Brews and Tiny Teeth, The Unfiltered Pediatric Dentistry Podcast

Today I have the pleasure of hosting my former boss, but current friend and mentor, Dr. Dennis Carreras. Dennis started and ran a large practice with four offices in central Minnesota for years before recently selling his practice equity to his partner. I worked for their office after residency prior to COVID and starting my own practice in Missouri. Dr. Carreras retired in Florida where he spends his time on the beach, while making sure to stay busy with dental mission trips and teaching back in Minnesota at the dental school. Dennis and I reflect on his successful career and practice ownership journey. We talk about areas where he excelled, and also identified things that he wish he would have done differently. He also shares his thoughts on growth, partnerships, and surrounding yourself with good team members.

Dr. Roger Lucas, a pediatric dentist and author of "More Chocolate, No Cavities," shares his insights on dietary modifications to improve oral health. He discusses the impact of sticky carbohydrates on children's teeth and advocates for healthier snack choices, humorously promoting chocolate and milk as better alternatives. Lucas also reflects on the challenges of managing dual dental practices while writing a book, emphasizing the importance of educating parents on nutrition for cavity prevention.

Ok the title might be a bit click-baitey, but today we are talking all things IV sedation. Dr. Casey Rhoads is a pediatric dentist and owner of Honey Bee Pediatric Dental Co. with two practices in the Kansas City area. Her and her fellow practice partner, Dr. Rebecca Ferns, do 6-7 days of in-office IV sedation cases (open airway) per month. She shares her practice journey with us and how they have structured sedations in their busy new practice. We talk about what verbiage to use, treatment plan presentation, and things to say/not say when trying educate nervous parents who might be hesitant about sedating their child for dental care.

Dr. Richard Baxter, a pediatric dentist and author of "Tongue Tied," discusses the essentials of opening a dedicated tongue-tie clinic. He shares insights on scaling practices and the logistics of space management. Richard offers practical tips for effective patient communication and post-procedure care, especially for infants. He also dives into local anesthesia protocols, ensuring young patients experience minimal discomfort. With over 10,000 procedures under his belt, his advice is invaluable for professionals navigating the tethered-oral-tissue movement.

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.