The Real Talk of Dental

Dentist burnout is not always caused by dentistry itself. More often, it happens when everything outside the practice gets neglected: your marriage, your kids, your health, and your own personal growth. If you are hitting your numbers but feel like you are failing at home, or thriving at home while the business drifts, nothing is wrong with you. You are running your life on autopilot, and the highlight reel you see from everyone else in the industry is making it worse.

On this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Mike Nelson, a dental tech veteran of Dental Intelligence, Solutionreach, and Weave and the founder of The Atlas Project. Mike explains why dentistry was never meant to be your identity, it was meant to fuel your life, and how The Atlas Project helps dental professionals navigate every map of life with intention, from craft and business to connection, health, and adventure. You will hear why most practice owners cannot describe the practice they want, why resilience is a muscle you build outside the office, why changing your environment matters when you unplug, and why no one on a dental panel has it all figured out. If you are ready to stop reacting and start living a life by design, consider this your permission to begin.

You’ll learn:

• Why dentist burnout, according to Mike Nelson, usually comes from neglecting your life outside the practice rather than from dentistry being too hard, and why refilling your own battery changes how you lead.
• The Atlas Project belief that dentistry was never meant to be your identity, it was meant to fuel your life, and how to navigate each map of your life with real intention.
• Why most dental practice owners cannot describe the culture, team, or patients they actually want, and how becoming a victim of indecision quietly shapes both your practice and your home life.
• How to build resilience like a muscle through physical challenge and discomfort, so a schedule falling apart at the practice feels manageable instead of feeling like the end of the world.
• Why changing your environment matters when you finally unplug, and what Brandi Marzolino learned about sleep, rest, and her nervous system after taking extended time away from work.
• Why work-life balance for dentists starts with practicing preventative care on yourself, your marriage, and your kids, instead of waiting until dentist burnout forces a crisis you cannot ignore.
• How to see through the highlight reel from dental influencers, conference panels, and gurus, and why admitting no one has it all figured out gives you and your team room to grow.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental

01:00 Successful at work but struggling at home

03:00 Mike Nelson’s path from landscaping into dentistry

06:00 Why Mike Nelson started The Atlas Project

08:00 Why most practice owners cannot say what they want

12:00 Dentistry was never meant to be your identity

14:00 Why changing your environment helps you truly unplug

17:00 What extended time off taught Brandi about sleep

21:00 Is dentistry really the cause of dentist burnout

22:00 Building resilience alone in the backcountry

30:00 Couples retreats and family events with The Atlas Project

33:00 Why does no one in dental have it figured out

Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental

Connect with Mike

Website: www.Youratlashq.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-atlas-project1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/youratlashq

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youratlashq/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentistBurnout #DentalBurnout #DentalLeadership #WorkLifeBalance #DentistLife #DentalProfessionals #PracticeOwner #DentalPracticeOwner #IntentionalLiving #LifeByDesign #Resilience #DentalCommunity #DentalCulture #DentalWellness #MentalHealthInDentistry #DentalPodcast #TheAtlasProject #MikeNelson #BrandiMarzolino #TheRealTalkOfDental

Dental practice financials are the numbers that show whether your practice is truly healthy: your collections, your AR, your hygiene production, your overhead, and your profit. If you avoid them, you are not alone. Plenty of practice owners know what they collect each month and that the bills get paid. But they have no idea what their AR looks like, whether they overpay for supplies, or how to plan for that next big equipment purchase. Dental school never taught you the business side, so it is easy to decide you are bad with numbers when you were simply never trained.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach and host of The Real Talk of Dental, sits down with Jessica Nunn, CPA, founder and CEO of Maven Financial Partners. Maven is a female-led financial consulting firm serving dental, dermatology, and plastic surgery practices. Jessica shares how she went from preparing tax returns to building a firm where clients actually look forward to their monthly numbers meeting. You will hear her core principle, big change requires big change. You will also hear why feelings aren't facts when you review your P&L, and how a budget tells your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. You already earned your seat. Now it is time to look under the hood.

