Very Dental: Dr. Frank Spear on Dentists Telling Stories

Apr 28, 2023

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The 2023 Spear Summit is happening right this very moment and unfortunately, Al wasn't there this time. Some amazing podcast conten has been created over the years at this meeting. So in celebration of our friends at Spear Education having their summit, we're throwing back to the very first "face to face" podcast interview I ever did with Dr. Frank Spear at the 2019 Spear Summit. IT's a little bit of time travel because this discussion happened before the pandemic, before masking and before Zoom meetings became a way of life. I think you'll find it pretty interesting. "Jason and Alan had the privilege of sitting down with the one and only Dr. Frank Spear. We had an hour during the Spear Summit to pick up where we left off from episode 235 and it was very interesting. Frank opened the meeting with a talk that discussed the stories that dentists tell each other about where the profession is going and then presented some data that suggests a lot of these stories aren't exactly true. Some of the things we discussed:

Why do insurance companies cover things so differently from state to state?
The beauty of practicing in groups. But not necessarily a DSO.
Could someone become Frank Spear in the way that Frank did considering student debt as it is now?
How did beautiful temporaries make a difference in Frank's career?
Why does Frank feel responsible to help the narrative that dentists tell each other?
What's the data the Frank would really like to see?
Why is it so impossible to compare dental businesses and income across the country? How can you compare apples to apples?
Take home message: things are better than dentists are telling themselves!
What is dental school like when your dad is Frank Spear?
How could dental school teach things with more context?
Are there useful parallels between dental and medical education?
How will Frank's teaching schedule be changing in the future?
How is the curriculum at Spear Education changing?
What kind of "big numbers" has Frank been impressed with lately? (spoiler: it has to do with Spear Practice Solutions)"

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