Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Dr. Desirée Walker is a general dentist and owner of a ground up construction, state-of the-art dental practice called Lumber River Dental in Lumberton North Carolina. Dr. Desiree Walker, also known in many circles as the Ninja Dentist, is a three(3) time competitor on the hit NBC television show American Ninja Warrior. She has creatively integrated her love of fitness into dentistry by transforming her private office into a Ninja training suite - equipped with rings from the ceiling, bars on the wall, and  a balancing slack line. Outside of her dental practice and “Ninja” training, she enjoys outdoor yoga with her 2 cats - Jones and Lu, as well as long hikes with her husband Ash. She is passionate about helping others integrate movement and fun into their dental workday.

Pete Johnson is entrepreneur, video marketing expert, and professional storyteller. He has spent all of his career in marketing, with the last 7 of those years specifically focused on the dental industry. He has held multiple leadership positions at both boutique and large dental marketing agencies. In early 2018, Pete cofounded Get Practice Growth and set out on a mission to disrupt the dental industry. His company focuses on the use of custom video to help practices tell their story, earn their patients trust, and generate more revenue.  Pete grew up in sunny San Diego, where the “surf meets the turf”. Pete played competitive sports all through college, where he learned the value of teamwork and developed his leadership skills. Pete is an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan but is still left heartbroken by the desertion of his beloved Chargers. He is currently a free agent fan and accepting offers from other NFL fan bases. He also has a 4 year old daughter (Riley), who keeps him young and makes him watch My Little Pony and other princess movies on repeat. Pete is getting very close to being able to recite every single line in the movie “Frozen”. 

In his current position, Patrick Bernardi serves as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President at Hu-Friedy, a world leader in the design and manufacture of dental instruments and products. In this role, Patrick is responsible for directing and managing the global brand marketing function, including brand strategy, digital customer engagement, content marketing, CRM, and creative services.  Over the past 10 years, Patrick has played a critical role in helping Hu-Friedy achieve growth percentages that are double the industry average, while also directing a wholesale repositioning of the brand and implementing contemporary marketing approaches designed to better align with the mobile and digital expectations of the modern consumer. He has led the marketing efforts behind major initiatives, including the Friends of Hu-Friedy community and the GreenLight Dental Compliance Center™ by Hu-Friedy.

Dr. Bartoletti was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He spent his sophomore year of high school in Bologna, Italy, where he briefly shadowed his uncle, a general dentist there. After attending Dickinson College, he worked for two years and then was accepted to Temple University’s School of Dentistry. He graduated in 2003 and served four and a half years on Active Duty in the United States Navy after having received a scholarship during dental school. He returned to Pennsylvania after his Active Duty stint, and has been in the reserves ever since. Dr. Bartoletti was an associate in a couple of private practices, and also taught full time at Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry from 2012 until 2015, being the course director for two restorative classes, assistant course director for one, and director of the AEGD Program. Dr. Bartoletti is currently a partner with ELCO Family Dental, does school screenings for two school districts and is a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry. He is married to a wonderful wife and has two super kids! He enjoys photography, writing, reading, exercise, baking, and watching sports.

Dr. Mario Romero is an Associate Professor and Director of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program at The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University; he is a 1995 graduate from the University of Guayaquil School of Dentistry in his native country of Ecuador. He completed a two-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program at the University of Rochester, Eastman Institute for Oral Health where he was granted the Handleman Award for Excellence. In 2016 Dr. Romero was awarded the Augusta University and the American College of Dentists Outstanding Faculty award for his achievements in scholarly, research and service. In 2018 he received the Research and Scholarship award from the Dental College of Georgia for his contributions to dentistry and in 2019 he received the Excellence in Dental Education Award from the Pierre Fauchard Academy. He has over 40 publications in national and international peer reviewed journals and has lectured extensively on topics related to direct and indirect restorative dentistry. He maintained a private practice with emphasis in Esthetics and Restorative Dentistry for 15 years prior to joining AU in 2013.