You’ll learn:

• Why dental practice financials feel so scary: Jessica Nunn explains how money conflict growing up and zero business training in dental school lead owners to assume they are bad with numbers.
• What big change requires big change means for your profitability: a financial consultant brings awareness, but small tweaks rarely move the needle, so real profit growth demands real change in how you operate.
• How feelings aren't facts plays out in your dental practice financials: owners who feel they had a bad month often had their most profitable one, driven by hygiene, ortho starts, or a strong associate.
• How to fix team compensation that is hurting your profit: Jessica's take on paying your team wrong, gradual pay restructuring, and when keeping a loyal team at a higher cost is a valid choice.
• Founder-led practices vs private equity-backed platforms: why about 98% of Maven Financial Partners clients are founders working side by side with their teams, and how emotion can cloud lab and vendor decisions.
• What a dental practice budget actually does: Maven's definition of a budget as telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went, plus how a year-at-a-glance plan keeps you proactive.
• How to choose the right financial partner for your practice: why approachable advice in plain English matters, and why a CPA or advisor who leaves you feeling dumb or in tears is the wrong fit.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental

01:00 Do you really know your dental practice numbers

05:00 Jessica Nunn's path from CPA to Maven founder

09:00 Correcting veteran CPAs as a young woman

12:00 Why big change requires big change

14:00 Are you bad with numbers or just scared

17:00 You cannot measure what you are not tracking

18:00 Feelings aren't facts in your dental practice financials

21:00 Why does a financial review feel like getting naked

28:00 Running your practice by values or the bottom line

32:00 A budget tells your money where to go

33:00 Finding a financial partner you actually vibe with

Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental

Connect with Jessica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-nunn-cpa-1474a417/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maven-financial-partners/

Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial

Website: https://www.mavenfp.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentalPracticeFinancials #DentalPracticeOwner #DentalBusiness #DentalPracticeManagement #KnowYourNumbers #DentalProfitability #FractionalCFO #DentalCFO #DentalPracticeGrowth #DentistLife #DentalLeadership #DentalOfficeManager #WomenInFinance #FemaleFounder #PracticeOwner #DentalPodcast #MavenFinancialPartners #RealTalkOfDental

Dental insurance fee negotiation is how your practice gets carriers like Delta Dental to raise what they pay you, and most offices are not doing it nearly enough. If you haven't touched your fee schedules in six, eight, or even ten years, you are leaving money on the table every single day. Staffing costs aren't going down. Supply costs aren't going down. As more practices weigh dropping PPO networks in 2026, knowing how in-network reimbursement really works has never mattered more.

On The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Michael Cembrola, a former Delta Dental sales executive with 20 years in dental benefits who now helps dentists negotiate fees with insurance companies. Michael explains why you should review your reimbursements every two years, why dental fraud and abuse cost an estimated $12 to $15 billion a year in the US, and how the Model Dentist tool he helped build scores every dentist in a network across 25 clinical and patient metrics. You'll also learn how self-funded and fully insured plans drive your prophy reimbursement, and who actually sets that $1,000 annual maximum. This is the episode where we stop picking a villain and start having the real conversation.

You’ll learn:

• Dental insurance fee negotiation timing: why Michael Cembrola recommends reviewing your reimbursements every two years, and what to do when a carrier tells you no the first time you ask.
• Should dental offices drop insurance? How your patient mix, the carriers in your area, and your growth stage decide whether staying in-network still makes sense for your practice.
• Dental insurance fraud, waste, and abuse: why an estimated $12 to $15 billion is lost every year in the US, and how honest coding mistakes by office staff quietly add to it.
• Model Dentist quality scoring: how the tool ranks every dentist in a network from tier one to tier five using 25 metrics like complication rates, fillings versus crowns, and continuity of care.
• Who really sets your $1,000 annual maximum: why employers, not insurance companies, choose the plan design, and how that misconception fuels patient frustration at your front desk.
• Self-funded versus fully insured dental plans: how employers paying the cost of care directly keeps prophy reimbursement low, and why that makes dental insurance fee negotiation so tough.
• Value-based care in dentistry: what it means to pay dentists more for appropriate, preventive care at the right time, and why dental still runs about ten years behind medical.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Why a Delta Dental insider isn't the villain

03:00 Former Delta Dental exec thoughts on dental insurance today

05:00 Should dental offices drop insurance?

