The Lifestyle Practice Podcast For Dentists

Every dental practice owner faces problems they didn't choose: a team member quits, collections fall short, the hygiene schedule has holes, or overhead creeps up. In this solo episode, Dr. Raheel Haider shares how Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle Is the Way changed the way he approaches both his personal life and his dental practice, and why the problems you're avoiding are often the exact ones you need to solve to reach the next level. IN THIS EPISODE - Why Raheel dismissed ancient philosophy for years, and what changed his mind - How to separate what happened from the feeling you assign to it - What a staff resignation can reveal about your hiring, training, and retention systems - Why owners try to out-produce business problems with more clinical work - How to approach no-shows, cancellations, and an unfilled hygiene schedule - Where to look when your dental overhead is too high - Whether practice ownership still makes sense with DSOs and private equity growing - Why waiting for a "stable" economy can keep you stuck KEY TAKEAWAYS - You can't always control what happens in your practice, but you can always control how you respond to it. - An obstacle you keep avoiding is often showing you exactly what needs to change. - Complaining about insurance, supply costs or patient no-shows changes nothing; fixing your systems does. - Problems will always come with ownership, so the goal is to get better at solving them, not to wait for them to stop. - Many of today's most successful businesses were started during economic uncertainty. - Whatever you're facing, someone has faced it before, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel; you need to learn from them. RESOURCES MENTIONED - The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday Connect with us: Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/ Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy Visit our website: https://thelifestylepractice.com Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801 Email Steve: [email protected] Email Derek: [email protected] Email Matt: [email protected] Email Raheel: [email protected] #DentistLife #LifestylePracticePodcast

Every dental practice deals with staffing shortages, insurance headaches, difficult employees, and days when everything goes wrong, even the most successful ones. In this episode, Dr. Steve Van De Graaff argues that what separates elite practices from average ones is how the owner responds to those problems. He shares three stories: a dentist who texted 55 hygienists on a Sunday night to keep his hygiene schedule running, the same owner's response to three floods in his office, and Steve's own experience of letting go of his front desk as a new practice owner and learning to run the business himself. IN THIS EPISODE - Why every dental office has problems, including the most successful ones - How one dentist filled a hygienist call-out and an assistant gap in about two hours - What three office floods reveal about ownership and resilience - Steve's first months of practice ownership and the night he realized nobody was coming to save him - Why confidence comes after action, not before it - When it makes sense to work with a mentor or dental practice coach KEY TAKEAWAYS - Elite practices aren't immune to problems. They become elite because the owner solves big problems over and over again. - When a crisis hits, your default response matters more than the problem itself. Take immediate, massive action instead of hesitating. - You can't control the weather, your staff's health, or emergencies, but you are in complete control of how you respond. - The front desk, insurance claims, payment posting, and accounts receivable aren't too complex to learn. They just take commitment. - Some of the worst experiences in early practice ownership can become the most valuable ones. - If you have the drive but don't know which levers to pull in your practice, a mentor can give you the roadmap. Connect with us: Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/ Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy Visit our website: https://thelifestylepractice.com Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801 Email Steve: [email protected] Email Derek: [email protected] Email Matt: [email protected] Email Raheel: [email protected] #DentistLife #LifestylePracticePodcast

Many of the issues dentists face in their practice are a direct result of standards that aren't high enough. In this episode, Dr. Matt Vogt asks you to picture your perfect practice, from how your team performs to how your patients treat you, and then asks a simple question: why are you accepting anything less? He shares common examples of low standards in dental offices, a real story about holding a hygienist accountable, and why your standards need to apply to your team, your patients, and yourself. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Dental practice owners, associate dentists, and dental students who want a practice that supports their lifestyle instead of consuming it. KEY TAKEAWAYS - Visualize your perfect practice: how your team performs, how patients communicate with you, and even how the office looks and smells. Then ask why you accept less than that today. - Many dentists tolerate things they would never accept if they were starting from scratch, such as an office manager who doesn't perform like an office manager or a front office team member who drops new patient calls. - Sometimes the issue is you. If you struggle with patient communication or clinical outcomes, point the finger inward instead of outward. - You get what you're willing to accept, in life and in dentistry. - When a team member keeps falling short, avoiding the confrontation is the wrong path. Your standard can be high and still be reasonable. - A clear, direct conversation, including asking what the team member needs to meet the standard consistently, can create change almost immediately. - When one person isn't held to the same standard, the rest of the team notices. That creates resentment and lowers everyone's effort. - Hold yourself to the same standard. If a patient doesn't accept treatment, ask your team how you communicated and what questions the patient had. - A culture of collaboration helps you learn from your team instead of assuming you're always right. - Treat every patient with respect, and expect respect in return. If a patient consistently isn't a fit, it's okay to help them find a dentist who suits them better. - Healthy patient standards come from an abundance mindset, and those standards will carry over into everything your practice does. Connect with us: Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/ Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy Visit our website: https://thelifestylepractice.com Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801 Email Steve: [email protected] Email Derek: [email protected] Email Matt: [email protected] Email Raheel: [email protected] #DentistLife #LifestylePracticePodcast  

