The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

989: Master the Metrics – Simple Data, Big Impact – Robyn Theisen

4 snips

Dec 31, 2025

Robyn Theisen, a dental practice coach with nearly 20 years of experience, dives deep into the power of metrics in dental practices. She emphasizes using data to guide decisions and improve case acceptance, rather than merely cutting hours. Robyn highlights vital KPIs like collections percentages and production gaps that can reveal underlying issues. The conversation also covers strategies for engaging with new patients and the importance of reappointing them into hygiene. Discover how tracking a few key metrics can transform practice performance!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Data Replaces Emotion With Truth

Data replaces emotion with evidence and clarifies what to fix.
Accurate numbers let you make confident decisions and lead with clarity.

ANECDOTE

Leaving PPOs Raised Collections

A doctor moved away from PPOs and feared slowdowns despite higher collections.
Gross production dropped but collections rose 25%, revealing better profitability despite empty-looking hours.

ADVICE

Run Weekly KPI Check-Ins

Hold short weekly meetings that review a few KPIs tied to quarterly goals.
Use those meetings to spot dips early and assign action steps to the team.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Numbers tell a story, and you can use them to change your practice. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Robyn Theisen, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share a few critical metrics that will make the biggest impact. To learn which data points to focus on to improve your practice, listen to Episode 989 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Robyn:

Send Robyn an email: robyn@actdental.com
Follow Robyn on ACT’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actdental
Send Courtney an email to learn more about ACT: courtney@actdental.com
Send Gina an email to learn more about ACT: gina@actdental.com

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
Download ACT’s BPA app on the Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/best-practices-association/id6738960360
Download ACT’s BPA app on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actdental.join&hl=en_US
Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Episode Resources:

Watch the video version of Episode 989: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos
Learn more about Smile Source: https://smilesource.com

Main Takeaways:

To grow your practice, you need good data.
Data replaces negative emotion with evidence.
Accurate data creates alignment and accountability.
Numbers provide insights that lead to actionable steps.
Start by understanding your production and collection story.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

6:22 ACT and Smile Source have merged!

7:46 Why this is an important topic.

10:41 Data replaces emotion with evidence.

12:50 Data creates alignment and accountability.

15:17 Data transforms potential into performance.

17:59 What is your production story?

21:30 Production story: Secondary KPIs.

23:25 What is your collection story?

24:33 Collection story: Secondary KPIs.

26:03 Key KPIs to support practice initiatives.

35:40 Final takeaways.

40:44 ACT’s BPA.

41:57 Q&A: When you have a full schedule, do you prioritize patients of record or new patients?

Robyn Theisen Bio:

Robyn Theisen brings an entire life and legacy of dental experience to the team and every team with which she works as the daughter and sister of dentists. With almost 20 years of experience in dentistry, her roles ranged from practice management to operations at Patterson Dental to coaching teams. Robyn’s passion is empowering teams to realize that they can dramatically impact the lives of the people they serve by implementing skills and systems to remove barriers to life-changing dental treatment. She has done it for decades and does it every day with dental teams.

Outside of coaching, she enjoys time with her husband, Rob, and two daughters, Emerson and Ruby. She loves traveling, music, fitness, and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.