07:30 Dental insurance fraud costs $12 to $15 billion yearly

11:00 Is dental fraud mostly intentional or accidental?

13:00 Who really sets your $1,000 annual maximum?

14:30 Dental insurance fee negotiation: how often should you ask?

19:00 Model Dentist scores every dentist on 25 metrics

25:30 What does value-based care mean in dentistry?

30:30 Dentists vs insurers: who really holds the power?

32:00 Is low prophy reimbursement hurting dental hygiene?

33:30 Self-funded vs fully insured dental plans explained

Got an insurance horror story or a fee negotiation confession? Leave Brandi an anonymous voicemail for The Real Talk of Dental at https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealTalkofDental

Connect with Michael

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecembrola/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentalInsurance #DentalInsuranceNegotiation #PPONegotiation #DeltaDental #DentalPractice #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalFraud #DentalBilling #DentalCoding #DentalHygiene #DentalHygienist #ValueBasedCare #DSO #DentalOfficeManager #DentalLeadership #DentalIndustry #DentalPodcast #TheRealTalkOfDental

A dental sabbatical is what happens when a dentist steps fully away from clinical practice, not for a two week vacation, but for a real, intentional reset. If you've ever quietly wondered whether you could walk away from the chair for a year and come back different, this episode is proof it's possible. Dr. Matt Allen did exactly that, and it didn't just change his schedule, it changed the direction of his entire career. He talks with Brandi about the fear that keeps dentists white knuckling control, the moment he realized the four lane highway to success wasn't for him, and why slowing down turned out to be the fastest way forward.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran, leadership coach, and host of The Real Talk of Dental, sits down with Dr. Matt Allen, DDS, Co-Founder and CEO of DifferentKind, to unpack what he learned in the year he stepped away from dentistry. You'll walk away with Matt's soft focus framework for creative rest, his ikigai based approach to figuring out your next move, and his reservoir mindset for giving without burning out. This is a real conversation about fear, patient experience, and what it actually looks like to build a career on your own terms. Hit play and give yourself permission to imagine a different path.

You’ll learn:

• Why Dr. Matt Allen walked away from clinical dentistry for a full year, and what a real sabbatical actually requires before you take the leap.
• How Spain's World Cup winning soccer system explains why over controlling your dental team quietly stalls their growth and decision making.
• The difference between the fear that keeps you safe and the fear that's secretly running every decision in your dental practice.
• Why Matt reframes big career moves as experiments instead of demanding perfection, and how that shift changes what you're willing to try.
• What soft focus time taught Matt about slowing down, and how walking became the surprising unlock for his best business decisions.
• How Matt used the Japanese concept of ikigai to build A Different Kind, his patient experience company for dental organizations.
• Why AI can automate dental communication tasks but still can't replace the human trust building skills most dental teams were never taught.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Welcome to The Real Talk of Dental

01:00 Matt Allen left dentistry to build A Different Kind

05:00 How Spain's World Cup win applies to dental leadership

08:00 Why controlling every outcome breaks down under pressure

09:00 Why fear shows up around growth and hard decisions

10:00 How dental training shrinks your focus and your control

14:00 Reframing fear as experimenting instead of chasing perfection

19:00 What led Matt to take a full year off

22:00 Soft focus time and the early seeds of Different Kind

27:00 Finding ikigai and deciding what only you can do

32:00 Why people are losing trust in AI generated communication

35:00 Matt's reservoir mindset for staying full instead of empty

Connect with Matt

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/differentkind/

Website: https://www.differentkind.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#Dentistry #DentalPodcast #DentalLeadership #PatientExperience #DentalBurnout #DentalCareerChange #DentistLife #DentalCulture #DentalTeamCulture #FearInLeadership #Ikigai #DentalSabbatical #DentalWellness #PracticeOwner #DentalIndustry #DentalCoaching #DentalMarketing #RealTalkOfDental

How do you scale a DSO without creating a collection of practices that operate like completely different businesses?

