Dr. Mike Dowling is a pediatric dentist from Maine. He joins us to talk about his experience as a practice owner serving the very underserved state of Maine. Mike talks about how hard it has been to provide care to such a high caries risk area, while battling a lack of operating room access and minimal time slots for mobile in-office anesthesia. Mike decided to expand into his leased medical building to create a fully certified and compliant stand-alone surgery center. When the project is finished, it will be a fully-functional surgery center with the capacity to do twice as many dental anesthesia cases as any other facility in the state. Mike shares his journey with this project, as well as gives advice to any other doctors struggling with access to anesthesia time in their community.

This episode is all about clinical techniques, restorative materials, and procedures that didn't live up to the hype. Part of being a good pediatric dentist is trying new things. And sometimes these things don't always hold up as well as we would hope. I asked listeners to write or call in and share some of their failures. I compiled a list of the 12 best ones, shared anonymously by our pediatric dental colleagues. This is a fun solo episode over a crisp beer to remind us that we all have failures, and the best thing we can do is learn from mistakes and move on.

Dr. Eric Vieth a pediatric dentist and owner of Sleepy Owl Dentistry in South Carolina. After completing his training in New York, Eric moved to South Carolina. He worked for years as the pediatric dentist doing big sedation cases for a large corporate DSO. In 2020, he began branching out on his own to open three locations that offer EXCLUSIVELY IV sedation dentistry. We talk about how he structures his practice, building referal sources, and how he is able to provide a high level of care with this model. A unique component of his sedation practice is that Dr. Veith offers same day consults, treatment planning, and sedation for his patients. We talk about some of the potential billing and insurance challenges associated with a sedation-only practice.

Dr. Katie Foster recently opened her new pediatric office in Colorado. She has experienced a ton of growth and success by using Instagram to develop a brand and attract new patients. Dr. Katie gives us a few tips about how to improve your social media presence, including how to easily create reels, how often to post, what kind of content does well, and how to target followers that will convert to new patients in your office. We discuss why social media is a powerful marketing tool that will continue to be an important part of running a practice in the future!

Dr. Matt Griffith is a pediatric dentist on the big island in Kona, Hawaii. Dr. Matt is the first and only pediatric dentist I have ever interviewed from Hawaii! Dr. Matt talks about his crazy backstory of opening his own practice in Kona. His style is one of providing a high level of patient care, and not being forced to see more kids a day than he's comfortable with. We talk about what the culture is like with his patient population, and some of the challenges of being a pediatric dentist in a rural spot in the middle of the Pacific.

Dr. Leigh Colby is my guest on the podcast today. Leigh is a dentist, a former practice owner, and has founded and been involved in multiple high-tech dental startups. He is an entrepreneur and innovator as much as he is a clinician. Leigh is also the founder of TriAgenics. TriAgenics has spent years developing third molar tooth bud ablation technology. For those who aren't familiar, this technology uses targeted microwaves and a small probe to "zap" and prevent the formation of third molars during childhood. Ablating the tooth bud would prevent the need for invasive extractions later on when the teeth are fully developed. This technology is in the final stages of FDA approval, and will quickly become available commercially as an option to our patients. In this podcast, Dr. Colby shares with us how the technology works, what the equipment looks like, the initial investment costs, and why pediatric dentists will be paving the way to make this procedure a great option for our patients.

Dr. Kris Hendricks is a pediatric dentist and practice owner from New Mexico. I came across his viral TikTok video showing models of how different styles of pacifiers affect occlusion in kids. Kris talks about how he was essentially gifted an orthodontic practice in New Mexico. He shares his take on social media, going viral, and what he currently recommends to parents asking about pacifiers. We break down what the research says for pacifier recommendations, and if "orthodontic" pacifiers are all they are cracked up to be.

Dive into the world of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) as experts share why pediatric dentists should be wary of buyouts. They debunk five common myths and highlight the importance of practice ownership for long-term success. The discussion touches on the challenges young dentists face and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on independence. Myths surrounding big city practices are challenged, showcasing the benefits of rural dentistry. Plus, learn about the real implications of equity offerings and the future of pediatric dentistry.

Bourbon and Baby Teeth was a blast down in New Orleans this year. If you haven't been... put it on your bucket list. Even though it's always tough to record podcasts at conferences, I was able to pull aside three awesome dentists to have a quick conversation over some bourbon. 1. Dr. Hubert Park talks about pros and cons of doing his scratch start vs his practice acquisition. 2. Dr. Phil Chung talks about extracting permanent teeth with the SOAN, as well as his insane sealants protocol. 3. Dr. Chad Jensen talks about what goes into developing a new product in the dental field, as well as talking about his new Octo-Matrix.

Dr. Marc Soelberg is a pediatric dentist who recently did a scratch start in Post Falls, Idaho. After several years of associating without a partnership offer, Dr. Soelberg decided to open his practice in a growing rural town in northern Idaho. In this episode, we talk all about what opening a practice in 2024 looks like. He shares his challenges with obtaining a loan big enough to cover the cost of an office that's a functional size. We also discuss what marketing strategies worked best to obtain new patients, along with sharing some mistakes he made along the way.