A reflection on the holidays — the comfort, hibernation, and space that comes with them. Merry Christmas to the Dental A-Team family! Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

As a business owner, do you want freedom, autonomy, growth opportunity, and less stress? Kiera and Spiffy Tiffy preview the eleventh system the Dental A-Team will dive deep into next year: practice profitability. To make your practice operate at a high level, you need to put in the work and pull the right levers.  Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

It’s Kiera’s favorite topic: speaking with integrity — to yourself and to other people. When it comes to keeping promises, set the standard with yourself. Boost your confidence today by being honest with yourself about your expectations and owning your words. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Dr. Maggie Augustyn is on the podcast to talk about burnout in the dentistry field. Dr. Augustyn gets personal about her experience with burnout and how she got to the other side of it, both personally and professionally. The biggest steps to get there was establishing a better management of workflow at home and being present at work. This episode will inspire listeners to take the right steps to making work a lighter and more genuine load in their lives. Episode resources: Meet Dr. Augustyn Email her: [email protected] Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to the Dental A-Team podcast  Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast on iTunes

It’s a necessary evil, building an operations manual and keeping it up-to-date. Kiera and Tiff quickly run through why it’s so important to have your ops manual current and relevant, and how the Dental A-Team can help you get there. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

A tip for the clinical team! Does your practice have a process for keeping track of lab cases? Kiera walks through the following suggestions to make sure everything is buttoned up: Establish a process for cases and all the moving parts Establish a process for checking cases in and out Utilize a lab case specialist — someone responsible for keeping track of it all If you do have all this established, then make sure it’s regularly reviewed and improved upon. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

No-BS Brit joins Kiera for this episode to talk about a way to gain more freedom of time in your practice: with note templates! Believe it or not, establishing a solid note template protocol will save time on the clinical side. Kiera and Brit touch on … How to update note templates Why assessing templates is helpful How to attach notes to procedure codes The importance of locking them out And more! Episode resources: Reach out to Brit and Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

If you’ve been tuning in every week, you’ll know this is theme number 9 out of 12 — Kiera and Tiff are paving the way into 2023 with topics they’ll dive in-depth on beginning in January. This episode looks at marketing — the different types, how to best utilize internal and external opportunities, what low-hanging marketing fruit might be, the average allocation for marketing budgets in dental practices, and the number one KPI for marketing. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera is joined by Dr. Richard Offut and Dr. Mustafa Shah-Khan, co-founders of Synergy Dental Partners, to talk about the power of a dental group purchasing organization (or GPO). This approach is an opportunity for general practitioners to compete with mass corporate offices but preserve their independent practice. Dr. Offut and Dr. Shah-Khan discuss with Kiera the following: What a dental GPO is and how Synergy works How Synergy can get you discounts on dental supplies and services Why Synergy could be a great option for your practice The average savings for offices involved Episode resources: Learn more about and connect with Synergy Dental Partners Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to the Dental A-Team podcast  Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast on iTunes

David Cohen is a master at dental law, joining Kiera in this episode to discuss the transitions of buying/selling practices. The pair touches on the legal side of: trends being seen, pitfalls to avoid, benefits and red flags of selling to DSOs, doctor protection, future partner buy-out, and more. More about David Cohen:  David Cohen has extensive experience in representing individuals, mid-size corporations and small-size corporations in partnership and limited liability company law. He regularly counsels clients ranging from start-up ventures to large companies to nonprofit/charitable tax exempt organizations and professional corporations. Mr. Cohen also has expertise in contract negotiation, review and construction. He also takes a proactive approach for clients by regularly constructing Non-Disclosure Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements and Non-Compete Agreements. Mr. Cohen’s experience extends to the labor and employment realm, where he consistently advises employers about their relationships with their employees and independent contractors, as well as creates legally binding agreements documenting the details of those relationships. Episode resources: Learn more about Cohen Law Firm Get in touch with David: (o) 972-294-7531, (c) 206-919-9060, [email protected] Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to the Dental A-Team podcast  Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast on iTunes

There’s a lot to know under the umbrella of a hygiene department. Kiera and Tiff touch on what the ideal and most efficient hygiene department looks like — including each hygienist bringing in 3 times their hourly rate — and how to run an assessment to know where your department falls on a 5-star ranking scale. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

It’s time for another office autopsy! Kiera shares the example of a practice she’s been working with for three years that has grown in value five times from what it started. In her time with the practice, they’ve successfully switched software, changed collection protocol, created an operations manual, receive 30 to 40 new patients, and many more successes. To get there, the practice has applied the following: Executing tasks effectively Set goals and kept them Showed patience in getting what they want Think about the goals you set this year and how effective you’ve been in trying to complete them. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Happy Thanksgiving! Kiera is so thankful for the Dental A-Team podcast listener family. This episode is a reminder to check the vitals of service in your life — personally and professionally. Be grateful, look for opportunities to serve, and watch yourself and your team grow. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