In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, Brandi Marzolino sits down with Eric Pastan, who built a 45-practice DSO and sold it to private equity, to explore what sustainable growth actually requires.

Eric explains the difference between scaling and stacking, what private equity buyers value beyond EBITDA, and why repeatable systems, realistic projections, strong culture, and operational alignment make a dental group more valuable.

You’ll also hear why Eric walked away from his first attempted transaction, how to connect growth targets to actionable KPIs, and why the highest offer may not come from the right partner.

If you are growing a dental group or considering a future sale, this conversation will help you build a business that is easier to operate, more attractive to buyers, and strong enough to grow without losing its culture.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between scaling a DSO and stacking practices.
• What private equity buyers evaluate beyond EBITDA.
• Why Eric walked away from his first attempted DSO sale.
• How repeatable systems and accurate projections increase value.
• Why financial goals must connect to practice-level KPIs.
• How to evaluate technology before investing in it.
• Why the highest offer may not be the best offer.
• How to grow without sacrificing culture or operational control.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 What private equity is really buying

03:07 Eric’s journey building a 45-practice DSO

06:13 The state of DSO growth in 2026

08:30 Scaling versus stacking dental practices

12:03 How fast should a dental group grow?

15:10 Building systems that do not depend on the founder

20:08 How uncontrolled growth damages culture

23:03 Why Eric walked away from his first DSO sale

24:52 What made the organization valuable to buyers

28:43 The systems to strengthen before selling

35:07 Evaluating dental technology investments

38:04 Advice for DSO founders considering an exit

Connect with Eric

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-pastan/

Website: https://www.elliottdavis.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DSOGrowth #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalLeadership #DentalBusiness #DSOStrategy #DentalPracticeGrowth #PrivateEquity #DentalPracticeAcquisitions #DentalEntrepreneur #DentalOperations #DentalPracticeKPIs #DentalTechnology #DentalPracticeCulture #DSOLeadership #DentalIndustry #EricPastan #BrandiMarzolino #TheRealTalkOfDental

Dental office cybersecurity training is the one investment most practices skip, and it is exactly why hackers keep getting in. You can spend thousands locking down your network, but if your office manager clicks one bad link, all of that protection means nothing.

Cyberattacks against dental practices and DSOs have surged through 2026, from major distributors to small single location offices, and most teams still have no idea what a real phishing attempt looks like.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Tom Terronez, CEO of Medix Dental IT, to unpack why people, not software, are the biggest vulnerability in every dental practice. Tom shares the real story behind the Fort Knox problem, why office managers are often the strongest advocates for security training, and how tech should free up your team to be more human with patients, not less.

You will walk away knowing exactly what questions to ask before you buy new technology, why trust, once lost through a bad rollout, is nearly impossible to win back, and how a little warmth at the front desk can matter more than the fanciest system in the building.

• Why dental office cybersecurity training matters more than any firewall, and how one clicked phishing link can undo thousands of dollars in IT protection.
• What to ask before your practice invests in new dental technology, so you avoid the shiny object syndrome that leads to expensive, disconnected systems.
• Why office managers are often the strongest advocates for cybersecurity training in dental practices, and why leadership still hesitates to invest in it.
• How a single mishandled tech rollout can break staff trust in leadership, and why rebuilding that trust afterward is nearly impossible.
• Why the biggest cybersecurity vulnerability in any dental practice is people, not software, and what regular training actually changes.
• How small human moments at the front desk, like a genuine hello, can matter more to patients than the most advanced technology in the building.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Why one bad email can undo your security budget

