Dental Practice Heroes
Where dentists learn how to cut clinical days while increasing profits - without sacrificing patient care, cutting corners, or cranking volume. We teach you how to grow a scalable practice through communication, leadership, and effective management.
Hosted by Dr. Paul Etchison, author of two books on dental practice management, dental coach, and owner of a $6M collections group practice in the south suburbs of Chicago, we provide actionable advice for practice owners who want to intentionally create more time to enjoy their families, wealth, and deep personal fulfillment.
If you want to build a scalable practice framework that no longer stresses, drains, or relies on you for every little thing, we will teach you how and share stories of other dentists who have done it!
Episodes
655 episodes
Increasing your Speed and Production with Aaron Nicholas
You don't have a scheduling problem. You have an efficiency problem.This episode breaks down the efficiency gaps standing between you and $1,200-per-hour production. Dr. Aaron Nicholas shares one exercise that could cut your crown prep t...
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Episode 655
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44:59
How to Build a Leadership Team and Regain your Sanity (Even If Your Practice is Small)
Tired of every decision and every problem running through you? You don't need a bigger team — you need a leadership team.In this episode, the DPH coaches share why building a leadership team was the single best move they've made as an ow...
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Episode 654
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31:25
How to Make Every Procedure Hit Your Dollar Per Hour Goal
You end a whirlwind clinical day feeling like a champ, until the production report steals the win. We’re tackling the real metric that decides your freedom: dollar per hour. When you stop chasing raw revenue and start engineering each hour for ...
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Episode 653
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24:49
5 Creative Marketing Ideas That Actually Work (And Most are Free)
Feeling like you've run out of marketing ideas? This episode is full of creative, low-cost ideas that actually work — real strategies they've used to bring in patients without discounting or outspending the competition. You'll learn how to get ...
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Episode 652
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30:29
The 3 Waiting Room Moments Most Practices Completely Miss
Anxiety, uncertainty, and small frictions in the waiting room can quietly drain trust before a patient ever reaches the chair. We walk through three simple, high‑leverage touch points that transform those first minutes into a calm, intentional ...
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Episode 651
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21:07
The Front Desk KPIs That Protect Your Profit w/ Kiera Dent
You know clinical inside out, but the front desk? It's a black box — and probably where you're losing the most money.In this episode, Dr. Paul Etchison speaks with Kiera Dent, founder of The Dental A Team, about how you can get your fron...
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Episode 650
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36:10
How I Cut Hygiene Cancellations from 15% to 5%
Ever watch a full day turn into Swiss cheese before 9 a.m.? We’ve been there—and we found a fix that didn’t rely on bigger fees or tougher forms. Our hygiene cancellations fell from 15% to 5% when we stopped leading with penalties and started l...
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Episode 649
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25:18
Startup vs Acquisition: Don’t Make the 5-Year Mistake
Startup or acquisition... how do you choose? Between horror stories and conflicting advice, it’s hard to get a straight answer. This episode breaks them down in a way that actually helps you decide (and avoid getting set back years). You'll lea...
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Episode 648
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33:37
5 Steps to Feel Rich Without Producing More
What if the reason you don’t feel wealthy has nothing to do with your income and everything to do with how your practice runs without you? We unpack why so many high-earning dentists still feel one bad month from disaster and lay out a clear pa...
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Episode 647
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24:34
A Dentist, a Sausage, and a Student Loan Walks Into A Podcast
The loan bill hits before your handpiece warms up—and it’s bigger than your first apartment. We sat down with Dr. Alan Mead of the Very Dental Podcast to unpack the sticker shock of modern dental education, the real math behind associate versus...
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Episode 646
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40:23
The Cash Flow Fix Your Front Desk Hates (But Your Practice Needs)
A last-minute cancellation shouldn’t hijack three hours of your day. We dig into a simple shift—pre-collecting before you schedule—that lowers AR, slashes cancellations, and gives your front desk a calmer, cleaner workflow without awkward money...
