Open Wide Podcast

Episode 19 - States Pass Bills, and Dental Companies' Poor Performance

In this episode Scott and Jinesh cover a few recent news topics from the dental world, including new laws changing in Pennsylvania to increase dental coverage and restrict insurance companies from paying dentists via virtual credit card. They also discuss the state of Illinois trying to combat insurance companies not paying out doctors for pre-approved treatment, and chat briefly about dental office membership plans. They end by reflecting on the relatively poor recent performance of publicly traded dental companies.
 
0:00 Introduction
1:45 Pennsylvania course corrects, increases dental coverage
7:15 Pennsylvania insurers can't pay via virtual credit card
9:37 Illinois insurers must stick to their prior authorizations
15:35 Dental office membership plans vs insurance
21:26 Size of the dental market
26:50 Poor performance of public dental companies recently

Episode 18 - Conversation with Glenn Vo | The Nifty Thrifty Dentist

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr Glenn Vo, founder of the Nifty Thrifty Dental group. They discuss Glenn's inspiration to become a dentist, early dental career, and success with the Nifty Thrifty group. He shares his negotiation tips and tricks, and advice for sales reps, owner docs, and associates. They wrap with Glenn responding to a few ridiculous questions posed by Scott and Jinesh.
 
0:00 Introductions
4:08 Decision to become a dentist
11:03 Early days in practice and career vision
19:09 Motivation to keep pushing further
26:16 Origins of the Nifty Thrifty Dentists
33:03 Nifty Thrifty scale, revenue, and relationship focus
41:43 Challenges of running the Facebook group
44:46 Glenn's negotiation advice and tactics
53:08 Glenn's advice for sales reps, owner docs, and associates
58:56 Positivity mindset
1:01:16 Just for kicks (Glenn responds to ridiculous questions)

Episode 17 - Conversation with Michael Sonick | Treating People Not Patients

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Michael Sonick, periodontist and author of the book Treating People Not Patients. They discuss dentistry and healthcare as viewed through the lens of hospitality, and all of the little details that may contribute to a truly excellent patient experience. They also touch on practitioner social skills, patient communication, and how to best hire someone that is a perfect cultural fit. 
0:00 Introductions
3:13 Hospitality in dental and healthcare
14:48 Don't judge your patients (but they definitely judge you)
23:31 The scalability of excellence
32:18 Social skills and patient communication
47:24 The secret to hiring well
 

Episode 16 - Conversation with Ray Scott | Scaling a DSO and Selling to Heartland

Scott and Jinesh chat with Dr. Ray Scott about his journey scaling American Dental Partners and eventually selling to Heartland Dental. They touch on a few of the many lessons learned along the way, including implementation of systems and processes, building culture, and alignment of incentives. They also discuss considerations around selling to DSOs of different sizes, the change management involved with a sale, and the importance of being both patient-centric and doctor-centric.
 
0:00 Introducing Dr. Ray Scott
4:44 Career launch
8:19 Accreditation figuring things out at ADP
22:52 Heartland acquisition and change management
30:07 Doctor incentive structures during and after acquisitions
45:24 Compliance, systems, and processes
58:20 Patient-centricity and doctor-centricity
 

Episode 15 - Conversation with Amy Moorman | The Dental Trade Alliance

In this episode Scott and Jinesh chat with Amy Moorman of the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA). They discuss all of the important advocacy work the DTA does in Washington DC on behalf of all of the dental manufacturers, distributors, and dentists in the country (and world). They also chat about the DTA conference and community. 
 
0:00 Introductions
4:40 Overview of the DTA
12:54 Advocating in Washington DC
18:12 Access to care, research funding, and medical-dental integration
 29:50 Industry alignment
33:25 DTA internal politics
42:30 Capitol Hill collegiality
46:19 Prior DTA wins

Episode 14 - Conversation with Keri Forsythe-Stephens | 24X7 Equipment Upkeep

In this episode, Scott and Jinesh chat with Keri Forsythe-Stephens, Chief Editor of MEDQOR's 24x7 magazine. They cover the most top-of-mind issues and challenges Biomeds face today, and compare and contrast the medical and dental worlds when it comes to equipment maintenance and repair. 
 
0:00 Introduction and Keri's journey into HTM 
5:33 HTM vs Health IT and Cyber Attacks
8:32 Biomeds' Concerns and Industry Exposure
15:38 Med vs Dental equipment service paradigms
30:00 Need for awareness of the HTM space, and workforce demographics
37:54 HTM to the rescue during COVID

Episode 13 - Conversation with Ro Parikh | 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 - Conversation with Paul Goodman | Dental Nachos

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