01:44 Meet Tom Terronez, dental IT and cybersecurity expert

03:08 The missing piece in every tech rollout is people

06:21 What should you ask before buying new dental tech

07:22 Why you should never buy technology at a conference

13:54 The real gap between vendor onboarding and daily use

15:26 How one bad tech rollout can break team trust

18:00 Why losing trust is the hardest thing to earn back

21:33 A patient check-in story that shows what tech misses

33:44 What keeps DSO leaders up at night about cybersecurity

37:00 Why lack of training is the real cybersecurity gap

39:17 Why office managers are the real cybersecurity MVPs

Connect with Tom

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-terronez-9371104/

Website: https://medixdental.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentalCybersecurity #DentalOfficeSecurity #DentalPracticeManagement #DentalIT #CyberAttackPrevention #PhishingAwareness #DentalTechnology #DSOLeadership #HIPAACompliance #DentalOfficeManager #RansomwareProtection #DentalPracticeGrowth #DentalLeadership #PracticeCulture #TomTerronez #MedixDentalIT #TheRealTalkOfDental

Dental practice HR compliance is the difference between protecting your business and handing an employee's attorney exactly what they need to win a case against you.

If your employee handbook has not been updated in years, or your office manager is fielding tricky HR questions with a quick Google search, your practice is more exposed than you think. Employment laws do not wait for January 1st to change, and the wrong answer to one employee question today can turn into a wrongful termination claim years down the road.

In this episode of The Real Talk of Dental, host Brandi Marzolino, a 20-year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Ray Brunner, a 25-year dental marketing veteran turned HR advisor at HR For Health.

Ray takes you from the wild early days of 1-800-DENTIST in the 1990s to today, and explains why Googling or ChatGPTing a sensitive HR question can actually be used against you in court. You'll also hear Ray's honest take on reinventing your career later in life, and why it's never too late to walk through a new door.

You’ll learn:

• Why googling or ChatGPTing a sensitive HR question could actually be used against your dental practice in a wrongful termination lawsuit down the road.
• The real difference between payroll, an employee handbook, and a standard operating procedure, and why confusing the three puts your practice at risk.
• Why most dental practice employee handbooks are already out of date, and what that gap actually costs you when an employee files a complaint.
• Ray Brunner's wild insider stories from the early days of 1-800-DENTIST, back when dental marketing ran on television ads and carbon credit slips.
• How Ray went from a territory rep in Philadelphia to a founding partner of a healthcare dot-com that helped build the data behind WebMD.
• Why waiting until you have everything figured out is the biggest reason dental professionals stay stuck instead of reinventing their careers.
• What Ray tells dental leaders who feel too old, or too far in, to pivot into a completely new role inside or outside the industry.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Women in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 From 1-800-DENTIST to HR For Health, Ray's origin story

01:00 How Ray and Brandi first connected in the dental industry

02:28 Ray's accidental start in dental marketing at 1-800-DENTIST

05:43 Becoming a territory rep in Philadelphia in the early 1990s

10:00 Building a healthcare dot-com that helped create WebMD

12:14 Why Ray joined HR For Health after 25 years in dental marketing

15:13 Is it too late to make a career change in dentistry

24:19 What HR actually means for a dental practice

27:00 Why your employee handbook is already out of date

35:00 Why Googling your HR questions can be used against you in court

38:00 The difference between an employee handbook and an SOP

41:00 Ray and Brandi's workshop at the Dental Leadership Summit in Austin

Dental Leadership Summit (Austin, TX, this fall): https://dentalleadershipsummit.com (use code BRANDI10)

Connect with Ray

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raybrunner/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrforhealth

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrforhealth

Website: https://hrforhealth.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentalPracticeManagement #DentalHR #DentalCompliance #DentalOfficeManager #HRForHealth #DentalLeadership #DentalPodcast #DentalIndustry #PracticeOwner #DentalTeam #EmployeeHandbook #DentalOffice #CareerChange #DentalConsulting #TheRealTalkOfDental

Servant leadership in dental DSOs starts with a simple question: do your employees dread seeing you walk in, or are they excited when you do?