Can a dentist work three days a week without earning less? Dr. Derek Williams cut his Thursdays cold turkey, took a small dip in September, and then had the best month in his practice's 30-plus-year history. In this episode of The Lifestyle Practice Podcast, Dr. Williams answers a listener's question: what does it actually look like to go from a four-day to a three-day dental workweek? He explains why he made the decision without a perfect plan, what happened to production and collections, and how his team learned to fit a four-day schedule into three highly productive days. You'll learn how to remove the "fluff" from your dental schedule, how assistants can prepare better and turn over rooms faster, and why Dr. Williams treats the daily schedule like a game of Tetris. He also covers whether you should cut your team's hours, how hygienists can keep seeing patients on days the doctor isn't in the office, and how an overhead-based bonus system supports a shorter workweek. If you're a dental practice owner dealing with burnout, an associate dentist planning your future, or a dentist who wants better work-life balance, this episode shows how dental practice efficiency can give you more time off without sacrificing your income. Connect with us: Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/ Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy Visit our website: https://thelifestylepractice.com Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801 Email Steve: [email protected] Email Derek: [email protected] Email Matt: [email protected] Email Raheel: [email protected] #DentistLife #LifestylePracticePodcast

Growth Through Hygiene: How to Make Your Hygiene Department More Productive When Dr. Raheel Haider took over his dental practice, the hygiene schedule was booked out for three months, the hygienist was bouncing between her own patients and new-patient perio exams, and the reappointment rate sat at around 20%. In this solo episode, he explains how he rebuilt the hygiene department into one of the most productive and profitable parts of his practice. WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Dental practice owners, associate dentists planning to own, and dental students who want to understand how hygiene drives practice growth. KEY TAKEAWAYS - If your hygiene schedule is booked out for months, the fastest fix is more capacity. Hiring another hygienist lets new patients be seen in hygiene instead of waiting. - New-grad hygienists are often easier to coach because they are eager, motivated, and open to mentorship. - A $50-an-hour hygienist who sits idle for eight hours costs you $400. One extra new patient brings in revenue at the first visit and gives you a chance to diagnose treatment. - Dr. Haider's team now tracks the reappointment rate daily and keeps it above 90%, up from about 20% when he took over. - Roughly half of American adults have some form of periodontal disease, so many practices are underdiagnosing perio. AI voice perio charting can complete the chart, provide staging and grading, and print an educational sheet that helps with case acceptance. - Build a same-day mentality across your team. Patients stop thinking about dentistry the moment they walk out the door. - Require deposits for SRPs. Patients follow their money, and if they won't put a deposit down, don't schedule them. - Don't cut your hygienists' hours when the schedule slows down. Fix cancellations and no-shows with better case acceptance, communication, and deposits. - When fluoride isn't covered by insurance, you can charge your full office fee. Dr. Haider offers a 50% same-day discount to every patient, cash or insurance. Check your state's insurance laws before copying this. - Curodont can reverse incipient cavities in about 30 seconds to a minute per tooth. Showing patients AI-highlighted X-rays dramatically increases acceptance. - Aim for hygienists to produce about 3.3 times their pay. Paying hygienists hourly or a percentage of production, similar to an associate, creates motivation to produce. - Even in a worst-case scenario where a hygienist only produces 1x their pay, you still gain new patients and long-term growth. TOOLS MENTIONED AI voice perio charting, Overjet and Pearl (AI X-ray detection), Curodont Connect with us: Take our FREE lifestyle and practice assessment: https://thelifestylepractice.com/practice-assesment/ Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get access to TLP Academy: https://thelifestylepractice.com/coaching-services/ Get the TLP Student Academy for $20 (lifetime access): https://the-lifestyle-practice.teachable.com/p/studentacademy Visit our website: https://thelifestylepractice.com Subscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tlp-podcast-for-dentists/id1476544801 Email Steve: [email protected] Email Derek: [email protected] Email Matt: [email protected] Email Raheel: [email protected] #DentistLife #LifestylePracticePodcast