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Episode 645
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25:28
The One Choice that can Set the Future of Your Practice
Tired of feeling like growth is always easier for someone else? We pull back the curtain on the real pivot point in practice ownership: not a lucky break, better reimbursements, or a unicorn office manager, but a clear decision to lead as CEO. ...
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Episode 644
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18:50
3 Decisions that will Save you Years and Millions
Feeling overworked and underpaid even when your schedule is jammed? Paul breaks down the three decisions that turned a frantic, low-margin grind into a calmer, higher-profit practice: force capacity with DPH block scheduling, reclaim CEO time b...
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Episode 643
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21:29
The 3-Step AR Diagnosis That Fixes Cashflow
Staring at your AR and seeing chaos instead of clarity? We’ve been there, and we built a simple path out. We walk through a practical, three-part framework that turns one scary number into a clear diagnosis, so you know what to fix first and ho...
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Episode 642
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14:57
How to Work with your Spouse (Without Burning Out Your Marriage) with Dr. Trent and Hope Neisen
Running a practice with your spouse can be your biggest advantage… or your biggest stressor.In this episode, husband and wife team Trent and Hope Neisen share how they've made it work through big transitions, burnout, and the day-to-day ...
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Episode 641
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43:03
How to Make This Year Feel Different as a Practice Owner
You start the year with big intentions, but end up back in autopilot mode. Sound familiar? This episode breaks down why good goals fall apart, especially in growing practices.The DPH coaches share how you can reset, refocus, and make sur...
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Episode 640
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29:28
The Dollar-Per-Hour Blueprint That Builds a Profitable Practice
Ever set a production goal that felt exciting, then realized the math didn’t support it? We walk through a clear, no-fluff framework that turns revenue wishes into achievable targets by anchoring everything to one number: dollar per clinical ho...
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Episode 639
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14:50
4 Case Acceptance Conversations That Make “Yes” Easy Next Time
Most dentists push for a yes right now. We take a different path and show how planting a clear, respectful seed today leads to an easy yes at the next visit—no pressure, no awkward sales pitch, just a plan the patient helped shape. Using four c...
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Episode 638
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17:30
The New Patient Mistake 90% of Practices Make
Before you spend another dollar on marketing, look at this first: your phones. Most practices assume their staff has it handled because calls are coming in and the team feels busy, but missed calls and poor phone systems could be costing you mo...
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Episode 637
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28:24
How Private Practice Owners Are Fighting Inflation With Group-Level Leverage with Jeff Cellucci
Rising costs don’t have to automatically mean less profit. If your supply spend is sitting around 7–8%, this episode will show you how your practice can get group-level pricing and support without selling or partnering with a DSO.Jeff Ce...
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Episode 636
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31:49
The “Stop Doing” List That Makes Practices More Profitable
Ever feel like your practice is stuck on repeat, fighting the same fires while your stress keeps rising? We get honest about why that happens and how to stop it—by freeing your leaders from task overload, building systems that hold, and protect...
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Episode 635
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24:59
Owners Only: What To Do When Things Get Weird
Sex questions, angry patients, and a staff meeting joke gone wrong — welcome to dentistry.In this episode, the DPH coaches share the weird, unexpected, and straight up awkward moments that have tested their leadership and their staff. Th...
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Episode 634
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26:08
3 Rules for Making Changes That Actually Stick
Ever feel like no matter what you change in the practice, you’re “wrong”? Push too hard and the team melts down. Stand still and nothing improves. We break the cycle by showing how to make progress without chaos: one focused change at a time, p...
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Episode 633
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17:58
Is Your Practice Financially Naked? Asset Protection for Real-World Dentists with Gary Harker
We work hard to build wealth, but are you taking the time to actually protect it? Yes, you have insurance and have established an LLC, but that doesn't mean you're covered.In today’s episode, expert Gary Harker of Legally Mine shares thr...
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Episode 632
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38:22
Why Your Systems Aren’t Making You Money (And the Fix That Will)
Most practices don’t fail for lack of systems—they fail because accountability shows up late, tense, and inconsistent. We unpack a practical way to fix that with the CVI method—curiosity, validation, and invitation—so your team follows through ...
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Episode 631
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21:36