This is an episode dedicated to the dental assistants out there. Kiera and Tiff have both worked and loved working as dental assistants, sucking spit and all. They tease out what July 2023 will entail, methods provided by the Dental A-Team to perfect the cog in the wheel (aka those dental assistants) of practices — taking blood pressure and flipping rooms in under 5 minutes and keeping the patient happy chairside. Take the time to make your dental assistant team dynamite. This episode previews just how you can do that. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Dr. Jenny Perna is once again on the podcast! With Kiera, she gets detailed into the realities of acquiring a new practice, and all the miles that come with it. They touch on the following: Working with banks during a sale, and how to supplement income Conversations with the seller during the transition Communicating with parents that the quality of service will stay the same (or improve!) Getting the team to become raving fans Making culture the best it can be (consider Culture Index or VIVAHR to help) There are many ways to go about the craft of dentistry. This episode gives a great look into a great way to go about things from a leadership perspective.  Episode resources: Follow Dr. Perna on Instagram Listen to episode 481, Finding Positivity in the COVID Crank Listen to episode 388, 3 Tips to Be a Rockstar Associate Listen to episode 320, Plans Derailed? Here’s What to Do. Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to the Dental A-Team podcast  Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast on iTunes

Many dental practices are toeing the line of success and struggle these days. Because the Dental A-Team is visiting so many practices, the consultants are seeing a theme emerge of what sets these two groups apart. Kiera shares those common threads: The offices doing well have … Strong leaders and consistent execution A solid vision and knowledge of numbers Regular meetings to show alignment Those struggling tend to … Try and do everything, all the roles are switched Not have a strong leader who’s willing to fix culture Be more concerned about the dollar rather than investment Make sure you are assessing your business to know where you stand and what your practice’s longevity looks like. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera and Tiff are halfway through previewing the systems of 2023! Are you all caught up? Today, they have a question for you: Are you misconstruing what case acceptance means? They share what all the pieces of case acceptance are and why you need to do more than function as an autopilot when presenting treatments to your patients, including: Diagnosing enough to meet case acceptance goals Presenting a treatment plan is an art Looking at trends (your special sauce) of successful case acceptance Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

This episode is about a question that is often emailed in: Are bonuses a good idea? If you’ve been around this podcast, you’ll know Kiera isn’t the biggest fan of bonuses. Here, she shares why that is, alternative ideas to reward your employees, and more. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Your schedule is the heart of the practice — if it’s not done well, everything crumbles from there. Kiera and Tiff share the most important factors to consider when it comes to perfecting your schedule.  The top three questions to ask yourself at the end of the day to know if your scheduling is going well or not: Did you get out on time? Did you hit your production goal? Is staff pulling their hair out? Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

We are 600 episodes into this Dental A-Team podcast! Thank you to our 80,000-plus listeners for being with us along the way. In this milestone episode, Kiera reflects on her journeys in business, life, and dentistry; highlights from the podcast; lessons learned; and more. Here’s to the pieces of life that propel us to keep going. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

If you’ve ever questioned whether something should go in your practice’s operations manual or your employee handbook, this is the episode for you. Kiera breaks down the difference between the two resources, how they should be laid out, how often they should be updated, and a ton more. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera is spilling secrets on what makes the best of the best office managers. She even reads excerpts from her up-and-coming book. Listen to this episode to hear more about the following: What should Kiera name her book? Suggest ideas and potentially win a $100 Amazon gift card. What should an office manager be doing? Here’s a checklist. Need help training? This is what to execute. Kiera also shares who the two best office managers she knows are, and how they function. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera and Tiff are continuing to share 12 themes that every single dental practice should implement. These Wednesday episodes are the teasers; the Dental A-Team will dive in fully come 2023, month by month. This episode looks at your practice’s patient experience in detail. We’re talking new patients, recurring patients, doctor patients, hygiene patients, consultant patients … and every part of their interaction with dentistry. Together, Kiera and Tiff touch on the different aspects you need to consider, and how each of those aspects ranks on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

This episode is a raw reflection by Kiera on the Little Black Dress Podcast with Dr. Ashley Joves (a cosmetic dentist). Nothing is off limits — Kiera shares her experience with eating disorders, a path to divorce, suicide consideration, IVF … all while building a business. If you take anything away from this listen, know that you can create the you you want to be. Episode resources: Check out The Making of a Dental Startup Listen to the Little Black Dress Podcast Listen to episode 254, Breaking Dentistry Norms Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera is cutting through the chatter and getting to the root cause of the phrase “I don’t have time.” She dives into how prioritization and discipline play a role in getting tasks done, why not having time is just an excuse, and the two options you have to get everything done you need to. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera  Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

