offices or tax IDs), and keep all systems—from PMS to bank accounts to financials—in sync. Learn why this simple yet powerful solution is transforming dental practice accountability, financial health, and team transparency.

• Dentrec helps reconcile collections data from PMS (like Open Dental, Dentrix, Eaglesoft) with actual bank deposits and QuickBooks.
• Lack of reconciliation can lead to embezzlement, financial misstatements, tax underreporting, and loss of patient trust.
• Dentists often don’t catch missing funds or misallocated deposits due to lack of time, process, or tools.
• Dentrec is especially useful for DSOs with centralized banking or shared TINs across practices.
• Automation and accountability reduce human error and increase practice efficiency.
• Embezzlement remains alarmingly common—40% of dentists experience it at least once.
• Dentrec also tracks whether payments were correctly posted to patient ledgers.
• The “fork test” analogy shows how disorganized workflows cost teams time and money.
• Aligning PMS, financial reporting, and bank data helps owners stay informed and in control.

#DentalBoardroomPodcast #Dentrec #DentalFinance #DentalEmbezzlement #PracticeManagement #DSO #DentalTech #FinancialReconciliation #WesReed #MylesDavis #QuickBooksDental #OpenDental #DentalAccounting #CashFlowManagement #DentalPracticeGrowth

In this quarterly market update, Wes Read is joined by Chief Investment Officer Brandon Hobson and investment committee member Paul Lipcius to unpack the swirling forces shaping the markets in mid-2025. From geopolitical tensions and legislative changes to the explosive innovation in AI, the team explores why this year has been anything but predictable.

They discuss the surprising resilience of markets, the impact of currency fluctuations, and why disciplined diversification across small caps, value stocks, and international equities is paying off for investors. Whether you’re curious about why international stocks are leading or how Practice CFO strategically tilts portfolios to manage risk and seize opportunity, this episode provides clarity and perspective for investors navigating uncertain terrain.

Key Points

• Better Than Expected Performance: Despite early-year uncertainty, markets have performed more strongly than most anticipated.
• Volatility Remains High: After a volatile start, recent months have stabilized, though many unknowns persist.
• International Equity Surge: International developed and emerging markets are outperforming U.S. equities, buoyed in part by currency effects.
• Small Caps Poised for Upside: With expected Fed rate cuts, small cap stocks are positioned for potential outperformance.
• Value Over Growth: In this phase of the cycle, portfolios are tilted toward high-quality value stocks to manage risk.
• Disciplined Diversification: Practice CFO avoids market timing and instead uses tactical tilts to align with long-term objectives.
• Currency Dynamics Matter: Dollar weakness has amplified international returns, demonstrating the importance of currency diversification.
• Recency Bias Caution: The temptation to overweight recent winners is strong, but buy-low-sell-high discipline remains critical.
• Long-Term Focus: While tech-led growth has dominated for a decade, historical trends favor value and small caps over time.

#DentalBoardroomPodcast #MarketUpdate #InvestmentStrategy #Diversification #InternationalEquities #SmallCaps #ValueInvesting #FinancialPlanning #PracticeCFO #DentalFinance

In this important episode, Wes Read walks dental and healthcare practice owners through the major tax provisions of the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed just before July 4th. This landmark legislation includes hundreds of provisions designed to extend prior tax cuts, adjust deductions, and shape the future of business and personal tax planning. Wes distills the dense legislation into clear, actionable takeaways to help you make informed decisions for your practice.

Who This Is For:

Dental and healthcare practice owners, business managers, and anyone interested in staying ahead of tax law changes that can affect practice profitability and personal finances.

Special Note:

This episode focuses exclusively on the tax-related provisions of the bill. Other elements, such as savings accounts or unrelated policy changes, are not covered.

• Extension of 2017 Tax Cuts: The bill makes the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax brackets “permanent,” preventing them from reverting to pre-2017 higher rates in 2026.
• National Debt Concerns: Despite extending lower rates, the U.S. continues running significant deficits, adding trillions in debt—raising questions about long-term fiscal sustainability.
• SALT Deduction Increase: The state and local tax deduction cap rises from $10,000 to $40,000, especially benefiting practice owners in high-tax states like California and New York.
• Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTE): Practice owners still have the option to deduct state taxes via their business entity rather than personal Schedule A—requiring careful planning to choose the optimal strategy.
• Phase-Out Thresholds: SALT benefits phase out for married couples earning over $500,000 ($600,000 for full phase-out), making PTE elections more favorable for higher earners.
• Child Tax Credit Increase: The credit increases slightly from $2,000 to $2,200 per child through 2028, with income phaseouts beginning at $400,000 for married filers.
• Tax Planning Imperative: Proactive tax forecasting is critical to maximize deductions and avoid missed opportunities in this evolving tax environment.
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#DentalPractice #TaxPlanning #SALTdeduction #DentalFinance #PracticeCFO #DentalBoardroomPodcast #HealthcareFinance #TaxLawUpdate #SmallBusinessTaxes #PassThroughEntityTax

In this episode of The Dental Boardroom, host Drew Phillips sits down with Adrian Lefler, Co-Founder and CEO of My Social Practice. Adrian has been helping dental practices master digital marketing since 2009—long before “dental TikTok” became a thing.

They explore how generative AI and automation are fundamentally transforming the marketing landscape for dentists—from content creation and SEO to real-time patient engagement. Adrian shares how tools like Google’s Gemini and large language models are driving the cost of content nearly to zero, reshaping how practices get found online and build trust with patients.