Steven Kizy is a forward-thinking, warm-hearted leader with enough wherewithal and vision to drive his company, Midway Dental, to the national stage. At the age of 14, he started his first business in his father’s convenience store in Detroit selling cell phones. What started out as a curious 14-year old’s project for side-cash has become the basis for an entrepreneurial spirit that enables Midway to disrupt the market and provide exceptional support to dentists. His brother and sisters who practice dentistry have seen the worst in dental supply and encouraged him to bring that change to the industry. While attending Wayne State University, Steven met his wife, Bianca Kizy, an ophthalmologist. This year they welcomed the newest addition to their family, beautiful Isabelle, who is 5 months as of June. They share a genuine love for family—including their 22 nephews and nieces who all look up to them with adoration. It is Steven’s love of family that has given him the ability to craft such a tight-knit, family-like culture at his company. As such, it was natural for him to assume the CEO role at Midway in 2016. Since taking the helm, Steven has opened six new markets and has built a unique culture with his team that is new to the dental environment. His horizontal management system enables key team members to effect micro-to-macro level agendas at Midway with an unmatched degree of adaptivity. Midway has grown north of 100% in the trailing twelve months, and he has personally received awards for excellence and performance with Inc. 5000, 30 in their Thirties, and NDC member of the year, to name a few.

Judson graduated from Texas Tech University in 2002 with a Master of Science in accountancy. He began his career as a staff accountant at Ernst and Young in Dallas. After several years in corporate tax consulting, he became a planner for Cain Watters and Associates in October of 2004. Judson has excelled at making personal connections with his clients that help him ensure the best financial future for them, their families and the generations to come. In 2014 Judson became a partner at CWA. In addition to his role as a CPA, he is the executive board member responsible for CWA’s Marketing and Communications department. Judson is active in both professional and collegiate recruitment for the firm, and serves as a mentor to new planners and associate planners. Judson is a Certified Public Accountant and an Investment Advisor Representative.

Sean Field is the CEO & founding father of Patrick Consulting Group, Inc and is also the senior dental consultant and main speaker for our dental performance coaching firm. Sean always makes sure that each and every client knows who he is and that he can always be called upon to ensure absolute client satisfaction. Sean comes from a background of dental practice management, treatment coordination and dental sales. He has helped numerous dental practices achieve record breaking success. Sean has experience assisting in the growth of practices in the range of one owner private offices to multi Doctor DSO practices and has had success in scaling dental organizations even in downward economies of eras like the 2008 economic crash. Sean has helped to open the doors of communication in the practices he has worked with to ensure accountability, consistency and growth. As a Dental Consulting Firm Patrick Consulting Group, Inc are Dental Consultants/Coaches specializing in TX Coordination/case presentation acceptance, Production/Collection maximization and custom systems tailored to the practices unique needs, all of which are handled directly with the Dentist and their team. If you would like to find out more about Sean or Patrick Consulting Group, Inc please call them @ (331) 225-3635 to schedule a FREE 1-hour strategy session.

Dr. Ackerman is the Executive Director of the American Teledentistry Association. Clinically, he specializes in the orthodontic treatment of patients with dentofacial deformity, intellectual and physical disabilities and sleep disordered breathing. Dr. Ackerman is the Director of Orthodontics at Boston Children’s Hospital where he practices orthodontics full time. He also teaches residents in both pediatric dentistry and orthodontics at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.  Dr. Ackerman has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in orthodontics and professional ethics and his monograph, Enhancement Orthodontics: Theory and Practice, was released in 2007 by Blackwell-Wiley.  He is a co-recipient of the 2004 B.F. and Helen E. Dewel Award from the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics which is given annually to the highest-rated clinical research article published in the previous year.  Dr. Ackerman was the Editor-in-Chief of Special Care in Dentistry Journal from 2013-2016. 

Audie Cashion is a business consultant, Certified ONE Thing Trainer and Work/Life Balance Coach. He has a diverse business and time management background with 31 years experience in international consulting, coaching, real estate investing and brokerage. He earned a BA in Economics from UNC Chapel Hill has lived in Japan and Dubai, and traveled extensively for business. He currently lives in Charlotte, NC, with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mountain bike riding, facilitating men’s growth groups, and speaking on Peace & Purpose through his educational nonprofit, the World Peace Center, 501c3.