We’re continuing with our weekly introduction to 12 systems — something the Dental A-Team will dive into in full starting 2023. This episode focuses on making billing easy and healthy. Kiera and Tiff share tips on …  How to set up a solid billing department,  The two numbers that will tell you if your billing is healthy or not, and  Why consistency in billing helps keep collections where you want them to be Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

If you’re looking for improved systems, elevated patient experiences, and a supportive culture for your team, that can start with holding an effective meeting. In this episode, Dana and Kiera talk about who should be running which meetings in your practice, and what makes an effective meeting — meaning each person is leaving with clarity and duty to help the office grow.  Episode resources: Reach out to Dana and Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera reflects on the different versions of herself she was in 2019, 2020, 2021, and now — and why the changes she’s gone through have made her a better person. She applies this idea, of accepting change, to the world of dentistry, sharing positive ways to get through the changes of turnover, software, insurance, and more. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

We continue the 12 system themes with theme 2 out of 12: Doctor Optimization! Our doctors are often overlooked when it comes to the systems established in a practice, so this episode dives into how their role can help the team function as well as possible. Kiera and Tiff discuss how doctors can … Get team members excited to perform procedures, and Onboard, train, and calibrate associates Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Financial advisor Ryan Isaac is on the podcast once again to give advice on selecting a financial advisor, including whether or not you should even get one. Together with Kiera, Ryan covers the following in this episode: What a financial advisor does How to hire a financial advisor When to hire one And more About Ryan: Co-Founder of Dentist Advisors and host of the Dentist Mone Show, Ryan Isaac is a trusted financial advisor to dentists across the country. As a regular speaker at dental events nationwide, Ryan shares his expertise in portfolio management, debt reduction, tax management, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans, and insurance. He is a CFP with deep financial planning expertise and has been a major contributor to the growth of Dentist Advisors, including the development of the Elements financial planning system. Episode resources: Check out Dentist Advisors Tune in to The Dentist Money Show Listen to episode 544, Stocks & Assets: What is on the Horizon Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Spiffy Tiffy is giving fantastic verbiage that your practice needs to start using when retaining current patients and enticing new patients when you’ve dropped insurance. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

This is week one of 12 systems you should baseline by the end of this year, to get your practice ready for 2023. Kiera and Spiffy Tiffy break down the difference between management and leadership by touching on how to … Be a leader and manage your team without being a micromanager Get your team on board with culture, protocol, hard conversations, and team morale Track those movements with KPIs And more Use this episode to see where your practice stacks up, and start putting into place what you can improve on next year. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Tiff Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

In this episode, Kiera is joined by Kayvan Mott, cofounder of The Doc Sites, which builds websites for dental and medical offices. It’s a great first dive into the importance of a great website for your practice. Listen up to learn about: Why SEO is important Three things to have in place for good SEO The biggest mistakes dentists make with marketing How often you should review your website Getting more Google reviews And more Episode resources: Check out The Doc Sites Connect with Kayvan for a complimentary, no obligation review: [email protected] Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

It’s a part of most people’s lives, so should it be part of your practice? In this episode, Kiera and Tiff talk social media and dentistry — where does it fit in? Who in your practice should post, and how often? What are you gaining by posting? — all these questions and more! Episode resources: Reach out to Tiff and Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Tiff and Kiera are mapping out 2023 for you with Dental A-Team’s new 12 systems. This is a track system to put in place to allow your practice to maximize production. Each month, your practice will focus on perfecting a certain system. For example, in May, review your scheduling; in September, establish a marketing plan. DAT can provide guidance to help make sure all of your systems are as good as gold. Beginning next week, tune into the podcast to learn the basics about each of these systems so you can be ready to roll in the details come the new year. Episode resources: Reach out to Tiff and Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Kiera and Brit are here to geek out on business financing. In this episode, the two break down a ton of finance-related topics to help you get your practice in ship-shape for the end of 2022. Together, they touch on … What a profit and loss statement is Ways to increase revenue and decrease expenses The importance of collections protocol How to lower overhead Why it’s so important to know your numbers Episode resources: Reach out to Brit and Kiera Listen to episode 575, Today’s Work Trends (PTO, Benefits, More) Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Kiera is showing some hygiene love today! She shares tips she’s seeing work in the most elite dental practices to improve the flow of the hygiene team. Hygienists, in your dental practices you should be … Tracking your production Maximizing down time Calibrating monthly This episode dives into what it takes to move dental practices forward from a hygiene perspective. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