Whether you’re wondering how AI-generated web agents like Annie can fill your schedule overnight or how to future-proof your website against AI overviews, this conversation is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

 Key Points

• AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are making content creation (blogs, videos, images) faster and nearly cost-free.
• Google’s new AI Overviews (AIO) are replacing traditional search result clicks with direct answers, disrupting SEO strategies.
• Tools like Annie, an AI-powered scheduling agent, enable 24/7 patient communication and appointment booking.
• Website storytelling and content must evolve to remain competitive against AI-generated search summaries.
• Ranking in local search (Google Maps/business pack) is now influenced by how well your content integrates with AI tools.
• Paid ads and traditional SEO still matter, but only as part of a comprehensive AI-informed marketing strategy.
• Dental practices must use AI to improve team efficiency while continuing to build authentic, trust-driven content.

#DentalMarketing#AIDentistry#GenerativeAI#DentalSEO#MySocialPractice#DentalBoardroomPodcast#PatientEngagement#DigitalMarketing#GoogleGemini#DentalPracticeGrowth

In this insightful episode, Drew Phillips continues the special series on AI in Dentistry with a deep dive into how Next Health is helping practices modernize patient experiences. Kyle Johnson shares his journey from early-stage team member to driving growth and solving some of the biggest challenges in dental technology—especially data integration. They explore why true AI transformation starts with clean, accessible data, how Next Health built tools that connect fragmented practice management systems, and the very real ways this is reducing front office burdens and improving care delivery today.

🔑 Key Points

Kyle Johnson’s Background: Joined Next Health in 2020 as employee #11, bringing experience from PatientPop and a passion for solving data integration challenges in healthcare.

Origins of Next Health: Founded to remove barriers in EHR and practice management systems, making patient data accessible and usable.

The Real Bottleneck in Dental Practices: Most systems still depend on manual data entry and fragmented workflows, slowing efficiency and growth.

Data Integration Explained Simply: Hundreds of systems store data differently; Next Health’s Synchronizer standardizes access and simplifies connectivity.

Core Functions Next Health Enables: Real-time scheduling, automated reminders, and seamless data flows that reduce front office burden.

How AI Fits In: Clean, structured data empowers AI tools to optimize operations and enhance patient care.

Vision for the Future: Helping practices work smarter with modern tools that deliver a better, more efficient patient experience.

#DentalBoardroomPodcast #DentalTech #AIinDentistry #NextHealth #DentalPracticeGrowth #PatientExperience #HealthcareAutomation #DentalInnovation #PracticeManagement #EHRIntegration #DentalAI #DigitalDentistry #DentalLeadership #ModernDentistry

In this episode of The Dental Boardroom Podcast, host Wes Read, CPA, CFP, and owner of Practice CFO, sits down with Mike Buckner from Pearl AI—one of the frontrunners in AI-powered clinical analysis for dentistry. Together, they explore how artificial intelligence is transforming dental practices across the country.

Mike shares his deep experience with dental tech giants like Solutionreach, Dental Intel, and Weave, and how Utah has become a surprising hub for innovation in dental technology. The discussion highlights the game-changing role of AI in diagnostics, case acceptance, and practice efficiency. They also cover how Pearl AI helps both dentists and patients better understand treatment needs through enhanced imaging and intelligent analysis.

• AI vs. Traditional Software: Traditional SaaS tools are rule-based. AI adds analytical “thinking” capabilities that improve accuracy and efficiency.
• Pearl AI’s Advantage: Pearl uses computer vision to analyze past and current X-rays, surfacing untreated issues and enhancing diagnostic confidence.
• Boost in Case Acceptance: By overlaying visuals on digital X-rays, Pearl AI helps patients understand their clinical needs—leading to a 20–30% increase in case acceptance.
• Operational Efficiency: AI helps dentists "do more with less" by optimizing workflows and uncovering treatment opportunities they may have missed.
• Financial Impact: With 75–85% of dental practice costs being fixed, improvements in efficiency and case acceptance can dramatically affect the bottom line.
• Patient Communication: Visual clarity offered by AI tools reduces patient hesitation and improves treatment compliance.

#DentalAI #PearlAI #DentalTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #CaseAcceptance #DentalPracticeGrowth #DentalInnovation #DentalXrays #DentalEfficiency #PracticeCFO #DentalBoardroomPodcast #DentistryFuture #AIinDentistry #DentalLeadership #SmartDentistry

In this eye-opening episode, host Wes Read, CPA, CFP welcomes Vivek Kinra, founder and CEO of Verific, for an in-depth conversation about artificial intelligence in dentistry.

The discussion starts off unscripted and fresh, as Vivek shares his unique journey from software engineering to creating multiple dental technology companies—PPO Profits and now Verific. He details how Verific uses genuine AI to tackle the notoriously complex problem of insurance verification.

Together, Wes and Vivek unpack the difference between real AI applications—like machine learning and large language models—and the marketing buzzwords that many companies use to inflate their valuations.

• Vivek Kinra’s background: Software engineer turned dental technology entrepreneur; built PPO Profits (acquired) and now leads Verific.
• Insurance verification problem: Decades-old challenge with no single source of truth—Verific uses AI to gather and standardize disparate data.
• Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic Software:

1. Deterministic = same output every time (ideal for appointment reminders).
2. Non-Deterministic = varied output (necessary for natural language and understanding context).

• True AI examples in dentistry:

1. Machine learning for x-rays.
2. Large language models parsing complex insurance documents.
3. Virtual receptionists handling natural conversations.

• Marketing Hype: Many companies label simple software workflows as “AI” for better valuations and branding.
• How to spot real AI:

1. Does the system generate new outputs based on context and training data?
2. Is it using models like LLMs or neural networks to understand and adapt?

#DentalAI #DentalTechnology #PracticeManagement #InsuranceVerification #ArtificialIntelligence #DentalBusiness #DentalPodcast #MachineLearning #Verific #DentalInnovation #DentistryHypeVsReality #DentalSoftware #DentalBoardroomPodcast