Open Wide Podcast

Episode 13 - Why Walmart Health Failed

In this episode Scott and Jinesh have the pleasure of chatting with Dr Roshan (Ro) Parikh, the first Head of Dentistry at Walmart. They chat about Ro's experience growing a 25 location dental group from ground up and taking it through a PE transaction. They then take a deep dive into why the Walmart Health initiative failed, resulting in the closure of 51 Walmart dental clinics. Ro also discusses his stint at NYC's dntl bar, and his current role at Viva Pediatrics Home Healthcare.
 
0:00 Introducing Dr Roshan Parikh
3:18 Building and Transacting a DSO from ground up
16:42 Why Walmart Health Failed
32:53 Trying to raise the bar at dntl bar
37:20 Crossing over into med with Viva Pediatrics

Episode 12 - Dental Nachos, Behind the Scenes

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr Paul Goodman, founder of Dental Nachos and Dentist Job Connect. The trio touch on a range of topics including which social media platforms dentisting humans of different ages congregate, Paul's career trajectory, and where his revenue comes from. Paul opens up about the challenges of moderating a massive facebook community, and reflects on some of the specific challenges facing the youngest dentists in the workforce. Paul also discusses prior challenges with university bureaucracy, and he shares his advice for dental schools trying to best equip their students for the working world.
 
0:00 Scott and Jinesh catch up
3:23 Introducing Dr Paul Goodman
4:55 What is Dental Nachos anyway?
10:02 Audience Demographics and Social Media Platform Details
18:00 Career Transition to Nachos and Breakdown of Paul's Time
27:24 Paul's Revenue Breakdown
33:00 Challenges of Moderating the Platform 
48:56 Gen Z (Baby Age Dentists) Challenges
54:44 Uninvited from Penn Dental
1:01:14 Paul's Advice for Dental Schools

Episode 11 - Pearl clutches $58M

In this week's episode Scott and Jinesh discuss Peal's announcement of a $58M series B, the art of the 'partnership' press release, and learnings from the PR world. They wrap up by chatting about various ways companies in the dental space should think about going to market with their products. 
 
0:00 Introduction and personal updates
3:51 Pearl raises $58M Series B
11:22 Art of the 'Partnership' press release
19:11 Marketing and PR learnings
25:29 Go-to-market strategy in dental

Episode 10 - Team Incentives and Financing Dental Tech Growth

In this episode Scott and Jinesh discuss strategies to incentivize teams (tech and dental office), DSO growth via credit and debt facilities, and the investors and venture capital in dental tech. 
 
0:00 Intro and Incentivizing the team | stock options vs cash
14:56 Transparency and alignment in dental practices
22:06 DSOs securing credit and debt facilities
33:44 Investors and venture capital in dental tech

Episode 9 - Dental Care Trends and Aetna's Entry

In this conversation, Scott and Jinesh discuss their impressions of the Dykema Conference and the importance of culture and leadership in the DSO space. They also review several news articles, including one about the overwhelming support for Medicare dental coverage, the increase in the number of dentist graduates, the decline in dental hygienist and assistant graduates, the expansion of dental therapy in certain states, and Aetna's launch of a virtual dental care subsidiary. Overall, the conversation highlights the need for improved access to dental care and the evolving landscape of the dental industry.
 
00:00 Dykema Recap and vibe shift in DSO world
05:46 Jinesh and Scott company updates
10:45 Bipartisan support for dental inclusion in Medicare
13:55 Dentist graduate numbers up, hygienist and assistant numbers down
17:56 Dental Therapists improve access to care
25:40 Aetna's Virtual Dental Care Launch
32:44 New Chapter

Episode 8 - The Simplifeye Journey

In this episode Scott and Jinesh interview Dr Ryan Hungate about his journey with Simplifeye. Ryan details the good, the bad, and the ugly of his entrepreneurial journey. He then shares about his current role at Henry Schein One.
 
0:00 Introducing Ryan Hungate
5:18 From Apple to Ortho
14:26 Restless in School
15:52 Startup Bug Bites
27:20 Simplifeye Evolution
34:51 Investor Relations
41:03 Sh!t Hits The Fan
49:12 Staying Through the Sale
56:54 Henry Schein One explained
1:07:21 Interview Recap

Episode 7 - Hiring Challenges, Consolidation Scrutiny, and DSO Variability

In this episode we dive into hiring challenges generally, and challenges with Gen Z dentists specifically. We then discuss the implications of the FTC suing a Texas anesthesiology group for anti-competitive behavior, and wrap with a nuanced discussion about current consolidation in dental, and the current diversity of groups within the DSO space.
 
0:00 Introduction and recap of the Dental Compact
5:58 Hiring challenges in dental and in general
16:41 Challenges with Gen Z dentists
26:38 FTC targets healthcare rollups
36:00 DSOs are not all the same

Episode 6 - UptimeHealth and Dental Whale

Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale, a company that aimed to be a one-stop solution for dental practices
Dental Whale had multiple offerings, including equipment sales, service technicians, training and education, practice transitions, and a dental savings network
Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale's network of service technicians, who are independent contractors or franchisees
The acquisition allows Uptime Health to ensure quality control and provide high-quality service to dental practices Uptime Health acquired Dental Whale and is repurposing its components to fit within the Uptime Health framework.
The acquisition of Dental Fix allows Uptime Health to improve its service network and support its clients and manufacturing partners.
Uptime Health is building a vocational school for dental equipment repair technicians in partnership with an existing school that specializes in medical equipment repair.
The Front Office Rocks tool, acquired from Dental Whale, provides training for front desk individuals in dental practices.
Uptime Health aims to be a surge resource for distributors and manufacturers, providing service support and data to help them improve their products and inventory management.
Rumors and misconceptions surrounding the acquisition include Uptime Health becoming competitive with distributors and manufacturers, which is not the case.
Uptime Health is focused on improving the service and maintenance of dental equipment and providing valuable data to the industry.
Chapters
 
08:15 Challenges and Feedback on ADSO Conference
24:16 Uptime Health's Acquisition of Dental Whale
26:23 Dental Whale's Offerings and Challenges
45:31 Addressing Rumors and Misconceptions
53:52 Being a Surge Resource for Distributors and Manufacturers