It’s time for one of Kiera’s favorite topics: tackling the important versus the urgent. Ever notice that you always have time to do the things you like to do, but never have enough for the tasks you don’t care for? For example, recare outbound calls or tracking overhead. In this episode, Kiera shares advice on how to actually get the important to-dos done each day — as an owner or another position. If you have dedicated time for your important stuff, it’ll free up your schedule (and brain) of stressors. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Kiera is featured on the Navigating Dental Insurance Podcast with Jordon Comstock to talk about practices shifting from preferred provider organization (PPO) health insurance to fee-for-service insurance. Together, they touch on: Why a practice should move to fee-for-service Type of culture fee-for-service patients look for How to stand out despite being more expensive And more Episode resources: Listen to the Navigating Dental Insurance Podcast Listen to episode 576, Turn Insurance Patients into Membership Patients LEGALLY Listen to episode 163, Are You Maximizing Your Practice? Membership Plans Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Miscommunication happens in every office, but in this episode, Kiera shares tips for navigating the many interpersonal dynamics in an office. She touches on her own communication styles with the Dental A-Team Consultants, Tiff, Brit, and Dana; why frustrations happen when communicating; and how to clarify and verify at the end of each conversation. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Meet the DAT team Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

For this episode, Kiera is joined by Alex, the amazing creator of these fantastic show notes you’re reading right now :) The two talk about getting a return on investment in LIFE — appreciating where you are, physically, mentally, emotionally. They also touch on reviewing why you dislike certain aspects of your life and how you can flip your attitude about them. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Kiera dives into her favorite tips for pediatric dental offices — and even general dentists — to streamline the workplace. She touches on … How to schedule smart and maximize the middle of the day Why and when to consider utilizing a hygienist What the benefits are of clinical team members walking patients out And more! Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

It’s a hot topic episode: Raises! Kiera shares her beliefs around raises, and why implementing a tiered raise system (or hiring the Dental A-Team to establish one) is so beneficial. Do team members in your practice know how to get a raise? Do you find yourself throwing money at problems instead of figuring it out? Do your employees feel stuck? The perks of a tiered raise system include: Confidence in knowing how much you’re paying and why Control of each employee to attain a raise Inspire self-sufficiency among team members Take the scariness out of reviews and check-ins Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Let DAT establish a tiered raise system in your practice Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Kiera is joined by Jordon Comstock, CEO and founder of BoomCloud, which provides a membership growth platform for your practice. The two talk about why and how practices are shifting to membership programs, and how they’re able to appeal to insurance patients completely legally. The secret sauce? Listen to the episode to find out. Still not so sure about membership plans? Jordon also touches on upscaling a membership program to reach that recurring million dollar revenue mark. More about Jordon: Jordon Comstock is the founder and CEO of BoomCloud. BoomCloud exists to help dental practices create, organize, track and automate a dental membership program as a strategy to reduce dependence on dental insurance, create recurring revenue, increase patient loyalty and case acceptance. Jordon started his career in the dental industry managing a dental lab over 15 years ago and soon realized the need for our industry to create membership programs. He studied UX/UI design, web development and marketing at the Art Institute of Salt Lake City. Jordon is crazy passionate about helping practices create recurring revenue and helping them eliminate the evil empire of dental insurance. Free books: million-dollar membership plan Episode resources: Check out BoomCloud Get The Million-Dollar Membership Plan for free Listen to episode 163, Are You Maximizing Your Practice? Membership Plans Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Kiera is joined by Dental A-Team traveling consultant Brit to talk about the new age of hiring employees, and what they’re looking for in terms of PTO, benefits, work-life balance, and more. In this episode, the pair discusses how employers juggle what today’s incoming employees are looking for, and what solutions the DAT consultants are helping implement in practices all over the country. Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera and Brit Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Paul Edwards, founder and CEO of CEDR, is on the podcast. CEDR is an HR company that helps managers solve problems while staying in compliance, and Paul has fantastic advice for how to hire those difference makers for your practice. With Kiera, he shares his thoughts on: The importance of job descriptions for each role How to create a plan for hiring Why you can’t be afraid of bringing on new people What happens when you find the right person Episode resources: Learn more about CEDR Join the CEDR Facebook group: HR Base Camp Listen to the What the Hell Just Happened in HR podcast Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast

Here’s your quick fix for getting more patients through your doors! Kiera talks through the following ideas (and why they work): Make sure your company is one you believe in Know your ideal patient Host monthly or quarterly giveaways Episode resources: Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!

It’s a consultant takeover with Brit and Dana! Something the two have been hearing a lot in practices across the country is treatment coordinators aren’t sure where to direct patients amid numerous treatment options, then financing options. It’s a lot to cover! In this episode, Brit and Dana discuss how to make financial options as simple as possible for both parties (patient and practice). They touch on: The right time to talk about cost Who should be the one talking dollars How many patient options should be presented And more! Episode resources: Reach out to Dana and Brit Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Give the podcast a 5-star review!