If your organization is more focused on KPIs and metrics than the people earning them, this episode makes the case for why that approach eventually costs you both your culture and your bottom line.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Brandi Carter, a DSO and dental group executive known throughout the industry for building cultures so strong that team members have moved states just to keep working with her.

They unpack Simon Sinek's leaders eat last philosophy, why so many DSO executives have lost touch with what's actually happening in their practices, and why building your own support system as a leader is just as important as building one for your team. This is a candid, personal conversation about what it really takes to lead with humanity in an industry increasingly driven by numbers.

You’ll learn:

• Why servant leadership, not KPIs, is what actually keeps dental teams loyal and reduces costly turnover.
• Why leaders eat last, a philosophy from Simon Sinek's research on the military, changes how teams perform.
• Why leaders rarely get checked on themselves, and why that creates quiet resentment that hurts culture.
• How building a personal village of support helped Brandi keep pouring into her team without burning out.
• Why DSO executives need to spend real time on the floor listening before making decisions that affect patients.
• How fitness and self care became non negotiable tools for showing up as a better leader.
• Why some of Brandi's team members chose to move states just to keep working for her, and what that says about culture.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Woman in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 Do your employees fear you or love seeing you

04:16 Why connection matters more than KPIs in dental teams

06:22 Why leaders rarely get checked on themselves

09:44 Why culture always has to come before the business

11:16 The leaders eat last philosophy from Simon Sinek

14:35 Why every leader needs their own village of support

18:36 How fitness became her form of therapy

24:35 The moment she decided to prioritize her health

28:00 How grief and loss reshaped her purpose

36:47 Why DSO executives need to get back on the floor

38:44 What listening to your team could do for revenue

Connect with Brandi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandi-carter-41122420a/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#ServantLeadership #DSOCulture #DentalLeadership #EmployeeRetention #DentalTeamCulture #LeadersEatLast #DentalExecutives #WomenInDentistry #DentalPodcast #SelfCareForLeaders #DentalIndustry #TeamCulture #DentalCoaching #BootsOnTheGround #RealTalkOfDental

Why dental assistants are leaving the profession comes down to something simple: they don't feel valued, and the data backs it up, with nearly half considering a job change in the next two years. If you've ever wondered why your best assistant seems checked out, or you're an assistant who feels invisible on your own team, this episode reframes the whole conversation using an unlikely lens: sports.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20+ year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Kevin Henry, a sports journalist turned 20-plus year dental industry advocate and host of Dental Assistant Nation, the longest running podcast devoted to dental assistants.

Kevin shares why dental assistants are consistently the lowest paid and most overlooked role in the practice, and uses a baseball analogy from his own softball coach to explain why every position on a team, and every role in a dental practice, matters more than people think. This is a fun conversation about a serious topic that every dental leader needs to hear.

You’ll learn:

• Why nearly half of dental assistants are considering leaving the profession, and what's actually driving that number.
• The baseball position analogy Kevin uses to explain why every role on a dental team matters, even the ones that go unnoticed.
• Why dentists hesitate to invest in dental assistant careers, and why that mindset is costing practices good people.
• The story of a coach who turned a player's least favorite position into her greatest strength, and what it teaches about leadership.
• Why professional athletes rely on mental health coaches, and why more dental teams should think the same way.
• Why leaving work stress at work is a skill dental teams can learn from professional sports.
• Why patients can feel it when a dental team doesn't get along, and what that costs a practice long term.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Woman in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 From sports writer to dental assistant advocate

02:11 What Dental Assistant Nation is and why it exists

06:02 How he started writing for dental assistants in 2005

08:45 The biggest problems dental assistants deal with today

11:46 Why owners hesitate to invest in dental assistant careers

14:39 The baseball position that best fits a dental assistant

15:12 The right field story about being valued on a team

22:13 Why no one wins alone on a dental team

26:32 How pro athletes reset after a bad day

28:34 Why coaches and therapists are a strength, not a weakness

33:03 What every leader can learn from a great coach

Thank you to our episode sponsors!

