Brews and Tiny Teeth, The Unfiltered Pediatric Dentistry Podcast

Dr. Kevin Stock is a general dentist, social media influencer, and founder of Meat Health. He is an advocate for a meat-based "Carnivore" diet and has eaten a strict diet of red meat, eggs, and raw milk for nearly six years. He is passionate about educating about the harmful effects of a modern, highly-processed diet on oral health. Dr. Stock discusses how our diet can influence and shape the way our teeth and jaws develop. His premise is that our modern diet of highly-processed, soft foods lead to underdeveloped jaws and crowding. Our ancestors had virtually zero crowding issues, but in modern times it's common for many of our patients to have expansion, wisdom teeth removed, headgear, and tonsillectomies. We dive in to why this is happening and what practical solutions there are to use a natural diet to improve health and oral development.

Howard Farran is an icon in the world of dentistry, and a guest that I've wanted to interview for a long time. He's the founder of Dental Town, an international speaker who has lectured in over 50 countries, author, host of the Dentistry uncensored Podcast, and just an all around cool personality. Dr. Farran joins Dr. Casey Goetz for a discussion of all things pediatric dentistry. We talk about how pediatric dentistry has changed as a profession, practice ownership, DSOs, student loans, and the future of dentistry. Howards shares his words of wisdom to the young upcoming work force of pediatric dentists.

Dr. Josh Solomon is a pediatric dentist and the owner of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics of Livermore in Livermore, California. Over his 20 year career he has developed a reputation for being a leader and educator in advanced restorative techniques related to pediatric dentistry. He frequently hosts online and in-person CE courses and specializes in using the Bioclear matrix system. Dr. Josh is currently building a brand new office that includes a teaching center where he can host his courses. We have a fantastic discussion related to all things composite resins. We talk about magnification, isolation, light curing, injection molding, heating composite, using flowable, air abrasion, disclosing solution, bulk-filled resins.... the list goes on and on. We pack a ton of pearls and content into an hour long conversation. You can reach Dr. Josh on social media or his email for questions on upcoming CE events.

Joe Sparacino is a general dentist who joins me for what may be one of the most interesting conversations I've had yet on the podcast. Dr. Joe started a large practice out of dental school down at the southern Texas border providing care to underserved kids with Medicaid. He built two large practices before selling and putting his practice proceeds into bitcoin back in 2019. He since has bought and sold four other practices and has walked away from clinical dentistry (at least for now). He has spent early retirement pursuing a passion for music, along with casually starting the company Membersy. Membersy is a dental membership technology service that has rapidly grown and is now used by many of the large DSOs. Dr. Joe is a risk-taker, a free-thinker, and very obviously driven to create and grow his ideas into something special. He currently lives in Colorado and is working on his next idea, the Happy Patient Company. This would be a service to streamline resources and remove barriers to grow practices for dentist who are looking to achieve their goals.

Dr. Brandon Schwindt is a pediatric dentist who practices in Portland, Oregon. He started Kona Kids Dentistry from scratch in 2003, and practiced for 6 years in a leased space before making the investment and buying land to build a new office. He discusses the conversations he had with his financial team to determine if building a large office was the right move from a growth and tax perspective. In 2011, he completed the building with 3800 sq ft and 8 op chairs plus a hygiene bay. He practices in the location with his wife, who works as a GP seeing adolescent patients, along with an additional new associate. Dr. Schwindt and I spend a lot of time discussing the process of transitioning from a leased space into a ground-up build, and the lending and tax consequences that go along with it. We review how deductible rent expenses from the practice can go towards paying the mortgage on the building. He explains how depreciating components of the building and smart accounting work helped to lower his tax liability while building equity that he can use to boost his retirement. He also gives advice to new pediatric dentists who are trying to decide if building or leasing is the right choice for their practice.

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Wilkinson is a coresident and close friend of mine who I finally convinced to hop on a podcast episode with me. She practices as an associate in Kansas, where she lives with her husband and two young children. Her husband, Paul, is an orthodontist at a busy ortho practice. Dr. Liz and I catch up for a bit before she shares her practice journey about how she found the right fit as an associate. We talk about treatment planning, hall crowns, glass ionomer, class IIs, the challenges of being a new parent and running a dental practice... all sorts of good stuff. ***Shoutout to all young moms who own a busy pediatric practice, you are all superwomen.*** We also spend a lot of time discussing the value of establishing early care with patients, and how it makes sense from an oral health, patient behavior, and also a profitability standpoint.

Dive into the journey of practice ownership with insights from a seasoned pediatric dentist. Discover the benefits of owning a practice over being an associate and learn a simple recipe for success. The discussion includes crucial tips on office design, financial strategies, and the importance of mentorship. Uncover the 10 commandments for practice ownership and pitfalls that many dentists encounter. Plus, get inspired by the power of setting specific goals and team recognition in creating a thriving practice.

Danny Cammarosano is a regional director of practice finance for Provide. Provide is a tech company that has entered the dental practice lending space and has grown to be one of the top players for financing dental practices. Provide sets itself apart from the other big players like BOA and WF by offering better customer service and a more practical approach to lending. Danny shares updates to what's been changing in the practice lending space in this new era of high build-out costs, inflation, and elevated interest rates. Some of the topics that Danny covers: - What are the higher loan amounts that new practices are qualifying for? - What makes for a good borrower, and are business plans necessary? - How are repayments being structured, and how can you avoid prepayment penalties? - What is the lending forecast and what's expected to change over the coming 1-2 years? - What should a dentist consider if looking to purchase real estate or do a ground-up buildout? - How does lending change if the borrow has an established first practice and wants to open a second location? - How much will a bank lend for a partnership buyout, and is there a limit for a high production/expensive practice?

In this solo episode, I wanted to review a scoring system I created that allows pediatric dentists to reflect and compare their own attributes. Some pediatric dentists are great at running a business, some are excellent clinicians, some have great behavior management with the kids, and some are extremely efficient with their time.  But often times as dentists we fail in other categories where we should be trying to improve. For example, just because somebody can see 80 patients a day and produces 2 million dollars a year doesn’t mean that they are truly improving oral hygiene in their community, that they are actually doing good dentistry, or that they have a staff that is proud to work with them.  The scoring system includes the 10 categories relevant to a good pediatric dentist, with a 1-10 score for each (100 total possible points). The idea is to go through and reflect on these categories with minimal bias to determine how good of a pediatric dentist you are. The 10 scoring categories of a good pediatric dentist are broken down in this podcast and include: Clinical skills and outcomes Behavior management Impact on community oral health Parent perceptions Involvement in organized dentistry Office staff scores Doctor mental health Office technology and improvements Office production Office overhead

Dr. Jay Crews is a pediatric dentist who has been in private practice for 20 years. He owns a large practice in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife who is also a pediatrician. Dr. Crews discovered that he had worsening and profound hearing loss during his pediatric residency. He began wearing hearing aids and dealt with progressive hearing loss until it got to the point where he was nearly unable to function. He spent his days at the office lip-reading and relying on his staff to help him work through appointments with both patients and parents. In 2022, Dr. Crews underwent surgery and received a cochlear implant in his right ear. He shares this story with us and tells us how much better his quality of life is now that he can hear again. After a decade of not being able to listen to the radio or have a phone conversation, he's listening to the Brews and Tiny Teeth Podcast on his way to work in the morning. This was a great conversation and it was a pleasure to have Dr. Crews on the podcast to share his story.