Check out Avora here: https://getavora.ai/

Check out Archy here: https://www.archy.com/

Check out medix Dental: https://medixdental.com/

Connect with Kevin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinhenryigniteda/

Website: https://www.kevinspeaksdental.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#DentalAssistants #DentalAssistantNation #DentalTeamCulture #DentalLeadership #DentalAssistantRecognition #DentalRetention #SportsAndLeadership #TeamCulture #DentalIndustry #UnsungHeroes #DentalPodcast #DentalCoaching #WomenInDentistry #DentalTeamBuilding #RealTalkOfDental

Nervous system regulation for dental teams starts with recognizing who on your team is quietly carrying everyone else's weight. If you've ever been the person everyone comes to, the fixer, the calm one, this episode names that pattern and explains why it eventually leads to burnout even for the most capable people in the room.

Brandi Marzolino, a 20 year dental industry veteran and leadership coach, sits down with Lorie Streeter, a certified therapeutic coach with 37 years in dentistry who spent over a decade as a dental office manager before being transitioned out of AADOM and reinventing her career at MaxAssist.

Lorie shares her backpack of rocks visualization for emotional weight, explains why leaders need nervous system regulation more than another leadership book, and opens up about starting over in her fifties. This is a conversation about capacity, worth, and what it actually takes to reinvent yourself.

You’ll learn:

• What it actually means to be a high capacity woman in dentistry, and why that strength can quietly lead to burnout.
• The backpack of rocks visualization Lorie uses to help leaders see exactly what emotional weight they're carrying for others.
• Why nervous system regulation matters more for dental teams than another leadership book or a new software system.
• How distorted filters shape the way you take feedback, and why cleaning your filters changes every relationship you have.
• What it felt like for Lorie to start over in her fifties after seventeen years doing the same work.
• The story behind the signs that led her to her current role, and why she believes the universe was talking.
• Why self love, not victimhood or toughness, is the center point every high achieving leader needs to find.

🔗 Join the community and submit your anonymous questions:

https://www.therealtalkofdental.com

🔗 Learn more about The Empowered LeadHERship Program for Woman in Dental:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

🔗 Boundary Boss GPT:

https://leadhershipexperience.com/boundaryboss

We talk about:

00:00 What it means to be a high capacity woman

02:48 Lorie's twelve years as a dental office manager

06:54 Why leaders need nervous system reset, not another book

07:57 The operating system analogy for personal growth

10:50 How distorted filters shape the way we take feedback

16:17 Why emotional safety matters more than new software

17:44 The backpack of rocks visualization for emotional weight

19:19 What is it like starting over after seventeen years

25:00 The victim versus perp scale and where self love lives

33:00 Her body knew before she did she was leaving AADOM

37:00 The elephant signs that led her to MaxAssist

39:47 Rewriting her mission statement after reinvention

Thank you to our episode sponsors!

Check out Avora here: https://getavora.ai/

Check out Archy here: https://www.archy.com/

Check out medix Dental: https://medixdental.com/

Connect with Lorie

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loriestreeter/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorieStreeterCoaching

Website: https://www.loriestreeter.com/

Connect with me

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandimarzolino/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandi.marzolino/

https://courageandjoyatwork.com/

https://leadhershipexperience.com/

Phone: 616-682-6222

#HighCapacityWomen #NervousSystemRegulation #DentalOfficeManager #EmotionalSafety #DentalBurnout #TherapeuticCoaching #CareerReinvention #WomenInDentistry #DentalLeadership #SelfWorth #DentalPodcast #SomaticCoaching #LeadershipBurnout #AADOM #RealTalkOfDental